Sikorski Saga

Tim is making Luella a toddler bed. It'll be the shape of a house. Kyla painted the base coat yesterday. Tim's painting the top coat today. Goobers thinks he needs to get in on the paint job. Literally. Tim had flashbacks to his childhood when his cat ran through the house with oily paws and his dad cleaned with a toothbrush for a week. Thankfully Tim caught Goobers on the plastic sheet. Goobers got grounded to the laundry room again - this time with freshly cleaned paws.

Here's a box of Maryland Blue Crabs that Tim brought home Friday from work. They were going to have a crab feast at lunch, but it ended up being our dinner. Here they are all steamed up and ready to eat!

Luella really wants her sandals. Twinkle Little Star - How are you? Luella sings ABCs and 123s, special appearance by the number " twelven ". Luella gives Katja a raspberry and puts on her sandals, again. Luella gives Katja hugs, kisses, and more raspberries with a " Wipe Out " break.

Kyla hasn't felt healthy the last few days. Thought maybe it was allergies acting up or a summer cold - but since it's been three days and she feels much improved, let's call it a cold. As Kate Gosselin from "Jon and Kate Plus 8" says, "Every day is painfully the same, yet vastly different." Kyla thinks the same thing. Luella reminded Kyla it was time to take more pictures for the blog by saying, "Mommy taking pictures" and handing her the camera. Luella practicing being a big sister to Ian's little brother Will. She thought he'd like his bottle and a story. A future KISS fan?

Here's Luella after enjoying the leftover cake from the baby shower! Tim got the right valve for the air compressor to inflate Luella's bouncy house. She loves it! Luella singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"! Luella jumping in her bouncy house with Tim's demonstration!

As we got ready to leave for the ball and drop Luella off at the Riisager's , we had Mrs. Shirley take our picture. Yep, this was the best shot. Kyla and Tim's (and Katja's) professional photo at the ball. Why didn't we notice Kyla's dress strap fell before we told them to print it? After the formal portion of the ball, but before the dancing started, Elvis was in the house! Even more strange, he sang Neil Diamond songs. 1 SG Tamiko Bogad and CPT Tim Sikorski looking incredible in their blues! Also weird about this ball, they had us sitting at different tables - across the room from each other. Who was in charge of the seating chart? Last night we had the NCR JCBRNE Green Dragon military ball. For those who don't speak Army acronyms - it's the National Capitol Region Joint Chemical, Biological, Radiological , Nuclear, and Explosives. It was down at Andrews Air Force Base this year. Luella got a sleep over with the Riisagers while Tim and Kyla stayed ...

On Friday the Army wives and a few neighbors threw Kyla a baby shower! It was great seeing everyone! Katja got some great presents. One favorite was handmade from Jennifer, based on a favorite of Luella's - a hooded towel made from a bath towel and hand towel - super absorbent and really big so it still fits a toddler! We also made a name plaque to match Luella's, but with Katja's name on it! Jennifer took pictures, so I'll add them when she sends them to me.

We had a great view! We were one block kitty-corner from the White House's view of the display. Luella was a lot more impressed this year with the fireworks. She learned the meaning behind the word "fireworks" and hasn't stopped asking for them! Part One of the finale. The finale was a good 2 minutes long after about 30 full minutes of fireworks! Part Two of the finale. Ooooooo ! Aaaahhhh ! Yeah! Can't wait for next year!

Luella was sad that her movie ended and thought we wouldn't start another on our way down to DC. We got a room at the Hotel Helix in downtown DC for the night. As we saw the decor, we asked what we got ourselves into! The decor was very art deco and modern. We thought it'd be totally un -family friendly, but we were wrong! They brought up a pack-n-play for Luella and gave her free milk this morning! Here's the view from the front door. They had robes for us to use while there. Kyla didn't think leopard print was very slimming for her 33 1/2 week pregnant belly! The lime green dresser for the room. The bathroom was tiny, but nicely decorated. Ultra-modern sink and vanity. We met Uncle Phil and Aunt Becky for lunch and took a walk around the White House before the fireworks party. This was the closest we could get to the South Lawn of the White House. It started raining minutes before this picture was taken and went on for about an hour. The closest we could get to the ...

Helmet kisses! Luella loves her new tricycle! Luella riding her trike to the park. This is the first time Luella climbed to the top!

Luella got a new helmet so she can ride a bicycle with her daddy! She loves her helmet so much she didn't take it off from the time we saw it in the store until bath time!