Luke's first visit to the MN Zoo...

We went back to the MN Zoo this week with our friends Katie and Luke. It was Luke's first trip to the zoo and Katie's first time in years! Both of the babes were a little fussy as we entered the zoo, but fell asleep pretty quickly! Katie and I enjoyed walking around the zoo, briefly looking at the animals, but mostly engaged in conversation:) Catching up on the latest developments of the little ones and planning for the 4th of July. The zoo really has just become a great place to walk, get out of the house, and see people. When Larkyn is awake she can people watch, which she seems to love to do! She did wake up when we arrived out at the farm and was able to see the little piglets that were born earlier that morning!

15 baby pigs were busy feeding from their mother. They were born just hours before we got to the zoo.

Libby is kind of like Mama Mueske (Me)! As my Great Grandma states...a "Healthy Heifer"!

Here is Larkyn with Libby!

Larkyn and Luke

Playdate with Michelle, Jessi and Hannah...

Michelle, a friend from my Master's program came to visit and meet Larkyn for the first time! Michelle teaches 5th grade in Bloomington so she is enjoying her summer off as well! Jessi, also in our Master's cohort, brought Hannah over so Michelle got to meet both of the newest members of AV14:)

"Hey friend! It's really great spending time with you this summer!"


"Yah, I know! Just wait until we start walking! Next summer is going to be a blast. Our mamas better rest up because they are going to be chasing us everywhere!"

Hey Pretty Poser...

Hannah is wearing one of the hair bows I made for her.

Hannah's Baptism...

On Saturday, June 26th we had Hannah's Baptism at the same church we attend, Hosanna Lutheran Church. Shea and I were very honored and thrilled that Jessi and Chris asked us to be Hannah's godparents. We are so excited to be a part of Hannah's spiritual growth and help her get to know and love the Lord! The baptism service went very well and Hannah was a great sport! She gave the pastor many smiles as she poured the water over her head:)

Kim, Hannah and Shea

Larkyn was very good during the service! Usually she throws quite a fit in church so we called our friend Katie to be at the church just in case. Of course because we had a back up plan Larkyn was fabulous!

After the service we went over to Chris and Jessi's for a lunch. Chris' grandma Esther loved the opportunity to get to hold Larkyn. Hannah is Esther's first great-grandchild and is named after her as well.

Shea and Larkyn

Larkyn and Hannah

Hannah was sleeping but her grandma plopped her down for a picture next to Larkyn!

Hannah started to wake up and gave Larkyn the stink eye:)

"I didn't mean to do it, I'm sorry, I'm sorrry! I won't do it again!"

"Hey, who turned out the lights!?"

"Oh good! I can see again! What's going on over there?"

"Hey, where did my friend go?"

"Ah, much better!"

Hannah was wearing Jessi's baptismal gown from when she was a baby!

Hannah hanging out on Grandma Pam's lap!

First Trip to Winona...

Jessi, Hannah, Larkyn and I took a road trip to Winona on Tuesday, June 22nd. My sister Courtney was there with my mom and friends of ours registering for classes for the fall. We were able to see my cousin Kayce, as well as Mindy and the school-agers at Maxwell Children's Center. We also went to the admissions office to visit Sarah and Seth. It was so much fun taking the girls back to our old stomping grounds and walking on campus. Shea and I look forward to taking Larkyn down there many more times to experience the place where Mommy and Daddy met, and also to see Courtney and Kayce of course!

Sarah and Larkyn

(I babysat Sarah's daughter Caitlin when she was Larkyn's age:)

Seth and Larkyn

Shea coached baseball with Seth in Winona.

My godmother Beth got a chance to see and hold Larkyn again as her oldest daughter, Lauren, was in Winona registering for the classes for the fall too!

Beth, Larkyn, Lauren, and Hannah

Larkyn and Grandma Debbie having a funny conversation!

Kim, Grandma Debbie, and Larkyn

Kim, Larkyn, Hannah, and Jessi

We were in the Winona State University Book Store.

A Day with Friends...

Krista and McKenna made a road trip to Minnesota to visit us on the 21st of June. We ended up taking the girls to the MN Zoo in the afternoon. McKenna was a great age to sit up and get out of her stroller to see all the animals. Larkyn on the other hand slept the entire time!

"See you soon you big baboon!"

Larkyn was sleeping like the bears...

These piggies were just a few weeks old!

Both girls were cashed out by the time we reached the farm. The goat stuck its head out of the fence and started chewing on McKenna's stroller!

Larkyn can't wait until she can start sitting up and crawling like McKenna. They are 5 months apart, so Larkyn has a little ways to go still!

Kerry came from Minneapolis for the night to hang out with us.

Mamas and Babies:

McKenna and Krista, Baby Wine Bottle and Kerry, Kim and Larkyn

This was Kerry's little baby girl for the night:) She shared it with me and Krista of course! The three of us had a great time catching up and laughed quite a bit. After watching the Bachelorette that night we decided it was a great idea to record Kerry answering questions about herself. We think she would make a great candidate for one of the upcoming seasons of the Bachelor or Bachelorette!

New Toys...

Larkyn's newest toy is her exersaucer. She can hold her head up really well and her core is beginning to get stronger every day, but she still needs some extra support to play in it. We wrap a blanket around her in the seat area to keep her a little more stable and put a towel on the bottom so she could touch! We started putting a couple toys on the tray part and she will reach out and grab them and bring them to her mouth! She is just starting the "everything goes in the mouth" stage!

We borrowed this swing from our neighbors just because some babies don't end up liking the swinging motion. Larkyn wasn't a huge fan of the swing right away but enjoys swinging for small amounts of time now and looking at the animal mobile.

Larkyn gets to enjoy her bouncy seat when mom or dad take a shower. She sits very well in it and especially loves her "kick and play" bouncy seat. Larkyn has learned when she kicks her feet it plays music and lights up.