Simone Marie is 2!!!!

Wow- it's about time I posted something, eh?? Well, we've had LOTS going on this fall, but the biggest thing, of course, was Simone turning 2!! I can't even believe it. We had a fun birthday party with some family at our house.
Now that Simone is 2....what things does she like???
-As you can see from the pics below, The Wiggles (though she's phasing out of them).
-Caillou
-As most 2-year-olds, she LOVES to do everything herself. "SELF. SELF."
-She LOVES the park and being outside.
-Still LOVES her books.
-Loves playing with her kitchen.
-Loves playing with her cousins, Liam and Luke.
-Loves music and dancing. She particularly loves "The Good Life" by One Republic and "Moves Like Jagger" by Maroon 5, among others.
-She has known her letters since she was 18-19 months old. I think that's pretty impressive!
-She counts to 5.
-She knows her colors (and has for a while).
-She loves her kitties.
-Her speech is really taking off, it's so fun to be able to communicate with her more. I love how she "tells stories."
-Though she has her 2-year-old tantrums, she is such a good girl. I think she's really polite with others and always says "thank you."
-LOVES carousels.
Hmmm....I'm sure I'm missing lots, but those are the major things. Greg and I just love our sweet girl so much.

Anyway, enjoy the pics from her 2nd birthday party:

Our "Wiggly" decorated kitchen.


Simone's Wiggles cake. She absolutely loved it. And the Big Red Car.


Toot toot chugga chugga.


Chowing down with the fam!


Nut.


Opening presents!


Chowing down on her cake. She loved it. She talked about that cake for days afterwards.


More cake.


Feeding some to Gramma.


Playing in her new kitchen with cousin Luke!


And with Grandma Kathy!


Mommy and cousin Amy. Simone loved seeing Amy!


Goofball cousins playing together.


Whew! A tired Mommy and Daddy after the party!


Simone enjoying her wonderful gifts.



On Simone's actual birthday, Mom and Dad took the day off from their jobs and took Simmie out to the Mall of America. She absolutely loved it. Lots of space to run, fun things to look at, and lots of rides!


Simone didn't even need the big rides- she was happy with the little 75 cent rides!


Riding in a bus with Daddy! Don't ask me how he got in there...


Riding in a little car with Mom! This ride went a little faster than we anticipated...but Simone was very brave.


Dora!


The carousel- Simone's all-time favorite. She loves it. She loves picking out which animal to ride, too!


And, it was Simone's first time facing forward in the car! She LOVED it!! Car rides are a lot more interesting now!
I think Mom and Dad had just as much fun celebrating Simone's 2nd birthday as she did. We love you so much, Simmie!! You are such a big girl now! And our SWEET girl. :)

MN State Fair 2011!

Ah, another State Fair season has come and gone. We are HUGE Fair lovers, and we were able to get out there 3 times this year. Two evening date nights with just Greg and me, and a full day with Simone with us. We had such an awesome time. SO, below are the pics from those 3 trips. Simone did GREAT. We were there for about 7 hours, and she was such a good girl. Above- Greg and I on the Skyride!


Mmmmm....turkey sandwich. A fair staple for us.


A view from the skyride.


Nice, huh?



That night we ended up meeting up with Nicole's cousins, and Nicole's bro and sis-in-law and nephews, and we all got to see Morris Day and The Time. What a great show! Brings you back, that's for sure! Above- Nicole and cousin Laurie.


Greg and Sean


Bill, Luke and Alicen


The Midway at night. Love the lights.


Now we're on to the day we took Simone. She and Daddy fished and won a prize!


Simone and her cow Pillow Pet! She absolutely loved it and wouldn't put it down the rest of the day (and sleeps with it every night now).


My sweet girl and my sweet hubby. :)



Oh my goodness- did Simone ever love the Merry-Go-Round!! She threw a fit when it was time to get off- ha!


Gotta love pronto pups! It was so fun that Simone was older this year and could eat and do more things.


Machinery Hill! She sat on every tractor there, I think...


Little Farmhands! Simone loved it. She got to feed the chickens and milk the cows...so fun!



Riding the tractor at Little Farmhands.


Watching the parade! Simone loved all of the marching bands and their drums, especially.


Greg and Floyd


Simone wearing her new U of M hat! She went nuts right after I took this picture because she spotted Fairborne and Fairchild.


Simone's first snowcone!


She loved the Merry-Go-Round so much that we had to go on another one by the kiddie rides. Again, threw a fit when it was time to get off. :)


Then, Greg and I went by ourselves again on Labor Day night. Above is Train- we watched them get interviewed before their show.


Ferris Wheel!


It's tradition- we HAVE to go on the Ferris Wheel every year.


Gotta love the Ferris Wheel.


It was packed at the Grandstand for the Maroon 5/Train show!



Greg and Nicole while Maroon 5 was playing. We had awesome seats- so close!


So, I took TONS of pics and videos of the show- but here's just one. It wasn't even one of the better photos, but oh well. (Maroon 5)


And Train. I am mainly a Maroon 5 fan, so was mostly looking forward to seeing them, but Train put on an amazing show as well!! What a great time.

Until next year, MN State Fair- we'll miss you!