1-19, Best Siblings

We were wondering when the novelty of having a sister was going to wear off, and so far, thankfully, it hasn't.  Despite the 9 year age difference, Nikolas and Emalie are quite the pair.  Emalie loves to imitate Nikolas, and Nikolas loves to teach Emalie all sorts of things (some less desirable than others....).   Nikolas is a great helper and is always on the lookout for Emalie's safety.  He's definitely our right-hand man when it comes to caring for his sister.  We're so lucky to have such great kids!

That pose is Emalie's sign for "mom's taking a picture"--
I guess she's imitating me using my other hand to say "Look here, Emalie!"

Sibling snuggle time.  So cute...and I really can't tell who's enjoying it more.

1-16, Piggy-tailed Princess

So who knew that after six months that Daddy would be the piggy-tail pusher in our house?  I'd say he did a might fine job fixing Emalie's hair, don't you?  And, I think she's loving showing it off, too!

1-20, Denver Aquarium

I think I'm going to give up on my point and shoot-- which is a shame because now that we're toting around a baby and a LOT of baby stuff, space is prime real estate.  The thing just doesn't work right and when I can get it to work I'm cussing at the quality of the photos.  (I almost missed my photo opp with Nicholas Sparks-- that's reason enough to dump the thing!)  Take our trip to the aquarium for example: dark environment + fast fish + fast kids + crappy camera = frustrated mom.  So, I'm going to have to choose-- less photos or haul around a bigger camera.  Yeah, you know me, not much of a decision, I suppose.  Thankfully, we'd already purchased the camera for the China trip, so I already have the camera it's just a matter of bringing it.  Anyway, enjoy the handful of photos I did take yesterday.  For a land-locked city, Denver's aquarium isn't too bad.  It's definitely not on our list of top 5 favorites.  Heck, if the Today show has aired from the aquarium in Atlanta and we've been there, then you can guess which one tops our list.  The Denver Aquarium is small.  We saw it all in an hour-  which is perfect when you're operating on a little one's nap schedule.  Regardless of the quality of the venue, it was wonderful to get out of the house (with everyone healthy!) and enjoy time together as a family.

Nikolas is such a great big brother.  He held Emalie's hand everywhere we went and made sure to point out all of the good stuff along the way.  What a lucky little girl to have such a nice big brother!

The otters were a highlight of the visit-- so fun and playful.  This one kept doing somersault after somersault right in front of us.

Lobster, anyone?

Look at the size of this fish!!!!  He's big coming.....

 ....AND going!!

Look at our big girl coloring away while we wait for our food.

 Thankfully though, our big girl is still just a little girl when all's said and done.  Denver's little aquarium really tuckered her out!