30 Years 30 Goals-January Update

In regards to my 30 goals, January went okay...My goals are definitely on my mind and I am continuing to think about how I am going to go about accomplishing them which is what the purpose of this is...to keep my goals in the front of my mine and not get forgotten about.

Check out my original post to see the goals.  

Here is my progress for the month:

Goals 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 18, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 29
I hardly even thought about these goals or they are unapplicable (ie for summertime or something like that).  

Goal 1:  Run 5-5k's

I started consciously training for my first 5k this month.  For someone who hasn't run much since Elsie was born this was big for me.  I made time to get on the treadmill and jog.  I used an app on my phone which helped a lot.  My first 5k is Saturday and I will let you know how it goes.  I don't know if I will be able to run the whole thing since the most I ran straight was 2 miles.  My friends Heidi and Kedra told me if I can run 2 miles on the treadmill 3 miles outside will be nothing...I am not so sure about that.

Goal 2:  Complete the Outlander Series

Well I started Voyager a few nights ago.  A few years ago I read part of this book but don't really remember it.  There are bits and pieces that I recognize as I read it now though. 

Goal 3:  Get on a consistent routine of 3x a week exercise

Check for the month of January...hopefully I will maintain this or increase this in the next month. 

Goal 4:  TAke Elsie to a Children's Museum

Haven't actually done it yet but made plans to do it the last weekend in February :)  I can't wait!

Goal 7:  Lose at Least 15 pounds
I am SLOWLY getting there ha.  Down 5 pounds

Goal 10:  Plan and carry out a date night with John once a month
This was a major dissapointment-John and I did some fun things together this month just not alone...we were going to have a date night on the 30th but of course we had a snowy week which meant John was up early like 2-3:00 AM which means he was exhausted come evening.  I am pretty sure that night he was in bed by 7:30.  So no date night for January.

Goal 16:  Read 4 Non Fiction Books
Still reading Healthy Tipping Point

Goal 17:  Have an Elsie Outing Once a Month
So I may be a little overprotective but after being out of work for a week in early January I decided we were going to avoid a lot of public places where kids go.  This month I am going to make it up to her :).

Goal 19:  Finally get rid of stuff in boxes that I want to donate
I took a load over to the consignment store to see if they would sell my stuff.  They are and in fact a few things have already sold!  Yay!  I am getting rid of stuff and getting money for it.

Goal 20:  Attend Church at Least Once a month or 12 times in the year
No church this month

Goal 22:  Host a game night for friends at our house
Another sad thing for me.  I had a game night planned for the second weekend in January.  I had all the food and beverages purchased and then WHAM!  Our household got hit with the stomach bug so I ended up cancelling with hopes of rescheduling over the next couple months.

Goal 28:  Make 5:30 AM my wake up time and 10:00 my bedtime
This is going actually really well.  Most nights I am in bed by 9:30 and then I do a bit of reading.  IF I am not in bed I am typically taking a nice warm bath instead.  AS far as wake up time there was a week I was up at 5:30 exercising but this has not happened lately. Instead I have been up at 5:30 because that is what time Elsie tells me it is time to get up.

Goal 30:  Twice a month call up a friend just because
Another big fail on this one.  I will definitely make up for it this month!

Elsie Marie - 13 Months

Well if you thought I would end Elsie's monthly posts after she turned one year you were wrong :)  She is still changing so much so fast that I don't want to forget a moment of it all.  Like I say every month, she has changed so much over the past month.  We were busy and had a lot going on with Christmas and all that it seems like that was so long ago!  Good thing I have been keeping notes over the past four weeks. (Disclaimer-yes this is coming out two weeks late but all information was correct as of 1/14/13.  And of course things have changed since then :).

GROWTH
I don't have any official measurements but I am sure amazed at how big our little girl is getting.  She is definitely no longer a baby but our little toddler.

EATING

She Likes to Eat bananas like Mommy

She is quite the eater these days.  We can hardly keep her full!  She is eating everything we are eating which is awesome because we don't have to make her dinner and then make ourselves dinner.  This also means we are eating dinner a lot earlier which then takes away from my play time with Elsie in the evenings since I am preparing dinner.  She is getting really good with the spoon which is fun to watch.  Her favorites are chicken, brocoli, yogurt, cheese, cheerios, sweet potato fries, avocado and crackers. Another big transition this month is that she is 100% on whole milk and completely off bottles.

Here is her typical eating scheudule.  
6:45 AM:  Breakfast-6 oz milk in sippy cup.  banana, egg, and toast (this is almost what she eats everyday)
10:00 AM:  AM snack-fruit and cheerios-water in sippy cup
12:00 PM-Lunch-varies but normally includes a fruit, veggie, and meat or leftovers-6 oz milk in sippy cup
4:00 PM-Afternoon snack- water or milk in sippy cup, veggie, cheese, and crackers of a sort
5:30 PM-Dinner-6-8 oz in sippy cup, and whatever we are having.  I always make sure to have a veggie for sure though for her.  We have to give the veggies first as an "appetizer" otherwise she will choose the meat over the veggie any day.  Dinner is the last time she gets milk since it is so close to her bedtime.


SLEEP

Like every month, this has changed from the beginning of the month to the end.  In the beginning she was still getting up for a bottle in the middle of the night.  We were going to wait until after Christmas to lay the law down but we didn't have to.  Magically, when we got home from all of our Christmas travels she stopped waking for a bottle in the middle of the night.  However, she has been waking up now at 5:30.  Sometimes she will fall back to sleep in our bed but lately, she has not.  Her bedtime routine has also changed since we stopped giving her a bottle before bed.  When she was sick last week we stopped giving her milk for a few days and now she doesn't even miss it.  We will put a little milk in her sippy cup if she wants some while we are reading stories but rarely does she even drink any. I think this might have to do with the fact that we eat dinner a little bit later and pretty close to her bed time.  So we are officially done with bottles!  I was expecting a really tough transition but it just all happened naturally.  The last three nights she has not woken up once until 5:30-6:00.  I wish she slept in a little later but I will take the 7-8 hours of interrupted sleep over that any day!  SHe is still taking a morning and afternoon nap during the day and she still goes to bed before 7:00 PM.  Thankfully we still haven't had much trouble laying her down at night.  She goes to bed really good without any fuss.  I pray this continues.  Here is her sleep schedule:

5:30-6:00 AM - Wake up for the day
8:30-9:00 AM - Morning Nap-this lasts between 45-60 minutes
1:30-2:00 PM- Afternoon Nap - This lasts between 1-2 hours-typically about and hour and a half
6:30 PM - we start to get ready for bed and I am normally walking out of her room around 6:50ish.  Sleeping straight through until 5:30-6:00 AM.

DEVELOPMENT


I just love this age!  I love to watch her develop new skills just about every day!  After a VERY scary tumble down the stairs Elsie has now master the correct way to go down a flight of stairs-on her belly.  I just love watching her stop at the top lay down on her belly and then scoot back towards the edge of the stairs.  It seemed like it just clicked overnight.  She has begun to tell us what she wants or needs by using her words, sounds and gestures.  Towards the end of our Christmas celebrations Elsie finally figure out how to unwrap her presents (and everyone elses). She has also begun to help us out around the house.  She loves to help her daddy feed Cinder at night and she now comes down with me to the laundry room and helps me put the clothes in the washer/dryer and take them out.  Another exciting thing is she learned how to climb up on the couch/chair in the living room all by herself.

Feeding Cinder

Made her way onto the chair by herself

TEETH

Finally, something to report in this category.  Two of Elsie's top molars came in shortly after Christmas.  I had a feeling they were coming because she was drooling a ton and she was a little bit fussy.  Nothing too bad though.  So this brings her total number of teeth to 10.

SPEECH
Previous Words:  mama, dada, woof-woof, up, hi, uh-oh.  She is really getting good at saying "hi" when she meets new people.  At the eye doctor the other day one of the ladies came out of one of the rooms and Elsie said "hi" to her.  She also says "up" a lot when she wants us to pick her up or if she wants to go upstairs.  It is starting to sounds more and more like "um" though.

New Words:  night night.  She just started saying this when we were at John's grandma's house.  Everyone was telling her "night night" and she started to repeat it.  Now she says it all on her own.  In fact, the other night when she was exhausted and not feeling well she walked over to the stairs, laid her head down on the step and said "night night".  She was ready for bed I guess.

PLAY
Elsie has started to play more and more independently which is nice because I need her to while I prepare dinner in the evenings.  She still loves books, Cinder, her stuffed animals, and to put things in her mouth.  She loves when we build towers out of blocks so she can knock them down, she has really gotten into her stacking cups, and likes to rock on her rocking butterfly.  She also likes to play (carry around) her play food and put them in the doors of her new kitchen.  She also discovered this past month that her little basketball bounces and likes to throw in down on the floor and watches it bounce.

Besides all the fun Christmas festivities that took place this month Elsie also played outside in the snow for the first time, watched the Vikings play in the playoffs, fought a stomach bug for about 5 days, and celebrated New Years by waking up at midnight for a "snack".

Watching the Vikings with her buddies

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things...Baby Gear Edition

Well we made it through the first year of parenthood and went though a lot of different baby gear.  This gear made it a lot easier to deal with the day to day.  One of the things I wanted to avoid as I was adding things to our baby registry before Elsie was born was the things they sell that that you don't really need or are a waste of money and space.  I am sure I was suckered into some of those things but here are the things that I loved and others that were a waste of money for us.

My Faves

Fisher Price Snugabunny swing.  We used this from a week or so old to about 5 months old.  Elsie loved it!  It was soft, plush, played songs, made nature sounds and she loved the mirror on the bottom side of the mobile.  I loved that it kept her entertained and that it plugged into the wall so I didn't have to worry about batteries.







The first years drying rack.  I looked at a lot of drying racks and I am glad I picked this one out.  There was always enough room for all the bottles and pump parts.  We used Dr. Brown's bottles and this rack and holes in the top rack where I could put the skinny part of the air things into to dry.  IT was also enough to hold all my pump parts (3 sets).  IT took up very little room on the counter and I loved having the little drip tray that can be emptied (I know other drying racks don't have this and water just pools in the bottom).  And it spins so putting everything away is a cinch :)

The Halo Sleepsack:  
This is seriously one of our favorite things ever!  We used them a lot until Elsie was about 5 months old and it got warm out and she just slept in her footed pajamas.  Right around 8-9 months Elsie was sleeping terrible at night.  We decided we would try the larger sized sleepsacks for her and bought one at the store one day.  She instantly started sleeping better.  I figure she just wasn't cozy enough.  So I went out and bought 3 more in different warmth levels.  Now at 4 months later she still wears one every night.  In fact, I just bought two more in the next size up in fleece and cotton (1 of each) since the ones we have in the bigger sizes are the super warm velboa ones.  Now she hasn't slept perfect every night since we stasrted using them again but I do think she sleeps pretty good.

Ergo Baby Performance Carrier
This is one item I wish I would have gotten sooner.  When Elsie was born I tried to use a Moby Wrap.  We didn't love it so I stopped using a carrier.  Well oh about 4-5 months old I went out and bought this carrier and LOVED it.  It was really comfortable, breathable, and Elsie enjoyed it.  I used this when I went shopping mostly but also used it on our trip to Idaho when we were walking around sightseeing.  I think had I had this earlier on I would have used it more around the house and when we were out and about instead of carrying around the big heavy carseat.  Also, I think I will use this a lot more for baby #2 because it will be nice to have the extra hands for helping Elsie

NoseFrida:  The Snotsucker

This was a later in the first year purchase-oh somewhere around 9 months old we started using this on Elsie thanks to the recommendation of our pediatrician.  I was getting so frustrated with those bulb syringes that you can buy at Target and I felt like they did nothing to suck the snot out of Elsie's nose.  Which then left her congested and crabby at night time.  Our doctor told us this worked really good but they can be hard to find since they aren't just sold anywhere.  Well I found them at the cloth diaper store and I bought one and haven't looked back since.  Elsie doesn't mind it too much.  For some reason, John does a better job because she protests the least when he does it, in fact she giggled the other night when he did it.  Thanks to its design you can't accidently jam it too far up the nostril and it seals the opening so you get some good suction.  It is a bit amazing how much snot you can suck out of Elsie's nose when she isn't feeling well.

Cloth Diapers:  

RagaBabes

This deserves its own post which it will get eventually but I have absolutely no regrets of doing cloth diapers. We love them for so many different reasons.  I hope it goes as smoothly for the second baby as it did the first.  My favorite diapers are RagaBabe Diapers, and the Flip Diaper System-one is economical, the other is not :).  WE have had very little problems with them over the last year.  I am not sure if we have saved very much money because I love adding a new diaper to the stash about once a month and like I said above...the RagaBabes are not super economical but they are the best diaper in my opinion for so many reasons and they are made right here in Iowa (she sells them worldwide).  We are supporting a very small mom ran business which I like.  The Flip diapers are pretty inexpensive and if I was using these exclusively I would save a ton of money on diapers.

Tommee Tippee Explora System
This is relatively new for us (purchased in the past few weeks) and we only have the plates, mat, and bowls and a couple of sippy cups (but I don't love those yet).  I had a few other plates (Munchkin Brand) that said the suctioned down and couldn't be moved.  Well they can be and it was so frustrating because we couldn't use a bowl otherwise Elsie would throw it all over the place.  I found this system and so far we love it!  The plates and bowls suction to the mat and the mat is super sticky to her tray or other surface.  It works like it was designed to.



CJ's BUTTer Tube, Sticks, and Tubs
We LOVE CJ's in our house.  It is a all natural lotion that works wonders on diaper rash, dry skin, and chapped dry cheeks.  We first got it for diaper rash because with cloth diapers you can't use traditional diaper rash ointment and now we use it for just about everything!  We use the small stick and use it like chapstick on her chapped cheeks. I stocked up big time during a Thanksgiving sale and now I think I have enough to last the rest of the year :)


Munchkin Bottle and Nipple Brush

So this is pretty straight forward since there aren't a ton of bottle brushes out there but I like this style with the sponge tip and then bristles compared to the all bristle bottle brush.  I felt like the sponge covered more surface area and got into all the little parts of our Dr. Brown's bottles.








Summer Infant Slim and Secure Video Monitor
I don't know how this compares to other video monitors all I know is that I dont' know what I would do without it.  I love being able to watch Elsie to see when she has fallen asleep vs.  just laying there or to see if she is standing in her crib which means she will most likely not fall back to sleep on her own.  I love that I can "look in" on her at anytime without disturbing her.

White Onesies
For us it didn't matter what brand we used we LOVE white onesies.  We use them under everything!  There is always one under her pajamas at night and then one under her clothes during the day.  Especially when she doesn't have a onesie on with her outfit.  I feel like then her bare skin wouldn't get exposed under a t-shirt.  I am already sad thinking that in just two more sizes onesies won't be offered anymore :(.

Bibs with Sleeves
When Elsie started feeding herself we quickly learned that bibs without sleeves weren't going to cut it.  Her arms and shirt sleeves get so dirty when she doesn't have a bib on with sleeves.  We got three bibs with sleeves from a friend after Elsie was born and then I ordered two from this site Jeni Lynn Designs which are wipe clean ones made out of the same material and the outers of our cloth diapers: PUL. They snap in the back and work wonders.  Bibs with sleeves are the best!  However, if you have a drooler or a teether (like Elsie was) I would reccomend Carters teething bibs.  They are cotton on the outside which makes it soft but has a waterproof layer on the inside so the drool doesn't go through to their clothes.

Fisher Price Stacking Cups
Elsie absolutely loves these.  They not only stack and nest into eachother but they also snap together to make a ball and they all go into one ball so they store nicely.  Elsie loves it when we hide things inside the ball and she loves to stack them together.  As far as toys go this is one I wouldn't want to do without.



Things We Could Have Done Without: 
1.  A changing pad:  We mainly changed Elsie on our bed since she slept in our room until a little over 6 months.  Once we moved into her room she was WAY too wiggly to use the table so we just change her on the floor.

2.  Swaddle Wraps:  Elsie was never big on swaddling so we never used these.

3.  Wipes Warmer:  I used this right away when I switch to cloth wipes but I didn't like having it plugged in all the time and I thought it might make the cloth wipes moldy-warm + moisture = mildew/mold growth.

4. Our jogging stroller.  So far we have gotten very little use out of ours.  Maybe this summer we will use it more.  We took a lot of walks but just used our Chico stroller that worked with the infant carrier.  I tried "jogging" with it a couple times last summer but it just wasn't the same as jogging without so I decided if I am going to go for a run I will do it without Elsie.

5.   High Chair/Shopping Cart Cover. I bought this when we were road tripping out to Idaho because we had just started putting Elsie is restaurant high chairs vs her infant carrier and was disgusted with the idea of the other kids who sat in it and ate and if it was cleaned well enough.  Lets just say I got over that very quickly and learned it is more of a hassle to carry it around with you and remember to take it in.  I did like using it in the shopping carts because I think it made it more comfortable and softer ride for her.  But in the end we could have saved the money and skipped this purchase.

Snow, Snow, Snow

December 20th we had a major snow storm.  Our first one all season. We didn't even have one close to this last year either.  I didn't have to venture out thank goodness, since it was my day off so it was nice to stay snuggled up inside where it was nice and warm.  John does some snow removal on the side so he was very busy with that.  The road to our shop was closed until around 8:30 AM on Friday so he couldn't even go into work at all.  I think we got around 14 inches total over the course of the storm.  Parts of Interstate I-35 were also closed until Friday morning.  It was a doozy.  So Elsie and I were pretty much snowed in that day and it was perfect!  

Elsie showing me "one" with her finger.

I pretty much let her stay in her nice warm fleece PJ's most of the day

Although most of the door window was frosted up Elsie found just enough of a clearing to watch Daddy scoop the walk.  

Waiting for Daddy to come inside where it was warm

Everyone except me got a nice afternoon nap

Because it was super cold, especially with the wind we did not venture outside to play in the snow.  And then we left for all of our Christmas celebrations so it wasn't until the day after we got home that I took Elsie to play outside.  Since she was so little last winter we never took her out in the sled so this was her first time. We went over to visit Amber, Cayden, and Aubrey and Lisa, Parker, and Greta were there too.  So we had a little snow playdate.  It did not end very well for us since Elsie took a tumble (a big tumble) down a full set of stairs when we got inside from playing.  It was VERY scary for me but we were so lucky in that she only got a skinned up nose.  I plan to post on this soon.  Here are some pictures from her first time "playing" in the snow.  

I think the sun refelcting off the snow was a little bright for her.  She was in a snow daze most of the time outside

Elsie and Aubrey...couldn't get the a pic with the rest of the kiddos.

Well now the snow is mostly melted since we have had a few 50 degree days since then.  Although I hate driving in the snow I enjoy playing in it, especially now that I have someone to play with so I hope that we get a couple more snow days before winter is over.  

Wonderful Weekend

I had such a wonderful weekend this past weekend. Some things didn't go quite as we planned but it was still great!

Friday night I picked up the house, got some things in order, and I think I just relaxed (it was a long time ago, I can't exactly remember haha).  I don't know what it is but I love when my kitchen table and all counters are cleared off, clean, and clutter free.  I struggle with clutter, meaning I hate having it around and have a hard time relaxing if there is stuff on the counters (I just make sure I shut off the lights and leave the rooms so I don't see it :).

Saturday, I headed up to Minnesota for a dear friend Erin's baby shower.  I still hang out (not as much as I would like) with a group of my high school friends.  We are all still pretty close and am so blessed to have them in my life!  We get together at least two times a year Girls Weekend (Fall) and Couples Weekend (Summer).   Well Erin is the last of the six of us to have a baby.  It was wonderful to be able to celebrate the upcoming arrival of Baby Wiegratz. The shower was wonderful and the mother to be was glowing!   I drove up with Amber and we left the hubbies and kiddos behind at home.  I really enjoyed having the 3 hours each way to chat and catch up even though we see each other and talk on the phone often.  The time just flew by!  After the shower we stayed and hung around for a few hours and it was great to talk to our other friends that were there too.  I really enjoyed the day!

The day got even better right before it ended.  I got home around 10:30PM and it was amazing...I have to brag about my hubby here for a minute.  The house was all picked up, all the dishes done, counters cleared, toys put away, and the best part...All the laundry had been washed, dried, and put away!  So I am trying to do laundry just one time a week (except diapers) so I don't feel like I am doing it all the time.  So I was going to do a weeks worth of laundry on Sunday.  As I was climbing into bed I noticed all of the empty laundry baskets sitting by our closet and thought...those must be left from when I put away laundry earlier in the week.  But to my surprise John had done it all.  The most shocking part was that he put the clothes away!  He washes and dries the laundry but very seldom folds it and puts it away.  It was such a nice surprise.

Sunday, we woke up and bummed around a little bit, John went and did cattle chores and Elsie and I played.  After Elsies AM nap we went to town, ran some errands, and had a nice lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings.  yum they were delicious.  Around this time it started to snow which we weren't expecting so from about 2:00 PM-8:00 PM John was out plowing snow.  This was the bummer of the weekend because it would have been nice to spend the afternoon together too.  Oh well.  When he got home I got a good workout in and hit the hay early.  All in All a great weekend!

I hope everyone is staying warm during this brutally cold week.  Me?  I am dreaming of a tropical vacation.

Odds and Ends

I feel like I have been trying to catch up with all my Christmas/December posts that I am lacking on our January day to day stuff that I want to remember and be able to look back on so here is what has been happening with us lately

1.  Elsie had her appointment with the eye doctor to check her eyes due to the difference in pupil size yesterday.  All went well.  He didn't see any problems and said that 15-20% of people have different size pupils.  That it is much like how some people have two different sized hands or feet.  It just happens and that it is unlikely that she will ever grow out of it.  I am happy with that :)  I am sure if I would have googled the condition it would have brought in some scary diseases.  Glad I refrained from doing that this time around.

2.  Elsie is such a good eater.  She is all into feeding herself, even with the spoon.  This was from yesterday at breakfast.  She was having a great time playing with her oatmeal.

 3.  Elsie is really into doing what we are doing and likes to help out.  She has been helping put clothes in the washer and take them out of the dryer, she likes to help pick this up and put them where they belong but what she really likes to do is feed Cinder at night.  She will go with Daddy to fill up the bowl and then carry the bowl all the way through the dining room, kitchen, and into the living room where Cinder is laying and set the bowl down right in front of her.  She is so proud of herself when she does it too.

4.  So at home we typically give Elsie her food and drinks when she is in her high chair.  I want her to associate eating with sitting down and now running all over the place.  Well, when she was sick I had water in a sippy cup and let her drink it when she wasn't in her chair so that she could have it anytime and stay hydrated.  Well, when she would go to get a drink she would go and sit on one of the rugs-either the one in front of the front door or the one in front of the sink.  And then it clicked that is what she does at JoJo's.  She has to sit with her friends on the rug while they are waiting to get milk/water and then can have their drink sitting down on the rug (I think she does this to keep them all contained in one area and keep order.  I was just amazed that she continued this at our house even though I never told her to.  This pic was from yesterday.  Now I have to remind her to sit on the rug :).  Yesterday she thought it was a game though.  Every time I would turn my back away from her she would stand up and try to sneak off the rug and when I would turn back around she would quick go back and sit down.  She is too smart for her own good haha

5.  Oh I forgot to mention that her and I were sick last week with some sort of stomach bug.  She was sick Tues-Friday and I was sick on Thursday.  Thankfully John stayed healthy and did a great job of taking care of us both.  We stayed in most of the weekend to avoid spreading our icky sick germs to anyone else which meant I have to cancel game night that I was hosting at our house and a afternoon of freezer meal cooking with some friends.  Lets just say by Monday I think we were all ready to get out of the house :)

6.  I love morning workouts.  I never used to but by the end of the day I am exhausted and really do not feel like going on the treadmill.  I put it off and make tons of excuses.  Morning workouts I don't have time to make an excuse I just get up and go.  This morning I didn't get out of bed until 6:00 and still made it out the door by 7:15 for work.  Now I don't have to think about when I am going to exercise the rest of the day!

7.  I am semi-enjoying my first smoothie made at home.  I have never been a big smoothie maker.  I felt like our blender was crap and didn't want to take the time in the morning to throw all the ingredients together.  Well I made one this morning after my workout.  I found the recipe on pinterest and I think I would really like it except it has oatmeal in it and I am struggling to get past the taste of that.  I have a new recipe I am going to try tomorrow with spinach from my friend Amy.

8.  I am really looking forward to Saturday.  I am driving up to MN for the day to celebrate the upcoming arrival of my friend Erin's little baby!  She is due at the end of February and I can't wait to see her and her baby bump!  I haven't seen her since November and I am sure she has changed!  I am so excited for her and her hubby and to meet this little baby!  I am also excited to see the other girls and catch up a little bit!  It seems like it has been forever!

Well that just about all that is going on in our lives these days...I am getting a bit of cabin fever and am ready for spring-which stinks because that is a ways away still.  I have already begun to think about where I want to take the camper this year.  Luckily we have some fun things coming up over the next few months to keep us busy :)

Christmas Day Celebrations

Christmas Day (if we are in Minnesota) is traditionally spent with my mom's side of the family.  This year (like most years) we went to my Aunt Lynn and Uncle Rob's house.  We are so thankful they are willing to host since this group (much like my dad's family is rather large.  It was a great time chatting with everyone and catching up since some of these family members I hadn't seen in quite some time since we did not travel over Christmas last year.  Our feast was Mexican themed and had some yummy food!  Like just about every place we traveled to over Christmas, this was also not a baby safe place and because Elsie is as a busy, busy little girl we were not able to sit and relax and visit as much as I would have liked but we did still enjoy our time.  Here are some random photos from the afternoon.

My Grandma June (Dad's Mom).  For as long as I can remember, she had joined us with my mom's family to celebrate on Christmas Day.  

Something must have been interesting on the phone

Grandpa and Piper

The past few years my Aunt Lynn puts together a craft for the kids to do after dinner.  Such a neat idea and the kids love it!

This is my cousin's little girl Charlee...She is so adorable!!!

Charlee's big brother Brody

My cousin Anne's little girl Ava

Daddy and Elsie playing with her stack cups (she loves these toys)

Tyler, Rob, and Brent

Like Father, Like Son in their argyle sweaters

Grandpa with his girls.

Baby Piper

Argyle must be the style of the season :)

I also tried to get pictures of the families that were there but I started a little bit late and missed a few that left earlier in the afternoon.  Maybe next time I will get everyone!

My cousin Joe, his wife Elisa and thier little boy Tony.  They also have a little one on the way! 

Our family with Grandma Opal

Chris, Charlee, Brent, and Brody

The Whole Fam with Grandma Opal

My mom with her mom, sister Janice, brother Rob, and sister Cathy.  Missing was her brother Jim who lives in Florida. 

My Aunt Janice and my Grandma Opal

Stub and Cathy with Grandma

My Aunt Cathy with her son and his family, Stub, and Grandma

Aunt Lynn and Uncle Rob with their family

The whole family with Grandma June

Tony and Grandma June

My cousin Anne, her husband Chris and their youngest:  Hayden and Ava

These two are the youngest of my cousins:  Emily and Tyler