Center Grove Orchard

This past weekend Elsie and I went to Center Grove Orchard twice-once Friday afternoon after work with Amber and the kiddos and once on Sunday with Bev, Brandi and the girls.  This year we decided to buy a season pass.  Elsie still gets in free so to make the pass worth it we had to go twice-which we took care of this weekend so all our other trips will be like free :).  Both times this weekend there was hardly anyone there!  It was perfect!  The weather wasn't so perfect on Sunday but we still had a great time.

Both Olivia and Emma just love Elsie but Olivia does such a great job showing Elsie around, taking her hand, and helping her out.  It was so sweet.  This will be very evident as you look at all these pics.  

The first stop was the little tractors-we actually hit this area up twice-once at the beginning and once right before we left.  

Elsie is still just a little too small for this as she can't really pedal but boy did she try.  

The we moved on to the animals-which she just loves!!!  It is so cute too, every time we walk away she waves and says bye-bye to the animals.

After the animals, we headed to the corn pool.  This year I didn't have to worry too much about Elsie trying to put the corn in her mouth.  She loved jumping off the side into the corn...well actually into my arms.  

There was constant reminders not to throw the corn...

Duck Races

Jumping Pillow...I just can't seem to get Elsie to go on this.  We start but not soon after she is saying all done.  One of these days...

The big girls had fun though.  

Well if Elsie couldn't do the little tractors, she definitely was big enough to do these but it didn't stop her from trying.  So I pushed her around the whole track and she would get so mad if I steered-which meant we were constantly running into the side.  

We also tried to send Elsie on the little train.  It started off okay. . .

But it wasn't long before she wanted off.  Not sure if you can tell from this blurry picture but she was not happy at all.  I had to run and get her off.  

She was much happier sitting on the sidelines with her drink, watching her cousins. 

After the train ride we got on the hay ride out to the apple orchard.  

Elsie is obsessed with apples so I knew she would enjoy this.  And the apples were just the perfect size for her!  We picked mostly Galas for eating and Macintosh to do some baking. 

Olivia did a great job of sharing her apple with her little cousin.

After picking some apples we headed back to the little tractors one more time.  Elsie let me push her around a little bit but I think had more fun chasing after the older girls.  

Trying so hard...

Just a couple comparison pictures . . .

Last Year-2012

This year:  2013

Last Year

This Year

A New Puppy

Saying goodbye to Cinder was one of the most difficult things we have had to do as a family.  She was with us all the time, at home, at the shop, camping, trips up to MN, she was truly a part of our family.  After she was gone, things got quiet, too quiet and we decided we did want a new puppy.  At first we I was so close to buying a puppy from a friend of ours but this puppy was ready to go to a home right away and although I told John if he said yes we would get it I knew that we didn't have time for a puppy for a few months.  We had quite a few summer plans still in the works and I knew we would be so busy chasing all sorts of places, some which did not allow us to bring a dog with.

So we waited and I did A LOT of research and we decided we were going to go with a Golden Retriever this time around.  Overall, they seem like the best family dog and although Labs were a very close second, the temperaments of Golden Retrievers aren't quite as high energy as Labs.  After deciding on a breed, it was time to decide on a breeder.  This was very difficult.  There are so many things to consider when choosing a breeder and bottom line I wanted a healthy pup, one with hip, elbow, eye and heart clearances.  I also came across this awesome site called K9 Data where you can enter in the dogs being bred  and it will tell you your puppies coefficient of inbreeding (COI).  I used this tool quite a bit.  You can also view your puppy's pedigree up to five generations which then you can view all the dogs in their pedigree if they have all their clearances as well.  It was really helpful.

In the end I was trying to decided between a breeder in WI and a breeder in NE.  I was about to commit to the breeder in WI when I found out that they required you to feed a certain kind of dog food for the lifetime of your dog-it was actually written in the contract. WHAT?  So it sounds like good dog food and who knows, we might still feed it to our dog but to have to be committed like that...It all seemed kind of shady because I know the breeder received some kind of kickback because you had to purchase it through her website.  So we went with the NE breeder and I couldn't be more at peace with our decision.  She is the puppy referral person for central US through the Golden Retriever Club of America.  She has been breeding for many, many years and some of the puppies from her current litter are going to 2nd generation families.

Puppy's Mama

Puppy's Daddy

So we sent in our deposit and just waited to hear when the puppies were born.  We knew it was going to be the first week in September so we would be able to bring the puppy home the end of October which is when things start to slow down a little bit for us.  So the timing was perfect.  Meanwhile, I looked up my puppy again and found out that its grandfather is actually the Golden Retriever who holds the record for the most Best In Shows in Golden Retriever History.  haha.  We don't really care about showing and what not we just want a healthy, happy, family dog.

Well, last week we got the big news!  Our puppy was born!!  They actually had to do an emergency c-section a few days early because the mama was carrying 14 puppies!!!  Unfortunately, only 11 survived.  So our puppy was born on August 27th and shares a birthday with my dad and niece Piper.  I showed Elsie the picture of the puppies and she ended up carrying my phone around all evening and would keep looking at the puppies.

We are so excited and can't wait until the end of October to bring our little girl/guy home.  Although, we said we would prefer a female at this point I am indifferent to a gender.  Oh and no names picked out yet, in fact we haven't even talked about it.

Elsie Marie - 19 and 20 Months

As you can see from the title I missed Elsie's 19 month post.  I thought about taking her pictures quite a few times but never got around to doing it.  And finally, I cut myself some slack and decided to combine the two months because things got pretty blurry.  I had a lot of fun taking these pictures because we decided to go to the park.  Our yard is ugly right now due to lack of rain and I thought a change of scenery would be great.  Plus, John was able to come with us to the park this day so that was fun too!

GROWTH:  Oh boy!  I can't believe how much Elsie is growing.  She are completely out of 12-18 months, and 18-24 month clothes are getting too short for her.  I dug out all of the 2T clothes and washed them and got them into her closet.  We are ready :).  She is somewhere between 24-25 pounds on the at-home scale.  I haven't taken her height measurement lately.  I should do that to get an idea.

EATING: I am sure like most toddlers, Elsie goes through ups and downs with eating.  Some days she will eat just about everything we put on her plate and other days/meals she won't touch a thing.  We don't make special food for her but we do keep in mind things we know she doesn't like or has ever liked such as beans and potatoes.  If we give her the fruit first she will eat that otherwise most days she won't touch the fruit once the meat and veggies hit her plate.  Her favorite foods these days are peppers (she loved to pick them off the plant and eat them like an apple), grape/cherry tomatoes, cheese, cheerios, crackers, and nutrigrain bars.  She is ALWAYS asking for a bar.  Most time we distract her with something else but she just loves these things.  She really likes to eat her food like a "big kid".  Like a whole apple, a whole banana, a bigger piece of toast, instead of being cut up into little bite sized pieces.  Most of the time we oblige to her requests but keep a very close eye on her when she is eating.  

SLEEP: The past two months sleep has been pretty good (if you are close to me you will remember that Elsie had a week long stretch of terrible sleeping-this will come in the next post).  Because it is summer time and we end up playing outside later she has been going down around 7:30 PM most nights.  Some nights earlier and a few nights later but 7:30 seems to be pretty standard.  She has been waking up between 6:00-6:30 sometimes John has to wake her up in the morning so she can get ready to go to JoJo's.   She still is going down great for naps.  A big sleep change is that at JoJo's she has moved to sleeping on a cot!  Wow, she is growing up so fast.  Another little note is that we are still using sleepsacks for bedtime.  She still has made no attempt to climb out of her crib and I say it is because she can't because of the sleepsack.  I did purchase two new ones that are made for toddlers so she can stick her legs through but it seems she doesn't like the leg holes and keeps her little feet inside the whole time.  I also know by using them she is staying nice and cozy because she still moves around so much she can never keep a blanket on. 

TEETH:  That darn incisor still is trying to work its way out. 

DEVELOPMENT:
On my I feel like she is developing leaps and bounds lately.  She is really getting into singing lately.  It is so much fun to listen to her.  She sings along with me to some of her favorite songs such as "Wheels on the Bus" (she loves to do the actions), the ABC's, and "Who Built the Ark".  One day we were in the car and I started singing "Who Built the Ark" and she responded with "Noah, Noah".  I just had to laugh.  She picks up on things so quickly these days.  And I just love to here her little voice.  She is also beginning to use two sentence phrases such as "Here you go", "Mama Sit Down", and we have spent so much time working on "Thank You".  It is so rewarding to work on something with her and for her finally just to get it.  At first she would just sign it and now she says it almost all the time that it is appropriate although we do have to remind her once in awhile.  Another big thing that is new is that she is getting so good at going up and down stairs standing up using the handrail vs crawling up.  Another thing that she does all the time is whenever we are out and about and she sees a baby she says "shhh, baby" puts her finger up to her lips and then points to the baby.  She can name just about every body part (well maybe not things like shoulder, or knee or something like that but all the major ones :).

Something else that she has started the past couple months is getting shy when we go some place new or are around new people.  Up until this point she wasn't shy at all but now she will cling to us not wanting us to let her go.  Eventually she will warm up to others but it takes a little bit of time.

POTTY TRAINING: 
Although we are not officially "potty training" Elsie is using her little potty in the bathroom.  It all started about a month ago John and Elsie were eating breakfast and she told John she had to go potty.  So he swooped her up out of her chair and brought her upstairs to the potty.  And sure enough, she just didn't pee but actaully had a poopy!  We made a huge deal out of it.  Now just about everytime we change her diaper she wants to go sit on the potty.  Sometimes she goes, some times she doesn't but she tries and she gets so excited when it happens.  So for now we are just celebrating those moments with her because she is so proud.  We aren't forcing anything and there is absolutely no pressure-after all I still love our cloth diapers and I'm not ready to give those up ;).  

PLAY: 
Elsie is so much fun right now!  I know I have said it before but I just LOVE this stage.  Although she will throw a fit every now and again, generally speaking she is a pretty happy girl.  She has now discovered how to play hide and seek by shutting herself in the room and she thinks that is so funny.  The dark bathroom does not scare her at all.  She also now hides behind our new full length curtains in the dining room.  We have spend a lot of time at the park these past two months and she is getting so brave and wanting to venture from the little playground to the big one.  She also wants to swing in the regular swing vs infant one.  Her new favorite show is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  I think that she was watching in at my parents with Allie so then she started to like it.  What Allie likes, Elsie likes :).  She still loves her books and she is so particular about what books she wants to hear before bedtime.  She also likes to look at pictures and point out who everyone is.  Even my brother's dogs :).  She also loves to swim.  I ended up buying one of those "puddle jumper" life jacket things and she loves swimming using that vs. her life jacket.  We did swim lessons in June and although the water was cold she was fearless :)

The last thing I want to touch on and remember is how amazing Elsie does riding in the car.  This has become even more evident when I am by myself driving up to MN.  I normally time our long drives to correspond with nap time but there has been an occasion or two we have had to leave in the morning hours.  We still have her rear facing because the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends keeping them rear facing until at least two years old.  I think we will try to keep her rear facing as long as she fits in her seat rear facing and as long as she stays happy.  She normally sleeps about half the time and then she will looks at books for a good chunk of the other time.  I keep a bag of toys and extra pacis next to me on the passenger seat so I can just grab something and pass back to her.  I do have a tablet with some Barney flicks on it but we have yet to use it because she does pretty good keeping herself occupied with out.  I hope this behavior keeps up because we make quite a few trip to MN solo.  

I am so looking forward to what the next month has in store for us!  I just love my little Elsie Belsie :)

30 Years, 30 Goals-August Update

I accomplished a little this month but I also decided to add an "abandoned" category because I know there are some things I just won't accomplish-these things will probably go onto next years goals :).

GOALS COMPLETED (BLACK):  12/30
PROGRESS (BLUE):  9/30
DIDN'T EVEN THINK ABOUT (RED):  7/30
ABANDONED:  2/30

1. Run 5-5ks (2/5)

1.  Rosy Cheeks Run-February

2.  SCAVMA Scamper-April
3.  Dam to Dam 5k-June
I also registered for a race on September-the Flapjack 10k and have two more races on the books-one for Oct and one for November

2.  Complete Outlander Series by Diana Galbadon.

3.  Get into a consistent routine of exercising at least three times a week.

4.  Take Elsie to a Children's Museum

We went to the Omaha Children's Museum in Febraury

5.  Spend a weekend in the Amana Colonies with John
I actually contacted a bed and breakfast and started to think about the weekend and look at the calendar...however who knows what October/November will look like in our household so I didn't actually make the reservation yet.  

6.  Visit three new wineries in Iowa
1.  Madison County Winery-June

7.  Lose at least 15 pounds

11/15

8.  Send out 10 "Just Because Notes to Family and Friends

9.  Attend a MN Twins game this season
Looks like this just isn't going to happen this year :(

10.  Plan and Carry Out a date night with John once a month

Dec: Dance Club

Jan: Too much snow made us cancel our Jan 30th date night

Feb: Gary Allan Concert in MN-although we were not alone-Marc and Amber joined us

March: San Juan

April:  The Cafe

May:  Well I wasn't the one in charge of this months date night and not to point fingers but we didn't get out :)

June:  Madison County Winery, The Big Steer, and Prairie Meadows
July:  We ended up going out to dinner again at The Cafe and then came home, snuggled with Cinder, and played a new card game "Yhatzee Hands Down".  
August:  Iowa State Fair and Dierks Bentley Concert

11. Enroll in a fitness class:  
I registered and started my yoga class.  I enjoyed my first day so much and can't wait for it this week.  

12.  Become familiar with photoshop so that I want to use it to edit my photos.
I haven't even opened it up yet but I did buy a book about using photoshop...that's a little progress right? 

13.  Set a budget and stick to it
I still set a budget this month but right now it is Operation Spend no Money! now that we have our house on the market, moving incurs extra expenses so for now we aren't really splurging on much.  However, I did spend money the first half of the month buying frivolous items such as new curtain panels for the dining room and family room and new throw pillows for the family room.  

14.  Update window treatments in dining room, living room, and kitchen
I purchased new curtain panels for our dining room and living room.  I really love the dining room ones.  I went with full length panels and they add so much to the room.  (you can check them out in our MLS listing).  I probably won't do the kitchen window treatment because why waste the time in case we won't be living here in a few months.  

15.  Be up to date on photo books
I have started this years books for both Elsie and the family book, have started my pregnancy book with Elsie, and am just about done with our vacation to Michigan in 2011.  Oh and I started our Family 2012 book too.  I just need to get some of these finished. But we are making progress.  

16.  Read 4 non-fiction books

1.  168 Hours:  You have more time than you think

2.  Healthy Tipping Point

3.  How to Talk so your kids will listen and Listen so Your Kids Will Talk 

4.  The Happiness Project

17.  Have an Elsie outing once a month
Well this comes so easy for us...this month we went to the zoo, the science center, the library, the park.  I feel like this is a silly goal since we do so many things with her :).  

18.  Take the camper out 5 times this summer
1.  St. Croix State Park-July
2.  Lake Rathbun-July
Unfortunately the summer didn't go quite as planned and ended up being so busy that we did not get out.  I am hoping to get out one more time before we close it up for the winter but I know I won't reach the goal of five times. 

19.  Finally get rid of all the stuff in boxes that I want to donate.

20.  Attend Church at least one a month (or 12 times throughout the year).

21.  Plan and carry out a stay cation.
Staycation 2013-Day One

Staycation 2013: Day 2

22.  Host a game night at our house.

23.  Work related-Visit a farm site to get a better understanding of the  equipment we sell.

24.  Make the switch to natural cleaning/non-toxic products.
I actually started doing this last month but forgot.  I made up a solution for basic cleaning in the kitchen.  It has borax, vinegar, baking soda, and a tidge of dawn dish soap.  I think it works pretty good.  Also for the floors we swtiched from a swiffer wet-mop (I didn't feel it worked that great anyways) to a steam mop which just uses water.  So happy with the change.  We are slowly phasing out harsh chemicals little by little.  Maybe down the road I will write a whole post on this.  

25.  find a cause I want to support and start a volunteer relationship.

26.  Find and purchase a little black dress that I Love!

27.  Do Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred.

28.  Make 5:30 my standard wake up time and 10:00 my standard bedtime.

29.  Update birthday information for all family and friends.

30.  Twice a month call a family member or friend to chat.

A Visit From Tony

In June, my brother Tony came for a visit.  What was originally supposed to be a 2.5 week visit ended up being a short week long visit.  Due to some miscommunication between the  moving crew and the Air Force my brother wasn't able to leave as soon as he had planned.   He was moving from Idaho to England so that him and Magda could finally be together again-it had been a whole nine months since they last saw each other! But he did finally make it home and we did get to spend some time with him-not as much as we wanted but a few days anyway.

We actually left to go to my parents on a Sunday morning because we had rented a cabin with some friends over the weekend.  So we made up to my parents around noon.  My brother was there and so was my sister's family.  Elsie LOVED throwing the ball for Ole (one of my brother's dogs).  She wasn't used to a dog that would chase a ball!

Grandpa and his Girls!

Back in May 2012, we bought these breast cancer shirts that say "Grandma is my Hero".  Well we dug them out again and I found a different shirt for Elsie that says "Peace, Love, Grandma" featuring the pink ribbon so we decided to get a shot with all three girls this time.  We did our best with the three girls.  Allie did really well but between Elsie and Piper it was hard to get them both happy at the same time :)  I do have to say Elsie was the biggest challenge.  

This was the best one of the three girls-well lets be honest...it was one of the only ones where all three girls were together :)

After that it was time to get some more group pictures since we only get this opportunity once a year.  

I just love these girls!

We also had both my Grandmas there so we were able to get some pictures with them too!

The whole clan

I just had to show one of Elsie throwing one of her many fits that day

My sister got four generation pics with both the Grandmas.  I did not get any because Elsie just wasn't cooperating.  Hopefully another time...

Tony with Lena and Ole

That night we just relaxed played some cards and had some drinks.  It was a pretty enjoyable night.  Here are some pics from the following day...

Watch out Allie...Here comes Elsie

Such Serious Girls

And finally, Uncle Tony with his nieces.  It was sad to say goodbye but I know he will be SO much happier with Magda.  I can't believe the next time we will probably see him is when we go to visit next summer for his and Magda's wedding-which I can not wait for!!!