Elsie Marie-18 Months

Wow!  I have been a slacker blogger lately.  Things have been busy, real busy but filled with lots of fun!  I actually took these pics shortly after June 14th.  It was actually on June 19th.  However, it has taken me the whole month to get this put together and posted.  It is actually almost time for her 19 month update so I think I will keep this short and sweet.  I do know that in the last month things have changed...some good some naughty ;)  But I will do my best to keep this as much about her life May-June as possible.

GROWTH:
As I posted previously on her post about her doctor appointment, Elsie weighed in 22.5 lbs and 33.5" long.  She is growing out of her 12-18 month tops (they are getting a little short).  She is in size 5.5 shoes and of course 18-24 month pants/dresses.  One interesting thing though is that we used disposable diapers for two weeks, including the time I took the pictures.  She is wearing the same bottoms in her 18 month pictures as she is in her 7 Month post.  Although they fit her differently, they still fit :)  During her stint in disposable diapers we had to dig out some shorts from last summer which were 6-9 months because the 12-24 month shorts fell right off.  Those cloth diapers add just enough bulk to keep them up.

EATING: 
She is starting to get a little bit pickier with her food.  She has her good meals and her bad.  Her favorite foods are bananas, avocado, cheese, cheerios with milk, strawberries, and most vegetables.  She does not like beans still and most kinds of potatoes (just fries of course).  She loves to eat with a fork and spoon and we completely got rid of the high chair in our kitchen and she only uses the booster at the table.  We all like this way more!

SLEEP: 
Well when Elsie was healthy, sleep was fantastic.  She did a great job of not waking at night at all and was even sleeping in later than the 5:00 hour.  This makes us very happy but with her ear infection, virus and cold her sleep got a little sketchy there for a while and we were up A LOT with her.  Things eventually worked itself back out and she got back onto a good sleep schedule.

TEETH: 
Fifteen teeth in all right now.  Her other bottom incisor is still working on coming through.

DEVELOPMENT:
She is in such a fun stage!  I think the biggest development this past month has been her speech/language developement.  She tries so hard to repeat just about everything we say.  It is so nice too because she can now tell us what she wants instead of whining for it.  One day during dinner we were talking and out of no where she says "Cows say mooo"  haha.  She is getting pretty good at saying names too-at least the names of her cousin, aunts, and uncles.

PLAY:
I can't keep this girl inside!  She loves it outside which is great! She enjoys playing with bubbles, riding in the burley (we hardly ever go for walks no...always bike rides), drawing with sidewalk chalk, "mowing" with her new bubble mower, and pushing her cozy coupe around.  She is still obsessed with Barney which we let her watch in the mornings while we either get ready for work or keep her occupied in our bed when she wakes up before six.  Inside she enjoys playing with her new Little People camper set she got from Emma and Olivia, playing with her dolls and little doll pack and play, and of course looking at books.  She can still do this all day long!

Strawberry Pickin'

A few weeks ago in June John and I decided it would be fun to go pick strawberries with Elsie.  We didn't have too much going on and it wasn't the nicest of mornings but it would be perfect to go.  We knew the window for strawberries was closing and this was probably our last chance.  Elsie absolutely loved strawberries at the time and fresh picked strawberries are amazing!  So off to the farm we went!

When we got there, the guy greeting us did warn up that strawberry season was wrapping up but we would still be able to find some good ones so off we began hunting for strawberries.  I made the huge mistake of having Elsie wear her new Twins hat and a nicer outfit.  I don't know why I didn't think that by the end she would be covered in strawberry juice.  Luckily, it all came out of her clothes and her skin :).

Our June Date Night-I Mean Date Day

On Saturday June 1st, John and I spent literally the entire day together!  It was so nice.  John and Elsie came with to my race in Des Moines, we went to look at a camper-too beat up inside to consider, and then made our way home where John's mom took over watching Elsie while we cleaned up and got ready to leave again.  John and I were taking off to Madison County, IA to check out a winery we hadn't been to yet, cleverly named Madison County Winery.  It was about an hour driver there but was really nice to just sit and chat a little bit (which is the whole purpose of these monthly dates right?).  When we arrived we saw that there was a party bus with a bachelorette party.  Thankfully, they had already done the tasting so they were just lounging outside enjoying some wine.

We had the option to sample 5 wines for free or pay like $2 for all of them...of course we did all of them and also ordered the cheese plate with yummy Havarti and Smoke Gouda cheese. Oh it was so good.  The wine was okay.  I would have to say that there are some wineries we go to where I want to get a bottle of all of them but this place I was very content walking away with one bottle to take home and that was the "Strawberry Blonde".  I ended up getting a glass to sit outside and drink as enjoyed our cheese and John got one of the beers (they also are a brewery but I didn't get to trying any of them because the wine was enough ;).

As we were finishing up our tasting another party bus showed up with another bachelorette party so it was nice to get out of the building and sit outside.

After enjoying our wine, beer, and cheese we stopped at one of the famous "Bridges of Madison County."  At one time there were 19 bridges but now only six remain.  The ones we stopped at was the Imes Bridge which is the oldest bridge built in 1870 and then renovated in 1997.

After the stop at the bridge we made our way to one of our favorite restaraunts:  The Big Steer where we met up with some friends Marc, Amber, Darren and Kari.  We have made it an annual tradition to get to The Big Steer at least once a year for as long as I can remember.  The food as always was delicious and we made it there early so they didn't sell out of prime rib before we could get it (that happened once and it was horrible! haha).  After dinner we had plans to check out the horse races at the racetrack but I was not dressed for the weather and it was really chilly!  So we headed inside to the casino, played a few slots, and hung out.  

It was such a great day with John and of course with our friends we met up with later in the evening!  

Summer Time!

Wow I can't believe that summer is almost half over!  We have been so busy with summer things that I have hardly had time to blog.  If we aren't out and about on the weekends and during the week I am trying to cram in hours for work.  Evenings are hard because I feel like I spend one night unpacking from our weekend fun, then 2-3 nights working solid then one night packing and getting ready for our weekend ahead.  Then its the weekend.  I wouldn't trade anything for all the fun we have had so far.  I am crossing so much off our summer bucket list!

So I am just warning you...I am hoping to catch up on blogs this week since we are laying low this weekend so be prepared to be bombarded with blogs posts :)

Beside all we have done we still have so much to look forward to!  A Taylor Swift concert, the Iowa State Fair and Dierks Bentley concert, a weekend with a group of guy friends from high school, my nieces first birthday, trips to the pool, raspberry picking at the Berry Patch, and hopefully a couple of more camping trips.

Hope your summer has been filled with as much fun as ours has!

Good Times, Good Friends

A few weekends ago we got together with a good group of friends from high school.  We have made this a yearly tradition for the past three years and is something I look forward to each time.  We have done this in May, August, July and now this year in June.  I am sad to think this fun weekend is already over for the year and now will have to wait a whole year before the big group gets together again.  We do have our annual "girls weekend" in the fall to look forward to I guess.

We started doing "couples/family weekend" back in 2010.  Back when only two of the six of us had kids.  So it was 2 kids, 3 on the way.  Now each of us have at least one child, some two, and one of us is pregnant with her second.  So it is 9 kids and one on the way.  And at each weekend there has been at least one of us pregnant.  Crazy!  Here is a bit of flashbacks from our weekends of the past.

2010:  Longville, MN (I think this was the town)-we spent the weekend up at Erin's cabin. I can't seem to find a pic from this weekend :(.  I think I have them backed up somewhere.  Amber, Randi, and Erin were all pregnant.

2011:  Lanesboro, MN.  Two of us were pregnant here:  Amber and myself.

2012:  Okoboji, IA- Erin was pregnant

2013:  This year we went to Clear Lake, IA-Randi was pregnant this year.

It was such a fun weekend!  We stayed in a three bedroom condo and it turned out to be perfect for our group.  It was really nice, had two huge decks, and the complex had a pool, hot tub, and campfire area (none of which we ended up using).  Friday night we just ate, had some drinks, and hung out and talked.  Saturday morning we got up and headed out for our Saturday morning walk which was so nice. Then we had lunch and headed out on the boat!  Thanks Marc and Amber for bringing your boat up!

We stopped at The Landing which had a dock for the boat.  We ate some yummy food and enjoyed some really yummy beverages and then headed back on the boat for another hour or two before calling it a day on the lake.  

After we got back, showered and had dinner we thought it would be a nice night for a stroll down to the lake.  We found a little dock and sat and chatted.  But not for long as we could see the storm clouds rolling in pretty quickly.  So we snapped a few pics and started making our way back to the condo.  It wasn't too long after we got back that the condo lost electricity from the storm.  So we all huddled in the living room around a few candles and played some games, had some drinks, and just talked.  It was a great night!  

I absolutely love these ladies and their families and are so blessed to have them in my life!  Thanks for a great weekend and can't wait for the next time! 

Happy Birthday John!

On June 8th, John celebrated his 35th birthday!  We had such a wonderful day at the zoo and then in the evening we grilled out at my parents and had some friends over for cake and a campfire.  It was a nice relaxing evening and I hope John enjoyed the day as much as I did.

Couldn't resist this photo opportunity :)

I am so happy to be spending another birthday with this guy! He is an amazing husband and a wonderful daddy!  

Elsie is so lucky to have a daddy like John.  No one can make her laugh like he can!  

He even shares his birthday cake with her :)

I absolutely love watching him with her.  I sure snagged a wonderful husband and partner. 

I hope your 35th year is as good as the last!  I Love you John and Happy Birthday! 

Como Park

A few weeks ago we met my cousin Jen and her family (who were visiting from North Carolina) as well as my sister and her family at Como Park in St. Paul.  All of our parents came for the trip as well.  It was a special day also because it was John's Birthday!  I had been to the Como Zoo a few times when I was younger but it had been a few years.  It was fun to go back.  It was also a lot of fun because Elsie just loves animals right now.  

Flamingos at the Entrance-It was at this time I tried to take a picture and realized that I forgot to put my card back into my camera.  Luckily my dad had one that fit.  

Elsie with the map, leading us in the right direction

Looking at the Bison

We made our way to the "Sparky Show" and the kids seems to enjoy it! 

Grandpa with his girls

After the show we grabbed some snacks and took off to see more animals like the cats, monkeys, giraffes, zebras and gorillas!  

The Four Girls:  Piper, Allie, Callie Ann, and Elsie

After checking out the animals we headed back to the car which was parked right next to the picnic area.  We found an open table and pulled out our sandwhiches, pasta salad, fruit, and chips and enjoyed a nice lunch with lots of green space for the kids to play.  After lunch, my cousin's family, Aunt and Uncle took off and we headed back to the park-this time to the amusement park.  It was nearing Elsie's nap time and I was a bit nervous how things would go.  She didn't end up napping while there but did really well and had a great time.  

The first stop was the famous Carousel.  

Then we headed into Como Town.  As we walked in we came across this sign-of course John had to take a picture-it was his birthday after all.  

We tried to shield Elsie from the sun with hopes she would doze but she wasn't into it.  So to the train we went.  

My mom's favorite ride is the Tilt-a-Whirl.  The last time they went on it was at the MN State Fair back in 2011 and I didn't go because I was pregnant.  So this time I decided to give it a "whirl".  It was a lot of fun and boy did we twirl around and around.  

The rest of the time while at the park we strolled along, snapping pictures and watching Tami and Allie enjoy the rides.  Derick enjoy all the different food the park had to offer, and Piper enjoyed a little snooze in the stroller.  

Enjoying a cool treat!

After the rides, we went back into the zoo and checked out a few missed animals and then called it a day around 5:30!  It was a WONDERFUL day spent with family!