Wrapping up Summer

The days are getting a littler shorter, a little chiller, and unfortunately August is about gone. Once again I cannot believe how fast the year is flying by! However, I do love fall, and I can't help but be excited about the changing seasons.

This past weekend was really fun. Friday, after dropping the kids off with John's parents, we went out to eat the Johnny Carinos. Then, we headed downtown for a free block party that was going on. It was a little out of my comfort zone, but it was fun. It was live music, most of which was rap. It was entertaining, and had a good beat, but 4 hours of it was more than enough for me. Soul Crate and Later Babes played at 9:30pm, and that is who John wanted to see. They were good, but by 11:30 I was more than happy to leave.

Saturday I had to work. I had a pretty decent day at work, and then we had a grill-out at Johnny and Kristina's house. Emma had so much fun playing with Abby and Anna. Those three girls literally ran around, screamed, and played the entire evening. They actually did very well together, and there was minimal fighting involved.  Elliott did well, and enjoyed playing on the floor and watching all the excitement. He went to sleep in a pack and play at around 7:30pm, so that was nice.

We left about 9:30pm, and luckily Elliott pretty much stayed sleeping and Emma wasn't too difficult to get to bed. It's always nice to have some adult time while the kids can entertain each other.

Today was pretty low key. We went to church, took naps, and did some grocery shopping. It was nice to have a catch up day at home before starting another crazy week at work.

Hope everyone has a great week!!

Tired girl

Juan Jr and Elliott checking things out

Happy Boy

Swinging 

Double trouble 

Abby pushing Emma in a doll stroller 

Elliott- 9 months old

This past Friday, Elliott had his 9 months check up. He is a healthy and happy little boy. He currently weighs 25 pounds, and is 29 and a quarter inches long. He is in the 97th percentile for height and weight. 

I also brought up the fact that Elliott has a chronic cough, and has never really not had a cough, so Dr. Knutson decided we will try him on a steroid neb, for some reactive airway disease, and we will go from there. Hopefully, it will help him and he will not be so weezy and coughy all the time. And hopefully he outgrows all this junk someday. 

Elliott is not quite crawling yet. He does scoot a little on his butt, and he can rotate in a circle on his bottom. He also rolls all over to get where he wants to go, but so far he can't quite figure out crawling. 

Elliott's eating is getting a lot better. He is much better at eating solids, and eats a good 3 jars everyday. He also keeps getting better at puffs and finger food, but they still make him gag sometimes, so it's a work in progress. He currently has 6 teeth, with 2 more on the way!

He is finally sleeping though the night, and it is awesome. He is usually down by 7:30 or 8, and then wakes up at 6:00, ready for a bottle. And sometimes he even goes back to sleep after that 6 am bottle. He still loves his bottle, and he can drain an 8 oz bottle in no times ( I am super excited to not have to buy formula anymore in 3 short months!!!)

Elliott's likes at 9 months:

-Pacifier- Still loves the paci. If it is out of sight he is ok, but once he sees it, he HAS to have it

-Bath time- Loves to splash and play in the water, doesn't mind water in his face, He is a water baby

-Being carried- Pretty much loves to be held and carried around anytime

-Stroller rides- Loves stroller rides as long as you keep moving

-Bedtime- When he's ready for sleep, there better be nothing that gets in his way

-Bottle- Makes him very happy

-Being tickled- You can get him into quite a giggle fest

-Car rides- Tolerates the car very well, and falls asleep with no problem

Elliott's Dislikes at 9 months:

- Being tired- once he starts rubbing his eyes, it's time to get him to bed

-Getting dressed- Getting changed is the worst thing in the world

-Being teased with his pacifier to entice him to crawl- He's not impressed with this one

-Being left alone in the living room for any amount of time

-Snuggling- not a big snuggler anymore, unfortunately 

Elliott is sure at a fun age. He is getting really good with his hands, and he is always investigating everything, and putting just about anything and everything in his mouth. He is a pretty happy kiddo, and I am excited for him to start moving and tearing my house apart!!

Summer Days

Before our very eyes, August keeps flying by. There's only about a week left. That is crazy! How is September almost here already?!

Not too much new in the Nelson Household. We've been keeping busy with work and the kids of course. Last weekend was Jamie and Tyler Ogle's wedding. It was a fun little get-together. John's aunts Jill and Peg were in town, so it was fun to see everyone. The kids handled everything pretty well. Emma danced to her little heart's content, and she was so happy to have Abby and Anna to play with. Elliott did very well too. He did well with being passed around all night, took a little nap in the stroller, and then made it until 9:00pm.

The wedding was at McKennan Park, I didn't make it to that since I worked until 3:00pm. Emma and I caught up with everyone at the reception, downtown at the Visual Arts Museum. It was a beautiful reception and we all had a good time.

The rest of the weekend flew by in a hurry. Saturday was a pretty dreary day, and everyone was pretty tired overall from the busy evening before. So, we took it easy and pretty much chilled out at home. We did get Emma out to a park in the afternoon, and she had fun with that.

Sunday, we ended up going to the Washington Pavillion and went to the Kirby Science Center. Both kids had a good time and were overall entertained with that.

This week is flying by pretty quickly. The weather has been absolutely gorgeous. It's been sunny, and about 70-75 degrees. I loved this weather. And we are going into fall weather, with sweatshirt weather and fall decorating, yay!!! But we have taken advantage of the nice weather, and spent most evenings outside playing with the kids.

Today, Emma and I used a kit I bought her at Target to decorate a wooden box. She painted it, and then we added some stickers and glitter glue. It was pretty cute. Then, randomly, the ice cream truck drove past, so we all had to splurge on some SDSU ice cream. Emma was pretty excited about the whole thing. Elliott spent a lot of time outside with us as well. Poor kid has two more teeth coming in, so he tuckered out about a half hour ago.

Right now, Emma and I are watching some Strawberry Shortcake, and then heading to bed. It has been a wonderful evening, but we are all starting to tucker out for the evening. So, here's calling it a night.

Elliott playing at the reception

Emma dancing at the reception 

Elliott swinging 

9 months old already!

3 going on 13

How do you eat cheerios?

Painting a box

Little brother wants to help

Ice Cream Truck!!!!!

Happy little girl

Peek!

Could there be a better summer day?!

Turner County Fair

August means fair time! We spent the better part of this last week having a flu bug go through our entire household, so we were more than ready to get out of the house and have some fun once everyone was feeling better.

I actually had Wednesday off, and John took the afternoon off, so we spent the better part of the day out at the fair. The weather has been a little goofy this past week with chilly temperatures and lots of rain. Our fair day started off a little chilly and breezy, but it ended up being sunny and gorgeous out. A perfect fair day.

We got to Parker at around 12:30pm, and spent some time seeing the animals and commercial exhibits. At 1pm they started selling wristbands, and from that time on Emma and I spent a lot of time on the rides. John and I took her to the rides while Jim was nice enough to watch Elliott for a while. We also met up with Marie and Abby, and Emma had a blast going on rides with someone her same age. It was adorable. And Emma was fearless with the rides, there wasn't anything she wasn't willing to try.

John took her down the big slides and she absolutely loved it. We also took her on the ferris wheel a couple times, and she thought it was great. She rode rides for pretty much 5 hours straight, without stopping. She was one happy toddler.

We also hung out with John's side of the family quite a bit. Peg and Jill are in town for Tyler's wedding on Friday, so it was nice to see them, and they finally got to meet Elliott and get their snuggles and kisses in. We also ate some good food, and just had a fun day at the fair.

I was very impressed with how well the kids did all day long. I had them all morning, and Elliott was a little fussy so I was worried, but they did great, even without much of any naps for either of them. Emma went strong all day long, and really did not have any meltdowns until we were leaving. And Elliott was pretty content to just sit in the stroller, or be held, and look at everything. The only down side was, he still has the poops, and he blew out two outfits while we were at the fair (luckily mom was well-prepared and packed multiple back-ups).

We lasted at the fair until about 8:00pm, and then it was past time to go. Luckily, both kids passed out on the way home (from pure exhaustion), and they stayed sleeping once we got home and put them to bed. Score!!

It was a great day at the fair, and we had a TON of fun :)

Princess Emma in the Park

Today was a fun day. We started off the day by all going to church. It actually went pretty well, Emma behaved herself pretty well, and Elliott took a nice nap during the service.

After church, we made some pasta for lunch, and everyone enjoyed. Rachel left around noon to have lunch with a friend. Emma was very clingy with Rachel all weekend, but did ok with Rachel leaving.

After a short nap, Emma and I headed to Terrace Park for Princess in the Park. It was a Sioux Falls Parks and Rec Program that I signed Emma up for earlier this summer. Basically, it is just an excuse for little girls to dress up as their favorite princess and do some fun activities.

It ended up being a really fun afternoon. Unfortunately, it was really hot and humid out, but it was a good time. There were a lot of little princesses there.

We started off by having a show put on by some Princesses. They acted out a story and sang songs and did actions with all the kids. It was pretty cute. After the show, we broke off into smaller groups to do other activities.

They had storytime, where the kids could drink some water, have some fruit snacks, and listen to a story. They also got to paint an item to bring home with them. There was also a bouncy castle for the princesses to play in. They also had a matching game, and a jousting area. Emma had an absolute blast! We were there for the entire two hours, and she was non-stop the entire time.

Once the party was over, we headed back home. We spent the rest of the evening playing with John and Elliott, and just enjoying some time at home. Elliott is finally getting better, and is pretty much back to himself. Also, he slept the entire night through last night, so I am hoping maybe he will start making a habit out of that.

Elliott has been very content and happy these last few days. He is starting to "talk" a little bit more, and he is really enjoying stroller rides and being outside. He is getting to a really fun age :)

Anyway, right now Elliott is sleeping, and Emma is getting a little crabby because she is very, very tired. So, after we finish this cartoon, this little girl is heading to bed! (And maybe I won't be far behind her)

The Princess Show

All the princesses in the Gazebo 

Introducing Princess Emma

Bouncy Castle 

Emma riding a "horse"

Painting 

Practicing her jousting skills

A successful princess party 

It was hot...

The Sioux Empire Fair

This last week has been a little bit tough. Elliott developed some sort of viral rash, low-grade temps, and overall fussiness this last week. So between him being super fussy, pooping all over the place, and not sleeping well, it wasn't a great week. Luckily, Emma stayed pretty healthy, but it was a long week in the Nelson Household.

But, we made it through the week, and Rachel came to visit for the weekend. Rachel had some quality bonding time with the kids last night, since John was shooting photos and I had to work late. After we all were home again, we had a nice quiet evening at home.

Today, was a pretty busy day. We spent most of the morning just hanging around the house and visiting while the kids tore the house apart. By late morning, we decided to go to the Sioux Empire Fair. Rachel, Emma, and I went while John stayed home with Elliott. Emma had an absolute blast!

We saw and petted all kinds of animals, rode carnival rides, played carnival games and won prizes, got free ice cream and chocolate milk, shopped a little, ate some greasy fair food, and just had a great day at the fair. It was a gorgeous day as well, and the trip to the fair was well worth it.

Emma was SO tired by the time we were done at the fair. She actually had me carry her to the car, and she almost fell asleep on my shoulder. And she did fall asleep on the very short car ride home and took a two hour nap.

After both kids were napped and refreshed, it was time to think about supper. We decided to go to Qdoba's and then we went to a park after that. Both kids enjoyed the beautiful evening at the park.

It was a very active day, and I think we are all glad for some peace and quiet heading our way. Right now, Elliott is sleeping away like a champ, and Rachel is reading book to Emma (so nice to have a babysitter). I am enjoying the silence, and a Peach Mango Tea while I blog. Win, win.

So far, it's been a very fun weekend. Can't wait to see what other fun we can stumble across tomorrow!

SDSU Ice Cream

Carnival Rides