Weekend Update and 14 months old

We were feeling pretty cooped up this weekend, and the weather was in the 30s, so we decided to get out of the house for a couple hours. We headed to the Kirby Science Center at the Washington Pavillion and both kids really had a good time.

Emma ran around like a crazy toddler and had a blast with every single exhibit. She was really disappointed when it came time to go home (but fell asleep on the car ride home. So she was tired).

Elliott did a really good job at the science center. He had a blast playing in the water table, and he was soaking wet after that. He also had a lot of fun just wandering around and exploring. He got super tired by the end of the trip, and he passed out cold on the way home.

John also took Emma outside to do some sledding, and she really enjoyed that. She loves playing in the snow an getting outside when it's not so cold out. We didn't break down and buy Elliott any snowpants or boots this year, so he hasn't really experienced snow yet, but I don't think that bothers him too badly.

Sunday was a pretty low-key day. We did our typical church routine (one of us goes to Bible study while Emma is at Sunday School while the other one of us stays home with Elliott while he naps and then we meet up in church at 10:30 for the church service). It's a routine that's really worked well for us for the past couple months, and Emma really enjoys her Sunday School classes.

After church, we had lunch at Hy-Vee and then did some grocery shopping. After that it was naps all around and some playoff football. We spent the rest of the day just playing with the kids and enjoying being at home.

Elliott also turned 14 months old on Sunday. He is at a pretty fun age right now. It would be nice if he could communicate a little better about his needs, but he is becoming more independent and not quite so clingy and whiny like he was a couple months ago. Like I mentioned in my last post, he is also walking, and he continue to improve on a daily basis with his walking. It's pretty fun to watch.

It's been a while, so I thought I would hit on his likes and dislikes again.

Elliott's 14 month likes:
-Pacifier- Still loves this dumb thing. If he sees it, he thinks he has to have it. Definitely needs it at bed time.
-Food- This kid loves to eat. He pretty much eats adult sized meals. It's pretty incredible.
-His crib- Bedtime is awesome. We give him his blanket, pacifier, and then lay him down. It's that easy.
-Bath time- Still absolutely loves splashing in the tub
-Walking- He is really enjoying his new mode of transportation
-Being carried/held- Still likes to be held alot. Not the easiest on the back or arms.
-Car rides- Does great in his car seat. Hardly ever complains while in the car.
-Daycare- Finally warming up to daycare and doesn't scream when we leave him there. But he is still very happy to see us when we come pick him up. He doesn't get enough sleep at daycare, so he can be a little ornery in the evenings.
-Dancing- If you play music or sing, Elliott will stop everything and start dancing. It's pretty cute.
-Banging toys together- This is constant. And loud. And pretty cute as well.
-Yelling- Loves to yell for no reason at all. He gets excited, and then he gets really loud.
-Throwing food- He has a very bad habit of throwing his sippy cup on the floor constantly, and also throwing food on the floor once he starts getting full. Mom and dad aren't too impressed with this little habit.

Elliott's 14 months dislikes:
-Getting dressed- Hates laying still for anything, especially diaper changes or getting dressed.
-Being set down or "ignored"- If we set him down or turn our attention to Emma or something else, and he isn't ready for it, he really doesn't like it and can throw quite a fit. He's quite the attention seeker.
-Having his food taken away before he's done eating- This never goes well.
-Emma's overwhelming love- She likes to hug and smother Elliott a little too much. He gets fed up with this and either yells in protest or starts shoving her away. He doesn't tolerate her as much as he used to.
-Getting shoed out of the bathroom- We really try to keep the door shut at all times, but with Emma using the bathroom too it doesn't always happen, and he just loves playing in the bathroom, which includes throwing things into the toilet. So, we end up taking him out and closing the door, and that really makes him mad.

Water table fun at the Kirby Science Center 

My and my little lady 

Elliott playing the big piano

14 months old. 

Here Be Dragons

Today has been a pretty fun day. I ended up getting VTO from work, and kept the kids home with me and we have been having a good time. We spent the morning playing at home with marble sets, legos, kitchen towels, and destroying the basement.

After lunch, we headed to the zoo for their Here Be Dragons exhibit. It was actually pretty cool, and it only cost us 5 dollars since we are zoo members. There were different species of lizards and dragons, and some activities for the kids. After checking out the exhibit, we walked around the rest of the museum, and the kids had fun playing in the toy area.

Right now, the kids are both napping (yay!) and I have my feet up and am watching some Parks and Rec while I blog. I should probably be cleaning the kitchen, but, maybe later...

I am also driving around a Dodge Caravan right now while my car is getting worked on, and unfortunately, I kind of like it. It has automatic doors on both side, an automatic backhatch, seat warmers and heated steering wheel, a fold up DVD player and headphones, leather seats, lots of room, and it's just pretty fancy overall. I don't plan on getting a van anytime soon, but I can kind of see the appeal. Especially when hauling a couple kids around. So, I am having fun playing with the van while my car gets fixed.

In other big news, Elliott officially started walking this week!!! It's been really exciting to watch him improve day to day. He's pretty wobbly and falls down a lot, but he can walk across the room, and he is getting better and better. Walking at (just shy of) 14  months. He still likes to be carried and held a lot, but he is getting over his clingy phase, and learning to play on his own more often.

Emma is battling a sinus infection right now. She's pretty stuffed up, coughs a lot at night, and is on amoxicillin. She's doing pretty well with it, and is her usual spunky self, she just poops out at night a little sooner than usual (which is ok with us!). But, hopefully she can kick this bug soon. We plan to take her sledding tomorrow!

That pretty much sums up what's new around here. We plan to enjoy the beautiful weather this weekend!

Elliott loves to climb into things lately

Big sister has to get involved 

Here be Dragons!

Emma was scared of this, Elliott loved it

Kid Catapulting 

Big Gross Lizarrds

Brushing for fossils

January Update

Well, just like that January is flying by and is halfway over. There really hasn't been anything super exciting going on around here, we have just been keeping really busy with life in general.

Between a basketball league and being church treasurer, John is gone at least two nights a week, and with my crazy schedule I am gone some evenings, so just getting through work and our evenings at home can be quite an accomplishment.

Things seem to have pretty much settled down some since the holidays are over. John's work rented out a suite at the SkyForce game on Tuesday night, so we took the kids to that. It ended up being pretty fun. I had to take Elliott home to bed at halftime, since 7:30pm is usually bedtime for him or else he gets pretty crabby. Emma had a blast at the basketball game, and really enjoyed watching all the activity and running around like a crazy toddler.

Tomorrow night, John's work is finally having their Christmas party, so the kids are going to Jim and Barb's for the night. We are pretty excited for an evening away from the kids and a morning to sleep in and tackle cleaning our garage.

Other highlights from the last couple weeks:

-The Vikings crushed our souls again last Sunday. They missed a field goal at the 27 yard line to give them the lead in a playoff game with 26 seconds left to go in the game. It was pretty painful. I think we are still recovering from that.

-Elliott is getting VERY close to walking. He can stand up all by himself in the middle of the room, but is too timid to take more than one step and then fall over and start crawling again. It won't be long and he's going to be walking all over the place.

-It's been really cold lately. Like -2 degrees for a high. Ready for spring already.

-Cabin fever is already setting in. On my days off with the kids (like today) it's getting harder to fill the entire day up with things to do. I miss being outside.

-Bathtime is still an evening highlight in this house. Elliott loves to take a bath and splashes like a mad man. It's pretty entertaining.

-I was in a 3rd Sioux Falls car accident on New Year's Eve. Nothing major, but enough to require some work to be done on my 4-month old car. Wasn't my fault. Other guy ran a red light. So frustrating. At least the kids were not with me.

That's pretty much the highlights for the last couple weeks. Looking forward to longer days and warmer weather.

What kid doesn't love this?

Brushing teeth in the bathtub

Splashing and yelling

Emma's new nightie 

Tea Party with Doc McStuffins and Friends

SkyForce Game

Lunch date

Nelson Christmas 2015 and a new year.

We celebrated Christmas with the Nelson side on New Year's Day. We had a nice little celebration together. The kids really enjoyed opening their presents, we had good food, and it was overall a nice get-together.

John and I had a nice New Year's Eve celebration as well. Jim and Barb offered to take the kids overnight for us, so we were able to make plans and hang out without dragging our kids around.

It was awesome. We went to the new Stars Wars movie and then after that we went out to eat at McKenzie River and some amazing pizza. We were going to be exciting and go hang out downtown somewhere afterwards, but we ended up going to Hy-Vee for some groceries for the Nelson Christmas, and then we still had presents to wrap so we just went home. We barely made it to midnight, and then we were shot and headed to bed. We live an exciting life! Haha. It was especially awesome to sleep in the next morning and enjoy a nice, quiet morning.

Happy New Year everyone! I am looking forward to all the exciting things to come in the new year. I can't wait for Emma to continue growing into the beautiful young girl she is becoming. She is growing so fast, and becoming so smart, I can't wait to see what great things await her in 2016.

I am also excited for Elliott. He still has so many firsts to experience, and a lot of them are going to come in 2016. He will have his first steps, new words, maybe even a big-boy bed later this year, pacifier weaning, and continued new food experiences. I cannot wait to see how his personality continues to develop and how much he will change in this next year.

For John and myself, I hope we can continue to do some traveling. We hope to get to Seattle this year. We also hope to get to a Wild Hockey Game, a stampede hockey game, and maybe a mini road-trip like Omaha, Kansas City, or something along those lines. We also want to call up our friends more often and just hang out. Now that our kids are getting a little easier to haul around and they let us sleep at night, we hope to have a little more active social life.

Personally, for myself, I just want to have a great 2016. I am so blessed, and sometimes I just need to remember that. I have a wonderful family, a full-filling career, and I am happy and healthy. Like just about everyone, I would love to be more active and shed some pounds in the coming year, but other than that I am just looking forward to all the exciting things to come in the new year.

Hope everyone has a blessed 2016!

Emma checking out the presents

Finally opening present !!

Elliott likes Christmas too!

More presents 

Building Legos.