Elliott's Second Birthday

I'm not sure how it happened, but Elliott turned 2 this past Thursday. It actually fell on Thanksgiving this year, so we had fun celebrating this little turkey on Thanksgiving Day. Since we celebrated the weekend before with my family, we spent Elliott's birthday with John's side of the family. It was pretty low-key and quiet, but it was a nice way to celebrate Elliott turning two.

We actually ordered the Thanksgiving meal from Hy-Vee, which turned out pretty well. It was nice to not have to worry about all the prep, but there is something to be said for a home cooked meal.

After watching the parade, eating too much food, watching the Vikings lose, and then naps, we finally let the kids dig into the gifts. Emma could hardly contain her excitement for Elliott to open his gifts and see what he got. It was pretty funny to watch. Elliott needed a lot of help digging into his gifts, and Emma was more than happy to help. And once Elliott had a gift open that he wanted to play with, he really couldn't care less about the rest of the gifts. He was easily distracted to say the least.

Eli made a good haul on his gifts. He got a Paw Patrol Jungle Pups Truck, which was the biggest hit and caused the kids the most arguing. He also got a Star Wats hot wheels track and cars, a Chase Paw Patrol puppy from Emma, and a Little People's Firetruck. The kids had a lot of fun playing with all the toys. We also had a Paw Patrol Cake, which the kids loved. Again, Eli needed some help blowing out candles, and Emma was more than happy to help.

Elliott is quite the spunky 2 year old. He is becoming quite the talker, and is able to make his needs more well-known and loves to talk to sing songs. He also is starting to get the 2 year old attitude and tries to scream and cry to get what he wants. The temper tantrums are starting up, and some of them are pretty ugly. Overall, he is usually a pretty happy, go-lucky kiddo, but he can sure make a scene as well.

Following my tradition, here is my list of Elliott's likes and dislikes at age 2.

Elliott's likes:
-Paw Patrol (in case you didn't get the drift from all the Paw Patrol themed gifts, we love Paw Patrol in this house. We pretty much have all the movies, a ton of toys, and even some clothes. It's a big hit)
-"TV"- (Elliott calls the IPAD the TV, and loves to play games on it. He does really well on it, and mostly he is doing educational things on it, but he would play on that thing all day if we let him. And he is not happy when we say that time is up on it)
-Playing Toys (All the toys are now in the basement, and both kids love to go down there and play with their toys. Sometimes they even play downstairs by themselves, so like 20 minutes even. Small victories!!)
-Eating (This kid can eat. He is getting a little pickier as he heads into Toddlerhood, but still can eat like a champ)
-Pacifier and Blankets (This one is a tough one. This kid loves his Pacifiers and his blankets. We try really hard to keep them for only at bedtime, but man, if he sees one, it's hard to convince him of anything else. They are going away soon, and he is not going to like it)
-Going to bed (Still super easy to put to bed. Usually around 7:30 pm we tell him it's time for bed. And usually we just give him his blankie, paci, and then put him in his crib and he goes to sleep. It's awesome)
-Flipping on and off light switches (his newest obsession, and it's super annoying)
-Christmas (He is loving the lights and all the decorations, as is Emma. It's sure a fun time of the year)
-Bath time (Usually, if we just bring up the idea of taking a bath, Elliott is all in and starts running for the bath tub)
-Rocks and Water (Two of Elliott's favorite things. He can spend hours playing with rocks and water)
-Cuddling (He still likes to cuddle. Mostly with mom, and mostly right before bed. But it's awesome, and I enjoy it because I'm sure it won't last long)
-Mommy (still a little mommy's boy. Usually prefers mom to dad, not sure how long that will last)
-Putting food in his drinks (If we give him a cup of juice/milk with supper, he has to literally put his food and fingers in it. Continuously. He makes such a mess)


Elliott's dislikes:
-Being wet or poopy (If he is wet or dirty he walks around yelling "poop!" until we change him. It's kind of funny actually.
-Sharing toys (Both kids are pretty bad with this one at home. There is quite a bit of fighting and crying over toys)
-Being told no (Little stinker likes to get his way. And really doesn't like it when he doesn't)
-Waiting for supper (When this little guy is hungry. Look out. He is not happy to wait for his food)


Elliott is quite a character. He has quite the personality, and he loves to laugh and be teased. He likes to be chased around the house, and loves rough-housing with daddy. He gives hugs and kisses, and we are teaching his how to say "sorry" and be nicer to his big sister. He is all boy, and loves playing and being around his family. He also does very well at daycare, and seems to enjoy playing with kids his own age.

We are very proud of our little 2-year old boy, and we love him to pieces!!

Playing in the snow, Elliott calls it "Ice" and eats it

Took Emma to a movie, she was a little excited

Elliott's birthday cake

Happy Birthday!!

Trouble blowing out those candles

Present time!

Elliott pouting when I wouldn't give him juice for supper

A Kiecker Thanksgiving

It's the day before Thanksgiving, but we already have a Thanksgiving celebration in the books. This year, it didn't work out for my side of the family to meet on Thanksgiving, so we celebrated this past weekend.

After the first snowfall of the year, we headed to Minnesota on Saturday morning. The roads were ok, and we had a pretty uneventful ride to Minnesota. We got to my parent's house around lunch time, and just basically got settled in and had some food.

Then we spent the rest of the day celebrating Elliot's birthday, opening his gifts, and just relaxing and visiting before all the activity the next day. Elliott got a couple dump trucks and some rocks as gifts, and they sure kept the kids busy for quite a while. The kids also enjoyed playing outside in the snow, and they even did a little sledding.Once the kids were in bed, the adults enjoyed playing some games and hanging out before calling it a day.

On Sunday, we celebrated Thanksgiving with the extended family. It was a really fun day. Everyone on my dad's side, and my Grandma Mary were able to make it. It was so nice to see everyone, visit with everyone, and watch a stressful Vikings game with me family.

There was a lot of good food, good company, and just a great gathering of family. Unfortunately, it's not going to work out to get together with that side of the family for Christmas, so it was especially nice to be able to see them for a Thanksgiving celebration.

Today, I am enjoying the day off, at home by myself, and tidying up the house for Thanksgiving tomorrow. We are celebrating with John's family tomorrow, which should be really fun. It is also Elliott's actual birthday tomorrow, so that will be a lot of fun, celebrating Elliott and Thanksgiving together.

Also, I am working my last weekend in the PACU this weekend, and then I start my new job next week. This is a very crazy, busy week. But, I love the holidays, and I am enjoying every minute of it. And, once Thanksgiving is over, I can officially start listening to Christmas Music!!! :)

Playing with Elliott's birthday toys 

Enjoying the outdoors 

Playing at daycare 

"Bus!"

Emma loves the snow too!

First Snowfall 2016

Remember how I was talking about how beautiful the weather has been lately? Yeah, that's totally over with. Today is a nasty, windy, blizzard, with about 3 inches of snow already on the the ground. Yuck. We were supposed to head to Minnesota today, but the weather is just too bad. And it's even worse in Minnesota. So, I guess we will hit the road in the morning.

I do have two little kiddos around here that have been super excited about the snow all day. Emma had to get all suited up and go out and "shovel" snow at 8:00 this morning. And she just totally loved it and ate it up. Elliott kept pointing out the window and saying "snow". We actually just got back in the house after bundling up both kids and letting them play outside a little. Elliott enjoyed it until the wind started hitting him in the face and then he got cold and crabby. Emma continued to love it. She ate some snow. She shoveled some more snow. And then she jumped in some snow. She was being pretty adorable in the snow.

We also have already been in Christmas mode over here. Emma couldn't contain her excitement, and she convinced us to set up the Christmas Tree and put up the lights outside. Emma was so very excited to help decorate and hang ornaments on the tree. She "can't wait to see what presents Santa will bring!" Christmas is going to be a TON of fun this year. Also on the agenda for the holiday season is looking at Christmas lights, making Christmas cookies, listening to Christmas music, which I have been doing already, and sledding! I love this time of year, especially with little kids that really appreciate all the little things the holidays have to offer.

Tomorrow we are heading to my parent's house to celebrate Elliott's birthday with the family. Then, Sunday is going to be out Thanksgiving celebration with the extended family. I am excited to see everyone and eat some delicious food.

Happy first snow of the year :)

Emma and Daddy setting up the tree

Loving the noodle lunch

Thrilled to be going outside to play in the snow

Snowpants buddies 

Siblings :)

Excited about the first snow

Emma shoveling away 

Emma loves snow!!!

A Gorgeous November...so far.

Another week has passed, and the weather continues to be absolutely amazing. It is the middle of November, and we haven't even had to really wear coats yet. It has been consistently in the 60s, and has just been an all around a great fall.

This past week, John was gone for most of the week in Boston. The kids and I had a pretty good week. They were well-behaved and stayed pretty healthy, so that made my week a little easier. Work is starting to get really busy though, so I went to bed pretty tired at the end of the day.

This past weekend was really nice, and we took full advantage. Friday night was pretty low-key and we spent it at home recovering from the week. Saturday was spent running errands and catching up on some housework. We made a Costco run, played in the house, and cleaned. It wasn't too exciting, but it was very nice to have a catch up day, and all hang out together.

Yesterday, it was 65 degrees and just absolutely amazing out. Elliott is battling a nasty chest cold, so just Emma and I went to church. Then we headed to the library and then we went to Toys R Us and picked out a birthday present for Elliott. It was pretty cute to watch Emma help pick out a gift for her brother. And she is super excited to help wrap it and give it to him on his birthday. So sweet.

After some shopping, we met the boys at Sertoma Park (or 4 Parks as Emma likes to call it) and the kiddos had fun playing in the park for a good hour and a half. They loved burning off some energy on the gorgeous day. We also headed to the Outdoor Campus and let the kids play on the trail there. It was a fun afternoon. We stopped by Noodles and Company on the way home for lunch and then headed home. There was a super moon last night, so we spent some time looking at that outside, and then we got everyone ready for bed to start another week.

Today was another nice day, but we are in for a drastic change. On Saturday, the high is supposed to be 37. Burr. So, not ready for that.

Bath time with mom 

Park Dates 

Donuts for breakfast, don't tell dad!!

Crafts with Grandma 

Outdoor Campus 

A Beautiful Start to November

Here we are a week in to November already, and it has been an absolutely gorgeous start to the month. It has been sunny and in the 60s-70s so far. It has been awesome, and I will definitely take it.

This past weekend, we took full advantage of the nice weather and spent a lot of time outside. Our church had our Fall Festival on Friday night, where we had a chili cook off and games for the kids to play. It was a pretty fun evening, and the kids loved being able to run round and play all evening with the other kids.

On Saturday, I took Emma to the library for some story time and some crafts. They were doing story time in the dark with shadow puppets and things that glow in the dark. Emma loved it, and really enjoyed the crafts after the story as well.

After the library, we went back home and worked on cleaning out the cars and washing them since it was so nice out. The kids loved helping with that. We spent the rest of the evening raking leaves and hanging out outside, and then we babysat Reese for the evening so Lizz and Dyllan could go to a hockey game by themselves. It was fun to have a baby in the house again, and the kids thought it was just great. Elliott was really cute and let her have his blanket, and the laid by her and rubbed her head. It was pretty cute. And Emma really enjoyed holding her and spending some time with her. They were so well behaved with Reese (but we still don't need another baby anytime soon). But Reese did very well, and it was a great evening of babysitting.

Yesterday was a day filled with church, some house cleaning, and then a trip out to Grandma Barb and Grandpa Jim's house. The kids had a blast playing outside. We even ran around with flashlights once it was dark, since it was so nice outside.

It was a great weekend filled with beautiful weather and lots of family time. John is getting ready to leave for Boston tomorrow, so I will be a single mom for the rest of the week. So, that will keep me nice and busy. Other than that, nothing too crazy going on this week. :)

Crafts at the library 

Roller Skating, in November 

Reese taking a good nap

Me and my baby girl 

Emma super excited to hold Reese 

This is what happens when Emma's too cool for naps 

Helping feed kitties 

Gator rides 

Coolio Elliott 

Halloween 2016

Another Halloween is in the books, and we had a great one. The weather was absolutely fantastic. It was sunny, about 65 degrees, and about as still as could be. We took the kids around in our t-shirts, it was just crazy.

I luckily had the day off, so after some Halloween parties at daycare, I brought the kids to John's work to visit his coworkers and do a little trick or treating. Then we went home, and got started on some trick or treating around home. John and I took the kids around the neighborhood, while Jim and Barb stayed at our house and handed out candy.

The kids were pretty fun to take around. Emma caught on pretty quickly that if the house had their lights on, she could knock on the front door and say trick or treat, and she got candy. She was very excited and went house to house without much prompting from us. Elliott didn't really know what was going on, but he would say trick or treat, and he took candy with no problem. He had a sucker in his mouth most of the night.

By 7pm, it got pretty dark, and then the kids had fun handing out candy for a little while. Emma really enjoyed this, she loved handing out candy to other kids. We sat on the front stairs and handed out candy for a while, and she would just yell for kids to come to her and get candy when she saw them on the sidewalk, it was pretty cute.

Emma and I made one more trip around the neighborhood in the dark. They made a very good haul with candy, and they really enjoyed the night. Emma made a terrific batgirl, and Elliott tolerated his Flash outfit.

The rest of this week has passed pretty uneventfully. I got some pretty exciting news, and accepted a new job! I am going to be working in the OR and the same day surgery center. It is going to be a huge change for me, but I am excited for something new! And my hours are going to be 6:30-3, Monday through Friday, so I am really excited to have a normal schedule as well. I still have a good 3 weeks left at work, but I am sure it will fly by and that new job will be starting in no time. I am a little nervous about it, but overall, I am very excited to start!!

Tonight is our fall festival at church, with a chili cook off and games for the kids. It should be a fun evening with friends, and then we are looking at having a nice, calm weekend with not too much on the agenda. Also, it is supposed to continue to be beautiful with highs in the 70s for the next couple of days, so we are doing our best to try and enjoy it :)

The flash busting into some M&Ms

Getting the hang of trick or treating 

Trick or Treat

Emma loves Halloween :)

Jack-o-lanterns

Enjoying the gorgeous November weather at the park