Sledding!

Another week has flown by, and January is about over. It's hard to believe we are almost into February already. Time just keeps marching on.

This past week flew by without any major catastrophes. Both kids are staying pretty healthy (knock on wood) and pretty happy. They both had really good weeks. Emma got to go with John to his basketball game on Monday night, and she thought that was the greatest thing ever. She loves being able to come along to events like that with us now, it's pretty cute. And she does such a good job at them too. I stayed at home with Elliott, because he can be kind of a pill yet at some of those things, he is a typical 2 year old.

This past Wednesday we had a pretty big snowstorm, it snowed about 6 inches overnight, and we had a heck of a time trying to get up the hill on our street. It was one of those days where it would have been nice to have 4 wheel drive. Luckily, we both eventually made it to work (and back home again).

This weekend has been pretty active again. On Saturday, we kind of bummed around the house in the morning while daddy had a photo shoot. Then in the afternoon while the boys napped, Emma and I went to the zoo to check out Brain Play. It was pretty cool. Basically, it was a bunch of toys and activities set up for kids in the backroom at the zoo. Emma loved it, and we stayed there for a solid 2 hours. And best of all, it was free with our zoo membership.

After all the playing, we headed to the library, and then we brought some pizza home for supper. It was a pretty successful afternoon. Poor Emma was pretty tired by the end of the day since she didn't have a nap at all. We wrapped up the evening with the movie "The Secret Life of Pets". Then it was bedtime for everyone.

Today started off with the typical church outing, and then naps after lunch while mom cleaned the house. After everyone was well-rested, we headed out to Jim and Barb's house to do some sledding. It was the perfect day for it. It was about 38 degrees, with no wind. Both kids had a really fun time outside. They did some sledding down a couple snow piles, and then they had some fun on the 4-wheeler. Elliott mostly just liked to ride up front with John, while Emma was brave enough to sled behind the 4-wheeler. She did a really good job with it, even when she got dumped out a couple of time. She was smiling from ear to ear.

It was also the perfect snow for building a snowman, so of course we had to build one. Emma helped me roll the three snowballs, and then we decorated the snowman. It turned out pretty good! Emma named her snowman "Grandpa". It was cute.

It was a beautiful day for some time spent outside, and everyone enjoyed themselves. It also wore everyone out pretty well. We finally have both kids settled in bed, and I am ready for sleep myself. Here's to another week of shennanigans!!

Fun at daycare 

Emma being Emma 

Fun in the snow at home 

Farm fun

They love to sled!

Emma and Grandpa decorating the snowman

The finished snowman 

Elliott loved his 4-wheeler rides 

Emma braving the sled ride 

Gator rides too!

The Children's Museum.

This past weekend was busy and filled with many activities. My parent's came to town Friday night, and boy was Emma wound up. She was so excited to see Grandma and Grandpa, that she could not settle down. It was cute, and frustrating at the same time.

Saturday was a good day. We spent the morning hanging out at the house visiting and playing with the kids. After lunch, we headed to Brookings. John had a session booked with Katie to shoot some more Senior photos, and Mom, Dad, Emma, Eli, and I headed to the Children's Museum. The kids had an absolute blast, and did not stop running/playing for 3 hours straight!

Emma enjoyed running from activity to activity, and had a really good time playing with just about everything. Her and Grandpa Jack spent most of the time in the Museum together, and they had a really good time. Mom and I stuck with Elliott most of the time. He loved the grocery store, the water room, and the room with the vacuum system and puff balls. He did really well all day, especially since we never had a nap. All day. I don't know how he stayed awake, and kept from melting down, but he was really, really good all day. I was impressed. Emma was also very well behaved all day, and is already asking me when we can go back to the museum.

After they were all played out (aka, the adults were tired) we met up with Dennis, Jenny, and Katie and had lunch at Wiskey Creek. It was nice to visit with everyone, and we were all ready for some food and a couple beers. Emma actually fell asleep at the table because she was so tired. It was pretty cute.

The way home was pretty quiet, but amazingly enough, everyone stayed awake. Once we got home, it was baths and then bedtimes for the little ones. The rest of us stayed up, enjoyed a couple beers, and then all turned in pretty early.

Today was a typical Sunday. We all slept in a little, went to church, and then had brunch at Hy-Vee Market Grille. My parents spent the afternoon at our house watching some football and spending a little more time with the kids. They left in the late afternoon, and the rest of us enjoyed a quiet rest of the day at home.

Right now, Elliott is sleeping, Emma is winding down for the night, and John and I are ready to call it a night soon. It was a great weekend, but man did it fly by, and I am so not ready to face another week.

Having fun at the Children's Museum 

The water room-Elliott's favorite 

Light Brights 

Quite the artist 

Game time with Grandma and Grandpa 

January Thaw.

We got a nice break in the cold weather, and had a couple really enjoyable days. Yesterday was 45 degrees and sunny, and was just plain awesome. I picked the kids up early from daycare, and we spent some time burning off some energy outside. The kids loved playing in the snow, and we made a tiny, little snowman, which they thought was just amazing. I also got our sled out, and attempted to pull them around and go down a couple little hills. It was ok. There is not much snow left outside, and our hills are not very sled-friendly, but they thought it was great.

Not too much has been happening around here lately.  I'm finally starting to feel a little more comfortable at work, and I'm starting to not feel like such a stranger there. John has been staying busy at work as well. Last weekend, we actually had John's work's Christmas Party. We went to a restaurant downtown, and basically just ate, drank, and visited for a few hours. It was a pretty fun time. The kids spent the night at Jim and Barb's house, so John and I enjoyed sleeping in on Saturday, and having the house to ourselves for a few hours.

The rest of the weekend was filled with a baby shower for a co-worker, another trip to the Kirby Science Center, and some football. Overall, it was a pretty good weekend. Otherwise, things are pretty routine in the Nelson Household. Between work, meals, kids, and bedtimes, we don't get a whole lot else accomplished.

This coming weekend should be pretty fun. My parents are coming to town to visit, and we have a trip to Brookings planned, and we will probably visit the Children's Museum of South Dakota. It should be pretty fun.

In other news, I finally got around to Elliott's 2 year check up today. He weighs 34 pounds and is 3 ft 2 inches tall. He checked out A-ok. He does have some sinus stuff going on, and his lungs were pretty coarse sounding, so we did start some amoxicillin to hopefully get him over his crud for a little while. Poor kid has been coughing up a lung lately Emma also came along, but she was mostly there for the stickers.

Daycare fun

Daycare crafts

Baking with mom

Exercising with 2 lb weights

Washington Pavillion Fun 

Sledding 

2017

The first week of the New Year has come and gone. I feel like things have finally settled down and we are back to our routines after all the holiday hubbub. It's always kind of a letdown when the holidays are over though, they are so magical, and I love all the decorations and fun things that come with the holidays. Now, our house is back to normal, and we are just trying to survive the cloudy, subzero days for the next few months.

We did have a pretty good first week of 2017. Nothing too exciting happened, but it was a nice, normal week. The kids were good (relatively), I stayed on track with my exercising and healthy eating habits, and the kids have stayed pretty healthy. I will call that a good week.

This weekend was kind of busy in it's own way. On Friday night, we took the kids to HyVee and ate some supper, and then tackled grocery shopping with both kids along, which is always interesting. They did okay, but towards the end they were starting to get a little rowdy. We headed home, washed them up, and sent them to bed.

Yesterday, Emma and I had another girls outing. I was going to bring Elliott along on this trip, but his naps just always fall at the worst times. So, just Emma and I went. We started off at the Library, where they had Hot Chocolate, story time, and crafts. Emma loved it. And we got to make and use a Marshmallow Launcher. Does it get any better than that?

After the library, we made a Target run so we could pick out a baby shower gift for one of my old co-workers, and I got a starbucks coffee and Emma got an Icee. We were all about treating ourselves.

Finally, we made it to the Kirby Science Center. We hadn't been there in like 6 months, and Emma just loved it. She played, and played and played for a solid 3 hours. We hit all three levels, and she was one tired girl once we left. Once we finally made it home, we ate, watched Peter Pan with the boys, and then it was bedtime for everyone. And nobody complained.

Today was really low-key. We went to church, had some naps, and then watched some playoff football games while also playing with the kids. It was a great ending to a nice weekend. I am so not ready for another week of work, but Monday is coming whether I am ready for it or not. So, I am going to be hitting the hay soon.

Movie Night 

Kirby Science Center 

Another successful girls trip 

Sunday Candy Land 

Happy New Year 2017

Happy New Year! It's 2017 already, and that's pretty hard to believe. I was just looking back on some of my posts from the first part of last year, and it's crazy to think about how much has changed since then. Elliott wasn't even walking last year at this time, and now he runs around like crazy and his vocabulary has increased so much it's crazy. Emma was still working on being potty trained and was still just a toddler, and now she's a preschooler who is learning and growing like crazy!

When I look back at 2016, I really have mostly fond memories. The kids hit very exciting milestones, I had many days off with them that I brought them to the zoo or the park, John and I went to Seattle, some of my good friends got married, and we had some fun family outings with camping, swimming and going out to the hills. It was a great year, and I look forward to all the things 2017 will bring.

In this next year, Emma will start Kindergarten (what?!), Elliott will start potty training, and I will turn 30 this year. We also hope to bring the kids to Omaha this summer, as well as take a couple smaller family trips. I would be willing to try camping again with the kids, and I am still trying to organize a Wild game for the adults this winter yet. I'm excited for all the things to come this year!

This past weekend has been really fun. On Friday night, Jim and Barb came to watch the kids so we could go out to supper with Otis and Ashley and Jeff and Darcy and Twinkie. It was very nice to catch up with them, and we actually ended up talking at TC Referee's for 2.5 hours.

On Saturday, New Year's Eve, we spent most of the day hanging out at home and playing with the kids and have a laid back day. I ended up bringing Emma to the Stampede Hockey Game, and she absolutely loved it. She wore her Stampede T-shirt, and I bought her a Cowbell, and she cheered her little heart out. It didn't take her long to figure out how to cheer along with the crowd, and how and when to ring her cowbell. She loved watching the players skate around, and it kept her attention the entire time. She already told me she can't wait to go again, and that she would also watch basketball, or baseball, or football games as well. She's so cute.

After the game, we headed back home and put the kids to bed. Then John and I watched some Game of Thrones until midnight, when we watched the ball drop, and then promptly went to bed. It was a great New Year's Eve.

Today was spent going to church, watching some of the Vikings game, and then I took Emma to a movie. We had a great girls bonding weekend. We went and saw the movie Trolls at the cheap theatre. Emma loved it, and was laughing at some parts of the movie. It was a really cute movie. And Emma is getting more and more fun, and can actually handle sitting through an entire movie or hockey game.

We ended the evening with supper with Jim and Barb (and John and Elliott) at Supreme Buffett. Now, everyone is sleeping, and I should be too.

Happy New Years!! Bring on 2017 :)

Stampede Game!!

Mom and Emma date night