Let It Snow!

We woke up this morning to the lightest dusting of snow that it teased us into getting out to play in it. Emma and I made snow angels and even broke out the sled. Emma loved me pulling her around the yard, up and down our driveway and little hill until my thighs were screaming at me. Our neighbors were laughing at us playing in our 1/2 inch of snow. I can't wait to wake up to a real snowstorm to play in! Then of course we eventually had to come in and enjoy some hot chocolate.

Thanksgiving was really nice at mom and dad's. Emma and Abby had fun playing with all the aunts and uncles and we ate too much as usual. I am making soup today with the leftovers. On Thanksgiving night we spent the night at my mom and dad's and then woke up at 4:30am (yes,crazy!) to get up and go shopping to help get Santa started and get some deals on some electronic gadgetry for Christmas gifts. We did get some crazy deals and all our shopping is done and all thats left are the handmade treats I will be making. But I think I will leave that early morning trip for Mike next year- The crowds were unbielevable.

Emma was off school all week and had some fun playdates with her buddies. We are looking forward to getting back to school this week.

One of Abby's top teeth poked out and although she looks a little silly with 3 teeth (2 on bottom, 1 on top) we are so happys she seems back to her sweet cuddly self. She has really been snuggeling up to Mike a lot this week. Oh, no, not another daddies girl???

Fun Weekend!

I am getting so excited the Holidays are here! I know a lot of people get exhausted and stressed during the holiday season, but I have always just loved it. Particularly after having kids and now that Emma is of an age where she gets the whole Santa thing and starting to understand the meaning behind the holidays, her excitement just rubs off on me. I love starting to create new rituals and traditions for our family during the holidays. I love thinking about Emma being all grown up and looking back to her childhood holidays and having really fun memories. Although I really miss seeing Mike's family and spending the holidays with them, it is so nice not to travel during such a hectic time and be able to spend Christmas morning in your own house. Emma and I have been busy crafting this week. Yes- I said crafting! We made thanksgiving turkey napkin holders for thanksgiving dinner at moms this week. Then we decorated bags with all kinds of Christmas glittery things and made an advent calendar to count down the 12 days of Christmas. I am going to hang it up with a close line and we painted clothespins in Christmas colors to attach the bags. Each of the 12 days of Christmas when Emma wakes up, there will be a little surprise in there for her (I think Abby is too little this year.) I will take a pic of it once it's done. I can't take credit for the idea though, it is from this month's Wondertime Magazine.

The girls saw Santa yesterday and took a hayride. We met Nana and Papa at Otten Brothers Nursery for their holiday open house. This has become one of those traditions for us. Rather than waiting in crazy long lines and paying ridiculous prices to visit a mall santa, we always go here. They have a fantastic, authentic looking Santa (real beard!) and its free and never crowded. Abby just stared up at him in awe, very close to freaking out, but she held it together. Emma babbled on and on about wanting Alexa and Leana dolls and a horse drawn carriage, and a basketball hoop. She asked Santa if his elfs know how to make those things. It was cute. Then we all went on a horse drawn hayride and then out to lunch. A really fun day. Santa visit- Done! I also managed to get a pretty good picture for our holiday cards.

Last night we had a babysitter for Emma's & Abby's school fundraiser. It is called an Evening Out and it's drinks, food, silent and live auction and games. It was a blast. I won $250 by playing a game called heads or tails. They flip a coin and you put your hands on your head if you think it will be heads, hands on your behind if you think tails. The last person standing gets $250 and that was me! I kept my hands on my tail the whole time! Mike loved the joke about my "tail being worth more than $250......" We won some baskets at the silent auction and donated some money to the school. It was a fun night had by all. The money goes to improvements for the school and also to fund at risk kids so they can attend ECFE or preschool classes. Such a great program and I am so glad to be a part of it.

Ladies Night

I had a really fun week this week. I was lucky enough to have some fun time with my girls, some fun time with my girlfriends, some time alone, and some time with the hubby. It just felt like a really well rounded week. Emma had a great week in school and seems to be coming out of her sassy three year old self a very little bit. I am getting glimpses of what I hear 4 years old should be- the magic age. Abby had her one year visit. She is 23 pounds and almost 31 inches. About 75% weight and 90% height. Gosh, I hope she keeps that height going for her. I always have to laugh when I see how close Abby is to Emma's size already! Only 8 pounds difference in the 3 years between them! Her doctor showed me her two top teeth poking through. So that explains a lot and I feel much better about dealing with her fussiness now that I know the reason. We did the flu shot and the varicella (chx pox- Mike has not had it) but decided to wait until 2 years old for the MMR. She is meeting all her milestones and looking great. I love our pediatrician. She spent a whole hour with me at this appointment. I do need to work on getting Abby off the bottle and onto a sippy cup. So far this has not been a success. She is on all whole milk now though and seems fine with that.

So I mentioned I had a couple ladies nights this week and they were both fun- but both very different. Last weekend Laura organized a moms night out. We all met and had burgers at the bowling alley and then off to Inn Kahoots in Hamel ( a total dive- biker bar) for a cheezy band and some beers. A very fun, laid back night. Then Wednesday night, I met another group of mom friends from Emma's preschool class last year. We met at Gianni's steak house on Lake Minnetonka- a very upscale, overpriced, see-and-be-seen restaurant. Quite a different group of ladies, and I have to admit I think I identify much better with the first group, but it is fun to get dressed up and treat yourself to a really nice dinner. These groups of ladies may have quite different interests and hang out in very different places, but it was funny to me how similar our conversations were. Moms of preschoolers must all have universal concerns over the same things. No matter how intent we are on getting away from the kids and talking about our lives as something other than mothers, we inevitably end up talking about the little ones. I feel very lucky to have such great mom friends to share concerns and laughs with- there are times I have really needed it these past couple months!

I am debating giving Abby her first hair cut. It is getting like Emma's where the top is very long and now needs to be pulled back every day. I am not looking forward to having to do crazy pony tails like I do with Emma every day so I am thinking I may cut it now and give her bangs. Here she is trying to comb her hair.

Busy Bees

It's been another crazy week. Emma woke up after Abby's birthday party throwing up all night. It was so sad- she has only done that a few times in her life and it always confuses her. She got sick in her bed in the middle of the night and was so so upset that she dirtied her sheets and really did not understand why. "im sorry mommy. are you mad?" Poor thing. I tried making her as comfortable as possible, changed the sheets and put a big bowl by her in the bed. Let's just say I changed the sheets 4 times that night and went the next day to buy new pillows. She just couldn't make it in time. How do you clean down pillows? It obviously went through the pillowcase. I just decided to chuck them and buy some new ones-probabally cheaper than having them dry cleaned. I heard her in bed the next morning telling her tummy to "stop hurting me, tummy!" Mike also was very sick and laid in bed the whole day. He actually called in sick for the 2nd time in the 10 years I have known him. So now I had 2 babies to take care of. I did all the laundry in the entire house, nursed the babies with gatorade and pedialite and sanitized all the surfaces in the house with Abby on my back. It was nice enough to open all the windows (74 degrees in November!)

So we are all back to health now. Emma has started a sports class at the gym and she just loves it. I am so excited to be done with ballet and onto new things! Much more my style! Last week she played floor hockey and soccer. She is already talking about playing soccer this summer- YIPEE! I am trying so hard to get her out of the princess phase. We tell made up stories every night and she always wants the character to meet a prince, find a castle, etc. My versions always have the heroine living in her own castle, becoming a scientist who loves magnifing glasses and microscopes, and decides she doesn't need a prince to make her happy. Emma does not like those endings so much and always wants the princess to live happily ever after with someone. It's a work in progress......I have kindly requested a moratorium from any princess/barbie toys from the relatives for the holidays in place of more active, imagination freeing toys. There is a very interesting (and scary for all you moms of girls) article in this months Family Circle about 7 being the new 13. http://www.parents.com/teens-tweens/health-body-issues/body-issues/girls-growing-up-too-fast/ Thats the link if you are interested.

Abby has entered the separation anxiety phase big time and it has been very difficult to get anything done around the house. I guess it is a good reminder for me to slow down and lower my expectations of house work, etc....anytime I put her down she cries and crawls over and pulls herself up on my leg. It seems pretty out of sync for her personality to be so whiny and clingy- but I am hoping that is all it is. It's times like these I feel like I loose my mothering instinct. Is it teething? Is she allergic to the milk we just started to introduce? Does she have the virus Emma had? Is it a UTI (we have to watch her closely for these due to her urinary reflux)? Or is this just normal for this age??? I spend so much time analyzing her every symptom and behavior that I forget that a lot of this is just normal for one year olds. She goes for her 1 year well visit tomorrow. I have a lot of questions. I have decided after much debate, to delay some of her vaccines, specifically the MMR. I know what the science says, what the AAP says, and I am, for the most part, pro-vaccine. BUT.........when you read those stories of children who stop talking, stop making eye contact after the MMR vaccine ......it just scares the crap out of you. Someone told me once that those who choose not to vaccinate are riding on the coat-tails of those who do. The reason your kid will be protected from those diseases is in part, BECAUSE most other children DO vaccinate, preventing a resurgence of those diseases. I'm not sure about this. I do think it is a very controversial issue and one I have not quite made up my mind about. So, I don't think its fair to give Abby the MMR until I really have made up my mind about this. Moms out there- any thoughts about this? No pictures to post- our new digital camera is in the mail on it's way to us. Yay!

Happy Birthday Sweet Abigail

Abby is one year old today. It was one year ago today at 11:42 am that Abby came into this world and I cannot imagine life without her. I look at her all the time and feel so blessed that she is here and really completes our family. I approached a 2nd pregnancy with such hesitation after such a complicated preganancy and premature delivery with Emma. I think it was a hard decision for Mike and I to even have another baby, but I just never felt complete, never felt done until now. And then to become pregnant so easily with Abby and I was on cloud nine, thinking, of course we were meant to have another child. And then came those scary months when things were not so certain. I will never forget the words of the dr. when he tracked me down in Connecticut and told me to get on a plane home for an amniocentis to confirm diagnosis so I would still have "options." I would love to have invited him to Abby's first birthday party today and would have asked him to reconsider his bedside manner when talking to terrified parents who would never even consider another "option."

Anyway, we had a great gathering of just family and very close friends today and Abby was loved upon by all. She LOVED her chocolate cupcake and dove in face first. Emma and her big kid friends helped her open her gifts. It was a great day. Abby was exhausted and chilled in Kate's arms, holding her glow worm, for a good half an hour, enjoying a cozy birthday massage from Kate! What a lucky Girl. Happy birthday, abs, my sweet heart.

Halloween was a blast. Emma had so, so much fun. Again, the runt of the litter, keeping up with all the big kids. She filled her pumpkin and was such a good girl. A big group of us went from house to house and got to catch up with a bunch of friends and neighbors, old and new. It was great. A really, really fun weekend.