halloween 2011

Greta had a busy Halloween this year. We started our day with a Halloween party at our friend, Jennifer, and her son, Noah's house. There were lots of moms and kids from our ECFE class there and all the kids had a great time. I wish I would have taken a picture of all the food. Jennifer had made these cute mummy little weiners (wrapped in a crescent roll) and spooky deviled eggs, along with tons of other food. It was a fun party!

The two bumblebees- Greta and Adela

Greta, Maddox, and Kajsa



Greta and Maddox



All the moms and kids.

After the party, we zipped over to a local photographer's studio who was taking pictures of kids in their Halloween costumes. We were in the car for about 30 minutes and Greta fell asleep pretty much immediately after we got in the car from the party. When we got to the photographer's studio she was a little groggy and not in the best mood for photos. This is about the best we got from her.

After the photos, we drove down to Edina where we had to run a couple errands. We were in an office building for one errand and I tried to get a couple pictures of Greta in front of this cute Halloween backdrop but she wasn't having any of it.

Happier once we were outside.

I love her little stinger tushie.

From Edina, we went to the Mall of America to meet my friend Ari and her daughter, Cora.

Cora and Greta

After Chad got off work he took the lightrail down to the MOA and met us there so we could take part in the trick-or-treating festivities at the mall. Greta didn't know what to think about these people trying to put candy in her "purse".

Trick-or-treating like a big girl.

Snack break.

Giving mom her candy out of her "purse".

She only wanted her baby in her "purse".

You can see her baby in her bag here. She's telling Sofie to "sit" and giving her the hand signal.

Sofie's checking out what Greta has in her bag.

We stopped by a few neighbors' houses and then she was pretty much done for the night.

The best picture I could get of the two kids on Halloween.

It was a really busy but fun day. It's amazing to think how much Greta changed from last Halloween in these pictures.

Greta and Elisia at storytime.

I'm excited to see what next year will bring, especially with a new little one too!

Just had to add this picture of Chad dressed up at work this year for Halloween!

the missing baby doll

We had a funny instance tonight that I wanted to document. Chad, Greta, and I went to Kohl's tonight because Chad wanted to buy some new work clothes. Greta loves shopping and usually brings her purse and her baby with her. She likes to walk around the racks and look at the clothes. She's usually really good about staying right by us. After Chad was done picking out clothes he went to try on a few items and Greta sat in the stroller while we waited to give daddy a thumbs up or thumbs down on his outfits. A man commented on how good Greta was being and that she had a cute baby doll.

After Chad finished trying on clothes we went to customer service to return a few things. Greta started getting a little fussy because she wanted milk so Chad held her. They split from me and went off to look at socks and shoes. We then met up in the shoe section and we picked out a pair of shoes for Greta. She had fun walking around the aisles and testing out her new shoes. After this we went to the checkout counter where I realized Greta didn't have her baby doll. I knew we had it when we went to customer service and was suspicious something may have happened to it when she was on her dad's watch in the socks and shoes section. Chad and Greta went back to look for the baby while I paid for everything. As I was finishing they came back to the register and Chad said they couldn't find it. I knew it had to be somewhere in the last area we were just shopping at and went back to take a look for myself. Chad reminded me that it's just a $3 doll but I felt a sentimental tug on my heart to find her baby because it's her very favorite toy. She loves that doll so much and I couldn't bear to have the poor doll sitting lonely in Kohl's all night probably under some clothes rack. My search came up empty and I went to customer service to see if they had a baby doll turned in. Nothing had been returned so we went to search again. Again, no sign of the baby. I went back to customer service to leave my name and number in case the doll was found. We were about ready to leave but I felt like we should take just one more swing through the shoe section. I put Greta in the stroller because she was getting heavy. As we walked through the shoe section for probably the 10th time looking for the doll I hear Greta say "uh oh, baby". I look down and there on top of a box of shoes in the shelf is her baby doll. How funny is it that both Chad and I had been down that aisle numerous times looking for the baby but it took Greta to find it for us? I just can't get over her finding that baby.

While we were searching for the doll, Chad questioned that she had even had it with her at Kohl's but I told him I had photographic evidence:)

Shopping with her baby before the doll went MIA.

day trip to rochester

Two weeks ago, we traveled down to Rochester for the day to visit with Greta's grandma and great aunt, Lorrie. They had made the trip to Rochester so Lorrie could show her afghans in the dog show. We met at the mall and ate lunch at Applebee's. After lunch, we stopped by this fun play area in the mall. Greta had a great time.

She loved this little house.

Getting chased by Grandma.

Always on the run.

All the running around proved to be a good idea because she fell asleep on the car ride home. Ahh... a nice peaceful car ride. It's the little things. 

It's a...

BOY!!

We had our 20 week ultrasound last Monday and one of the first things the tech was able to check off the list was gender. We are very happy to have a little boy join our family next February. Hopefully, Greta won't mind carving out some space in her toy box for some trucks and cars. She is so incredibly girly so maybe having a little brother will tomboy her up a little. Everything looked good on the ultrasound. Our little boy was hanging out pretty low in my pelvis so the ultrasound tech had a hard time getting a good view of a few things. We're going to go back at 24 weeks to see if we can get a better view. This happened with Greta too as she was sitting very low in my pelvis. I was also surprised to find out I have an anterior placenta. Surprisingly, I've felt more movement this pregnancy that I did with Greta.

I'll be 21 weeks tomorrow and I've felt really good so far. It's so weird to have almost the exact pregnancy up to this point as I had with Greta and then find out we are having a boy. I guess I just expected to feel different if I was having a boy- morning sickness, different cravings, etc. But so far, everything seems to be the same as when I was pregnant with Greta.

My friend, Rachel, watched Greta while we had our ultrasound and we were so appreciative of that. She is due a day after me and has her ultrasound this week. I think I'm more excited to find out what she's having than I was for my own ultrasound. I'm weird like that. It would have been fun to have Greta at the ultrasound and for her to see her baby brother but I'm not sure she would really grasp the whole thing either and it could end up going badly. They recommended against us bringing Greta and she was so happy to have some play time with her friend Elle.

I really can't believe how fast the first half of this pregnancy has gone. I think this little boy will be here before we know it!

a girl and her dog

Today we spent a couple hours at Eagles Nest with Greta's friend, Cora, and her mom, Ari. Both girls had a great time. I tried to keep Greta awake in the car ride home by signing songs and talking really loud but I just couldn't keep her awake. She fell asleep a few minutes from our house. Sometimes, it's hard to get her to nap after a car nap but I was able to get her back in her crib and she slept for another 2 hours. She had a busy day!

I took a few pictures of Greta and Sofie playing in the backyard this weekend. Greta is so gentle with Sofie and I think Sofie loves her just as much as Chad or I. They have really turned out to be best buddies. Greta loves to tell Sofie to "sit" and even uses a hand signal like we do with Sofie. I think Sofie is starting to listen to Greta more than us because she always gets extra treats from Greta.

I don't know what I'd do without either one of my 2 "kids."

15 weeks

Symptoms: I'm still feeling pretty good. I know it could be a lot worse. I had a few episodes during the pregnancy and seemed to have more this week where I was having some lets say "intestinal issues." I seem to get sick after I eat salad, but not all the time, and it usually only happens when I'm eating out. I called my clinic today and talked to the nurse about my stomach issues today to see if this was normal. I was also worried that I could feel some pressure in my pelvis and started to get myself so paranoid that I thought I needed a cerclage. This is probably because a friend of a friend had a cerclage so naturally I would think I would need one too. This is why I don't read books or do many internet searches about pregnancy. Anyway, my nurse was able to ease my mind and assured me that I didn't need a cerclage since I wasn't having any of the symptoms and it is normal to feel more pressure, especially when going to the bathroom, at this stage in the pregnancy. That was all I needed and my mind was at ease. I'm still really exhausted but seem to do better if we get out of the house. I don't know if it's the fresh air or my mind just getting distracted on how tired I actually am.

What's different this time: No rest for the weary. Chasing after a toddler doesn't leave much time for naps and since Greta usually only naps once a day that's when I usually try to get things done around the house. Greta has been getting up at least once a night and last night she was up at 12am and 3am and then up for the morning at 7am. Ugh. I would like just a couple months of uninterrupted night sleep before I have to get used to a newborn again. Our plan was to have the kids share a bedroom but I was telling Chad tonight that it's not going to happen until the baby is sleeping through the night because Greta is such a light sleeper I can see her waking up every time the baby cries and I go in their bedroom. Even if I just peak in on Greta at night she will often wake up, which turns into a crying fit. I heard that after they get their 2 year molars their sleep gets better. Here's hoping.

Cravings: Still craving tons of FRUIT! This is the same as it was with Greta. I can't get enough fruit or orange juice. Today at the zoo the only thing that sounded good for lunch was the fruit cup. I'm also loving applesauce and bread and butter pickles. I went to lunch with a friend this week at the Cheeky Monkey in St. Paul and they had a pot o' pickles. It was probably my favorite thing of the whole lunch- and everything was delicious. I'm just in love with sweet pickles. I'd be back over there getting some pickles to-go if it wasn't a 30 minute drive.

Aversions: Nothing sounds super yummy to me (maybe except pickles and fruit) but there isn't anything that I'm completely grossed out by. I'm not too interested in meat.

Sleep: As I mentioned above, not getting a lot of sleep. I think I've just accepted it and am trying to have a more positive attitude about the exhaustion and be happy that I'm not vomiting or feeling more yucky.

I am loving: my dog Sofie this week. She is the biggest cuddler and I just love her to pieces. When I am able to take a nap I just give her the cue and she happily obliges cuddling with me in the bed. She's the best napper ever. I'm also loving the beautiful weather this week and getting out of the house for some fun activities with Greta. We had Chad home all week and it was really nice to have the extra help.

I miss: having more local help with Greta. I would love to just be able to drop Greta off for a date night with Chad once in awhile. I know we could hire a babysitter but I just don't know if I feel comfortable with someone I don't know really well.

I am looking forward to: My midwife appointment this week and getting to hear the baby's heartbeat again.

I'm spazzing about: trying to enjoy the last few weeks of summer with Greta because once winter comes the arrival of the baby will be right around the corner. I also can't believe that next month we'll be having our 20 week ultrasound and (hopefully) finding out the gender.

Best thing about this week: Having Chad home all week. We were busy almost every day with a fun activity with Greta.

Movement: I've felt a little movement this week, but not much and not every day.

zoo and splash pad

We started our day today with a trip to the Minnesota Zoo with my friend, Emma, and her daughter, Harper. We checked out the penguins and Discovery Bay and spent the rest of our time enjoying the nice weather outside at the zoo. We were able to catch the trainers feeding the bears at the Grizzly Coast. The bear comes right up to the barrier and you're only a couple feet away from a grizzly. Neat!

Harper and Greta at the zoo farm.

After a couple hours at the zoo, the girls were exhausted and we headed home. Greta fell asleep right away and slept the whole way home. Usually when she naps in the car she won't take another nap at home. When we got home she was super crabby though so I fed her and put her back to bed and she slept another 2 hours! I was shocked!
Right when Greta was waking up from her nap I got a text that Christin and Rachel would be at the splash pad. I quickly changed Greta and we headed to the splash pad. Greta had a great time with her friends, Ava, and Elle. The sand toys were a big hit. Every time we go to the splash pad Greta gets a little more daring with getting wet. She was still the driest of the 3 girls but she did take a few sweeps through the water this time- which is huge for her. Most of the time she just likes to wander around the splash pad or try to go to the lake.

Greta, Ava, and Elle

Greta and Elle

She was carrying this bucket around like it was a purse.

Ava and Greta

We got home from the splash pad just in time to welcome Chad home. We had such a busy day today I felt like we were barely home. Tomorrow we'll have a more low-key day of errands, cleaning, and laundry. fun.