Summer List 2014

School is out for me!  Just a couple more days with students for Steve.

We created such fun memories last year with our Summer List, that we once again came up with 100 activities to complete before the start of fall.

 We checked off our first one yesterday - no bake cookies.

Today was pretty low-key after finding out the baby's gender, so we chose to play hide n' seek before bed.

First one checked off - making no bake cookies.

Gender Reveal

Today was the big day - the day of the 20 week ultrasound!  I couldn't sleep, so was up very early to walk to Kwik Trip for a special doughnut breakfast for the kids.  Steve stayed home from work this morning, so after dropping Maggie and Bode off at a friend's house and chugging my 32+ ounces of water, we drove to the Rochester clinic for my appointment.

We wanted to do something kinda fun and different than our first two, so decided to do a gender reveal with just our family.  Steve and I were planning to have the radiology tech put the gender in a sealed envelope, but she accidentally let it slip.  Oh, well.  It was fun to find out anyways.

After stopping by Party City to get a balloon filled with gender-specific confetti, we pick up our kiddos, and let them pop it to discover the surprise.


As you can see, Maggie was less than pleased.  We let her mourn for awhile, and then she was ready to "ooh and ahh" over the sonogram photos.  I counseled her, reminding her that she is still my special girl and that we'll continue to have girl time together.  I also told her the story of when MY new sibling turned out to be a boy when I was 5 years old, but that he was pretty cool after all.  She was still feisty for awhile, telling us it was a very bad day and calling all of us boys and wanting to get rid of Steve, Bode, and the cat (also male), but by bedtime she and Bode were back to hugging and kissing baby and telling him they love him.

Now on to a name!

A scary face photo.

A cute profile pic.

Right arm.

Adorable little feet.

The End of a First School Year

All of our school year activities have been winding down over the past month.  Cubbies, dance, parent-child ECFE class, and now preschool.  The school year seemed so busy that now, whenever Maggie asks what we have going on for the day and I reply, she gets a disappointed look on her face and frustratingly repeats, "NOTHING?!!?!?!"  My little social butterfly.

So to commemorate the school year for Maggie's School Readiness (preschool) class, they had a short program where each of the classes sang a few songs.  We were happy to have Steve's parents attend as well as my mom.  To our disappointment and his, my dad could not attend due to work.  9:00 am on Tuesday morning after all.

One of the ending songs with all three 3&4 year old classes.

Do you see her?  Second from the left.

Family shot before I had to leave for a school day trip and Steve went back to work.

Grandparents, minus one very important Bapa.

Afterwards, Maggie and Bode enjoyed some A&W with Grandma and Grandpa.

Crazy boy.  He has hardly taken off his new shades since they arrived on Monday.

Maggie with her teacher, Mrs. Sara, at the ECFE picnic.

A Baby Tooth - Gone!

This girl just lost her first tooth at age 4 1/2.

First tooth to come in (at 4 months of age) and first tooth to come out.

And that other lower central incisor is getting loose, too.

She is pretty proud, although had a brief moment of panic thinking she wouldn't be able to wear the Ariel costume Grammy has plans to make due to the fact she is growing up.  We assured her that Grammy would make the costume in her size. :)

Our Long Weekend

I know I'm a week behind, but I've been meaning to chronicle our long Memorial Day weekend.  It wasn't TOO eventful, but it did start out with a bit of a scare.

Friday night, our family decided to go out to eat in Rochester.  We opted for El Loro, a Mexican restaurant that's in an old train depot.  It was a beautiful night, so after dinner on the deck, we decided to go for an after-dinner stroll on the nearby bike/walk path.  

All was good until we were almost  back to our car.  We were walking in the right lane and spotted a couple bikes coming down the hill toward us in the other lane.  Steve was ahead with Bode, and Maggie was by my side, furthest from the other lane.  I had just gotten done telling her to stay right next to me due to the bicyclists when, at the last minute, she bolted behind me directly in front of the oncoming bike.  I screamed, the bicyclist screamed, and the next thing I knew Maggie was clobbered and fell flat on her face while the bicycle (sans rider) continued over her.  

I snatched Maggie up as soon as I could get to her, and checked her over quickly for any major injuries.  Although she was all bloody and scraped up, I observed that she appeared to have no serious trauma.  (We found out later that the reason Maggie had run over to the other lane was because she saw a heart drawn in chalk.  *sigh*)  

I had briefly forgotten about the bicyclist in my motherly panic, a 40-something year old mom who was with her teenage daughter, but after I checked Maggie over and had her in my arms, I soon started reassuring the woman that this was not her fault and that Maggie was fine while Steve put the chain back on her bike.  Steve remembered to ask how she was, and it seemed she was physically fine, though very shaken up by the whole incident.  Meanwhile, Maggie was hysterical, and continued screaming and crying while we walked back to the car, drove home to Stewartville, and took a warm bath.

At El Loro - goofing around before "the incident."

That night she zonked right away due to emotional exhaustion.  And I had so many thoughts and emotions going on while replaying the whole incident over and over in my mind for much of the night.  Ah - could have been so much worse.  We are thankful.

The first non-sad face I got out of her that night.  This photo doesn't really show the extent of her scrapes.  Her nose looked much worse the next day.

The rest of the weekend was filled with gorgeous weather and lots of friends.

Visited by our dear friends, the Larsons, Saturday of Memorial Day weekend.  (Have I mentioned there's a baby under that striped shirt?)

Earlier in the week, I was running with Bode in the jogging stroller when we came across this field of dandelions.  "Mommy, pick flowers?"  Couldn't resist. 

Flowers from a cute boy?  Yes, please!

Blowing bubbles.

My girl also got her first bike.  (This was pre-accident.) Yes, we normally wear a helmet.

This guy couldn't be left behind.

We have grilled almost every day for the past two weeks.  Sooo nice.

A gazebo for our patio has created some nice shade.  Slowly making more of a living space outdoors.

Easter Weekend

Not only was it Easter weekend this past weekend, but it was also Spring Break for me with Thursday, Friday, and Monday off of school.  Here are some photos of our weekend:

Kisses for my boy - I will NEVER stop kissing him.

Maggie requested Easter bunny pancakes, so I did my best.

Trying a new way to dye eggs at home  - with shaving cream and food coloring.

It got messy.

Hot Chocolate 5K in Minneapolis with Rebekah on Saturday morning.  The chocolate waiting for us at the end kept us going!

Traditional dyeing at Grammy and Bapa's.

Reading the Easter stoy with Resurrection Eggs while visiting Great Grandma Evelsizer at the nursing home Saturday night.

They resisted a family photo, but we at least got a sibling photo on Easter Sunday.

Easter Sunday - first finding the basket.

Then finding eggs!

So fun!

Some chalk art.

Playing on the lawnmower while my mom and I worked on making her a bench for the entryway.

My Birthday

On Tuesday, I was crowned the "Birthday Queen" by my daughter, complete with a tiara, robe, and a butterfly stamp on my hand.

She even helped design my princess birthday cake, with help from my mom, of course.

Between the royal treatment, lots of Bode hugs, my parents and Steve also helped make the day extra special.

And yes, I was SURE to get my free drink from Caribou.