Apples for Bob

Thankfully this weekend it was nice enough to go outside. Both Emma and I have been going stir crazy! Sunday we probably spent about 2.5 hours outside - the majority of the time feeding Bob. I was teaching her the wonders of the outdoors! I was pulling her around in the sled looking at all the tracks in the snow. We saw deer tracks, coyote tracks, dog tracks and bird tracks. I of course, told her they were Bob tracks (Bob the pheasant that is) and she was very excited about that. So, we walked around the yard again and again looking at Bob tracks. Then, when we went sledding we saw a half eaten apple surrounded by Bob tracks. So, I told her that Bob was eating an apple. She kept saying "Bob - apple - yum." "Apple Bob" over and over and over.... So, I told her that for snack, we would have apples and bring the rest of it out to Bob. She thought that was a great idea.

That afternoon Tim, Emma, and I headed outside again to take some clippings from our trees in the backyard and grow more trees ( I know - so exciting :-). We brought out our apples and put them outside by some lilac bushes where we saw a lot of Bob tracks. She kept having to go over and look at the apple to see if Bob had eaten it yet. Well, sadly, he had not. So, today when we got home from work/daycare, we headed outside again to see. Honestly, I don't know if Bob had eaten it or not, I really don't think so. However, I had to tell Emma that he had, right? That made her very happy!

Everything else is good here. Tim is taking his last few classes to finish his MBA and then may be heading to Hong Kong for his thesis project in the beginning of August. Hopefully a few weeks before the baby comes! He will be over there for 10 long days! Let's see.... 9 months pregnant, rambunctious 2 year old...all by myself hmmm.. I will most likely be heading to Mom & Dad's when I am not working!

It seems as though Emma has been doing a lot of cute things lately, but now, of course, I cannot remember them! Let's see.. Tim sneezed yesterday and Emma looked at him and said "Bless you." She really misses the neighbors as we have not seen them for 2 weeks! They were suffering from the flu one week and then Kristen was on vacation the next. Hopefully this week she will get some Kellogg time.

Baby #2 is good. Nothing to report there.

Finally - some pictures. Tim and Emma went to Gander Mountain. Tim to look for an ice fishing shack and Emma because she loves shopping now. He found her some nice snow clothes for next year at a great price! However, she has a lot of growing to do!


Here is one of her baby doll strollers. I am doing dishes one day and I look around for Emma and find her in the stroller. How she managed to get in the stroller is beyond me. We had a hard time getting her out!

Not enough credit

Okay - I did not give the baby enough credit in my previous post. I just checked out all of my pregnancy calendars, which detail the changes in the baby and in myself, in a weekly basis and the baby has everything now that an adult human has - they are just teeny tiny and developing. The sex has already been determined, but cannot be detected yet AND it is moving all around. Pretty cool! So, while it may look a little weird yet - it is truly a miracle!

And, I know I am a huge dork, but pregnancy facinates me. The pregnancy calendars tell you about the same stuff, but still a few times a week I read each one. I probably sign on to about 4. So, I read the same stuff 4 times. The measurements differ in each one, but are still pretty close.

Okay, the dork is signing off now.

The miracle of life

As cool as the baby counter-downer thing is, right now the baby looks kind of weird. It is about the size of a grape and as you can see from the left has a tail, small arm buds, little legs kind of, and that is kind of it. A lot of the organs are developing, but sill, the baby looks weird.

Not too much to report. Emma is calmly rocking with Tim and watching the Hunt for Red October. I may start doing some digital scrapbooking, which I am way behind on, or read my book for book club. This month it is "The Thirteenth Tale" by Diane Setterfield. So far, so good, but I am only 40 pages in.

I should apologize for my last blog about the pregnancy weight. I guess I was a little emotional, but with all the hormones surging through my body, I bet you will be reading a few of those the upcoming months.

Tomorrow night I am going to a movie with some friends and am VERY excited! I don't think I have been to a movie for about 2 years! We are going to see 27 dresses and I plan on getting a huge tub of popcorn and enjoying the whole experience.

That is really all I know. I am off to read and then watch Cashmere Mafia. That show is somewhat entertaining. I don't like that all the new shows are compared to Sex and the City. There is only ONE Sex and the City and comparing it to that show will not make me watch it anymore. I wish the writers strike was done. I want my old shows back!

Peace.

Shivering

For some reason I am shivering now... uncontrollably. It could be the bitter-cold weather we have been having lately. Or, it could be the bowl of ice cream I just ate. You see, I can do that now. I am pregnant. -sigh- and that is where my downfall lies. Talking myself into this stuff. Hmm... I am hungry - I better have some yummy fried noodles with tons of butter and garlic. What Tim, it is almost 9:00pm? That's okay - I am pregnant. What tops that meal off the best? A bowl of Rocky Road ice cream. I know - I can basically see the pounds adding. However, to somewhat justify it (you see, that is what I can do now with the pregnancy thing) I need to eat about every hour & half to maintain my health. If I don't - I feel sick. Mostly, I try to snack on healthy stuff - mostly. It is really a hard thing actually, needing to eat that often. I am not kidding here people. I know the baby needs healthy food. I know that I need healthy food. However, I eat an orange and it sticks with me for a half an hour. If I eat a bagel - it sticks with me much longer. Same thing with ice cream. I don't need to eat as soon after I eat ice cream. It is hard to constantly eat - especially with a 20 month old needing to sit on my lap, or taking my finger so I can go play.

My goal is to not gain as much weight as I did with the first pregnancy. However, since I still have some of the weight left over from that first pregnancy, I guess I am already starting out higher than I should. Damn. It is hard losing that weight. Well, it is for me anyway. If baby #2 had not come along, I would have done another triathlon probably. I think that is going to be my best weight-loss strategy. It worked before - however- when I did the triathlon before I did not have a kid. Finding time to exercise right now is hard and I am just not making it the priority that I should.

Anyway - enough babble about the baby weight. Ugh.....

So - what about those Packer's eh? I did get crap at work today about the game. But you know what - half our team did not show up. They did not look like they wanted to play. I have to question some of the play calling - some of the flags that were thrown - everything. But, when it comes down to it, we were beaten because we did not show up. Maybe they were just too cold. Which I can understand (as I still sit here shivering).

Emma's new favorite book is "5 Little Ducks" which she got from her Nana for Christmas. It is a song, I guess, so I make up some notes and sing it to her - poor little kid! It starts like this "5 Little Ducks went out one day - Over the hill and far away" So - I am singing this to Emma and she is laughing, all of a sudden Tim decides to sing. "5 Little Ducks went out one day - Daddy went out and shot them all...." Nice, huh? Nothing like teaching your 20 month old the concept of death by hunting through a children's song.

She has really been into cooking lately and will bring us plates of wonderful plastic food if we are typing, reading, or doing whatever. Tonight she brought us a plate of ovals. My daughter, being the genius that she is, loves reading books. One of the books is "Little Critter Shapes". She can identify a few shapes and her favorite shape is the oval. I am thinking that she is really applying the shapes into everyday life as she identified an egg the other day as an oval. I applaud her and think to myself that she is at least a year ahead of her age (haha!). Well, now she just thinks that eggs are ovals and not eggs. In fact - she doesn't know what an egg is, just an oval. So - she brought Tim and I the plate of eggs and says "Ovals, Mama. Yummm..." Yup - nothing like a good oval.

That's it. I need to go to bed apparently. I am still shivering.

Coming soon....

to a hospital near you - BABY HEUER!!!! Emma is going to be a big sister and boy is she excited. She knows that Mama has a baby in her tummy and many times thinks that she does also. The baby is due September 6 and I have a LONG way to go :-)

For the most part, all is good. I have a little queasiness when I am hungry, VERY tired, and cannot wait to get out of the first trimester. 6 more weeks to go. However, I am very lucky compared to some woman, I know. I just have to keep reminding myself to eat, as that is when I feel the best. So, that usually means I am eating about every hour & half. Emma and I went grocery shopping today to buy more snacks, fruit and vege's to keep the day going.

Emma is very excited (as much as she can be anyway). We have been telling her all about being a big sister and the fun things that will come from that. She will be getting a new room all decorated just for her! She will be getting a new bed to sleep in AND a little one to play with - eventually.

I am a bit nervous about the prospect of two babies.... how to shop, how to do basically everything. But, I am sure I will get the hang of it. Tim and I are somewhat hoping for a little boy, but of course above all, we just want a healthy baby!

That's all I can think of for now. I guess that is big enough news, eh??

I don't want to work, I want to bang on the drums all day....

I don't want to play - I just want to bang on the drums all day!

(sound familiar anyone??) That is the touchdown song, which they play at Lambeau field sometimes when the Packers score. Man - did they do that a lot on Saturday! WHAT A GREAT GAME!!!! I have to admit, I HATED the first 3 minutes, but after that, my man Brett and his team did GREAT! Although - you all know that reading in cyber-land. I think all of my dedicated readers are Packer fans! YEAH!!! (Tim does not read my blog!)

Anyway - the weekend was fabulous! It started out with book club on Friday night. We just read "An Inconvenient Wife" which was a great period piece depicting the inner-struggles of a New York Socialite and her position in life. I highly recommend it to anyone reading - it was disturbing at some parts - but well worth it! It was one of those I didn't want to put down and stayed up late to read.

Saturday morning, Em and I headed to my friend Sarah P's house for brunch. There we met Ande and Nicki for idle chit-chat (we actually had an agenda - haha!) and watched Emma torture Sarah's cat. Emma loved the cat - the cat just didn't love her back. And NO, we are not getting cats! After brunch, we headed up to the cabin. Tim, Mom & Dad were up there and the guys are working on finishing off the basement, so Emma and I did not intend to go. Then, I mentioned it and Emma got so excited and shouted (PAPA!) so we headed that way. Emma LOVES the cabin. Well, so do Tim and I, but Emma especially. We watched the game, saw Tim's family and it was good. Tim put down an air mattress in Emma's bedroom between the beds, I stacked the edges with pillows so Emma would not bump her head, and she was off! Jumping on the mattress, falling on the mattress and grabbing everyone's finger to "play" and lead them to her room. It was very cute. That was probably her favorite toy at the cabin, but the not-to-distant second is her fishing pole. We got her a kiddie fishing pole last year and she was constantly "ishing". Tim put a plastic fish on the end and she learned how to drop the line and reel it back in. She will be onstoppable this summer!

This week is the usual - work now, then cleaning time. I have been pretty tired lately, so some nights I have been in bed around 9:30! Then of course, I read my books for a while and then settle in.

No pictures tonight. We recently received some cute ones for daycare I will post soon.

Not much going on

Really, not much is going on, so I really don't know why I am blogging. We had a good day at home today. After breakfast, we played babies and with her dollhouse. Then the normal Thursday stuff - laundry, sweeping, and cleaning bathrooms. Yeah, I know, real exciting. She took a good nap today, which was needed on both of our parts, so I could fix our internet and do more cleaning. I hate it when the internet is not working. Just shows how dependent I have become on it!

Emma continues to try out new words and sing new songs. She is so fun to be around now. While sitting on her little potty, she will read me stories when I get tired of reading the same ones to her. It is amazing how she remembers what the words are and tries to say them back. Speaking of the potty, we are still seeing progress. ESPECIALLY after this afternoon as I bought her new stickers for her potty chart - Dora and Sponge Bob. When we got back home from Target, she had to sit on the potty about 4 times in an hour. Mind you - those 4 times, she did not go potty each time, maybe once she did, which resulted in 1 new sticker.

This weekend Tim is heading up to the cabin and Em and I are staying home. Book Club on Friday - Ande is coming up (YEAH!) so we will see her on Saturday. Plus - the big game!!! GO PACKERS! Then, just relaxing. I have been meaning to make Emma a Dora the Explorer blanket, so we may head to JoAnn Fabrics to buy some material. Otherwise, that is it.

Happy Friday everyone!

tired and somewhat cranky

So - yesterday was my first work trip. Where did she go? - one may ask. Some exciting place where she got to experience new sights and smells? Someplace wonderful and exhilarating that she must return to at some point in her life? Hmmm... I wish.. The destination was West Branch, IA (close to Iowa City). We had a work meeting there about some micro-ingredient purchasing responsibilities. Sounds exciting, doesn't it? It was a 4.5 hour drive - mostly in the fog- with 3 other people. The drives went well, the people were fun and the meeting went very well, but West Branch, IA? Seriously? How about California, Florida, or hell, even Texas! I have never been to Texas. That could be fun! All-in-all, it was good. Unfortunately, I had a very bad headache yesterday, so while my co-workers went out for steak and drinks, I stayed back in the room and watched American Gladiators and ordered in a pizza. Which, I must reluctantly admit, I am a fan of American Gladiators. I liked it when I was a kid and like it now also. Wolf-man - how scary is he? And Helga? Man, there is no getting past her!

Emma did well while I was away. I got to speak with her twice on the phone, which was nice. I didn't even cry when I left - which still kind of surprises me. But, I wasn't gone that long. Tim said she was on her best behavior while I was gone. Which, makes me mad. Why isn't she on her best behavior when I am at home? Tonight she was so whiny. I just wanted to play and squeeze her, because I missed her, and she was so whiny and I had to discipline her! Man, did I feel like the bad parent. But, what can you do - she cannot get away with throwing her food, standing on the table, and having her little fits.

I didn't sleep that well and am considering going to bed soon; by like 9:00pm. Sad, I know, but I am reading the Perfect Storm and want to read a few chapters before I fall asleep.

Emma did not want to fall asleep tonight. I was rocking with her a bit and starting singing her good-night song when she looks at me and says "no, no, no!" Then, she puts her little hand over my mouth and says "Stop Mama." It was so cute I started laughing - which is really not the reaction I should have had. She thought she was being cute and continually did that. so, eventually she went to bed.... like me now. I am not even unpacking man- just brushing teeth and going to bed!

Knock Knock

Emma has discovered the beauty of the Knock Knock joke - well kind of anyway. At a recent playdate at the neighbors, Kyra was telling Knock Knock jokes. Emma thought they were hilarious and quickly adapted the Knock Knock Joke into this..... (enter a minute and 15 second video - hopefully!)


Hopefully this works. Let me know - will you?

All is good with the Heuer's. We are all a bit tired as a certain little lady was not wanting to sleep last night. In spite of that, we had a very good day! We spent a lot of time outside, played a lot in the house, and helped Tim build an entertainment center in the garage. I think this was the highlight of Emma's day. Well, that and the Chocolate Cookie Sundae I made her for dessert.

The kid is good. Cracking us up lately actually. She thinks she is so funny and sometimes actually is. Her favorite words - "MINE!" (which she says with authority) and "No, No, No" - yes, all three in succession. Which, sadly, she gets from me!

I think Tim and I are off to watch Ocean's 13 and me- to maybe do some digitally scrapbooking. It is my New Years Resolution - well one of them anyway - to get caught up with my scrapping.

Happy Weekend all!

Blogging the night away...

I love reading blogs. When I sit down to write for my blog, I go through and read everyone else's - which usually takes about a half an hour of my time. But I love it. It is so nice that even though family and friends are far away, you can still be in touch like you talk to them all the time. So - thank you blogger.

I am so glad the holidays are over. While I really love seeing family, presents, the whole shabang - I am glad they are over. I really like my routine, having my house clean, and not having all the tempting holiday treats around the house. Tim and I are going to be around home this weekend for nothing other than cleaning and relaxing.

This past weekend was Christmas with my Dad's side of the family, which is always great. We all get along so well, I joke that we are the Cleaver family. We ate some yummy food, opened up presents, and played games. THEN - the SLEDDING party! About 8pm, when all the babies were sleeping, we headed up to a hill that is great for sledding - the only trouble is watch out for the road below. My cousin Joel, sister Kristen, and I were the proud recipients of the "We went the farthest" award - as we sailed down the hill and thanks to Tim's spinning ended up in the middle of the road. None of us really knew it as we were pretty dizzy from the spin. It was so much fun! While we had no peppermint schnapps or Dr. McGuillicudies to keep us warm, we did have beer and a campfire - ha! After that, we went out snowmobiling around the trails by our house, finally making it home around 1am. Unfortunately, that was the time that Emma decided she was wide awake and did not need to sleep. She was talking, singing, yelling for a bottool (her pronunciation of a bottle) and doing whatever she could to tell me she was not tired. Finally around 4:30am, after a sippy of warm milk, a movie, rocking, and forcefully holding her down, she fell asleep. Unfortunately for me, it was my turn and Tim got to sleep while I was struggling with Emma. At least she slept in a bit and woke up around 8am. That was not enough sleep for me!

The next morning was our small Christmas with my sisters, parents, brothers-in-law, and nieces and nephew. (if you can believe it, this is the best picture I have of the four of them together. Not sure what Emma is doing here...) Emma got a fun baby to bring into the bath with her, a shopping cart, and little toys for her baby - a stroller, swing, crib, and play mat. She loves everything - but tries to use her baby's things as though they are hers.

After that, we headed up to the cabin for New Years. I slept for the way up as did Emma as we were both tired from the long night earlier. Then, we had a relaxing night and celebrated the Packers winning and feeling bad for the Vikings - haha! it was so nice to have a night to relax and do nothing. Tim watched TV and I did some digital scrapbooking. One of these days, I will post some of the pages I am working on!

New Years was uneventful. (Happy New Year from Emma) We went to Tim's sister's house for a party, but were in bed by 10:30. We all still needed the sleep. Emma was out ice fishing with us again New Years Eve day and really loves being out on the ice. She was in the ice fishing shack with us for a bit and helped with tip-up's and even got her first snowmobile ride!! It was so cute. We dined on lobster New Years day and made it home by 4:00 to put together Em's toys and take down Christmas stuff.

--SIGH-- Back to normal.

Jingle bells.. Jingle bells...

Jingle all the way!!

My kitchen is a mess at 10:00pm as we just got home celebrating Christmas with some friends of ours. Tim and I should be cleaning it up, but what is he doing? Rocking with a sleepy Emma. So I figure, if he is not cleaning, I will blog. I need to anyway to share Christmas!

Christmas was so great! Christmas Eve was a fun day with our Christmas party for the girls. Em and I went to the neighbors around 11:00am and the girls were crazy! They were dancing to Christmas music, running around chasing each other and were incredibly hyper! We brought in lunch from Panera (which is ALWAYS yummy!) and the girls took a nap. Which was great because by then, Kristen and I needed a break! Kyra wanted to watch Elmo's Christmas Countdown, even though Kristen and I were hoping for our yearly dose of Miracle on 34th Street. Mom and Dad came not long after that, the girls woke up, and we were off to our sledding party!

The sledding party was at our house behind the garage. A small hill good enough for now, but in a few years they will be bored with it. This year, they LOVED it! The best part for Emma was sitting in the wagon on the way over and in a sled with her cousins! She loves it when all 3 of them are riding together. I don't have pictures of it, but I think Kristen does - it is pretty cute! Then, after about a half an hour, we went back to Kristen's for cookies & hot chocolate (which is the only way I can get Emma back inside from sledding). After that - PRESENTS! Emma was a bit slow on the first one, but the second she handles without a problem. She loves the toy microwave and baby doll clothes she got from her cousins!

That night, Emma's half brother & sister came over for supper. Then - bedtime- which was needed. She was pretty tired after the party with the girls. It was cute to watch her on Christmas Eve as we set out cookies and milk for Santa (I know, Tim thought I was crazy too) but she kept going over and eating the cookie and drinking milk. Then, she would look out the window for Santa. But, she never got to see him!

Christmas Day she was up around 7:15. She walked down the stairs, her eyes got really big when she saw the presents and she started to rip right into one. After Tim and I verified it was for her, we let her at it. She was very excited about the presents! She would open up one, look really excited and then move onto the next. Santa treated her very well. She got a new Cabbage Patch Baby, a set of wooden blocks (which I think are her favorite toy), toy cleaning supplies, a computer set up for babies, Play Dough, a DVD for babies, wooden puzzles... that is all I can remember. Here is Emma feeding her baby. Overall, it was a fabulous morning! (Santa was good to me too - I got a new "Emma necklace" with a green stone for Emma's birthstone, a small digital camera, and a fleece coat)

For my favorite picture - Emma with her lottery ticket. Santa left scratch-off's in our stockings. Emma thought they were the best thing. Here she is trying to see if she won. For some reason, this picture cracks me up. She is concentrating so hard on that lottery ticket. Unfortunately, she is not a winner.

Later that day, we had Christmas with Tim's family. She had a great time there - what a ham! She loved looking out the windows and yelling "No Santa!" then she would run to the next window - "No Santa!" Back and forth- looking for Santa.

Now, we are just relaxing and I am trying to clean up the mess after the holidays. Emma seems to have a good nose for candy as she is always finding some that had been dropped from a stocking or something. A few times, I turn around to find her smiling up at me chomping on a piece of candy. Oh well, I guess that is what the holidays are for!

This weekend we head to Durand for my family's Christmas and then to the cabin for New Year! So busy - I am ready for it to calm down.

Happy New Year everyone! Be safe, be careful on the roads, and count your blessings!

Merry Christmas!

YEAH! It is Christmas. What a great time of year - and- I must admit the holidays bring a different kind of fun with a little one. While I know Emma does not really understand what is going on - she does understand a few things. LIKE - toys. She knows that Santa is going to bring her toys (if she is on the nice list that is) and whenever we talk to her about Santa, her eyes light up and she says "Ho Ho Ho." Today Kristen and I are having a party for the girls. We will bring lunch in from Culvers or KFC, then naptime for the babies and a cheesy Christmas movie for us! When they wake up, we plan on bringing them outside so they can go sledding, then inside for hot chocolate and marshmallows (which Emma LOVES!). THEN- presents! The girls buy one present for each other - so that should be fun. Tim is working from home today, so he should be around for some of it and I think Mom & Dad are coming up for the party also.

(here's a picture of Emma with Santa from the other weekend. She looks pretty happy, doesn't she?)

Tomorrow we are opening presents from Santa and then going to Tim's sister house for his Christmas. Next weekend is my family - so busy!

This past weekend we were up at the cabin and Emma had her first experience ice fishing. She loved it! She thought it was very neat to see the little fish in the buckets (minnows) and watch the tip-up for a fish. We caught two fish when she was with us, so she saw us catch some fish also. Overall she had a great time on the ice - she did put her foot in the hole once, which quickly ended the trip.

I have to run and make breakfast, but here are some other pictures of the past weekend. Sledding and catching snowflakes on our tongue!




MERRY CHRISTMAS!! BE SAFE and HAVE FUN!

From the Heuer's.

(Sorry, I am not checking the post for errors. I have a little one that is pretty sure she needs some breakfast!!)

To all those reading way into my last post

As much as I would like it - there is no baby on the way. So, the only reason I will not be drinking next year is that I have learned my lesson. How you may ask? Let's just say that since I do not remember crashing another company's Christmas party and dancing to THEIR DJ that night, I have no reason to be drinking that much next year. At least I did not do anything stupid or did not act too drunk - or so they tell me. Although, Tim is a pretty reliable source. The good thing about this whole situation?? The people I was with were just as happy as I was - even my boss!

More tomorrow hopefully!

And then - bed

What a long weekend it has been - AND - so much fun!

First - on Friday, I brought Emma down to Papa & Nana's for the night as I had a work party. I was not nearly as emotional this time dropping her off as I was the first time, although I did tear up as I laid her down for her nap. ( I decided to leave while she was napping as I thought it would be easier.) After that, I came back home, cleaned the house, fancied myself up a bit, and went to pick up Tim so we could go to the work party.

The work party was so much fun! Just our small department (with spouses, there was about 30 people there) in a banquet room at the Mariott. Each couple left with a metal bucket that was personalized and filled with a bottle of wine, two wine glasses, a candle, and chocolate wine truffles - not too shabby! The dinner was great, the all you could drink/whatever you wanted to drink selection was too available, and the company was great. We played Nintendo Wii's, chit-chatted and had a fabulous night. Plus, our room was very nice. It had feather pillows, a feather duvet, and Bath & Body works toiletries in the bathroom - which - came home with me and are in my overnight bag. Although I had a slight hangover the next morning, which I promised myself I would NOT have, it was a great time. Although - next year the drinks will not be flowing as much - here's hoping!

Saturday was filled with family! Dad, Mom & Aunt Linda came up for the weekend. My Mom, Linda, Kristen, and I went to see the Sound of Music at the Ordway. It was excellent - it definitely exceeded my expectations! Plus - Jack from Days of our Lives was Captain Von Trapp, so we saw a celebrity - HA! The cast was great, singing & acting great - all over - I highly recommend it. Little Gretel was a 4 or 5 year old from Woodbury and she was so cute! After that, we went to the Bayport Cookery where we feasted on a 5 course dinner. We had (1)Shrimp Bisque with a carrot & caviar topping, (2) Endive salad with pomegranates, poached raisins & Viniagrette dressing (3) Game hen with Pear Risotto (4) Pork Tenderloin with Celery Root, & some mustard thing and (5) Chocolate Truffle with Bailey's whip cream & raspberry sauce. It was all excellent. The great thing was that I may not have ordered it in a restaurant normally - but everything was fabulous! Talk about getting out of some of my comfort zones with food, but I was glad I did. It was a bit expensive, but for a special occasion it was fun.

Today we did the 8th floor of Macy's - which was good. Emma did really good with that. Her eyes were wide and bright and pointing at the display. She took a good nap and I am working on Christmas cards - I hope to have them all out tomorrow! Now, bed time for the work week ahead.

Discipline

So - the question of the day is how to discipline a year & a half year old. Is it possible? Am I expecting too much out of my darling child? For example - whenever she is done eating, she starts to throw her food on the floor. Tim and I tell her "No" in a stern voice, take her food away, and have swatted her little hand. What does she do? She looks at us and laughs. I think she is old enough to know not to do that. Am I wrong? Tonight, she got to be too much and I put her in her crib for a few minutes. That seemed to help. So, I may put out the pack-n-play for her time out spot again. Any other suggestions are greatly appreciated!!

Emma saw Santa this past weekend. Thankfully it was just at Hagberg's, which is a small grocery store in Lake Elmo. I say that because it was free to see Santa and we could take pictures with our own camera. Emma cried and screamed the whole time. So, I am happy that I did not have to pay money for that whole experience. We were only there for maybe 5 minutes, of which the whole time Emma cried. It was so cold, I was afraid her little tears were going to freeze on her face. I basically expected the crying anyway, as I can see why a little kid would be scared of Santa.

I am glad my work week is almost over. Christmas is so busy (I have STILL not started on my Christmas cards!!) that I feel like I need a break. This weekend will be a nice break also as Friday night is my work Christmas party. Our department is having a party at the Marriott hotel in Minneapolis - dinner, drinks, hotel room included - YEAH!! Tim and I need a night out. Mom & Dad have graciously offered to watch Emma for the evening. Then, my Mom and Aunt Linda are coming up to see The Sound Of Music at the Ordway and then go to eat at a little resaurant in Bayport. The restaurant is one that has no menu, they buy local food/vege's etc and prepare from there. It should be fun!

Here are more Christmas pictures as promised. Sorry it has taken so long!

Quick update

Just a quick one as I plan on getting to bed early tonight. Although, I plan that on most days I work, today I need to. We had our small Christmas party last night and it went great. I got to bed at 1am and Emma was up around 6:30. Needless to say, I am tired.

The weekend was spent getting ready for the party and then cleaning up after the party. Everyone had a great time - as did Emma- which was nice to see. I never know how she will act in those situations, but since the party was on her home turf, she had a great time. What a ham :-)

Yeah Packers! My parents were at the game and I am so jealous! I love Lambeau. Maybe next year. I took a nap during the game for probably about an hour & half. It felt so good; I needed it.

That is all. Hopefully more tomorrow night when I have energy.

clutter, cookies, and mayhem

Kids... gotta love them. Within the hustle & bustle of the holidays are certain expectations. Christmas cookies, Christmas gifts, Christmas parties, snow, etc. You get the picture. I love all the snow we have been having lately. What I don't like is the driving - especially in my commute to and from work. However, thankfully on Monday when we had like 5 inches of snow, my boss let me leave at 2:00 - 2 hours early! Which was much appreciated! It took me about an hour & half to get home, versus my co-worker (who lives in Woodbury) left at 5:00 and it took him 3 hours. Yuck!

Christmas cookies - Emma was a big helper yesterday while I was making peanut blossoms. She sat on the bar-chair in the kitchen and unwrapped approximately 15 kisses - and ate 4. Oh well, such is to be expected :-)

Mayhem- Christmas shopping.... I really need to start doing more of my Christmas shopping online - Especially when my stops include a little one. I was at one particular store (which I cannot mention just in case a certain someone will be reading) and Emma proceeded to take off her boots and socks. She always does this in the car, so I am used to it there - but in a store?? Seriously?? So, of course, I try to put them back on and she screams "NOOOOOOOO!" and kicks her little feet back and forth. Now, realizing I am that annoying mother with her ill-behaved child, I take a deep breath and put them in my purse until we need to go outside. I check out, bend down to attend to Emma and I get the "NOOOOOOO!" and kicking again. I try to reason with her to tell her that she needs to wear boots otherwise her little feet will freeze - but this does not help. Finally, with her crying and still kicking, I hold her little leg, jam her boots on her feet and leave the store - quickly... very quickly... Then, after that escapade, while leaving the grocery store with various vege's and candies for the cookie baking, she refuses to sit in her carseat. She will not bend her legs! AHHHHH! Why do I even bother??? Then, as I am driving home, I look back at her in the rearview mirror, sucking her thumb. She looks at me and blows me a kiss and I melt. It is amazing how they have the ability to do that.


Christmas pictures - as promised... I can only bring one up for now. I will try more later.

Smile for the camera

(But first an "AHHHHHHHH" as I had a huge blog typed and it disappeared!!!!) Okay, regroup......

I see more and more in Emma how much she loves attention and being a ham - not for me, mind you - but towards others. To me, she can be a stubborn, feisty little girl (sometimes) but for others, she turns on the charm. That was seen this weekend in Milwaukee. Emma, I, Mom, and Dad went down to Milwaukee to visit the Palmers and my dear friend Ande. A great time was had by all and we thankfully did not have to drive in bad weather - although the over-exuberant weathercasters in that area were declaring the weather treacherous and brutal, it was really not that bad. Emma really only wanted me to hang on to her the whole time we were there, which is odd as she loves Nana and Papa and will usually go to them with no problem. However, even though she wouldn't go to anyone else, she still proceeded to ham it up with her running around and around the staircase waiting to be chased -AND- continually putting her little hands on their little rock fountain even though she knew she wasn't supposed to. She would touch the fountain and then run over to someone wanting them to touch her hands because they were wet and they were not supposed to be. Plus, her little peek-a-boo game with uncle Roger and smiling shyly at everyone else. All-in-all it was a great weekend and great to see everyone again!

Yesterday we went to Kristen's to take Christmas pictures. I came armed and prepared with 3 different outfits and 2 different pairs of shoes. Depending on Emma's mood, she will refuse to put on things that I want her to wear - example: her cute little Christmas dress. I brought the tried-and-true santa suit for her to wear if she refused to wear anything else.

Sure enough, for me, she REFUSES to put on the Christmas dress, so I sigh and reach for the next option when Kristen comes up to the "studio". Emma runs over to her and says "Mama" and wants to be held. (yes, she still calls Kristen Mama) Then proceeds to let Kristen put the Christmas dress on her when not even 3 minutes ago she was crying when I tried to do it... ahh...the joy of kids. The pictures go okay, she tolerated us trying to get her to smile and doing "itsy bitsy spider" but was really more interested in what Kyra and Kaylee were doing. But, then Uncle Craig came in the room and it was like a light switch had been switched - Emma the model. She would do anything that Craig asked her to do - lay on her belly, put on the Santa hat, say Ho HO HO, you name it. If Craig asked her to do it, she would. It was really cute actually because he had her smiling and laughing pretty good. It just goes to show you that the little ones really do have a mind of their own.

I have not seen the pictures yet, but Kristen said they look good and I will post some hopefully tonight when I have them.

I am at work now looking outside at the beautiful snow we are having. In 3 hours though when I need to leave and drive home, I may not like it though. Traffic slows really bad, even when there is no snow on the road that it is frustrating!

That's all I know. I have a week filled with cleaning & baking as we are having a Christmas party on Saturday night and I don't really have anything ready for Christmas, except the tree.

The potty monster

I have created a monster....

I was relaxing the other day and reading the Sunday Pioneer Press when a front page headline caught my eye "Diapers? We don't need no stinkin' diapers!" It was an article about potty-training infants. Nothing I have not heard before. The parents are basically trained ( I still find it hard to believe that a 12 week old can do this on their own) to know when their infants are messing or wetting their diaper and they set them on a little bowl, a sink, or a tiny potty. I still find that to be extreme. HOWEVER, they had a bunch of specifics in their article about how the US is far behind the world in the age kids are potty-trained. Many are trained by 1 year old. That being said, I knew this was something Tim and I would have to tackle with Emma at sometime, so I figured I may as well start introducing the potty to Emma.

That night, I could tell when she was messing her diaper, so I set her on the potty. She went!!! She actually did! She was excited because I was excited and I proceeded to give her M&M's. Well, ever since then, she wants to sit on the potty - I am sure just to get M&M's. No other success's, just the first time. Emma usually wakes up from sleeping at night, with a dry diaper, so I am starting to get in the habit of putting her on the potty to see if she will go. Today, no such luck.

So, today we went to Walmart to do some Christmas shopping and Tim and I discussed buying Emma a little potty and some little undies - which are SO CUTE! I came home from Walmart with the potty, undies, pull-ups, and a book on potty training. So, I got them out and Emma loved them all! She had to sit on the potty immediately. Then she got up, got some toilet paper to "wipe herself". I figured, okay, put the diaper back on - which she absolutely REFUSED! Finally, I wrestled the diaper on her and went to put away my groceries. Before I know it, I look over and her diaper is OFF and she is sitting on the potty, then climbing off.. sitting on it... climbing off. Such a fun toy! I try to get the diaper on and she refuses again. So, I put on a Dora pull-up. Next thing I know, that is off and she is doing her dance on the potty again - on/off/on/off. She would not stop until I put the potty chair away while she was sobbing.

Finally, while I was making lunch she seemed content pulling all of the pull-ups out of the package and putting her Dora undies on - over her diaper.

I am happy she is enthusiastic about the potty, but she still doesn't get it. Which is fine, I was not expecting her to get it right away as she is so young, but I know many people are successful in potty-training young toddlers. What the heck - might as well try.

This weekend we are off to Milwaukee to visit family and friends. Tim is off hunting (last time this year!) to S. Dakota to find more pheasants, so Emma and I are going with Mom & Dad to Milwaukee. Should be lots of fun!

New words

Emma has been really starting to talk and imitate a lot more - her new favorite words -- Uh huh and NO. She uses Uh Huh ALL THE TIME. "Emma do you want peaches?" - Uh Huh. "Emma do you want to take a bath?" Uh Huh. "Emma, do you want to run around the house like a mad girl?" Uh Huh. I am trying to persuade her to use yes instead of Uh Huh, but it is not working. And that no word?? It is a long drawn out, whine of a "No". Always said with intent and force. Great. She has started to say Thank You, which is nice. Although, some of these words probably only Tim and I understand. But, that is okay.

Thanksgiving here was good. Nice, quiet, and relaxing. We had plenty of food, which Emma did not eat much of. I think she is turning into a picky eater. For Thanksgiving, she only ate ham and dinner rolls. Not the sweet potatoes, stuffing,or potatoes. She didn't even want to try the other stuff. She would either turn her head away and say "NO" when I tried to feed her or take it off her plate and put it on the table, which is her sign that she is done. But, even through her pickiness as an eater, Tim and I not making another meal for her. I have read many articles that say do not make picky eaters another meal as they will just get used to that. So, Emma some meals does not eat much. Then we just feed her a bigger snack. She is a solid kid, I am not worried about the weight yet.

Kristen and I ventured out shopping at 5am to hit the deals while the guys stayed home with the babes. It was fun, frustrating but fun. Not frustrating because of the crowds, but frustrating at the oblivions out there! I want to Target to find a portable DVD player for Emma for a Christmas gift and there was a HUGE line just to get into the store. Crazy, I know (this was at 6am). Target was NOT AT ALL organized for the crowds, it was horrible really, and there were a few people trying to find the portable DVD players. Well, this one older woman was complaining that they did not have any (and dumb sales woman for saying that she did not think they had any) and the older woman says "Well, how can you not have any? That is false advertising." Whatever lady, it is not. THEN at Toys R' Us, this one guy was totally complaining to one sales woman monitoring the line (which, was wrapped all the way to the back of the store) about how Toys R' Us was horrible at monitoring the crowds, he could not believe the lines were that long, and couldn't they have more check-outs? Excuse me stupid man, if you are going to complain about the long lines and crowds on Black Friday, you should not be out. That is my philosophy, you know how bad it is going to be, so don't go out. I have to commend Wal-mart about how well organized they had it at 5 am. All the door busters were spread throughout the stores and all sales people had maps as to where the deals were! It was pretty impressive.

This past weekend we went home for more deer-hunting and no deer. It was a depressing hunt for me as I did not even shoot my gun and then my husband gets 8. Whatever.... We enjoyed some great family time, pizza, and a night parade in Durand. Emma did really well at the parade - she was pointing at a lot of the lights and seemed to enjoy it.
The picture is of Emma on Wednesday night, the night before Thanksgiving. Cute little outfit, eh? She LOVES this Christmas outfit. I think she would wear it every day if I did not hide it on her. I bought her the cutest little dress for Christmas (red, plaid, very cute!) that she liked in the store and now refuses to try it on. *Sigh* remembering the days where I could dress her in whatever she wanted and did not protest. Anyway, along with her Christmas outfit, she had to wear my polka-dot sandals. Quite the combo, don't you think?