Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! It seems that every year we have more and more to be thankful for; and that is such an amazing feeling! We’ve always had a great family and some really great friend. We are very lucky to have good, stable jobs that we enjoy. We don’t have a perfect relationship, but we sure love each other and are so lucky to have each other. We have the most amazing little girls, and are lucky enough to be celebrating a “first Thanksgiving” two years in a row. We have a beautiful roof over our heads…an expensive one that steals most of our money, but it’s there! We have two working cars, which get us from point A to point B, even though one steals the rest of our money and one is not very reliable! In the end, even though we could find a ton of stuff to complain about and have plenty of “woe is me” moments, we are truly blessed and have far more to be grateful for.I was up bright and early and in the kitchen to make the Thanksgiving pies (apple and pumpkin, yum!) and some cinnamon rolls. Once she woke up, Christian took Amelia over to his parent’s house so we could focus on cleaning up the house and getting everything done. Olivia woke up just in time to enjoy some cinnamon rolls and watch the parade with me! She wasn’t TOO into it this year, but it caught her attention here and there. We started getting some of the prep work done (chopping, peeling, cutting, etc.) and finally were able to shower and get ready for company. My mom came over around 12:30 to hang out and help us, and his parents came over around 1:30. Christian and his dad had to brave the FREEZING cold and wind while they deep-fried the turkey (this was the coldest Thanksgiving since 1985!). My mom, my mother in law and I rotated between preparing, cooking and watching the girls. I finally got Amelia down for her nap, and she slept long enough for us to finish cooking and eat! After dinner, we all cleaned up and were exhausted and way too full…we were like zombies glued to the couches! My mom headed out, followed by his parents shortly after. We were able to just relax and spend a little time together before it was time for bed. Amelia did NOT want to do down for me tonight, which never happens. And, I had to get ready for black “Friday” shopping, so Christian took over and got her down.Shortly after 9:00 our friends Nate and Gini came over. Nate and Christian hung out watching some TV and catching up while Gini and I braved the Toys R Us crowd. Now, I knew it was going to be a madhouse, but OMG I never imagined what we were in for! We pulled off the highway and could see the line wrapped around the shopping complex. It was CRAZY. We considered throwing in the towel, but decided to just go for it. We stood in line outside (in the freezing cold) for about 30 minutes. Once in the store, it was pure chaos. Lines ever where, people everywhere, madness! We split up…she found the tea trolley and got in line, I found the Mickey Train and met up with her. The thing we really wanted, a Graco doll nursery set, was nowhere to be found, and I was very sad. We ended up in line to pay for over an hour! I could not believe it. As soon as we got to the front of the line, I spotted the nursery set up by the door and one of the employees grabbed one for us. I wanted to pass out I was so excited! We finally checked out, made the long, cold trek back to the car, got home, and were exhausted! I got home just in time for Amelia to wake up hungry, Nate and Gini headed home and we all passed out. It was a looooong day! And, with Amelia’s current sleeping habits, I think it’s going to be a looooong day tomorrow too!Here are some of our pics from today. Of course Olivia is on a new kick of refusing to cooperate for pictures, so I couldn’t get a good one of the girls together. Boo!
Today was the start of my long weekend! Christian’s mom had to work today, so I got to spend the day home with my ladies. And boy did we have a good day! Everybody was happy and content. NO crying, no crabbiness, it was wonderful! Christian had to start early, and work late, because of the long weekend, so he picked up some dinner on his way home from work and we all just hung out.We got all of the Thanksgiving food shopping done on Sunday & Monday, so we are set there. We decided to be lazy this year since it’s just my mom and his parents coming over for dinner, so we didn’t worry about cleaning up the house like we usually do…just did some light dusting and picking up. I did scrub down the kitchen, but was able to do that during the day. So, we had the whole evening to just hang out and relax together. And, we’ll be off to bed early because tomorrow will be an early and long day…baking, cooking, cleaning up, shopping...I’m tired just thinking about it!I can officially announce that Amelia is a roller! YAY. She’s been working so hard on it for so long…she would get on her side and just get stuck there, turning in circles and scooting all over. But, she has now gone belly to back to belly to back a few times, and thinks it’s just hilarious! I took some pics of her tonight showing off her new trick!
I walked out of the marble nuthouse and let out the biggest sigh of relief today...for, today, was my Friday! And it was a wonderful feeling! 5 glorious (but busy) days off are ahead of me. I cannot wait for Thanksgiving, spending some quality time with Christian and the girls and all of the fun in store for us this weekend!Today was a very busy day at work. Trying to tie up some loose ends before the very long weekend and of course, the typical “weekend” chatting with everybody! After work we all just met up at home and took it easy most of the night. We had Amelia on the floor for some “floor time”, Olivia decided to join her, along with Minnie and Mickey, of course! It was quite the party!
Well, today was another pretty low key day for us. My work is pretty dead, so today and tomorrow will basically be catch up days, which is nice. Christian’s work is busy as usual gearing up for the Holiday. After work I picked the girls up and headed home while Christian stopped into Sam’s Club and Target to get the last of our Thanksgiving dinner ingredients. We all met up at home and we able to have a pretty peaceful night there. We hung out, ate some dinner, played for a while and then it was off to bed for the girls. Christian and I did our usual evening chores and called it a night pretty early as well. Yup, today was a pretty boring day, just the way we like it!
I decided to step out from behind the camera today, and totally spaced at finding a good throwback photo to post today, so I’ll have to come back and do that!
Today was a good ending to a good weekend. Amelia had me up from about 5-7AM, but then she and I cuddled up in bed and slept together until around 10:00! It was great, we needed to catch up on some sleep! And, her sleeping until 5AM was gift enough to begin with! Christian and Olivia hung out together while we slept, I’m sure Olivia loved her alone time!
We quickly ate some breakfast once we were all awake, and I double checked our Thanksgiving Day shopping list, then, we were out the door, heading to the grocery store. It’s truly amazing just how much stuff you need to make one meal! Christian’s parents are buying the turkey for us, so that’s one thing we didn’t have to worry about. Our menu last year was perfect as can be, so we are just making the exact same stuff…which means I had most of the seasonings that we needed. That helped. There were a couple of things Cub didn’t have…Christian will be off running errands tomorrow to find those things. But, for the most part, we’re all set! The best news is that we actually made it through a shopping trip, as a family of four, with no breakdowns! I had the cart for food, and Christian pushed the girls around in another cart…they had carts with little cars in the front so Olivia was able to “drive” that, while the car seat was in the basket. It worked out well, maybe we will be able to go out in public again finally (maybe….).After shopping, the girls ate their lunch and took their naps, while we watched the most disgusting display of football I’ve ever seen in my life. The Vikings lost to the Packers…well, they might as well have just forfeited really…31-3! How is that even possible?!? Man, this year is beyond crappy. Definitely time for some changes in the Vikings world…After the game, Christian did a little cleaning up in the garage, we made some dinner and hung out for a while. His dad was having some more car troubles, so he went over with Olivia to help work on that. It worked out well because Amelia was having a really hard time sleeping and eating today…just too distracted. So the quiet for a couple of hours did her some good. Now, it’s on to my two day work well…how will I ever make it?!? :)
Olivia is suddenly obsessed with Spongebob. I actually HATE Spongebob…the show is gross and has no educational value to it whatsoever. Unfortunately, she watches is A LOT over at my in-laws during the day, and has fallen in love with him, so there isn’t much we can do about it. She spotted Spongebob in line at the grocery store, so we gave in. She was very proud of him and carried him around the rest of the night…
Oh boy, it’s date night for us!!! Christian and I have not been out together, just the two of us, in a very, VERY long time. We went to see George Lopez in March, and before that, who knows. We haven’t even been out period since before Amelia was born. It was long overdue. My mom very generously offered to come babysit the girls, and even gave us a little spending money, so we could go out for a little while. YAY.
The day started out well. We all had breakfast together and spent the whole morning together, just hanging out. While the girls napped, Christian ran to get the last of the plastic we need to finish the windows, and I started getting ready for our big date! He quickly got ready when he got home, my mom came over around 5:00 and we were off. We decided to just head to the Mall of America since it’s so cold out, and there was plenty to do there. We started off with a game of mini-golf…it was packed…and, Christian may or may not have won. I will not say. However, he did get a hole in one on the last hole, which won us a free game on our next visit! YAY. After golf, we stopped into a new mix-your-own frozen yogurt place and got a yummy before-dinner treat. We stopped into Carter’s to get the girls’ Christmas Dresses, then finally were off to dinner. We ate at a Mexican place in the mall and just hung out chatting for a while. I had a Pina Colada, and with my lovely post-pregnancy tolerance level, I was pretty tipsy :) After dinner, we just went home. The weather was supposed to be turning bad, and we didn’t want to be out super late anyway. We got home around 8:30. Amelia woke up right when we got home, so we hung out with her for a bit, then put her back down. Then, we just watched a little TV together and called it a night.
So, nothing super exciting, but just what we needed! Here’s a cute picture of the girls this morning, and a picture of us on date night! Oh, how fun. 
Today was my Friday off with the girls. YAY. 4-day work week this week, 2 days next week, sounds good to me!
The girls were great today. We all slept in a little bit. I got some QT alone with each lady. We got in lots of playing. It was just a perfect girl’s day in.
Christian picked up some dinner on his way home and we just spent some time together. After dinner, I wanted to get the dishes done and the kitchen cleaned up, so those three had a little dance party in the kitchen while I did that. These are the little moments I just love. Cleaning up and taking care of the house, with little intervals of play with my girls, while watching those three goof around and bond. Just, REAL family time. It doesn’t get much more perfect than that!
Finally it was time for baths and bed. I was pretty exhausted from a long week and long day, so I went straight to bed after the girls. Christian stayed up watching TV until who knows when….I don’t know how he can stay up like that all the time. I’m always passed out long before him!
Olivia has a new lov...body parts. She loves naming and pointing at her body parts these days…usually resulting in her pointing out your body parts as well. So, today, she proudly showed me her eyes, nose, mouth, ears and [messy] hair. She’s getting really good at it! She was bored with me taking pictures so she wouldn’t cooperate for anything else. Short attention span I guess!
Today was a typical busy-before-the-weekend day at work. I was there a little late trying to tie up all the loose ends (like usual). We did have a yummy breakfast potluck for a co-workers birthday today, and that was delightful! Christian has still been getting is 1-2 hours of OT every day. So, same old stuff there.
After work I was out and about doing a little shopping. Picked up Amelia’s last Christmas gift, grabbed a gift for a birthday party we’re going to next weekend and picked up a couple things for my mother-in-law. She’s getting Olivia the “Dance Star Mickey” for Christmas, and we were afraid they would sell out before she could get out shopping, so I grabbed it for her. Olivia is going to LOVE it!
After shopping, I met Christian over at his mom’s because she bought us dinner! YAY, free food :) We ate some yummy Chinese food, hung out for a bit then it was time to head home. The girls took their baths and went right to bed, so we just did our usual evening chores then we off to bed ourselves.
Here is a picture of Amelia, all snuggled up and ready for bed. Yes, she is still so small that we can swaddle her with a regular blanket. And, yes, she still requires swaddling for sleep. We’re starting to get a little worried about her size (Christian more so than I). She’s just not growing. She’ll be 4 months old next week, but she still swims in her 0-3 month clothes and size 1-2 diapers. She looks like she’s getting bigger, but she’s still light as a feather. Her 4 month check-up isn’t until 12/3, so we’re anxiously awaiting that to see what her actual stats are and how she’s growing. I’m sure everything is perfectly fine, but you can’t help but worry a little bit (especially since Olivia was so different)!
Today ended up being a pretty busy day for us. I suppose with all of the holiday’s and craziness coming up, this is our temporary norm!
My mom took me to lunch today at work, which was a nice treat! After work, I stopped into Target to do a little shopping. I got the urge to get a little Christmas shopping done, so I stopped in to pick up a few things. I got the girls’ stockings done, and a good amount of their presents done. I need one more thing for Amelia, but our Target didn’t have it. I will be braving the Black Friday madness at Toys 'R' Us Thanksgiving night to get the last of Olivia’s Christmas and Birthday gifts. While I shopped, Christian was off to pick up the girls and help his mom put plastic up on one of their windows. We all met up back home to eat a yummy spaghetti dinner, watch a little TV and spend some time together before bed.
Amelia spent some time in her jumperoo while we ate. Olivia feels the need to “teach” Amelia how to use the jumperoo, so she’s always right there, pushing the seat up and down telling her to “jump jump”. I think she gets a little frustrated when Amelia doesn’t listen to her…it’s pretty entertaining. My girls, cute as can be!
Today was just a pretty low key day. After work we all just met up at home and spent the evening together. We ate some dinner, played, and just had a good ol’ time. Amelia has been spending more and more time on the floor. She’s rocking and scooting and turning all over the place. But, no rolling yet. She gets SO close, but then never completes that turn. Olivia is now into “helping” her roll over. This, is not good.
Olivia is becoming quite the little mommy. She’s always concerned about what the baby is doing and where she is. She feels the need to help her and teach her things. She “talks” to her all the time. She likes to copy me with one of her stuffed animals when I have the baby…she tries to hold her animal the same way, she copy’s what I’m doing when I play with Amelia. It’s really cute. Other than trying to force her to roll over, she’s been doing really well working on being “gentle” with the baby, which is great. She’s becoming quite the little lady!
After some playing and dinner, it was of course time for baths and bed. Our little routine is falling into place quite nicely. I bathe Amelia, get her dressed and ready for bed and feed her. Christian bathes Olivia, gets her ready for bed, brings her in to say good night to us (she gives us both a kiss and tells us she loves us), then he puts her down. He takes the dog out to go to the bathroom while I finish feeding Amelia and put her down (depending on how long she takes to eat, I get to watch a DVR’d show or two and relax, so that's an added bonus). Then, I make her bottles for the next day, wash up my "equipment", we pick up the house a little bit, then we’re off to bed. We’re getting this thing down now!
Olivia has taken over the baby swing seat…she can be seen here, hanging out with Mickey Mouse, while watching Mickey Mouse on the iPod! And, Amelia has officially discovered her feet! She loves ‘em!
