Brief Kiddo Update

I wrote this earlier this week. Here are some random thoughts before I post separately on Kate's birthday (today!!)...

Kate calls Collin, "Bubby" now:) As most nicknames, they morph over time and our use of Bubba has been changed to Bubby for now in Kate's world. She also uses, "Bro" quite a bit. And likes that it rhymes with things, "Let's go, bro!"

Collin is driving me crazy with his eating again. For awhile, he was eating so well at every meal and snack, he has increased the variety of what he will eat. Now he is just being picky to drive me nuts. He is not eating very well at meals and I spend my days moving a mad toddler away from the fridge and pantry as he is constantly going there and trying (or succeeding) in opening them. He just wants to snack all day and he is now refusing some of my old standbys for the snacks. Uff da. 

I guess he liked this meal. Salad and spaghetti.
These pictures never do justice to the actual mess:)

Kate has been doing better (we have issues with her asking for food every 23 seconds as well) and is still a great "eater" and loves healthy stuff. She actually turns down brownies, cookies and chocolate most of the time! She was very interested in her birthday cupcakes and she does like suckers, but other than that she's not that into it. How lucky to have our oldest not care about her parade/Halloween/holiday candy! After about 24 hours, she completely forgets about it. I suspect Collin will not be this way...

I recently put this table in the living instead of our coffee table. We do duplos, trains, whatever on it but lately someone just climbs it and uses as a jungle gym. I think Sesame Street was on in this pic. Stupid TV up high...

I think I mentioned how awesome it is when the toddlers can communicate/understand more. Right now, this one is obeying really well if I ask him to get his shoes, throw something away, give something to Mommy, etc. If he knows he shouldn't have it, he will generally run away and giggle...but plenty of times he just does what I ask! Hurray, it saves me even a little bit of time! We'll see what happens when Baby comes...

I flattened out some packing paper to see what we could do with it.
He immediately laid down on it. Silly boy!

As many of you know, Kate lives in her own little world. She is a Momma and "it is hard work" and she has 3-4 kids depending on what day you are talking to her. She goes on endlessly about her husband (who is also a nurse anesthetist at the hospital with Daddy:) and her kids. The other day she talked to me for a half an hour about how muddy her kids get playing sports (one of her girls plays soccer, another tennis, one boy plays football and the other baseball). She also said once that her husband and his dad laughed so loud they woke the kids! Hmmm... :) 

The other day while raking the leaves, she stopped and leaned on the rake and kept telling me it was so sad her oldest girl couldn't come outside because she is allergic to flowers. I love her imagination and I just totally play along with it unless we have to do/I need to say something else, but I did have to tell her that Mommy was busy and she needed to rake quietly for a little bit. But I know that sometimes Dave's tolerance for these 30 minute stories about make-believe families wears a little thin when he gets home, so I try to listen and get it all out during the day as much as possible.  :) 

Gorgeously warm day, we probably didn't even need long sleeves!

I was sitting in a chair and all of a sudden Collin comes out of the garage with all of this in his hands:)
He teed it up and hit it like a pro!

I'm 28 weeks:) If you like those food comparisons...Baby is the size of an eggplant, weighing about 2.25 pounds and measuring around 14-15 inches! Well, I can believe that with the increase in movement I feel. It's not a lot of hard kicks (like Collin) but just general movement (more like Kate). My little app on my phone says that is is 84 days until my due date. Though seeing Quinn and now Freya (friend's brand new baby girl) is really making me want to hold this Babe, I know how fast these next months will fly and so I am determined to make them as stress-free as possible and just enjoy the holidays and my two kids. Oh and Dave:) You can't go back! We are only a family of four for a little longer, so though I know I may appear stressed/exhausted/overwhelmed at times lately, I do have a good perspective on it all, reflect daily on all the blessings in our lives and know that this stuff I stress over is really pretty insignificant (like where the heck is Kate's take-home folder and what am I going to bring for her birthday treats?!!)

Appointments and stuff...

Hey, a quick update - another busy week with a couple of appointments...

Collin had his 18 month appointment on Monday (oops, he's almost 20 months) and he did great. He was a little over 24 lbs and 31.25 inches tall, still cruising along at around 50%ish weight and 75%ish height. He's super healthy, Ryan said his missing canine teeth are right there and acted like they will be coming in soon. How long have I been waiting for these teeth?! He ended up getting two shots, the flu and one of the Hep ones. He did fine after a minute and was silly and happy the rest of the day, I love how my kids tolerate their shots.

On Tuesday, Mrs. McGuire said that Kate did amazing on her state testing that they did during school. She just raved and said whatever we are doing, to keep it up! Yay!

Kate's first real school picture! 

Collin is starting to say NO, there's no turning back now! It is still cute, a quiet little "No" it almost ends as a question. He is also saying "Up" for "down" and is very silly. He loves kicking, throwing and batting at balls in the house (and outside). If we set him down outside, he runs for the two plastic golf clubs and says, "Ball, ball, ball" until you get him a ball and then he just goes crazy hitting the ball around. He is mimicking more and more words, it's pretty cute to hear him say, "pumpkin," "truck," and "apple" right now. Haven't heard him put two words together yet, besides, "all done," "nigh-night," etc. but we are ecstatic with the amount of communication we are getting from him now.

On Thursday, I had an appointment and despite my best efforts to find a sitter, Collin accompanied me:) It was a very busy day with Kate drop off, groceries, a must-have nap for Collin and then down to the Dells for the appointment, then straight to pick up Kate and back to the house to meet Dave (hopefully) and a builder to talk about possibilities of adding on to our house (yes, that's right...more on that a different day:) I was very anxious about the day the night before, if Collin didn't take his nap in the two hour span that I was going to be home, it could have been awful. But it turned out to be one gorgeous day and everything happened just as it needed to. Praise God:)

Of all the appointments to take Collin, this one was going to be a challenge, I had to do my glucose test, get shots and have blood drawn on top of the normal appointment. There's nothing like your son sitting in his stroller in the bathroom as you pee in a cup and then keeping him happy while you wait to go back and giving him a hundred kinds of snacks in the room while you talk with the doc. I always feel way more scattered when I bring the kids but it is a family practice and Angie (the PA) has a couple of young boys, so I know she didn't mind. When it was time to listen for the heartbeat, Collin was out of the stroller (against my master plan) and let me just say that exam rooms are not baby-proofed! But it was so sweet, Angie picked him up and he turned on the doppler and held half of it while she listened for Baby!! And, for the first time in what...26.5 weeks, we heard the heartbeat right away! I couldn't believe it. Collin was good luck I guess:) Heart rate was running in the 150s which is higher than before and she said I measured 27, so that is good. I'm getting a prescription for heartburn and it turns out I aced my glucose test but am anemic (always am).

Friday night after bath, as I was drying him/tickling him I spotted not one but both of those lower canine teeth just peeking through! Can't believe they are finally coming, but am so glad. They looked super red and awful, but the end is in sight at least. Until his two year molars start...:)

Spent a few days looking like this...but they are on their way in!

And here's just a couple random pics...

Morning lessons:) 

I was having a rough morning and then we had a blast baking and the sun came out.
It was like God telling me to chill out:) 

Also, here's a link to some photos we had taken last month. As expected, Collin was not very cooperative and we were just doing all we could to keep him in our arms:) And at one point, both kids were just playing with the grass. We were in a new place, there was so much to explore! Good thing I like the un-posed, natural photos too!

http://www.danellelubinskiphotography.com/p84615778

10 Years Out of Luther...What?!

Like I need more reasons to feel like time is flying these days! Dave and I graduated from Luther in 2004 and so it should not have been a surprise to us that our 10-Year Reunion would be this fall, but wow - it feels like it came out of nowhere:)

My girls (Jenny & Cass) and I talked about it early in the year and we decided we had to go, if nothing else, we would get to see each other and our families, which is honestly what we cared most about:) We headed into Burr Oak late on Friday and ended up staying up talking with Mom and Dad until midnight! What?! We were all so tired, but we had such a nice time sitting and talking:) So silly, we should know better when our children are "sleeping" in the house.

We got up early on Saturday morning and headed to Luther to grab some coffee and meet at the bell. It ended up being just an absolutely beautiful day, thank the Lord, it made it so much easier and especially pretty for pictures. As soon as I grabbed my "big" camera, we realized my SD card was in my laptop at home:( I was so mad! Good thing our phones have great cameras, but I still missed my big one. Campus wasn't as busy as I was expecting it so we were able even pick up some warm weather gear at the bookstore with the kids.

Love this pic. Sporting some new Norse gear:)

We weren't sure where we should watch the parade (I was thinking it came through right by the library lawn...oops, that's been a few years!) So we walked down by Koren and just found a spot that was sunny and let the kids run around in the grassy hill by the CFA while we waited for the parade. Kate and Collin did really great and were super excited to see their best buddies. The dynamic is getting interesting as they get older. Kate and Waylon have been such a team, but now that Aniyah is getting older, you can see the girls wanting to be together maybe a bit more. Collin and Lawson still pretty much ignore each other. And the older ones:)

Our two young leaders...

I kept trying to to take selfies of Collin and I all morning...

The kiddos waiting for Aniyah to arrive...

She's here! Look at those faces:)

I had pretty low expectations for the parade (had never really watched it before!) but it was surprisingly good.

Had to convince the girls not to cover their ears the whole time, that first fire truck always gets 'em!

The Nursing Department float:) Lots of yells from our section for them!

The kids liked all the flags, I think they were watching a dance team perform

It was getting busier and more crowded as it approached lunch time and the football game. We headed over to the bell to take pictures (hmmm..kids were not at their peak of cooperative at this time, but oh well) and then we headed in to the Union again. Cass, Jenny and I shopped in the bookstore while the guys took the kids out on to the balcony to climb the railing, pick up feathers and run around like crazy people. We then broke for lunch, we all ended up running to the Oneota Coop to grab some lunch to go and then met up at Phelps Park.

Just a gorgeous day on campus

I forget which float was giving out crowns, I grabbed Kate's as we walked back to the bell

Another one! He loves it doesn't he:)

Me and my girls. I should put our pics at the bell together from the last 10 years...

Checking out the football field

They were being so cute, I couldn't stand it

We ate lunch (most of us, the little boys napped in the vans with doors open at first:), the big kids played for awhile, then we had cupcakes and presents for Kate's (Oct. 30) and Aniyah's (Nov. 13) upcoming birthdays. It was a very sweet little time and I know the kids had a blast. The Peterson's dropped off their boys with Cass' mom for the night and Swoboda's and us took our kids back to Mom and Dad's to put our kiddos down for a nap (Kate stayed up) and to rest a little. Cass and Kris joined us there later and we just hung out for awhile, got dressed for our reception that night and said goodbye to Kate, Collin and Aniyah. A huge thank you to Mom and Dad for watching the three kiddos and tackling bedtimes for us:)

A little tired after the morning activities

A small birthday celebration

Fun in the leaves at Phelps

We adults started the afternoon/evening off at Toppling Goliath and we were able to get a table for six, but sadly they had no other beverages besides beer/water and they wouldn't let us bring anything in. So, Jenny and I were a little left out, but we survived:) We (now joined by our friend Andrew Haugen and his girlfriend) decided to go to Corner Bar next and had fun there. It was empty! and we sat ate a ridiculous amount of the most salty popcorn I've ever tasted in my life (was it always like that?!) and a few strong drinks.

Then it was time for the 10-Year Reunion reception at Nob Hill. I was the DD for the evening and we played some fun tunes on the way and my girls were in the back and dancing and I think we laughed the whole way there:) I think we were all wondering how fun/awkward this event would be! As soon as we walked in we were screeching when we would see people and there were a lot of hugs:)

I can honestly say, I think I saw all the people I probably wanted to see and was surprised at how much fun I had. There was a presentation of a check from the class to the school (Whoa! We definitely have some people giving a lot to Luther in our class!), some trivia and the new President stopped by. She walked through and Dave and I chatted for a quick bit with her. Nice woman!

After awhile, it was clear we were all getting tired.  Though some tried to hide it (Dave!) others admitted that we were just getting older:) Most of us had kids (some brought with to the reception) and some had to get back to them. I was texting Mom about the girls...Jenny and I were concerned about the girls getting to sleep. Dave refused to let our party go home ("We are all together, without the kids and we are dressed up....we are not going home!") and so after much debate and eventual confirmation that the girls were sleeping, we headed to Rubiayat for dessert (for me! I couldn't drink and the dessert at the reception left much to be desired). We got a table by the window at the bar and had some yummy dessert, one more drink and then headed back to Mom and Dad's. [How did we not get pictures of us adults from the night?!! So maddening, as Dave said, we were all together and looked great, had a wonderful time together and didn't get one photo! Argh.]

Collin went down easy for the night and the girls had a fun sleepover, eating popcorn and watching Tangled and then sleeping in sleeping bags on the floor in the guest room together. That was the first real "sleepover" for both of them:) When we got home, we debated leaving Kate in there with Aniyah, but decided to bring her up to our room for the rest of the night. In the morning, she said, "Mom, Dad! I went to sleep in the room with Aniyah but when I woke up, I was with you!"

We weren't up long and with six extra adults and three extra kids sleeping over, it was a full house! The next morning, we had breakfast and said goodbye to our beloved friends. We had a wonderful lazy Sunday and before we left town and we stopped by Andrew's new place. Kylie's folks have moved on to their amazing new house (down the road from the farm and I can't wait to see it finished!) and so Andrew and Kylie are working on making the farm house their own. Many people are working hard and though I was pretty exhausted and was worried the kids were not up for a stop on the way home, we arrived to find Andrew hard at work. It was crazy to see the house that way! Some changes are already done and others are in progress. I just got really excited for them and can't believe they will have such an amazing place right away...spoiled!! :) It was hard for the kids to be downstairs with the tools, floors, debris, but they had a blast running around the bedrooms upstairs with the new paint and carpet - so nice! I was joking about them staying there when we come to visit in the future, there is a room for each of them, the baby can stay at Mom and Dads with us:) Right, A&K?  :)

When they got antsy, Mom took them outside to play with Bailey and then they came back in and Collin was rather upset when we had to take him away. He had grabbed a tool and was pretending to work and didn't want to leave, so cute. Can't wait until he can really come over and help his Uncle Andy!

We had a nice trip back, Kate passed out cold. Slept the whole way home, her eyes opened a few times but she went right back to sleep. Didn't even wake to eat. I can't remember the last time she did that! Collin, who I expected to sleep, didn't sleep one bit. Just sat there talking, singing and even laughing at himself. He would put something (empty pouch? toy? I can't remember) on his head and then just giggle. Then he would struggle to get it and then do it again. He also had his blankies (cuz I thought he'd sleep) and he was playing peek-a-boo with...himself, until I turned around and played. He thought he was pretty hilarious.

What a weekend! Another great time with family and friends. I will say we were pretty exhausted after the last 10 days, we are definitely happy to be home (Collin just sleeps better here!) but so glad we were able to make it all happen.

Babymoon in Milwaukee

Wow, how time flies. It feels like yesterday that Dave and I were looking way down the calendar to October and saw that he had a week off and we could maybe take an adult trip with some friends of ours. A vacation! Somewhere warm and sunny. I could get in shape and have fun drinking tropical drinks and read novels. And then I saw the little line on the preggo test...:) 

Well, I refused to totally nix the trip. And in fact, I felt we needed the trip more than ever! I nurse my babies for a very long time and so far, they have not taken bottles well, at all. So, it didn't look good for me getting away from the kiddos for 2015...we needed a Babymoon (getaway before the baby comes)! 

We backed off going to Mexico or an island and our friends backed out of coming and we trimmed the nights away to three...but oh well. We could not decide what to do or where to go, but we wanted it to be special and wanted to explore somewhere we hadn't been. So, somewhat at the last minute, we decided on Milwaukee for three nights early last week! 

Mom and Dad came up Sunday to watch the kids and keep Kate in school/gymnastics, etc. Dave came back from Appleton, had a very short time with the kids before we loaded up and headed east. It was about 2.5 hours to Milwaukee and an easy drive. We stayed at The Pfister Hotel in downtown Milwaukee, about 5 blocks off Lake Michigan. It is fancy. It is old. It is the place to be in Milwaukee. Very fancy and basically "above our pay grade," but we got a helluva deal so it was super fun to "pretend" and indulge for a few days:) 

Super cool building, loved this part of town

Huge room, high ceilings... beautiful

It's a Babymoon! Pic of the Babe and me when we arrived (25 weeks:)

The sitting room part

We paid the small fee each day to get to up to the 23rd floor and get free food/drink/Internet, etc. WORTH IT! That is Lake Michigan out the window.

Do touristy things...check!

Hotel lobby!

The huge marble stairs - we were on the 4th floor

Check out the elevator!

We stuck to our plan of sleeping in, eating a lot and at places we would never go with kids:), being touristy and just relaxing. We were upgraded to a King Suite in the historic part of the hotel at check-in, so that was a bonus! And Dave insisted we do a spa day (half day) at the hotel spa (twist my arm:). 

We walked down to the Milwaukee Art Museum...

We maybe loved the architecture more than the art? :)

Looking up from the lobby area

We ate at wonderful places, dressed up a bit, shopped and had a great time. It was the perfect time to be away from the kids. Much less and you feel a little rushed and much more and I would be getting really antsy to see them and hug them:) We had some Face Time, phone calls and text pictures from Mom and Dad throughout the week which was wonderful. The kids had great time with Gma and Gpa Brown, of course, they had as much or more to tell us when we returned. 

Pics from Mom and Dad while we were gone...:)

They got to see her do gymnastics! Brought back some memories for Mom:)

Collin slept great and was a pretty good and goofy guy for them - yay!

We came back late Wednesday afternoon and hit the ground running, did the "catch-up" chat with Mom and Dad before they headed out and had to get Kate to dance and supper and then to bed for school the next morning. The next few days were super busy with commitments and then we were heading out of town again Friday for Luther's Homecoming:) So much to do, so little time! How blessed we are to have so many opportunities and so much fun. 

Stubborn Babies, Snow & a 5K!

I was trying to get some photos off my phone and it reminded me to do a little post from them:) We had a pretty busy week and I am rather exhausted right now! Dave is in Appleton for an anesthesia conference for the weekend and we did a 5K this morning and though I did not run that much of it, I am kind of mush right now:)

Me and Babes 3 at about 24 weeks, carrying just a wee bit high, huh?

Me and my gal

On this day, we had our second ultrasound and it was the whole crew in the room! Luckily, Dave was able to be done with work, so he managed Collin (not easy) while I just laid there:) and Kate was fine. She was watching intently and then maybe watched something on a phone. This New Punkin' proved to be once again, the stubborn stinker he/she has been the whole time. Was in the exact same position as ultrasound #1! and wouldn't move. So, we got up, used the bathroom, rolled over and over and finally the tech was able to get some good pics of the spine. So crazy. We also got the needed pics of the kidneys and to me, they looked WAY more equal than the first time. However, the grapevine (clinic hasn't officially called me yet) has informed me that we will have to go back for yet another ultrasound as the right kidney is still on the high end of normal and they need to watch it. The good news is there is plenty of fluid around Baby, so we know Baby can pee (good thing!) The next one will be sometime around 33 weeks, I guess. I'm anxious for the clinic to call to verify all this information (which came home with Dave from his work days). 

Oh, the pic is outside a restaurant that we went to after the ultrasound and right before (and next door to) Kate's dance class. 

I've had a few days of lots of movement which was fun! I swear I'm feeling Braxton Hicks occasionally:) I'm eating terribly and having heartburn, the back pain is getting worse - though when you have crazy busy days, that is just not helping. So....I'm vowing to get a little better at the diet again, add back my yoga exercise if I can tolerate it and just try and enjoy the rest of the second trimester:) Getting really excited, started a very preliminary names list and am feeling pressure to work on the nursery. 

My MOPS (Mothers Of PreSchoolers) discussion group had a playdate on Thursday at a local market/farm and I really wanted to go. It turned out to be only three of us and our kids but it was fun! Collin loved the big trikes though he didn't really go anywhere...

He climbed into this and didn't realize it tipped back and forth, not as happy then!

"Meow....meow...."

I just realized this looks, in no way, like there are any others there! There was a 3-year old boy, 2-year old boy and 3 month old girl besides Collin. They were rarely in the same frame and I didn't think you were that interested in the others:) 

Getting Kate from school is always fun....much depends on our exact time of arrival and the parking spots that are left. This day, we were earlier and scored a good spot. We waited in the car for as long as he was happy and he sure enjoyed the peekaboo we played:) Baby/toddler/your child's giggles have to be, like, #1 on the list of best sounds ever, right? 

We did a 5K this morning! Our friends that work at the clinic in Necedah organized a race and I was so happy to be able to attend. I haven't been running lately, so I knew I would be walking most of it, but the great thing about being preggo or having all the kids to yourself is just getting out the door on time can sometimes be your workout! :) Here's what we woke up to this morning...

Awesome! We got up at 6:30 a.m. so we were able to snuggle on the couches first and then get ready to go. It stopped snowing and changed to rain by the time we were on our way. It was a very dreary start - wet, cold and windy. The kids did great. Kate was super impatient and didn't like that people were lined up in front of us, she was very eager to pass them and we did start running! She was off and it was awesome! I'm not sure how far in she decided to sit in the stroller. I was surprised at how long she rode (most of the way back) but the weather could have a lot to do with it. I also had packed lots of snacks and some hot chocolate in case we needed to warm up:) so, that was a bit of a distraction. 

There was a young guy that ran/walked along side us and he was so sweet. He was on a mission to beat his brother and dad:) At the end, I made Kate get out to run with me (she kept yelling at me to run and go faster and get ahead of them and beat them) and so we finished running together. Then it was a bit of a walk back to the school and my back was KILLING me (turns out pushing those two at almost 6 months pregnant was a really decent workout. I was huffing it for a lot of the route:(...and there were some hills!). The race started and ended at the school and we saw lots of friends inside and grabbed some treats before heading home. Collin didn't make a peep until after the finish line but then he was done. Just done. So we didn't visit too long before leaving. Loading a fussy 1.5 year old out of the rain, a hungry and wet almost 5 year old and figuring out our new double stroller in the rain was.....fun:) I have a ridiculous pair of shoes and my feet were soaked, so that wasn't helping. Collin fell asleep in the car and when we got home, I immediately put Collin down for his nap (never opened his eyes), we quickly got out of our wet clothes and a warm, shower with no children interrupting me was just what I needed:) 

As soon as I was warm and clean and wanted to collapse onto a bed/couch...it was lunch time. Wish we had delivery out here, I could have really used it today! It was a fun and busy week. Up next is a little time away, a Babymoon as they call it, for Dave and I before we become a family of five. He gets back tomorrow, my folks arrive to stay at the house with the kids and Dave and I will head to Milwaukee to stay at a nice place downtown and relax and explore Wisconsin! I am beyond excited. Mom and Dad will get to take Kate to school and gymnastics, which should be fun (I hope) and spend some good time relaxing and playing up here. We will return on Wednesday, tackle some things here at home and then head to Luther next weekend for our 10-Year Reunion. What?!?! :)