Elin is 20 Months Old

Little miss is 20  months old and has quickly losting her title of “baby E.”  She now is a feisty independent toddler who has an opinion about everything, and we wonder where she gets that from! 

She has quite the personality and Mike and I often find ourselves giggling at what she is doing.  Thomas is her favorite side kick and every so often you will hear her call him “Tommy” otherwise it is “Thom-ma.”  They have started to play more together, which also means more refereeing for Mike and I.  Elin is stinker and holds her own if she gets mad, she will do whatever it takes to make her wants/needs know weather it is sugar or spice.  We are also keeping a close eye on her when she is playing because she isn’t always so gentle with her hands.  

Elin continues to be a climber and her ability to get herself in and around play structures and play grounds continues to amaze us.  She will follow Thomas anywhere he goes and fear does not seem to be in her vocabulary.  She has also started to “run fast” with Thomas and loves wearing a pair of his old green “fast runnin’ shoes.” 

Elin is a little chatter box and she has many 2 and 3 word sentences that she will use to tell us about what is happening, what she wants and needs.  She can also repeat everything we ask her to.  She is talking so much that most people can understand her and will comment on how well she is talking for her age, which really makes her mama proud (can’t take the SLP out of me!)  Some of her favorite things to say right now are: “my do it,” “Elin by self,” “one more time,”  “wait me,” “pretty please,” “mama fik it,” “hi (dada, mama, bampa, nana, stella, ect).  She also has some great one liners and one of our favorites is hearing her yell “emergency” and seeing what is happening.  She also is learning about her senses and if she hears something and either wants to know what it is, or does not like it she will point to her ears and say “ear, ear,”  she also does this with seeing something, but she says “see” to that.  Elin also likes to read along in some of her favorite books and is singing some songs.  Mike and I both love hearing her voice and listening to her thoughts. 

A major accomplishment in the last few months is Elin is in big girl undies.  She has an accident here and there but she is diaper less, even on our 15 hour road trip to Minnesota (what a pain).  She will also wake up dry from naps and will wake up at night to use the potty, which means many mornings her diaper is dry.  It is very convenient for us, except for the night waking!  In the last week she has been very into doing it all by her “self.”  She can get her pants off/on, get herself on the potty and will even wipe and get down.

Elin is still napping in the afternoon for a few hours and has a solid bedtime routine.  Along with the potty breaks she wakes up 1-2 times to eat.  She has many favorite foods right now including apples and peanut butter, string cheese, grapes, avocados, chicken, yogurt and oatmeal.  She is also starting to be a little bit cleaner when she eats and it seems as though we might have moved passed the throw and dump all food phase, one could hope right?!   

Elin is very interested in her babies, animals (favorites are puppies, kitties and horses), swimming and keeping away from the bad guys and coyotes.   She is quite a good mama in training and loves to nurse her babies, rock them, taking them for walks in her stroller, or carrying them around in her clothes (like baby wearing).  She is getting better about interactive play and really enjoys trying to keep up with Thomas.  That has started this crazy “bad guy/coyote thing.”  Both kids are terrified of both and that is the things they try to get rid of in their pretend battles. 

Elin had a doctor appointment at the beginning of December with her new pediatrician here in Texas.  They were pleased with all her milestones and after talking to them about some rashes she has been getting we decided to go ahead and get her tested for allergies.   After we have that done we will see what direction we head.   She was 28 inches tall and weighed 22 lbs.

Skiing

Santa brought Thomas a pair of skis and we were all eager to get him up to the mountains.  After a hour drive East we were at Summit at Snoqualmie and there was snow and lots of it!  Thomas loves “(s) now” and so does Stella!  They both had a blast playing in the snow, and Thomas loved skiing!  In fact when it was over, there were a few tears at the bottom of the hill.

It was a little hard for me to contain my itch to ski once there.  I don’t know of the three of us who was having the most fun.   What a great day as a family.

Trip to See the Hippos

Thomas wanted to take a trip to the zoo to see the hippos.  Since watching Madagascar he has really been obsessed with “hippo(s).”

We met Whitney and Dahlia at the zoo and then grabbed lunch with them after. 

First Time Skating

Santa’s little helpers, Grandma and Grandpa Laschen, got Thomas his first set of hockey skates for Christmas.  Both Mike and I were eager to see how he reacted to his first time skating.

He was not sure of the skate until Mike got his on and then he was all about them.  On the ice he started off in Mike’s arms and liked going fast!  Not going to lie, without a helmet and full body suit of padding I was a bit nervous!

Then it was time to put him down and see what he thought on the ice.  Hard to know what he thought was the best about this adventure but he sure loved skating and playing “ha ta” as he calls it. 

After skating we went and got warm chocolates and headed home.  Thomas and Mike came back and watched a hockey game and then went downstairs to play more hockey.  I don’t know if I am ready to have a full hockey house!  But must admit I too was pretty proud of our little guy and how well he did for his first time on skates, so if being a hockey mom is in my future I am up for it!

Christmas

Christmas morning we woke up and it was time to show Thomas the toys.  Apparently the Grinch was trying to steal our little boy and he had quite a hard time getting out of bed.  After slowly waking up and a little coaxing it was go time! 

He ran into the living room and right over to his BBQ set from his Auntie Katie and Uncle Don.  Then he checked out the other presents before it was time to open our stockings.  After Stella opened her stocking, we helped Thomas open his.  It was then we realized that present opening was going to take awhile.  Every toy he opened he had to try out first before moving onto the next toy.  It was such a fun morning opening toys and in toy chaos.  After we opened presents we made a big brunch ate, played and then all took a nap!

Although this wasn’t Thomas’ first Christmas last year he had no clue what was happening.  This year he was pretty excited as we had been reading and talking about Santa.  He also enjoyed retelling the story about how Santa would come down the chimney.   At times we thought he might be getting overwhelmed with all the toys, but he sure seemed to be enjoying himself.  One of the catches of present opening was that after I borrowed his knife to help open a present, he then needed to open the rest of them with it.   Let’s just say it was not a speedy gift opening!  We hope everyone had a wonderful time celebrating the true meaning of Christmas, we know we did.

Christmas Eve

This was the first year that either Mike or I had been away from our families and were just “together with our family.”   It was bittersweet knowing that everyone was together celebrating, but it was also very fun to start our own family traditions.

Christmas Eve we welcomed Max and Amy over for some pizza and beverages.  They were also nice enough to say and play Santa’s helpers putting together a few of Thomas’ new toys!

After dinner we had to get the cookies that we had made earlier in the day ready for Santa.  Then I helped Thomas write his letter to Santa, which lasted about 30 seconds and was a single sentence.  After leaving out the milk and cookies, Thomas got to pick one present and open it.  After playing with his truck for a bit it was time for Thomas to go to bed and us to get to work.  A couple things we missed that we will do next year for sure were attending Christmas Eve Mass and reading Twas’ the night before Christmas. 

Penguin Ornaments

Each year I am going to have Thomas, and future children, make an ornament for our tree.  This year I found some cute make it your own foam penguin kits and we were set. 

I have to admit that it was very hard not to “fix” his work as he was carefully placing each piece on the penguin.  He also made a snowman that night with Mike.  When all was said and done his penguins were perfectly made and will be a great addition to our tree!

Troy and Molly are Married

Wowwy…my little brother is married!  I can’t say I ever thought it would happen, not because he is not lovable, but rather because I have always looked at him as a “little brother.”  I am so thankful that he and Molly rekindled their romance after dating in and now married.

Their wedding celebration also started on a Friday with a few of the guys having lunch and bowling.  Molly, myself, and her other bridesmaids/attendants enjoyed lunch and then went for manicures/pedicures.

Rehearsal was Friday night and went smoothly followed again by dinner with family and friends.

Saturday started off early with the girls getting their hair done and then pictures.  With the ring barer still having a little wacky schedule, a 2 hour time change is a big deal, we were a little nervous about his wedding ceremony performance.  Thankfully, Mike was able to sneak him in a quick hour nap and he rallied for the wedding and part of the dance before crashing.  He took his duty as ring bearer seriously.  He wanted to hold the leash and was trying to boss Oliver, Molly’s dog, around. 

The wedding dance was a lot of fun although after spending a day in heels, my back was giving me a lot of trouble, so my dance moves were pretty tame.   Before it felt like we could blink the night was ending and we were headed back to my parents house.   That is when all the excitement caught up with Thomas and he was exhausted and he was sick with a tummy bug.

This is my favorite picture that was taken that day of the happy couple.  Mad Chicken Photography did a great job on their pictures.

Cloquet

After spending time with the Laschen’s Thomas and I were off to Cloquet to get in some more grandparent time and get ready for Troy and Molly’s Wedding.

There was very little snow which was unusual for it being the 2nd week in December.  So the little bit of snow that we did get we made the most of it.

Grandpa and Grandma took Thomas sledding for the first time.  He wanted to make sure that he tried to return the favor and gave his best effort to pulling Grandpa.  Grandma then had to take over and I was laughing hysterically at them trying to get the little sled to pull a grown adult and child.  

Thomas also had fun feeding the deer with Grandpa.  Every day he would go out and feed them.  He then, and still does a month later, tells you how to do it with words and gestures.  First you pour it, then you throw some, and then you go “up” with “Ban pa” and you pour it.  During the day when Grandma and Grandpa had to work Thomas and I would sneak up to give them a little mental break.  They both likes showing off their favorite (only) grandson.   Thomas even made his first trip to the bowling Alley for lunch with the boys.

Thomas liked building forts to play in in the basement with Grandpa and has him wrapped around his finger. 

 

Thomas also liked to play with the neighbor kids across the street.  They have a little boy a few months older than Thomas and 3 girls that are great big sisters. 

Hollidazzle Parade

On a chilly Minnesota night we were off to see the Holidazzle Parade in Minneapolis.  Uncle Don, Grandma Laschen and Auntie Mo and Katie joined us to watch the parade. 

It was chilly but the parade was over before we had a chance to get cold. After the parade we went and grabbed dinner at the Newsroom before heading home.

Macy’s Santaland with Nana and Auntie Mo

Nana Kathy wanted to take Thomas to Santa Land at Macy’s as it was something she used to do with her mother and children as they were growing up.  With Thomas being so into his Elf this year it was right up his alley.   Auntie Mo and Emory also joined in the fun.

Each area had a theme and the elves were hard at work getting ready for Christmas.  Then we went to lunch, which besides the food was a disaster for a sleepy Thomas.  After pounding the butter and a few bites of food he wanted to be off and running.  After all the adults rallied around to try and get me a chance to eat we bailed.

Kathy and I then had to get a few things shopping  before disaster struck and I had my first experience with that kid in the story having a meltdown.  BOOO!  It was awful and I was feeling uber bad for pushing him too hard.  Once to the car it was only moments before he was off into dreamland. 

Play Date with the Erdalls

Trying to schedule time in when on different schedules and with life in December is difficult!  Thankfully, Tiffany and I were able to figure something out and spent almost an entire day together!  Thomas was still germy but he had a blast, so much so that getting him to squeee in a nap was a battle!

We started off the day by meeting Tiff and Hallie at the mall to play in the kids play area.  After surviving all the kids, a fire alarm and Thomas attempting to escape several times we were off to the food court for lunch. 

Then it was off to the Erdall’s for Thomas’ nap (45 minute fight later) he was down for a quick nap.  Then it was up for some awesome play time with Ben and Hallie.  After a little bit, Tiff and I were able to go upstairs and chat while Jeff supervised and played with the kiddos in the basement.  Ever since becoming friends what Tiff and I have been able to do best is lounge around and chat, so our hour of lounging was just like the days before kids!  It was so much fun to chat and not be on the phone doing a billion different things…it was also a glimpse into what life would be like if we ever get to move back to Minnesota!

Listening to the kiddos in the basement giggle and have a good time was also fun!  Thomas loves “big kids” and just thinks that they are so cool.   Ben and Hallie are two of the nicest kids I know and they are both so good with him.  I can only hope that he will be as good of a big brother someday!  They shared their snacks with him, taught him how to wrestle, play the piano, and Ben even showed him an introduction into sword fighting!

Wrestle Mania with Ben and Hallie Erdall-sorry the video is sideways, if I record them with my phone sideways I don’t know how to flip them, do you?

I can’t wait for our next date with the Erdall family!

After we finished up there we were off on an adventure to find Troy and Molly’s apartment!  Thomas again had a blast rough housing with Troy and seeing “Ma hay.”  We got to catch up on their wedding plans and visit before heading back to the Laschen’s for bedtime after a long day of playing and visiting.