Our First Family Vacation: Breckenridge Colorado!

 

 

We returned home yesterday from a 5 day trip to Breckenridge, Colorado. Our friends, Kyle and Noelle invited us to join them for a few days in the mountains with Noelle's parents. Even though I couldn't ski (thank you very much, Baby 2.0) Austin could and we decided the adventure would be worth it.

We left around 3 in the morning with the hopes that Adelyn would sleep a good chunk of the morning. Our plan kind of worked. She was up and happy until about 5:30. She ended up taking a short nap in the morning and then another short one in the afternoon. In between that was full of listening to kid's music, Elmo's world, playing with borrowed toys, Dora, snacks, and more shows. She did GREAT on the drive out there. The only fussy times were right before she fell asleep and that's pretty much normal anyway. We were so proud of our little lady.



 

What was NOT so great was sleeping in the same room at a 19 month old for 5 nights. She's at an age where she is fully aware we are in the room but can't be reasoned with or told to roll over and go back to sleep. The first three nights she would wake up in the middle of the night and scream until either Austin or I would respond. The only way to get her back to sleep was to sing and rub her back. It was not a quick process either. Since we were sharing a condo we had to do our best to keep the loudness under control. However, she seemed to get used to the idea of sleeping in the same room as us after the 3rd night and did great after that.



On  the days that Austin was skiing, Adelyn and I played in the indoor/outdoor pool, went downtown to a bakery, walked around in the snow, took a gondola ride, and more.



We both loved it!

http://youtu.be/cCVVY73jnFo

We managed to get a little sledding in as well.







Apparently she liked sledding with daddy more than mom....





And.... done.



We had a great time hanging out with the Richters and their little gal, Lilly. We haven't gotten to spend much time with their new addition so it was fun to hang out as families.



Adelyn really liked Lilly. However, if I was holding her she was one jealous gal. Makes me a little concerned how she's going to handle a baby brother.





And a few more from the week:











Our trip home went pretty well too. We did the 3 am trick again with similar results. We were both pretty wiped but the day seemed to go fast.

We loved our first family vacation! Much thanks to the Richters and Noelle's parents for such a great week.

 

Two Gifts That Were a Hit

Here are two of Adelyn's favorite Christmas gifts in action: Elmo slippers and her own special rocker/recliner for "Nanakuk." (Grandma's house). She will never be forced to watch Baby Einstein from the floor again.

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and More

Sometimes when I haven't posted in a while, I feel overwhelmed with all the catching up I should do and just avoid it even longer.

In light of that I'll just let you assume we had a great Christmas (we did!) and a Happy New Year (I was in bed by 10:30).

OK, so a little more on Christmas:

My whole family was able to get together which is becoming a little more rare now that 2/3 of us have in-laws and the other 3rd lives a state away. Despite all odds, we were in one house and had a great time. Lots of gifts, eggnog, toys, dogs, naps, puzzles, and laughter.

Even though my parents were "cutting back" on the massive amount of gifts we get this year, we felt no change in their amazing generosity. Even baby 2.0 came back with a loot.

Austin got a pair of noise canceling Bose headphones. The technology in these is freakishly good at making the world go silent around you. We actually had to have a conversation about how much he wears them around the house. We would both be sitting at the kitchen table working, Austin with his headphones on, me chatting away about something for minutes until I realize he has not heard a word I was saying. It also helps to tune out toddler noise which in turn leaves me to deal with whatever ruckus the child is up to. ANYWAY, they are a great gift for a guy who studies non-stop in public but not for someone who has 1.5 kids and a tired wife.

On a different note, I started using Instagram (for the grandparents: Instagram is a iphone app that is kind of like twitter but with pictures).



I've started a new book that I'm loving.

It's called 7: An experimental mutiny against excess.



So far it's made me want to get rid of tons of stuff, stop buying tons of stuff, eat more simply, use less technology, read more, give more, and serve more. Her  style of  writing cracks me up and I've found myself laughing out loud many times and then in deep thought with in a few pages. In fact, I plan on starting a movement of giving seven things away for thirty days. Sounds crazy but when I think of all the stuff that we don't use and don't need, I really don't think it will be that hard.

Adelyn has been really fun lately. Unless its from 4-6 p.m or pre-nap time. A few things she does that I hope I don't forget:

• She dances any time we put music on. When I say dance, it's a stiff-legged rock from side to side.


• Attempts to say "amen" when we pray before meals and at bed time.


• She likes to clean up after herself. Part of the fun is putting all the toys back in the bin.


• She LOVES songs right now. A few topping the charts are: The Fish song, 5 Little Ducks, The Itsy Bitsy Spider, ABC's, and pretty much anything that involves movement.


• She gives the sweetest kisses.


• She learned to say "bye bye" a few days ago and now says it to anyone in public when we are leaving somewhere.


• She loves to chase Sophie around the house. You can imagine how much Sophie loves that.

A few challenges we are facing:

• Knowing when and how the heck to discipline a 18 month old.


• Dealing with the swatting/hitting she does when she's not happy about something.


• Meal time battles. These have just started a few days ago but sometimes she simply won't eat.


• Being pregnant with a go-go-go toddler. By the end of the day everything from my rib cage down aches.

Lastly, it's taken me 3 hours to finish this post. Maybe that will give you an idea of the pace of life around our house. Tonight I plan to catch up on a little blogging, start a puzzle, eat some cookies, and work on a craft project for Adelyn's room. I love the days but I also LOVE the nights around here. :)

Snow Day!

The Song and Dance Technique

Oh, the things we do to appease a grumpy child...

Austin caught one of my tactics on camera this morning. Here I am in all my morning glory using one of my most effective techniques to remedy the morning grumps: The Song and Dance.

http://youtu.be/Omg1W3ciTEM

Oh Boy Oh Boy!

Yesterday we found out we are having a boy!

Despite Adelyn being sick and me feeling under the weather as well, Austin and I made it to our ultrasound. It is so fun to see the little baby move, kick, and squirm. We were also so glad to find that everything looks healthy and normal.

Our orignal plan to find out the gender was to have the techincian write it down. Austin and I were going to go to a coffee shop or something and open together there.

However, since I was feeling pretty queasy, we opted to go to Sonic for a Sprite. So our magic moment happened while parked at Sonic... haha.

Here is a picture before we opened the envelope. We both were pretty convinced it was a girl. Even to the point of us starting to land on a name we liked for a girl.



We opened the envelope to find a picture that the technician had put in. It was pretty clear what baby 2.0 was. A boy!!! We both squealed. Well, Austin didn't really squeal but more of a manly, "hey!!!" I for sure squealed.

 



This is me just moments after finding out.


I honestly didn't expect to be this excited about a boy. It's a bit hard to wrap my mind around. As I was poking around online looking at boy blankets and clothes, I got even more excited.

I also loved seeing how excited and almost proud Austin was. I don't think he stopped smiling about it for an hour. I love the idea of him having a son. He is already talking about how he is going to take him to games and instill a love of sports- haha.

When we told Adelyn that she had a baby brother on the way, this was her reaction:



OK, not really. But we did tell her. She knows that a baby is mommy's tummy but we could also convince her it is in my elbow or in the toy box. She has no idea how much her world is going to be changed. Honestly, neither do we.

I can say this though, my heart is full of love and excitement for this baby boy right now.

Holiday Season is Upon Us

Something about having kids makes you want to get more into the holiday season. This year we actually have decorated for Christmas- inside and out. We've had Christmas music playing non-stop and I already have some presents wrapped and under the tree. Despite the fact that I was in shorts two days ago with the car windows down, it has been a fun holiday season so far.



As expected, the Christmas tree and all its glittery ornaments have been a constant temptation for Adelyn. For the most part she does well with the "one-finger rule" in which she is only allowed to touch ornaments with one finger at a time. However, it is not uncommon for me to be in the other room and hear an "uh-oh" followed by a toddler bringing me a hookless ornament. At least she owns up to her sin, right? For some reason she also likes to tickle the ornaments. Strange but true.

Adelyn had a pretty rough 2-3 weeks but I feel like has finally turned a corner the past few days. The transition from 2 naps to 1 was rough and turned her into a total grump. In the midst of those rough weeks I told Austin if Baby 2.0 is a similar temperament as Adelyn, we are done having kids. I'm happy to report that Grumpalyn has taken a leave of absence for the time being and we have a happy toddler back.

Baby 2.0 is cooking right along. I am 19 weeks and excited to have our ultrasound next week to get a good look at the little one. We have a list of boy and girl names but haven't even come close to settling on one. I'm beginning to feel more and more kicks, especially when I'm sitting still. I just had a glass of chocolate milk and Baby 2.0 is doing a little celebratory shin-dig in the uterus right now.

21 more weeks to go!