Night out

Adam and I feel very fortunate that we were able to leave all 3 kids (especially Elsa) with friends of ours to enjoy an anniversary dinner/movie night. Elsa is having a tough go of it right now, lots of crying and uncomfortableness. We decided to switch formula for her, so we’re starting the mixing process of sensitive and gentle formula. At this point we’re pretty desperate to stop the crying so we’ll try anything!
The boys did so well playing that Lori invited them over for a sleepover. She was crazy enough to invite Elsa, too. Adam and I decided to stop at home and pick up a few things and spend the night, too. It was great to get 5 hours of sleep straight - all thanks to Lori who volunteered to keep Elsa in their room for the night.

Christmas celebrations #2 and #3

We started a new tradition this year, celebrating Christmas Eve with just our family. The boys are old enough now to appreciate and remember traditions. Santa emailed both of them a video this year. They boys were so surprised and even cheered when Santa told them they made the nice list! I think Nolan actually cheered louder when he found out Kale made the nice list like he did! We went to church after nap and then enjoyed making homemade pizzas with the kids. We also followed Santa’s journey to track how long it would be until he stopped at our house. Before bed the boys picked out the cookies they wanted to leave for him, along with a few carrots and stalk of celery for Rudolph. They went to bed really well and were so excited to wake up the next morning to see what he left for them – a scooter with light up wheels for Nolan and a new bike for Kale. They were both more excited about the new underwear and electric toothbrushes:) We spent most of Christmas Day with my mom’s extended family. We played the Garceau family tradition of dirty bingo.  It was all fine and good until we started playing the second round, where you steal gifts from other people. Poor Kale was sobbing and kept repeating "but you're not supposed to steal"!  I felt so bad for him, especially since he's only 3 and has always been taught not to steal!  The good news is that only one person "stole" a present from him.  I think he ended up with more presents that anyone else! After the game ended we headed to my parent’s house for a few days of fun. Other than 2 pretty massive tantrums by Kale at bedtime it was fun. Elsa also had her crabby moments. My family couldn't believe how loud is. She is just so uncomfortable with gas. Hopefully as she gains more weight it will get better! Oh, how could I forget to mention that we had fun putting doll slippers on Elsa, having her sleep in a baby doll cradle and putting her in a baby doll stroller? She is still so tiny!

Love letter to Santa

The boys wanted to write a note to Santa. I asked Kale what he wanted to write and he said “Dear Santa, I love you.” How sweet!

Christmas celebration #1

We had fun celebrating Christmas with the Bleck side of the family. The boys were spoiled with lots of fun presents and had fun playing with their cousins. They even got to make reindeer food with Grandma again. After the kids opened gifts we put them in the porch to watch a movie while we opened our gifts. We forgot that all the Christmas baked goods were out there, until Kale came to talk to me and had his hands behind his back. When I asked him what was in his hands he held them out and showed me a bon bon in each of them. We quickly put the treats away! We ended up staying overnight, which was fun for the kids. Elsa didn’t sleep much – she’s been pretty crabby lately. We think it’s mostly due to gassiness, so we’re going to start using gas drops in her bottles. Hopefully that will take the edge off! The boys were thrilled the next morning when Grandpa made them special snowman pancakes with chocolate chips.

Sleeping baby

Elsa totally shocked us last night by falling asleep at 10:30 and not waking up until 3:40!  She has done such a good job over the last week of sleeping in her crib, but she usually gets up every 3-4 hours to eat. For some reason last night she didn't need to - and it was amazing.  A little sleep for mom goes a long way!

We had her one month wellness visit today. She is doing well, even though she still has thrush. She weighs 7 bls 5 oz (3.5%) and is 21 inches long (37%).  She is "teeny tiny" as Kale says, but growing.  

Creativity

7:52 a.m. at daycare - Kale already assembled his first creation of the day - a helicopter.

Time to slow down

I came to a pretty big realization today, after I locked Elsa in the minivan at daycare.  We had been running around all day, visiting my work and doing errands.  At the end of the day was the daycare Christmas party. When we got there I wanted to be sure to park on the street so I could leave easily.  Thank goodness I did, because after I locked her in the car I had to take Jane's car back to our house to get our spare key. Had I parked in the driveway I would have blocked the car!  It's also a good thing that Adam doesn't carry the spare van key with him, as he was working in Baldwin, WI - a mere 1 1/2 hour car ride away!  The good news is that it wasn't as cold outside and she slept for most of the 10 minutes I was gone.  You would think I would have been more worked up, but I wasn't.  She was warm and cozy in her car seat and Devin stayed outside with her.

The boys had a great time at the party.  Both of them received a Dusty Crophopper remote control plane from Jane, and they LOVE it.  Kale also got a camera and Nolan a Crayola art kit from their friend who drew their name.  Kale has really enjoyed taking pictures of Elsa, and both of the boys have become quite the artists.  Nolan drew a dinosaur and it actually looks like a dinosaur!