Driving the Car

Ellie received a book that turns into a car for Christmas.   At first her and cousin Natalie were taking turns driving the car (while the other one filled up the gas tank), but then they decided it would be more fun to ride in the car together!   I was surprised they both fit--- pretty impressive for a book.

Christmas Eve

A picture of those grandkids that made it to Grandpa and Grandma Greving's on Christmas Eve.  As with most kids this age, we take what we can get (and who we can get happy and looking at the camera) picture wise.

Best Friends

I love that these two kiddos interact with each other now. 

Liam LOVES Neve, and Neve is pretty fond of Liam. 

We had so many cute Liam/Neve moments this week!

5 on Friday

1. Our baby girl turned 9 months old on Tuesday!   I cannot believe how fast the past 9 months have gone.

2. We did a lot of traveling and hanging out with family this week.  Sunday we were in Ames at Nick's Mom's house, Monday and Tuesday we were with my parents.    We had a great time and Ellie loved playing with all of her cousins (as did Neve).

3. Ellie was excited for Santa to come.  On Tuesday morning she walked out of her room and instead of coming and giving me a hug (as I fed Neve), she walked straight to the living room without even a glance my way.  I think she was most excited to dump out her stocking and play with her new Plasma Car.  Neve was a fan of her new convertible car seat.

4. Holidays really throw the girls sleep schedules off.   Ellie has been extra emotional the past few days.  I am excited for this weekend so we can get her back on schedule.

5. Nick had the past couple of days off work.   Last night Ellie told him that she wanted him to go to work tomorrow (today) so that he could drop her off at day-care.  Mommy would have liked that as well.  Walking into work from the parking lot with two kids and all of their/my gear is a lot of work.  I now realize how spoiled we are when we ride together and split the load.

Merry Christmas!

Stationery card

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5 on Friday

1. Friday night we had my work Holiday Party.   It just so happens the party is about a mile away from my sister's house, so we dropped the girls off on our way and picked them up afterwards.  Worked out great and we got back to Megan's to find both girls asleep in their bed/pack n play.

2. To return the favor, we watched our nephew/Godson on Saturday night while my sister & brother-in-law went to a work Holiday Party near us.   We had heard that Liam had been a little fussy for babysitters lately so we were ready for a more difficult night.   Of course Liam knew he was with his Godparents and was a perfect angel.  Seriously, the kid cried for maybe 3 minutes total the entire night (that includes going to bed).   I thought that was pretty good for a just under 1 1/2 year old.

3. Our friends, The Beltman's, came over for dinner on Sunday.  Watching Sophia and Ellie run around together was rather funny.  Although they are 1 1/2 years different in age, they play together really well.  

4.  Ellie got sick to her stomach on Tuesday night.   It was the first time she got sick like that when she was able to sort of comprehend what was happening.  She did a great job and made the clean-up really easy on Mommy.   The next morning she was back to her normal self and spent the day playing with Daddy at home.

5. Let it snow, let it snow, let is snow!  Nick was up bright and early yesterday clearing the snow.  I was so proud of him for all of his hard work (and it was hard work).  We made it to work and day-care with the girls in decent time (20 minutes vs. the usual 10 minutes).   Of course there was hardly anyone where and the building closed at 3:00 PM.  At least we made an appearance and the drive was not too bad.  Side note: Out of 125 kids at day-care, Ellie and Neve were 2 of the 20 that showed up.

5 on Friday

1.  Neve and I spent 2.5 hours at urgent care and waiting for a prescription on Friday night.   Ear infection... again.  

2.  Ellie and I were sick on Saturday.   Welcome to winter.

3. Antibiotics and Neve are not a fun combination.   Let's just say our laundry machine has been working overtime.

4. Ellie has been loving the books Buddy and Santa leave her.   Although she is a little spoiled with having a present to unwrap each day.  Next year she may just get all of the books when we put up the tree and she can pick which ones she wants to read at night.

5. Last night Ellie's day-care had their holiday program.  Ellie stood in the middle of the stage and looked for us.  She did not do much singing (although she knew the songs because she sings them all the time at home). Grandma and Grandpa Greving were going to be in town anyway, so they joined up for the program and then we had dinner afterwards.

5 on Friday

1. Somehow Nick managed to get his keys locked in his car on Saturday.   And I 'lost' my keys so we were unable to unlock the car without the help of a locksmith.   It was an interesting adventure I hope we never have to go through again. (I found my keys left at work the next day.)

2. Sunday night my aunt, sister and her family came over for dinner.   The kids had a great time, and I think the grown-ups did as well.

3. Ellie's Elf on the Shelf arrived on Sunday morning.   I am not sure how much Ellie really understand about Buddy the Elf (or Booty the Elf as she wanted to name him), but she did think it was pretty funny when she found him in a bath of marshmallows in her sink one morning.  She also thought it was funny that he changed our Christmas stockings with our underwear!    Silly Buddy.

4. Ellie and I are having baking day today.  She is beyond excited and has been asking about it all week.   On Wednesday night we picked out what we wanted to bake... which was pretty much every recipe with a picture that she saw.

5. Nick's final bike came in this week!  He ordered it in August.   His bike collection is once again complete.

Mickey Mouse Party Favors

Ellie decided she wanted a Mickey Mouse themed party.   She is also a fan of balloons and party hats.  This is what I came up with for party favors/decorations:

Ellie always wants to wear party hats.  Of course we had to have those!  I saw a picture similar to these and thought they would be pretty easy to make.   The girls had bows (for Minnie) and the boys' were plain.  Ellie liked them so much that she asked for party hats to take to day-care the night before her birthday... I think it took me 2 hours to make 16 hats.  Thank goodness I had enough black cardstock on hand!

 The Dollar Tree has these for $1 each!  We used them for decorations AND party favors!  Ellie loved it when she walked into our bedroom and there for almost 20 balloons on the ceiling!

 I wanted to give a party favor that would be useful.  I saw these Crayon Caddies on a friend's blog and I thought they would be perfect.   They were not that hard to make either!   Directions came from here: http://www.skiptomylou.org/2007/04/25/on-a-roll/

 Of course you cannot have Crayons without a coloring book--- so I put one of those together and printed them out.

We made something similar to this at a Card Club gathering I went to.  I thought it would be the perfect idea to top off the party favor (and super easy to make as well)!

The Crayon Caddie served as the weight for the balloon.  I attached the three ideas with the ribbon from the balloon and it was all ready to go!   I used them as table decorations and scattered the remaining ones around the house.   Then at the end of the party the kids got to pick one out to take home.   

Here is the finished product!

Cousins

Trying to get a good picture of these three kiddos is very difficult.   But we try. Love them all!

Bass Pro Shop: Bowling

Once we got back into the house we had to make a trip to Bass Pro Shop to replace a few items.   We decided to make it a little fun for the girls and go bowling after our shopping.   Since my sister and her family live close, we invited them to join us.   I think the kids had a great time!

 Ellie and Liam checking out the bowling balls.

 Ellie is ready to bowl!

Halloween: Trick or Treat

A little behind, but here are a few pictures from trick-or-treat night!

Ellie, Neve and my Aunt Joan.  This is the best photo we got of the girls together.

Neve, Ellie and their friends, Collin and Sophia.

 Ellie ready to hit the streets!

 Neve stayed home and watched the door.

 

We tried to get on of the two girls... it did not work.

Pumpkin Carving!

A few pictures from our annual pumpkin carving night with the Jones' family:

Ellie cleaning out the pumpkin

Surprisingly, she like the pumpkin insides.  I thought it would be too messy for her.

Megan hard at work, while Ellie enjoys a pumpkin pie before bed.

While the guys sit back and watch sports on TV, Megan continues to slave away. 

We know who the real worker was!

The four of us and our two pumpkins

 (because it is far easier doing one pumpkin for each family than one for each person).

And of course our silly picture.

Pumpkin Patch

Megan and I took the kids to a pumpkin patch to pick out pumpkins before Halloween.   The patch was just a pumpkin field in Ankeny.   Some of the pumpkins were already picked, or you could go pick your own.   You picked your pumpkins and put payment in a box that was by the tractor.  It was really cute, without all the extras that sometimes get overwhelming to small children (like a 6 month old and 1 year old).   And the pumpkins were beautiful and cheap ($3 for a big one!)   I was a fan.