Dear Genevieve

I cannot believe how fast this first year has gone.   It seems like yesterday I was walking to the mailbox, having to stop every few houses in order to wait for a contraction to pass. I had to push a maximum of 10 minutes, it was quick.  It was love at first sight, even if it was the middle of the night.   Now look at you... super independent, yet a cuddler when you want to be. 

As Grandma Greving says, "God gave us an easy baby because he knew all the other things we were going to deal with."   And you are such an easy baby!   You moved from place to place after the fire, without a change in schedule or attitude.   There were times at Aunt Megan and Uncle Mike's house when we would lay you on the floor, go to eat dinner and forget for a second that you were even there. 
You slept through the night early on and, for the most part, you haven't looked back.   You have had some ear issues (not surprising), but nothing having tubes put in couldn't fix. 

Day-care loves you and I am often asked, "Was Ellie this easy?"  You love it when I come visit over my lunch hour, and I love the extra couple minutes I get with you.  

You absolutely adore your big sister.   And she loves you.  It is amazing seeing the bond that the two of you have with each other, even this early in your lives.   There are times when nothing will make you happy, except for Ellie's attention.   You love playing with her toys and watching her run around.  I can definately tell you are the second child, you like all the action and get bored if there is nothing going on around you.

You enjoy being outside.  The wind in your face or snow flakes falling on you makes you smile.  Daddy cannot wait to take you out on bike rides with Ellie!  I am sure you will love it, as you always want to do what Ellie does.

You walked on your own time.   You were taking steps early on, but have just now started to walk more consistently.  It is definately an "if Neve wants to thing"... if we stand you up and you are not in the mood you instantly blop on your bottom and crawl (this is pretty much any time we try to get you to walk).  You are also very proud of yourself when you walk, and tend to stop part way through to clap for yourself.

You are a pickier eater than Ellie was.   Very selective and often times Cheerios will not cut it with you (you prefer the yogurt melts).     Surprisingly, you love eating meat (chicken, beef, ham, anything)!  You love nursing, and throw your head back to let me know you want more.

You love your pacifier.  You never use one at day-care, but will 'hunt' for them at home.  It is amazing how quickly you find them.

You are a bit of a Mommy's girl, but are coming around to Daddy more and more.  

You complete our family, and we are so lucky to have you in our lives.

We love you, Neve!

Love,
Mommy

5 on Friday

1. Happy Easter!  Ellie loved hunting for Easter eggs, but did not want the Easter Bunny to come to her house.   

2. After church on Sunday we headed up to Ames to spend time with Nick's Mom and her husband.   Yummy food, an Easter egg hunt and time with the extended family!

3. On Monday we had Neve's 1-year photos!   She did a great job and we love the preview photos:
http://www.sarahmcconnellphotography.net/blog/2013/4/preview--genevieve

4. On Thursday I took Ellie to the ENT to check on her ears.  She goes in on Monday to have tubes put in for the second time.   Her left ear still has the tube in it (barely), but they are going to replace it so both ears are done at the same time and we are not back in for surgery in 6 months.

5. We are loving the beautiful weather!   Bring on Spring!

5 on Friday

1. Happy 1st Birthday, Genevieve!   It seems like the first year went even faster with Neve than it did with Ellie! 

2. We celebrated Neve's birthday with a Very Hungry Caterpillar party on Saturday.   Neve seemed to have fun, and it was great seeing everyone.  We were all exhausted after the party.

3. A few weeks ago we found out that they want to put up apartments near our house.   We are not excited.   Nick and our neighbor got together and went to the Planning and Zoning meeting where the rezoning was approved and sent onto the Waukee City Council for approval.   Nick and our neighbor did not feel like their opposition was considered at the Planning and Zoning meeting, so they gathered a few more neighbors and went to the City Council meeting this past Monday.  Here is an article in the register:   http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2013/03/25/waukee-council-moves-ahead-with-rezoning-request-near-alices-road/article?nclick_check=1
And the Waukee Patch: http://waukee.patch.com/articles/residents-object-to-plans-for-apartment-complex-near-subdivision   From what Nick said, the City Council seemed very open and willing to hear our opinions.  Unfortunately, most of the people in the neighborhood had no idea this was going on... until the guys told them this week (after Monday's meeting).  Nick and a few other neighbors went out yesterday to talk to people about the proposal.   There had been posts on Facebook about the issue and people were just waiting for Nick and the neighbors to come stop by their house so they could sign the petition.  We will see what the City Council meeting on Monday brings! 

4. Have I told you lately how awesome the people in our neighborhood are? Not only is it great to have families with children in the same age range as ours, it is amazing to see everyone come together the way they are with the rezoning issue.

5. I love the nice weather and cannot wait for Spring.  After work we made a quick trip to the park last night.   Ellie and Neve loved being outside and playing on the playground, while Nick and I got to catch up with some neighbors.

5 on Friday

1.  An update from my last week note about Ellie wearing size 5 shirts... I pulled a couple out and some of them are already too small!   Guess we will move onto size 6!  

2. Ellie, Grandma Thorson and myself went shopping on Saturday afternoon.   Ellie needed new shoes and I wanted to see what I could find for super sales on clothes for her.   Ellie ended up in size 10.5 shoes!  They are a little big right now, but most likely not for long.

3. Saturday night we went out to dinner with Grandma and Grandpa Thorson to celebrate Nick's birthday.   It was Nick and my splurge night since we started Weight Watchers.  We went to Cosi Cocina and it was yummy!   Side note: despite Saturday's dinner I was still down in weight for the week!

4. Neve ended up sick Saturday, Sunday and Monday.  Poor little girl was going through outfits (and crib sheets) left and right!   I was so tired of doing laundry!

5. Last night Ellie went to day-care's Easter Egg Hunt!   They have it every year, but until this year we have not gone since it doesn't start until 6:30 and Ellie goes to bed early.   Of course the minute we walked in the building she saw the Easter Bunny and started crying/screaming.  She was not a fan of the Easter Bunny.

5 on Friday

1. Nick and I went out to dinner by ourselves last Friday night to celebrate his upcoming birthday.   A girl from day-care came to watch Ellie and Neve.   The minute Kaitlin arrived, Neve wanted nothing to do with Nick or I--- only Kaitlin.  I knew Ellie would have fun, but I didn't expect Neve's reaction.   I guess we know she likes/loves Kaitlin.   The next morning Ellie asked if I still had Kaitlin's number, and if she could come over again.

2. Ellie had her follow-up with the ENT on Thursday.  The antibiotics she is on don't seem to be making much of a difference.  We are going to continue them for another week and re-check them.  On the positive side, her ears are not hurting her anymore.

3. I made Neve a pillow-case dress for her birthday.   I think it turned out pretty well and I am excited to see her in it.   Pictures to come later.

4. Ellie informed us that her feet were too big for her shoes.   Guess we are going shoe shopping this weekend.  

5. In addition to her feet being big, we have noticed her size 4 shirts are too small.   The kid is growing like a weed!  Luckily we have hand-me-downs in size 5 that should help get us through the rest of winter.

5 on Friday

1.  Saturday morning I took Ellie to grocery shop at Fareway while Nick took Neve to Costco.  We accomplished so much in a short period of time!  Weekend 'to do' errands complete by noon.

2. My parent's called via Facetime on Sunday... Ellie got to see the ocean!  Of course she wanted to see Grandpa and Grandma's legs and the pool instead.  Silly girl.

3. On Friday night Ellie woke up crying because her ear hurt.   It was the ear that still had the tube in it (or it did when we last were seen by a Dr.)  I waited for the infection drain as it does with tubes.   Nothing.  Just Ellie waking up crying in the middle of the night because it hurt.  I took her into our pedeatrican on Monday since she had been complaining of a sore throat as well.   He said it looked like the tube was plugged.  He told us to give her ear drops and see if we could get in to see the ENT.   We were able to see the ENT on Tuesday (I am becoming a regular at that office between Neve and Ellie).   The ENT said Ellie had an ear infection in the left ear, a blocked tube, and fluid in the right ear.  He is a little concerned about the fluid/ear infection and the impact it could have on her hearing.   I guess the tubes they put in her ears almost 2 years ago work for about 80% of the patients and there are no further issues.  Ellie may be in that 20% and need a more permanent tube put in to fix the problem.   I am not really surprised, just not looking forward to that adventure if it comes to it.   Ellie goes back to the ENT on Thursday and we will see what her ear looks like then.

4. Neve started blowing kisses this week.   I had been working on them with her for about a week.  Of course she blew Daddy the first kiss when she saw him on her walk at day-care.

5. We have a babysitter coming tonight so Nick and I can go out to dinner and celebrate his birthday in advance (since his birthday week is already going to be busy).  Ellie has been asking if it is Friday for the past few days.  She is excited for Kaitlin to come over and play.  She asked if Kaitlin could sleep at her house.   I told her know.  Kaitlin is one of Neve's favorite teachers at day-care, so I think she will be excited to see her as well.

5 on Friday

1. I was supposed to go to Denver for a board meeting on Monday (bright and early with the plane leaving at 6:15AM).  I got a call Sunday night around 9PM that they cancelled the meeting due to the snow in that area.   On Monday morning they decided to go ahead with the meeting.  Needless to say, I participated via conference call.  Although I usually enjoy going to the meeting and getting to spend time with the board members, I was having a hard time leaving Neve overnight for the first time.  Not sure why it is harder for me with her than it was with Ellie when I left her at 6 months. 

2.  On Tuesday we had snow.   We live in Iowa and it is February.  This shouldn't be too surprising.  However, they failed to treat the streets prior to the snow.  And the snow occurred during the morning commute.   It took us 1 hour and 20 minutes to make our normal 10 minute drive to work.   Included in that drive was a little mini-workout for Nick; it consisted of him and a few other kind drivers helping push 5 cars up a hill.   Just another reason I love my husband--- he is willing to help strangers out... in his dress shoes and dress pants.

3. Neve had her post-op with the ENT... the tubes look great and her hearing is at 100%!

4. It is amazing what a difference a few months make.   At the beginning of winter Ellie was not a fan of playing outside in the snow.  Now she cannot get enough of it and gets really excited to help Daddy shovel, make "Frosty's" and make snow angels.   Neve loves it when we walk outside and it is snowing--- she laughs and squeals.

5. On Thursday night I had the opportunity to listen to the President of the Chicago Federal Reserve speak.   It was a neat experience.