1. My sister turned 30 on Saturday and my niece turned 1 on Sunday! We celebrated with them at a joint birthday party on Saturday in Ames. Seems like just yesterday I was in the delivery room waiting for the baby to make her appearance.
2. Ellie is really into themes of birthday parties. My sister and niece's party had a "pink zebra" theme. Ellie had it all worked out a few days ahead of time, she was going to wear pink underwear and a pink shirt (no worries- she wore pants as well)--- the girl plans for the occasion. Then she found her clip on earrings and wanted to wear those. But they were flowers. So she wanted to know if it was a "pink zebra flower bush" party. We messaged my sister to ask. Sure enough--- it was! Ellie was on top of the world.
3. It was Ellie's turn to bring treats to Faith Formation on Sunday. She has been waiting all school year for this. She was very excited and picked out applesauce and raisins. I said no to the juice boxes and told her they could just drink water. She was actually OK with that- that's my girl!
4. Sunday night we celebrated with a family movie night. Popcorn, M&M's and Madagascar. Perfect.
5. Ellie's dance class costumes came in! The girls are going to look so cute!
Friday, January 30, 2015
Friday, January 23, 2015
5 on Friday
1. Last week Ellie was sick.
2. Then Nick was sick.
3. And then I was sick.
4. Neve wins! She avoided being sick. Thank goodness--- we needed some sort of break.
5. We were reminded of why we donate to IPTV--- we don't have cable and the girls rarely watch TV, but when Nick and I are both sick and the girls are home with us kid-friendly shows come in real handy. Thank you IPTV!
6. Then we spent time recovering from being sick. It was a boring two weeks.
7. Ellie was feeling better and able to make it to her friend's birthday party on Sunday. She had a great time and was very excited that Spider-man showed up!
8. Since we were sick we had to cancel the babysitter we had planned. Ellie was crushed. She even cried. She must like our babysitter (who also happens to be her teacher at school). I told her we would reschedule.
9. We are back and feeling much better now!
2. Then Nick was sick.
3. And then I was sick.
4. Neve wins! She avoided being sick. Thank goodness--- we needed some sort of break.
5. We were reminded of why we donate to IPTV--- we don't have cable and the girls rarely watch TV, but when Nick and I are both sick and the girls are home with us kid-friendly shows come in real handy. Thank you IPTV!
6. Then we spent time recovering from being sick. It was a boring two weeks.
7. Ellie was feeling better and able to make it to her friend's birthday party on Sunday. She had a great time and was very excited that Spider-man showed up!
8. Since we were sick we had to cancel the babysitter we had planned. Ellie was crushed. She even cried. She must like our babysitter (who also happens to be her teacher at school). I told her we would reschedule.
9. We are back and feeling much better now!
Friday, January 9, 2015
5 on Friday
1. Ellie and I broke out one of 'our' American Girl dolls, Marie-Grace (M-G), and started reading her story (our first chapter book!). Ellie thought it was awesome and loved playing with M-G. Neve wanted to know where her 'grown-up' doll was... unfortunately the other doll we/I have is Samantha, and I am not ready to pass her onto the girls yet. I told the girls they could share M-G. Maybe if Ellie loves M-G and takes good care of her (her hair specifically) she can pick out her own American Girl to ask Santa for next year (or the year after).
2. So the Marie-Grace chapter book tells all about the doll's life. The story is set in New Orleans in 1858--- Nick looked at me in shock when I came across the word "black boy" in the book. Explaining to Ellie how things were different back then has been interesting to say the least, but also a part of life. Maybe there would have been an easier book to read for our first chapter book, but I still love that Ellie is learning about history at such a young age.
3. Neve wants to dress-up like a princess EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. Good thing she received a couple of new princess dresses for Christmas to add to her collection--- because that kid is 100% girl. It also makes me see how not-girly Ellie can be (I should have know by the sports lamp she picked out for her room.)
4. A friend of mine gave us a pink leotard that was too small for her daughter. It fits Neve perfectly and she is so excited about it. We were driving home one night, talking about how Ellie had dance class in a couple days when Neve quickly chimes in that she is going to be in dance class too! I told her she wasn't old enough and she could start next fall :( She came right back with, "but I have a pink dance outfit now!" Poor girl, she CANNOT wait for her turn to take dance classes. On Tuesday when Ellie went to dance class, Neve put on her pink dance outfit so she could match (despite the outfit being short sleeve and it being cold out).
5. Some days things just don't go your way. They happen. Wednesday at work was that day for me. I came home pretty upset and Nick kindly reminded me that there is always someone else out there that has it worse. Sometimes you need that reality check to remind you of how lucky you are, and make sure you don't take the 'good days' for granted.
2. So the Marie-Grace chapter book tells all about the doll's life. The story is set in New Orleans in 1858--- Nick looked at me in shock when I came across the word "black boy" in the book. Explaining to Ellie how things were different back then has been interesting to say the least, but also a part of life. Maybe there would have been an easier book to read for our first chapter book, but I still love that Ellie is learning about history at such a young age.
3. Neve wants to dress-up like a princess EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. Good thing she received a couple of new princess dresses for Christmas to add to her collection--- because that kid is 100% girl. It also makes me see how not-girly Ellie can be (I should have know by the sports lamp she picked out for her room.)
4. A friend of mine gave us a pink leotard that was too small for her daughter. It fits Neve perfectly and she is so excited about it. We were driving home one night, talking about how Ellie had dance class in a couple days when Neve quickly chimes in that she is going to be in dance class too! I told her she wasn't old enough and she could start next fall :( She came right back with, "but I have a pink dance outfit now!" Poor girl, she CANNOT wait for her turn to take dance classes. On Tuesday when Ellie went to dance class, Neve put on her pink dance outfit so she could match (despite the outfit being short sleeve and it being cold out).
5. Some days things just don't go your way. They happen. Wednesday at work was that day for me. I came home pretty upset and Nick kindly reminded me that there is always someone else out there that has it worse. Sometimes you need that reality check to remind you of how lucky you are, and make sure you don't take the 'good days' for granted.
Friday, January 2, 2015
5 on Friday
1. You know what is great about a smoker? Making a week's worth of meals in one afternoon. Saturday afternoon Nick smoked up chicken, pork, a ham and some amazing baked beans with smoked bacon. We have plenty of food to last us through the week!
2. We had a relaxing weekend--- took down the Christmas tree and cleaned up the house.
3. Ellie decided that we since we got new toys for Christmas, we should donate some of our old toys to Goodwill. Great idea Ellie!
4. We celebrated New Year's Eve at the neighbor's house. Such a fun time had by all- even if Ellie and Neve did not fall asleep as planned. A great way to end the year.
5. New Year's day was relaxing--- a perfect start to the new year.
2. We had a relaxing weekend--- took down the Christmas tree and cleaned up the house.
3. Ellie decided that we since we got new toys for Christmas, we should donate some of our old toys to Goodwill. Great idea Ellie!
4. We celebrated New Year's Eve at the neighbor's house. Such a fun time had by all- even if Ellie and Neve did not fall asleep as planned. A great way to end the year.
5. New Year's day was relaxing--- a perfect start to the new year.
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Halloween Activities--- better late than never?
I may be a little late in posting these. But they are too cute not to. We had an amazing month of Halloween and used our costumes a ton.
Ellie and her day-care class visiting Howell's Pumpkin Patch (and feeding the animals).
Pumpkin Carving!
Trick-or-treating around the neighborhood. (Have I mentioned in the last few weeks how much I love our neighbors?)
Night Eyes with cousin Liam.
Trick-or-treating at day-care.
Surprising Grandma and Grandpa Thorson on Ames' Beggar's Night.
Elsa, Elsa, Grandma and Grandpa.
Visiting Grandma and Grandpa Greving in Ames (along with Liam and Alida).
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
CFI Princess Party
Back in October I took Elsa and Elsa to the annual CFI Princess Party! We opted to splurge this year and did the VIP package- complete with the girls getting their hair done. The girls had a blast and really enjoyed it. Of course their favorite part is meeting the princesses!
Friday, December 26, 2014
5 on Friday
1. I had my department holiday party at Cowboy Jacks in West Glen Friday night. With such a busy week, we decided it was best for Nick to stay home with the girls and get them to bed at an early hour.
2. We visited the North Pole via the Boone Scenic Valley Railroad Santa Express on Saturday night! Well, technically we didn't leave the state of Iowa. But Santa and Mrs. Claus where there. Ellie may have commented that we were not going fast enough to get to the North Pole in time (smart kid). And she wondered what would happen if the Santa Express and the Polar Express got there at the same time--- would she see the kids from the Polar Express (can you guess her favorite holiday movie)? The ride must have lived up to her expectations, as she wants to go again next year.
3. We celebrated Christmas with the Thorson/Larson side on Sunday. Cute story from the day: Neve got scared by her older (and much bigger) cousin when we first arrived. Even when I was holding her she was still bawling... so I said "Let's go find Grandpa" and we headed to where he was (she hadn't seen him yet). The instant she saw him she wanted him to hold her and she stopped crying. I guess there is such thing as a Grandpa's Touch instead of a Mommy's Touch. It was really cute.
4. Nick and I worked Christmas Eve day, so the girls got to go to day-care in their PJ's! There were only a handful of kids at the center, so they combined rooms and the girls had a great time being in the same class for once! That evening we celebrated our own family Christmas- complete with opening gifts, making sugar cookies, hot cocoa, wine & cheese night (wine for the grow-ups only) and lighting the Advent candles one last time. I think the girls are really going to miss the Advent candles- Ellie was super excited about them all season.
5. We opened our Santa gifts and went to church before heading to Ames on Christmas Day. For the first time since Thanksgiving of last year we had the entire Greving family together. There are 20 of us now and it makes for a busy house--- I love it! The girls had a blast playing with all of their cousins.
2. We visited the North Pole via the Boone Scenic Valley Railroad Santa Express on Saturday night! Well, technically we didn't leave the state of Iowa. But Santa and Mrs. Claus where there. Ellie may have commented that we were not going fast enough to get to the North Pole in time (smart kid). And she wondered what would happen if the Santa Express and the Polar Express got there at the same time--- would she see the kids from the Polar Express (can you guess her favorite holiday movie)? The ride must have lived up to her expectations, as she wants to go again next year.
3. We celebrated Christmas with the Thorson/Larson side on Sunday. Cute story from the day: Neve got scared by her older (and much bigger) cousin when we first arrived. Even when I was holding her she was still bawling... so I said "Let's go find Grandpa" and we headed to where he was (she hadn't seen him yet). The instant she saw him she wanted him to hold her and she stopped crying. I guess there is such thing as a Grandpa's Touch instead of a Mommy's Touch. It was really cute.
4. Nick and I worked Christmas Eve day, so the girls got to go to day-care in their PJ's! There were only a handful of kids at the center, so they combined rooms and the girls had a great time being in the same class for once! That evening we celebrated our own family Christmas- complete with opening gifts, making sugar cookies, hot cocoa, wine & cheese night (wine for the grow-ups only) and lighting the Advent candles one last time. I think the girls are really going to miss the Advent candles- Ellie was super excited about them all season.
5. We opened our Santa gifts and went to church before heading to Ames on Christmas Day. For the first time since Thanksgiving of last year we had the entire Greving family together. There are 20 of us now and it makes for a busy house--- I love it! The girls had a blast playing with all of their cousins.
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