Well, Christmas 2011 is officially complete–we headed to Albert Lea on New Year’s Eve day to do some more celebrating.  Our original plan was to go to Rochester to hopefully be able to see my dad, but he had unfortunately not recovered and been able to travel, so we decided to beat the bad weather and go to Albert Lea a day early.  That worked out well, because we were able to celebrate Christmas with Dave’s parents and sister instead of waiting until sometime later in January.  While the turkey for Sunday was cooking, we watched Rudolph, ate some pizza, did a puzzle, and later opened up gifts.  Abby received some nice clothes/accessories for her new doll, and lots of other great gifts.  It was tough to make it to midnight, but we (barely) did.

On Sunday, we went over to Dave’s Aunt Betty’s for Christmas dinner, etc. with his mom’s side of the family.  After a yummy meal, Santa visited (it’s tradition for Dave’s mom to dress up and “visit” Betty’s each year).  Abby was pretty nervous about him this time, and did not want to sit on his lap.  We had to have her sit on Dave’s lap to get a picture, but later, as he was getting ready to leave, she willingly gave him a hug and a snuggle (with tears in her eyes).  She got some more nice gifts from Dave’s family, and we enjoyed all of the Christmas treats.

I don’t think we’re quite ready to get back into the routine of regular life yet, but I’m sure we’ll adjust quickly after tomorrow.  It’s been a wonderful Christmas and break!

 

Somehow, December came and went, and here I find myself in the post-Christmas blues–knowing that it’s time to take down the tree, family time has come to an end, and winter break is almost over–not sure how time can go so fast!  We had a nice Christmas, but a little different without my dad around (he has been stuck in Asheville for a week with kidney stone issues–he was supposed to fly in last Thursday night, but still can’t fly).

The weekend before Christmas, we celebrated our little family Christmas by taking the light rail up to the Macy’s Christmas display and going out to dinner.  Abby got Dave a cabin Lego set, and me a necklace with the initials of her and the new baby.

We enjoyed our traditional Christmas Eve/Christmas Day celebrations with extended family in Iowa–Saturday at the farm, Saturday night-Monday morning up in Webster City.  Santa and Mrs. Claus even made a surprise visit to the farm!  Abby was excited, and even sat on his lap twice.

After church on Christmas Eve, it was time to get ready for Santa up in Webster City.  Abby came prepared with her cookies, some notes for Santa, and reindeer food.  When it came time for bed, however, she became teary and afraid–she was worried that Santa was going to come into the room she was sleeping in and watch her sleep–Santa is a pretty strange concept for a 3 1/2 year old!

In the morning, Abby was not sure she wanted to go check her stocking–she was concerned that Santa was still there.  After reassuring her that all was okay, she went out and was excited to see what Santa brought–just what she had hoped for…a nice soft teddy bear and a baby doll!

Breakfast with the cousins was delicious as usual, then after the adults arrived, we had fun opening gifts.  Our Christmas meal was down at my aunt and uncle’s farm this year, and Abby and my cousin Connor had their very own table set up in the living room.  Abby loves her buddy Connor, and he is so good to spend time with her.  After the meal, we headed back to Webster City for some bingo, Minute to Win It, Salad Bowl, and other games.  I love how much fun our family has together!   We definitely missed having my dad in on the fun.

After a quick swim at the hotel on Monday morning, it was time to head back to Minnesota–our car that has been having issues on and off since October had issues on the way down to Iowa, and needed to be brought back in for the dealership to keep problem-solving.  We were supposed to do our family Christmas on Monday, but since my dad hadn’t made it in yet, we postponed.  That gave Dave and one of our family friends some time Tuesday/Wednesday to paint Abby’s new bedroom–Dave’s going to start working for our friend on Monday, so it was a good opportunity for him to learn helpful tips about painting.  Abby loves her new room, which is a good thing, because she was not thrilled to be switching rooms.  Now she has a lot more space for her toys and books, bigger windows, and best of all–a spot for her dollhouse so it’s not in our living room!  :)

We decided to do our family Christmas on Wednesday, even though my dad wasn’t there–my brother had to fly out Thursday afternoon, so we were running out of days to celebrate.  Lots of good food was consumed, and many nice presents were opened, but it wasn’t quite the same without my dad.  He was at the hospital, so unfortunately couldn’t Skype, but we did a little speakerphone conversation and Greg recorded some of the gift opening on his ipad.

Dave’s family came up this morning, and with everyone’s help, we were able to get Abby moved into her new room, set up her new bed and closet/toy organizer, and even put the crib up in the baby’s room.  There’s still A LOT to organize, and lots of Christmas clean-up to do, but I have to keep reminding myself it doesn’t all have to get done today…

We’re still hoping my dad can make it for New Year’s, even though Greg has already taken off for Chicago, but hopefully we can all be together in a couple of months when the baby is born!  Two more Christmas celebrations to go–Dave’s extended family Sunday, and his immediate family sometime when everyone’s schedules coordinate…

We’ve gotten into the holiday season here at the Olsen household this weekend.  We started off with a parade of lights in New Prague on Friday night with good friends, then Dave’s parents came up to spend the weekend.  They took Abby to her dance class on Saturday morning, then to a special ECFE bowling event for kids and their grandparents.  We met up with them afterwards, and took Abby to a local realty office to visit Santa.  Our expectations weren’t too high after the last couple of years, but Abby did a great job!  She sat on Santa’s lap, talked with him, and told him what she wanted for Christmas this year (a nice soft teddy bear and a baby doll).

Afterward, we ventured to the Boy Scout Christmas tree lot to pick out a tree.  We set it up later in the day, and Abby enjoyed putting on a few ornaments (and the angel) before deciding she was ready to do something else (she decorated Grandma & Grandpa’s tree at Thanksgiving, so must have used up all of her decorating energy then…).  Dave and his dad also got our outdoor lights hung up before the snow came.  Abby enjoyed working on painting her Nativity set that her great-aunt Miriam gave her for Christmas last year, and has worked her way through most of the pieces.  I’ll have to post a picture of the final product when she’s done–she especially loves the glitter paint and gemstones you can glue on…what Nativity set is complete without those??

We enjoyed some time out in the snow this morning–it was the perfect way to wear out Sadie and enjoy our empty lot sledding hills.  We definitely need to organize a sledding party with our friends this winter–we have the perfect “little kid” hills and great hills for those who are more adventurous (as long as you stop yourself before going into the pond).

With the snow, stockings hung, Christmas tree and decorations up, outdoor lights up, and some presents wrapped, it’s definitely beginning to feel like Christmastime–my favorite!

Thanksgiving weekend went way too fast as always, but we had a great time celebrating with our families.  Unfortunately, Dave had to work Wednesday and Friday nights, so it made more sense for him to stay home on Thanksgiving while Abby, Sadie, and I traveled to Rochester to be with my family.  Also unfortunately, my dad was stuck in Asheville with kidney stone issues, so we had a nice Thanksgiving meal with my mom, brother, and sister.  We had some good sibling bonding time that night as we ventured out to Target at midnight to snag a Black Friday deal on a camera with our Target discount.  It was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience…not something I plan on doing again unless it’s a GREAT deal!  Lots of people and waiting in line, but at least the weather was nice.  We spent Friday hanging out and helping my mom get the outdoor lights and Christmas tree up.

On Saturday, Abby got to have a “princess” day with all of the favorite ladies in her life–both of her grandmas, aunts, and myself–we went to see Disney Live at the Mayo Civic Center, where they were presenting three princess stories.  Abby loved getting dressed up and was so enthralled by the show…she was upset at intermission that the show had to take a break!  We also had a great surprise–Dave ended up driving down after getting off of work, so we could spend some time with him.

After the show, we returned to my parents’ house where my grandma, aunt, and cousins had arrived from Iowa for some family/game time.  Later that evening, when we went out to dinner for my sister’s birthday, Abby got the best surprise ever when my mom went to pick my dad up from the airport and returned with him…he had finally felt well enough to make it back, and I think it was definitely worth it when he saw the look on Abby’s face and she ran into his arms.  Even though he was only able to stay until noon the next day, it was great that he ended up being able to make it.

On Sunday, after dropping my dad off at the airport, Abby and I met up with Dave at his family’s Thanksgiving in Albert Lea.  They were nice enough to save some food for us, and we had a delicious meal and treats as we watched the Vikings lose…  Abby was most excited to get a chance to play with her aunt Tracy and Dave’s cousin Jenny.

Returning home was definitely nice tonight after a busy four days, but we are definitely missing family–it was so great to spend time with everyone, and we are especially thankful that my brother was able to come home, my mom had the energy to provide such delicious meals all weekend, and that my dad was able to make it home for a little bit.  I am also thankful that Christmas break is here in just 3 1/2 weeks–18 school days!!

We had a great Halloween!  Abby had a fun daycare party, enjoyed our Papa Murphy’s jack-o-lantern pizza, and got all dressed up as Cheer Bear for some trick-or-treating tonight.  Abby and I made it around the neighborhood, and Abby got her basket filled up with candy before getting too cold and wanting to come home.  She was hoping to give people candy at our house, but we had a pretty quiet year again at our house–only 13 trick-or-treaters.  Luckily, one last little girl came to our house after we got home, so Abby did get to hand out some candy to her.  We definitely ended up with WAY too much extra candy!  Here are some cute pics of Abby the Care Bear and our pumpkins:

We also had fun celebrating Halloween on Friday night at Abby’s ECFE Halloween party–Abby actually played a bunch of the games this year, and had fun seeing her buddies.  Storytime and the book fair were also a hit for Abby.

The rest of our weekend was spent with a bunch of my family for our annual “Girls’ Weekend”–this weekend plus my cousin Connor.  We stayed at our house one night, then a hotel Saturday night.  We enjoyed doing some shopping at the Mall of America and Ikea, swimming at the hotel pool, and fun/game time with everyone.  I didn’t take too many pictures, but got a cute one of Abby napping at the hotel after a long day, and later at Olive Garden with her buddy Connor.

Can’t believe it’s November already!  Abby is so bummed that Halloween is over, but she informed us that after Thanksgiving and Christmas, not to worry because then it’s Halloween again–hopefully she can make it 10 more months after Christmas!

Ever since Abby was about 5 months old, we’ve been participating in ECFE classes through the New Prague schools.  We have loved the classes and special events, and are finding it hard to believe that it’s the last year of classes for Abby!  Abby has had amazing teachers, and we’ve met incredible friends.  We don’t usually bring our camera to class, but the kids could wear their Halloween costumes to class tonight, and cameras were encouraged.  Here are some cute photos of Abby’s fun tonight–orange playdough, purple spaghetti, puppet show, and an attempt at a group photo!

MEA is always a nice break from the busy start of the school year–this year, we decided to head up to our friend’s cabin for a quiet fall weekend.  Being at the cabin in the fall is a first for us–we always go up for our annual college cabin weekend in the summer, and Abby and Kristina and I head up for a girls’ week/few days at another point in the summer.  It was fun experiencing a beautiful fall weekend up there!  Dave and Matt did some fishing, Abby, Kristina, and I baked cookies, went for walks, and played in the sand and leaves.  We enjoyed some movies and quiet time, the perfect recharge for the next couple of weeks at school before our work day.  Hopefully we can make it a new tradition!

Another fun thing–Kristina and I are about a week apart in our pregnancies, so it’s been nice to have someone to share it with!

We hit up another ECFE event, this time through Montgomery-Lonsdale schools–and this time, a fun FREE event (we love those!).  They had advertised in the paper that the fire station was going to have an open house for kids 8 and under, and we thought Abby would enjoy checking it out.  She had a blast looking at and sitting in all of the fire trucks and ambulances.  They also did a special presentation where they talked about fire safety with the kiddos and had a firefighter dress up in his gear so the kids could see that he wasn’t so scary.  We loved how Abby raised her hand for every question the firefighter asked, but were kind of glad that she wasn’t called on–we have no idea what she was planning to say!    Abby especially loved the cookie and juice afterward, plus the sticker, coloring book, and fire hat that she got to take home.  Definitely a fun event!

Today was a beautiful (but chilly!) day for a field trip to a local organic dairy farm.  Abby, Dave’s sister, and I joined a group of ECFE families for the field trip, and had a great time!  Abby told me tonight that her favorite part was riding the bus (a quick 5 minute ride each way), but the farm had many highlights for her as well.  We were excited that Abby’s buddy Alex and his mom were along for the trip as well.  For the first part of the trip, we were taken on a hayride into the cow pasture.  They stopped the ride, and the cows came up and surrounded the wagon.  Abby and Alex were excited at first, but once the cows started eating their hay seats they had been sitting/standing on, they weren’t so sure about things.  It was definitely a unique experience!  Alex’s seat was pretty well demolished by the time the tractor took off again.

We stopped at a hen house, where Abby got to see some hens laying eggs and attempt to pet some of the roaming hens.  Unfortunately, most were too scared off by all of the preschoolers to let anyone pet them.

Back at the barn, we toured the area where the milking takes place, and Abby got to peek in a large steel bin where some milk was stored.  Abby also got to see some pigs, kittens, and two dogs.

We followed one of the farmers up to the area where the calves were, and the kids got to feed the calves water from bottles.  This was definitely a highlight for Abby.

She also enjoyed heading back to the shed to get her goody bag and treat (organic chocolate milk and string cheese).  All in all, a great trip!