Big girl bed & sicky McSick...

I have good news & bad news. The good news is that Eleanor transitioned to her big girl room & big girl bed with no problems this weekend. She slept the last two nights in her new bed and I didn't hear a single peep out of her - nor did she make any attempt to climb out! I'll take some pictures of her cute new room soon. I'm still decorating a bit - not sure where to hang some things on the walls.

The bad news is that she's had a fever all weekend - average of 103 degrees! Unfortunately, my first thought is always that she has a UTI (urinary tract infection). She is prone to those. But, I'm trying not to panic as there were several kids who were sicky McSicks at daycare last week. If her fever doesn't break today I guess we'll be heading to the clinic tomorrow.

I'll post some pictures soon!

I'm 31!!

Today is my birthday. I'm starting to really get old!! Eleanor thought I should get a Pooh cake. She remembered that that is the kind of cake she had at her birthday in September. I'm always amazed at her memory!

Michael and Eleanor both got me nice cards, a dozen roses, and Mamma Mia on DVD. Eleanor and I have been listening to the soundtrack on my ipod like crazy and so I'm sure she'll enjoy watching some of the scenes from the movie. She always asks me to play "Mamma Mima."

It's also Dolly's birthday today! She's 6. She's celebrating by going to the groomers. Unfortunately, nothing too special for her. :(

A video of Eleanor wishing me a Happy Birthday! I was trying to get her to tell me about the Pooh cake, but that was unsuccessful. Oh well, it's still cute!

Princess books

Eleanor has just gotten into the Disney Princess phenomenon. I wasn't exactly pushing it, but amazingly they pick up on this stuff! She's been going poopy in the potty (no pee pee yet) and so Grandma Mari Lee got her these adorable Princess books. There are 8 princesses (Pocahontas & Mulan are not as exciting as the others!) and they all fit into a little carrying case. The stories are very short (Princess Stories for Dummies anyone?!) and so they keep her attention span. :)

Thanks again, Grandma ML!

The Twilight Saga

Earlier this week I finished Breaking Dawn for the second time. I've read the entire series - twice. That's 2,489 pages. So, I guess in total that's 4,978 pages. Plus, I have read the unfinished 264 page manuscript of A Midnight Sun (Twilight from Edward's perspective) on Stephenie Meyer's website. This series has consumed my life since October and now I think I finally have to put these down. Thank God the DVD of Twilight is coming out on March 21st! I don't know what I'll read now...

scrap-e-blog

As you can see, we have a new look for our blog! This is thanks to scrap.e.blog (and to Amy for letting me know about it!). This website has free blog templates and the woman running the website will do a free (yes, free!) customized blog title for you. Here's the link if anyone is interested.

http://scrap-e-blog.blogspot.com/

Hope you all like it!

Christmas Highlights 2008

Here are just a few highlights (Natalie sent me 559 pictures to sort through!) from our Christmas vacation in North Dakota. Enjoy!

Looking out the big picture window at a "reindeer!"

Sledding with Daddy.

Natalie, Mom and I going to see the Twilight premiere!

Eleanor in her Christmas dress.

Group shot (minus Joe who had to work at the hospital on Christmas Eve).

Family shot - 2008

Bahnka, Gramma & Eleanor (and Matty) - 2008

Eleanor and Auntie Natalie

The menagerie of presents.

In the middle of the present opening craziness, baby needed a diaper change! :)

Eleanor putting cookies & milk out for Santa.

The cookies & milk are gone and Santa left a note! :)

Christmas morning - Eleanor got a new diaper full of all kinds of goodies for her baby. Needless to say, it was a hit!

Eleanor & Uncle Jordan

Uncle Joe

Group shot on Christmas Day - this one is with Joe!

That's all folks! Very special memories were made.

We're so proud...

Last night during dinner we had the news on (I know, I know, we shouldn't have the TV on while we're eating!) and Eleanor was chewing away. It didn't appear that she was paying any attention to the news whatsoever. All of the sudden, she points and says "Barack Obama." Clear. As. Day. Right after he got elected I pointed to his picture and told Eleanor that he was our President...but, that was way back in November! Boy, the things they pick up on - and retain!

Church Dress

Whenever we say that we're going to dress Eleanor up she says "church dress." Or, for December it was "Christmas dress." We did, indeed, get dressed up to go to church this morning and put on this adorable new dress from Grandma Mari Lee. I just had to get out the camera!

It seems that she gets bigger every day and I know once we have the new baby, any "baby" that Eleanor still has will be no more. Most people comment on how tall she's gotten since her 2nd birthday - we agree. She's definitely gaining in height. She is a sweet, sweet, little girl and we feel so blessed to have her.

Winter Wonderland

It truly was a winter wonderland this year for our Christmas vacation in North Dakota. They got a record (last time I checked) 33 inches of snow for December. It seemed like every day we were there they got more snow. Eleanor loved getting outside and walking around or getting pulled in Bahnka's big snow shovel. She also had fun spotting a deer in the yard one afternoon which she quickly said was a reindeer. Her, Daddy, & Uncle Jordan then went out to look for "reindeer tracks."

Bahnka pulling Eleanor and vice versa!

My parents property completely covered in snow. It was really beautiful.

These were the only shots I took on my camera because, as I stated earlier, Jordan & Natalie took enough for a lifetime! :) Natalie informed me that she send me 4 (yes, 4!) discs with pictures. So, obviously, there will be more Christmas pics coming soon!

Keep tuning in...

Keep checking the blog all ye followers! I'll have Christmas pictures posted soon. Jordan & Natalie got a fancy new camera and were snapping away constantly. So...Natalie promised me a CD with all those shots on it. I can't wait to see them all!

We had a wonderful holiday in both Bismarck & St. Cloud (on our way back from ND). I want to thank everyone again for their generosity with us and especially Eleanor. Thanks for making such special memories.

We wish you health & happiness in 2009!

ND Winter

We'll be heading to ND for a nice, cold, snowy Christmas this year. With all the snow we got yesterday, this picture (which I confiscated from Google) looks pretty much like MN right now!

To all our friends & family (and blog followers!) - have a blessed holiday and stay safe.

Christmas Tree

Another "big girl" photo of Eleanor in front of our (little!) Christmas tree. I took her to my office yesterday (on my day off) to partake in our annual Christmas lunch. So, we did her hair for the occasion. She has been letting me put pigtails in and leaving them alone. Too cute!
Here she is putting her homemade ornament on the tree that she made in the church nursery last Sunday.

Big Girl Lunch

There was nothing particularly special about Eleanor's lunch today. But, I just happen to be in the kitchen cleaning up when I looked over and thought, "Gosh, she's such a big girl now." I think Michael and I have been reflecting a lot on Eleanor lately because we know that we'll have a newborn in the house soon - which is a thrilling and scary thought all at the same time! Anyway, here is Eleanor eating her turkey & cheese sandwich, pineapple & some pretzels. She also likes her "movie milk" which is just milk from McDonald's that I refill for a couple of days. She thinks she getting a special treat and I find that she consumes more milk than with her regular sippy cup.

She's looking at the TV because I let her watch "How the Grinch Stole Christmas."

She actually smiles & "poses" for me now when asked. It's still not perfect, but she's getting the idea that I want to take a picture of her.

Hope everyone has a wonderful week! Also, Michael and I are struggling (somewhat) to come up with another girl name that we like. We're gladly taking suggestions! :)

Happy (belated) Thanksgiving!

We had a nice, quiet Thanksgiving at home this year. Mari Lee, Sue, Matt & Melissa were nice enough to come our way since I had to work both Wednesday and Friday. This is the only good picture I got of Eleanor on Thanksgiving Day. It was a lovely day for November and we all took a walk after our big dinner. We walked over to the park and Eleanor ran all the bases on the baseball field. A great way to get rid of some energy! Mike & Matt also ran the bases racing each other, which was very comical.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving too - Christmas is quickly upon us! God's Blessings to you all during Advent.

Anatomy ultrasound

We found out yesterday that we're having a healthy baby girl! We were so excited to think about 2 little girls running around - especially Michael. He knows that he's going to be outnumbered, but I think he needs that!

After some explanation that she was going to be getting a sister, Eleanor had some interesting things to say:

Mom: "Are you excited about getting a baby sister?"

Eleanor: "Eleanor doesn't want a baby sister."

Mom: "Well, if you don't want a baby sister then what do you want?"

Eleanor: "Crackers."

I think that just about sums up her capacity to take this all in right now!!