Weekend with friends

My friends Jenny and Megan came to town this weekend with their little girls.

While the weekend didn't exactly go as planned...we were able to spend some time together and let the girls play. 

The girls had a cinnamon roll pajama picnic Saturday morning.

The girls all had matching shirts to wear Saturday.  It's difficult to get three 2 year olds to stand still and look in the same general direction at the same time.  They played together pretty well. Miss M got a bit possessive about her stuff as the weekend progressed.

Miss M's hair has been driving me crazy. Her bangs were long and needed a trim. I had been talking to her about cutting her hair for weeks. I was a bit nervous because I thought as soon as I sat her down she would freak out and I also wasn't exactly sure how to cut her hair so that it didn't look like I cut it .

I sat her down on her potty because it seemed like the easiest place to keep her. I got a cup with water and a comb. I combed her long hair into place and then took the scissors to her hair. She wasn't even phased by it. She didn't really care about what was going on. 

We went to the train-themed diner Saturday night with the girls and the waitress we had the last time we went (the first time) asked if Miss M had received a hair cut. She complimented my handy work...or I assumed her noticing was a compliment!

This picture doesn't really do justice to my amazing hair cut job.  It honestly looks so much better.  

We have had a busy few weeks so today Miss M and I just laid around. She usually watches tv sitting up and today she laid herself down. I think a day of downtime was good for her (and me).  The rest of the week is pretty busy in preparation for Easter-palooza!!!

Theme park

There are times when I look around our house and wonder if we could open up a theme park with all the nonsense we have around here. We moved into our house less than six months ago and it's amazing how much stuff we have accumulated!

Miss M received a Radio Flyer roller coaster in the mail for her birthday.  Oh my.  She loved it. Ella loved it too.

We had friends come into town this past weekend and all the kids seemed to love it too. I have a feeling the roller coaster will be a hit for Easter-palooza coming up this weekend. 

I have a video of Miss M riding the roller coaster but Blogger and I aren't getting along tonight so I am giving up for now. 

Miss Ella's visit

On the way home from St. Louis after Jack's birthday weekend we picked up Miss Ella so she could spend a week with us.

I had a lot of ideas of things we could do in the city.  Monday was supposed to be our 'low-key' day where we ran errands so we could eat the rest of the week.

I wasn't feeling well Monday night but assumed it was due to being pregnant.  It turned out that there was a bug that hit our house. Ella woke up in the middle of the night sick and was sick for about the next 24 hours. She was so disappointed when she woke up Tuesday and asked if we could still go to the aquarium. I had to break her heart and tell her no since she had just gotten sick a half hour before.

We eventually made it to the aquarium on Wednesday.  Ella had fun. Miss M was indifferent.   Ella told me before we left that the dolphins were her favorite but I think after the Beluga whales swam by so close to her she changed her mind.

We played in the penguin area and Ella dressed up in a penguin suit. Miss M wanted nothing to do with dressing up.

We went to the dolphin and whale show.  This picture is a great representation of most of our time at the aquarium.

Ella was brave enough to touch a star fish. She isn't known to be the bravest six year old.  I was pretty shocked and happy when she did it.

We went to the Museum of Science and Industry on Thursday. They had a full sized airplane to walk though.  The museum is a good place for Miss M to just run around and play in the kids area and watch the trains. The museum may have been a bit too much for a six year old or at least my six year old.

 The museum has a trolly car to climb on.

After the museum we lunched together at Panera and then came home.  While Miss M was sleeping Ella and I dyed eggs.  I don't see egg dying in my future again for a long time. Ella enjoyed decorating eggs special for everyone based on what colors and stickers they like.

Overall, we had a fun time after we all got over being sick.

Big Jack's Birthday Bash

We headed to St. Louis to celebrate Jack's birthday with him.  We were able to leave early and enjoy the 70 degree day on Friday before it was cold and rainy again on Saturday.

Miss M loved playing outside and spinning around the little tree at Baby Daddy's and Jess'.

Please note how long her 'bang's are because I cut them off this past weekend - to be documented later.

 The birthday boy and Miss M.

This isn't Jack's finest picture as he's normally very smiley but when the camera came out he turned serious on me. 

 Miss M was fortunate to continue her birthday celebration with more gifts. She was elated that she got more 'prizes'.  She got a bike which she loved riding around the house.

She also loved eating cupcakes.  Please note how adorable these lion cupcakes were that Jessie and her sister made Friday afternoon.

You might notice the huge knot and scrape on Miss M's head. Andrew and I didn't see it happen. Craig said she fell and whacked her head on a present box. It was quite the accident.

Miss M was really good when Jack was opening his presents. She sat back and watched him open them without wanting in on the action. I think the fresh wound calmed her down a bit.

 Miss M and daddy in an intense game of cards. The Gesie's don't take cards lightly.

Apparently Jessie doesn't take cards as seriously. 

Jack received some new rides for his birthday and he was showing Miss M what was up.  

 Until...there are no words...it's just funny.  I can't stop laughing at this picture.

Birthday Festivities pt 3

We wanted to take Miss M to a special birthday lunch this weekend to celebrate her birthday since Andrew wouldn't be home for some of the birthday festivities. We had learned of a diner in a neighboring town which was train-themed.  And since she loves trains...

We didn't plan very well because we got stuck in a lot of traffic and closed down streets on our way to the diner due to the local (and 2nd largest in the area) St. Patrick's Day Parade. We weren't able to go and thankfully Miss M is happy anywhere we go that serves french fries and ketchup so we altered our plan and went fast food!

We were able to go to the diner that evening and it was very kid friendly and fun. Miss M rode the train rides. We even gave her quarters to make the rides go!

They had a large chalkboard wall for the kids to draw on. 

And when you sit at the counter they deliver your food via a train. She was in heaven. She waved at the train each time it went around and said hi and bye.  

We went to open play at her gym this week also and she didn't want to leave the ball pit. They are so germ ridden and gross but she enjoys them.

She also really enjoys getting the mail with me everyday and was happy to receive cards in the mail. She considers getting a card in the mail a prize too. But again...after this week she is going to be sad when the mail isn't for her anymore but rather just bills and junk mail for me.

There are more festivities to come as we're celebrating Baby Jack's 1st birthday this weekend and there will be more presents there!

Birthday Festivities pt 2

I invited our playgroup over for some birthday fun. It was unfortunate that we had some sick friends who couldn't make it but I think everyone enjoyed themselves. Miss M received and enjoyed more presents. And there was a lot of food consumed. We had fruits, veggies, cheese, pizza, cupcakes and brownies. It was difficult to take pictures of everything and feed people so there no pictures of Miss M attempting (and failing) to blow out her candles. In her defense - I have never asked her to blow out flames before.

I bought her a cute birthday shirt which I was able to get her to wear over her pajamas for a few hours but for the most part she wanted to wear her pajamas. And so she did...all day long. She even wore them to bed again that night. It's her birthday...and not worth the fight!

She loves 'Mouse' (as she affectionately calls Mickey). She sleeps with him and plays hide and seek with him and takes him with us wherever we go.

Annie & Miss M.

Our friends stayed until nap time!

Aunt Ness came over after nap time and had more prizes! Miss M is going to be sad next week when she realizes she doesn't get a prize every day of the week. I would like to report that she can successfully say Ness and it makes everyone happy!

We had dinner and cupcakes (since Miss M gets violently upset with cake not in a wrapper - I don't understand why) and then opened more prizes!

She frequently puts her hands in her mouth when she's bored or excited or nervous. I can't really explain it but this picture isn't all that uncommon.

 She successfully blew out one candle - which is progress from lunch!

 She couldn't wait to open her prizes. She was ripping into the bag before Ness could sit on the ground.

Inside the bag was a Doc McStuffin (Disney Jr show) doctor's kit. She was so excited about it she played with it for at least a half hour (that's a long time in the life of a 2 year old - or at least my 2 year old). She wanted to make her babies feel better - she often tells me that one baby or another is sad. She was so into the new doctor kit that she forgot she had more presents to open.

She also received princess accessories which included a pair of high heels. She wasn't afraid of them and wondered all over the kitchen without falling. I was impressed b/c today she's fallen a few times with shoes or bare feet.

Megan sent a Rody Horse. It's a blow up toy for her to sit on and bounce on. She likes playing on it and is clearly very focused. 

We finally had to call it a day and head to bed - in the same pajamas we started the day in!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MISS M!!!

WE LOVE YOU

Birthday Festivities

Miss M is 2!!!

And she is so much fun!!! I enjoy spending time with her. She says new words and phrases everyday and it's fun to see what she will come up with next.  I used to tell her a lot that she was a nut and last week out of nowhere she looked at me and said "you're a nut".  So now we're on a kick of who's a nut and currently the running for biggest nut is the Baby's Daddy, which if you'll remember, is Uncle Craig!  She's a smart one!

We started off the morning with Miss M asking about her "prizes" so we went downstairs and opened the present from Uncle Nathan and Aunt Cathy!! It's a good thing they are on top of it because we bought Miss M a trampoline (which Andrew had put together the night before) so there were no boxes to open first thing in the morning. It was sweet of them to wrap everything individually and have them packaged in a cute bag.

There were so many presents in the box but her favorite was definitely the fishing game. She didn't want to stop playing to eat breakfast so we brought it to the breakfast table. 

Here is the trampoline (aka energy burner) we bought her.  Please note the fish in the background (behind Miss M's head) as I changed the water for the first time ever (it's only been two weeks but his water was a little murky) and he is still alive. I was terrified of changing the water b/c I was terrified of killing him. Is it possible I like him more than I want to admit or is it all for the love of the girl?!?

When it snows we play

We were supposed to wake up to almost 10 inches of snow, but we only had a dusting when we woke up Tuesday morning. I was not disappointed. I don't really appreciate the snow especially since Miss M isn't so thrilled by it. Then mid-morning the snow started falling rapidly and with large flakes and it accumulated quickly. We needed to run errands and be out of the house for a few hours so we hit up Target and Costco. Impressively, we only bought a slice of pizza to share at Costco (we won't discuss what we bought at Target). The pizza was amazing. We might start lunching at Costco more often.  Miss M was mildly depressed they didn't have dipping sauce for her pizza bone (crust) but she managed to eat half of my pizza.

And who says you can't wear your Valentine's Day outfit post-Valentine's Day.

Miss M daily asks if her friends can come to her house. It's disappointing to tell her everyday that her friends are busy.  She then wants to go to her friends house. She doesn't discriminate as she doesn't care which friend. She just wants to play with her friends. I told her I had a "prize" (a surprise - she's very into surprises) for her when she woke up from her nap to get her sidetracked. I thought she would forget about it since it was at least four hours from the point we had the discussion. She woke up from her nap and asked for her "prize" so I got a present I had in the closet for her. It was probably going to be her Easter present but when it snows all day and accumulates to the point where we can't get out the front door random presents are completely acceptable.  She played with these cookies for an hour.

She rolled them.

And baked them.  This might be a great example of how to break an oven. When we moved into the house we had to have a repair man come and fix the other oven b/c a spring was broke. He said it was likely someone fell on the oven door or someone stepped on it. I thought to myself "that's dumb - who would do that or how would that happen". And then Miss M crawled on the oven to bake her cookies.  Let's keep in mind the oven is turned off and I supervised all baking activities.

And she iced her cookies.

And then it was finally bedtime. I was exhausted. I am not sure she exhausted but luckily she went right to sleep.  She got into her drawer and found her tutu and insisted on wearing it to bed. I was too tired to try to rationalize that it's not appropriate or necessary to wear a tutu to bed so she slept like a princess. 

Today we got out of the house and crashed our friends' park district class. It was lovely. Miss M got to see and play with her friends and then we all went to lunch and it was amazing since four toddlers ate and acted like humans for the entire duration of lunch. 

Miss M persuaded her friend, Gabe, to push her in the car. He pushed her for a long time...longer than I would have but he's closer to the ground so it's easier for him. When he abandoned her she persuaded his brother to push her longer. She was disappointed when they moved on to other things.