TBT

I missed doing my usual throwback post last week!  This week is exciting because it features my 100th throwback picture.  And I made it a special one.  :)

But first, a few others...

Throwback #97- Proof that our current little baby is a diva.
At 7.5 months old our first one held the bottle on her own.
This one WILL NOT DO IT.

Throwback #98- Everything goes in the mouth!

Throwback #99- The home-made sleep sack, sewn (with help by G-ma) by
yours truly.

THROWBACK #100!!!!!
A look back at Kona's b-day parties since we had kids.



Happy Birthday Kona Hope!

Our silly doggy is 8 years old today!

She tolerates loves her sisters and her sisters love her!

She "picked" the spot where she wanted to sit, and as you can see, she really loves sunshine.

Happy birthday Kona Hope!

Family Pictures

At the end of December, lots and lots of people from G-pa's side of the family all gathered to do family pictures.

We're talking about LOTS of people.  I think I counted about 36 people, and there were still a few that were missing.  And of the 36 people, 9 were kids.  It was a riot.

Here are some of the pictures that we got:


The whole family (almost)

The great-grand kids

All the cousins and in-laws with Nana and Papa

Our family in green!

With Nana and Papa

For the number of people and number of kids, they turned out great!!! 

WEEK Wrap-Up: The California Edition

Hello!  I'm back in the good ole MN.  This has been a crazy week so let me catch you up on it.

Monday: Crazy Day
Maya at Boom's house...
Callie at Preschool...
Kati and Chris both stressed at work...
All we could do was have a family cuddle once we
were all back home.

I'm not sure what happened on Tuesday, but I have no pictures.  The girls were home with Chris all day and I have absolutely no idea what we did that night.  Like NO idea.  If I had to guess, I'd say we played, ate dinner, and went to bed.  Exciting stuff.

Wednesday:
Wacky day at preschool for Callie.  She was wacky.
Maya hung out with Pa.

Then we had a snuggle sesh.  It was great.

Then Callie stole my phone and took 39 selfies.  Nine are pictured above. 
As you can see, her nose is still a major boogie factory.

 

On Wednesday night Mari and Josh came over so Chris and I could go on a real date.
We went to Chino Latino (DELICIOUS) and enjoyed a great meal together.
And the fortune was pretty hilarious seeing as I was heading to the airport the next day.



Thursday morning: Travel day
The girls both seemed to know what was going on.
Maya wouldn't let me put her down all morning, and Callie packed her bags to come with.

But they had a fun day with G-ma at the nature center.

I headed out to L.A. on a 4:15pm flight on Thursday with 10 other members of our leadership team. We stayed at the super posh L.A. Live Marriot and were treated very well.  My room had a great view of the Staples Center where the Lakers and Clippers play.

Top row: View during the day/night
Bottom row: Walking around the hotel

We had 2 full days going to conference sessions that were (mostly) good, and were able to enjoy a little sunshine inbetween sessions.  And since we were still on MN time, we were out at the pool enjoying the sun at 7:30am before the conference even started.  The sunshine was AMAZING.

The top and 2nd row side pics were sunshine by the pool at 7:30am.
The middle picture is me during lunch one day getting sunshine from the hotel room
since I forgot to bring sunscreen.  Direct 12:00 CA sun would not have been good for
my fair MN skin.
The bottom picture is 9 out of the 11 fabulous coworkers I traveled with.

On Friday night we took a cab to Santa Monica.  We ate at a really fun sports bar a few blocks from the pier, and then walked around the pier, walked on the beach, and went on the ferris wheel.  The sun goes down pretty early there, so we did all of that in the dark.

Walking on the beach, Santa Monica Pier, and on the ferris wheel.

But by mid-day Saturday I was REALLY REALLY REALLY missing home.  I kept getting pictures throughout the couple days, which helped...

Hanging out with Boom, G-ma and G-pa, Charlie and Mabel, and at home.

...but I couldn't wait to get back on the plane early this morning and head home.  I got the window seat, and took pictures periodically as we were flying. 

Traveling from West to Midwest: Ocean, Mountains, Farms, Snow.

When we landed I texted Chris that I would be home soon, but much to my surprise and delight, he and the girls were waiting for me at the airport. 

SO happy to snuggle these two!  And Callie was a big helper with my luggage.

So it was a good trip, but I'm so happy to be home.  Chris was a rock star, and a big thanks to family and friends for being a support to them when I was gone. 

There's no place like home!



L.A. Bound

I leave tomorrow for a conference in L.A. I will miss these two crazies (and their Daddy).  

My regularly scheduled blog posts will be back to normal on Sunday.

I'll try and bring back some sunshine and warmth with me. 

Who's the Boss? QOTD

Oy vey.

When I dropped Cal off at preschool today, we found out there was a birthday, which meant gluten-FILLED cupcakes.

I had packed some popcorn for Callie as one of her snacks and told her she could eat that instead, and then promised her a little treat at home later.

On the way home she decided that she wanted her treat to be a popsicle.  I told her it could be HALF a popsicle, because we just don't need to be eating all that sugar.

She wasn't too happy about that and was already starting to freak out about not getting ENOUGH popsicle.

(Side note- she ate some of Maya's baby puffs this morning, which are not gluten free.  That was totally my bad.  They were a different kind of puffs than I normally get, the other kind being gluten-free.  Anyway, I HOPE that explains the behavior I'll now describe.)

So we get home and get a popsicle out.  I warn her that I'm going to cut the popsicle in half and tell her that if she freaks out, she isn't getting any.  I reiterate that she can either get half or none, depending on her reaction.

I cut it in half and she totally freaks and runs upstairs.  She's quiet for a little bit, and then comes downstairs all bossy-like, telling me what is going to happen, mainly her getting the entire popsicle.

Me: Callie, if you talk to me like that, you are showing me that you can't handle this much sugar and you're not going to get the popsicle.
Callie:  IF YOU TALK TO ME LIKE THAT, I'M GOING TO GET ALL THE POPSICLE.

Still holding the half popsicle, I try more reasoning.  There is no reasoning with a 4-year-old on a mission to get a popsicle.

Commence total melt down.  So obviously, she loses the popsicle privilege and I put it in the sink and melt it so it didn't get sticky stuff everywhere.  (Ok, that was kind of cruel, but she was totally irking me with the ridiculous screaming).

So she grabs another popsicle out of the fridge and tries to open it herself.  All the while screaming about wanting the popsicle.

Me: Callie, you have two options.  One is to calm down, get some books, and read with Mommy.  If you can't calm down, you need to go up to your room.
Callie: I WANT A POPSICLE.
Me: We're not going to have a popsicle tonight.  Your options are to calm down and read with Mommy, or go upstairs.
Callie: I WANT A POPSICLE.
Me: Please put the popsicle away.  We aren't going to have it tonight.
Callie: NO!  I WANT THE POPSICLE.
Me: Callie, who is the boss?
Callie: ME!
Me: No, Mommy is the boss.  I need you to put the popsicle away.
Callie: (totally serious) BUT I'M THE LITTLE BOSS!

And then I just burst out laughing.

It all eventually blew over and everything turned out fine.  We had a pleasant time later reading books together, but no popsicle. 

Too bad for her, I'm just as stubborn as she is.

Lucky for her, Daddy can sense when to give in a little bit to avoid further catastrophic melt downs, and allowed her to have a little (gluten-free) cookie treat, since she really did have to watch her whole class eating cupcakes today.

That little boss.  She is something else.

Weekend Wrap-Up

It is March 2nd, and we woke up to -15 degree (albeit sunny) weather.  Seriously?  Ridiculous.  I leave for L.A. on Thursday and gotta say I'm not excited for some sunny weather that is 90 degrees warmer.  But leaving Chris and the girls?  That is more challenging to wrap my brain around.  I'm sure it will be fine (and...SLEEP!!!), but it is still hard to think about not seeing my baby for 68 hours (and the other two of course, though I know they'll do just fine).

Anyway, we had a nice weekend.

Saturday Morning:  Mary, Cat and I spent it at the Arboretum for a Women's retreat
(look at those cool fairy houses!) and Callie and Maya hung out with Pa.

Saturday Lunch: We headed to the condo for lunch with Boom, Bops,
Auntie Yoda, Aunt Coco, Uncle Jim, and Gi-Gi.

Saturday Afternoon: We went to Donald's birthday party and Callie had fun playing
with all their cool sensory toys.  And she made a superhero  cape, so that's awesome.

Sunday Morning: Curious George on the iPad and lots of playing.

Working on the pincher grasp and hand/eye coordination.

Saturday Afternoon: Playing at Southdale.  That funny mirror is HILARIOUS.

Tonight we will be watching the Oscars with Bethany.  I haven't seen (or barely heard of) any of the movies that are nominated for anything except one notable exception (ahem...FROZEN...ahem) so I'm most looking forward to seeing Idina Menzel sing "Let It Go" live.  I'm sure it will be AMAZING.  Other than that?  I will be looking at pretty (and maybe some ridiculous) dresses and laughing at Ellen Degeneres.  Sounds like a fun night!