Nick and Emily's Excellent Adventure

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Weekend in Brainerd

It's been a while since I wrote in this blog, but I hope to get back into it (I know I have said that before). I plan to do more pictures and fewer words--hopefully more enjoyable, less time consuming for me, and easier to follow.

For the last weekend in May, we went up to Brainerd to visit family and for Nick to watch his friends race at the Brainerd International Speedway. We stayed at Nick's cousin Eddy's cabin. Eddy and his family were back in Texas, but we enjoyed spending time with Richard & Dee (Nick's uncle and aunt), his uncle Dave, and Dave's girlfriend Julie. We had such a great time--delicious food & great company! I even got to meet up with friends who were staying at a campground in Aitkin.

From L to R: Richard, Dee, Nick, Freyja, Emily, Dave, Julie

Freyja had a great weekend too, of course! She will be two in August, and is a busy, loving, wonderful little girl and I am so blessed to be her mama. Freyja LOVES the water, as you can tell in the pictures below. She can be shy at first, but quickly warms up. She is learning new words ALL the time now, and starting to copy more (whereas before, most of her words were ones we practiced or said often, now she is saying words she likely hasn't even heard before).

Melts my heart.

She was so excited and ready to jump in!

She didn't mind the water temperature at all

We had to keep a close watch on her--and she is speedy and unafraid--all the more dangerous by the water!

Freyja liked looking for the loons

My husband :)

Jump!!

The race car

Nice shot, Nick!

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Freyja is 20 months old

Freyja started saying her name a few months ago, but just recently has been saying it when SHE wants to do something (like put on her pants, play with the bubbles, etc)...not in a "this is Freyja's toy" sort of way, but in a "Freyja wants to try this" sort of way. She will grab the pants and say Freyja, then try to put them on herself.

Freyja on Easter at 20 months old (4/20/14)

For comparison, Freyja at 12 months old (8/15/13)

When she gets stuck she will say "help," so she doesn't seem to get discouraged. When she was 19 months old, she could say about 50 words (I counted!). Now, at 20 months, she is getting better at imitating words--even ones she just hears for the first time, whereas before, most of the words she said were ones we said on a regular basis. She definitely has opinions on what she does and doesn't want, but can't always vocalize it so that we can understand. However, I often guess--and even if I may not be right, at least it usually does the trick. She likes to say "all done" when she clearly doesn't want to be doing what we are doing, such as riding in the car or in the stroller (when she wants to get out). In the past 1-2 months she also tries to avoid getting her diaper changed and clothes changed...so last night I decided to use a trick I read about for when toddlers go to the doctor's office. I told Freyja that I would be changing the baby's diaper...and then I proceeded to put a clean diaper on one of her baby dolls. Then I said it was Freyja's turn. So while Nick changed Freyja's diaper, I talked about the baby's diaper. I then put pants on the doll while Nick put PJs on Freyja. It didn't work flawlessly, but it certainly helped!

Sunday, April 13, 2014

The Toddler "Throne"

Asking for a "wipe"

Written March 19, 2014:

Those who are parents can possibly relate more, but guess what is one of Freyja's new favorite toys?

The potty!

She hasn't gone yet, but she showed interest in trying to sit on our toilet, so I got out the toddler sized one for her to try. Sure enough, she didn't go to the bathroom but she got on and off, opened and closed the toilet seat, tried to "wipe", said all done and waved good bye to the toilet like she does when we flush the pee down the toilet. She did this routine for as long as I let her (twenty minutes) & now we are getting ready for bed.

She loves to try to help with getting dressed and especially loves shoes and boots. As I child I wasn't big on dress up and shoes, so I think this is part of Nick's genes!

We are in no rush to start potty training. Our main goal is for her to feel comfortable in the bathroom and with sitting on the toilet. We definitely don't want to shame her, so we are just being positive...if she wants to sit and try--great--if not, no big deal. When we have let Freyja run around without a diaper, occasionally she has peed on the floor. She got upset about this (whining and pointing at it), but we just acted like it's not a big deal, and she was comforted by that. It's great how kids can really follow your lead!

I debated whether or not to post pictures to go along with it, but I decided they are discreet enough. It's these sweet, innocent moments of toddlerhood that I love, and pictures are the best way to capture some moments! I think if Freyja sees this picture 15 years from now, she will agree. After all, she is a mix of Nick and me!

UPDATE (4/13/14): Freyja still likes to sit on the potty, but is less excited by it. She hasn't yet gone to the bathroom on it, so I don't think she understands to sit on the toilet when she has to go. She changes so fast, so we will see what the spring brings!

Saying "bye bye" (although she didn't go!)

January 2014 recap

January was a very full month!

Nick and I both worked on New Years' Eve, but after work Nick went to a friend's house and I went with Freyja to my parents' house. I enjoyed having dinner with my parents' friends, and then putting Freyja to bed before meeting up with Nick. The clock struck midnight as we were on our way to the second of two parties for the night; while I am one for tradition in some cases, I don't mind missing the ball dropping in Time's Square. I couldn't stay up as late as some other friends (many of whom don't have kids), but I ended up sleeping from 2:30 am until 4:30 pm and it had nothing to do with drinking (I had one drink the entire night). I think my body was just fighting something.

The first weekend in January, my friend Laura & I took the girls to an indoor playground nearby. It was a nice way for them to run around despite the cold weather! (See pictures below)

On January 6, Freyja's daycare was closed because of record low temperatures (Mark Dayton closed all MN schools). Then the following day Freyja sounded wheezy and had a barking cough (like a seal) so my mom helped and brought her to the doctor as I didn't have any vacation time accrued from when I was sick a few times in November and December. I had a busy morning calling the pediatrician and teaching my mom how to use the car seat (the harness got stuck and wasn't adjusting),but was so thankful my mom could help out. I love our pediatrician's office. It seems like when she gets sick it comes in clumps, and it's hard to tell if it's treatable but they never make me feel bad for bringing her in. On Tuesday she got an intramuscular injection of dexamethasone (steroid) for the croup and antibiotics for the ear infection, and she got enough better to bring her to daycare on Thursday. However, by the end of the day she was congested and still coughing, so I called the pediatrician's office, Nick brought her back to the doctor and they started her on an oral steroid (prednisolone). Because she was doing better on Friday, we let Freyja stay with Nick's dad, step-mom, and sister while we went to work and then to a friend's wedding. The following day we stopped by for an hour at my work party in downtown Minneapolis, and then on Sunday we took it easy and relaxed at home.

The next weekend we went to Jackie & Nick Wilkie's wedding in downtown Minneapolis. It was a wonderful celebration of a great couple. I am also friends with Jackie's twin sister, Becky, so it was great to see her as she was in town from Montana. She is doing a doctoral program out in Bozeman.

Our Christmas gift from my parents was a family ski weekend as there weren't enough people able to go on the annual winter ski weekend at Camp du Nord. On January 18-19 we went to Duluth with my parents and Brian & Michelle. It was nice to use my downhill skis again, as I hadn't gone downhill skiing since before I was pregnant with Freyja!

The last weekend in January, I had a fun time with "Girl's Night" at our house. It is always good to catch up with friends. I am so lucky to know so many wonderful people.