2 Years Old!!

My baby girl is 2!!!!  She is just growing up WAY too fast.  2 Years ago at this time I was enjoying my wonderful epidural right now!!  Ha!  Little did I know how much this little person was going to change me!  Last night I wanted to cuddle her in the worst way!  I just wanted to hold her and hug and squeeze her, and she wanted to run around in circles and do ANYTHING but sit on my lap. I wish I could bottle some of that sweet cuddly baby and bring it out as she gets older and wants nothing to do with cuddling or sitting on my lap.  Makes me sad to think of a day when we won't rock and read books before bed.  Anyway, enough of that, I am just going to enjoy where we are at right NOW.  All the "terrificness" and "terribleness" that comes with being 2!!  Parent's.com said that 2 year olds react the way they do because they where their emotions on their sleeve.  When they are happy, they are overjoyed, when they are sad, they are in tears, when they are mad they throw HUGE tantrums!!  Ha!  Allison has this thing now that she says "Allie Sad" when she is sad or upset about something.  It just breaks your heart because she usually says it with big crocodile tears in her eyes.  It is especially heart wrenching when she says that after you punish her, makes you want to just give in, but I know that is not what is best for her.  She also says "Allie Silly" when she is being funny and crazy.  I just love it.  She is way tooo smart!!  I can hardly believe a 2 year old can recognize emotions and name them already!  I love that girl so much.  Happy Birthday Sweetie, I hope you have the best day (actually from now to Sunday!!) EVER!!  (Until next year anyway :-)

Another One Bites the Dust!!

Yup, another friend turned 30!!  Happy 30th Birthday, Tom!  His actual birthday happens to be the same day as Allison's, Thursday (Sept. 30 - his Golden this year too!).  Holli threw him a FABULOUS suprise party.  It was soo much fun!  I think Tom had a good time!  Although, I can tell he is older...he did not drink ANY Jack?!  Wow!!  Responsibility kicks in...and the thought that now we have to get up at the crack of dawn with our kiddos!! 

Happy Birthday to a GREAT friend!  I have known Tom since we were pre-schoolers!!  He was our neighbor and I rode the bus with him until we could drive.  But he is OLDER than me!!  :)

Ready for Potty Training??

First of all, is that question for me or Allison??  Potty training is a lot of work as I am VERY quickly finding out!!  Let me start at the beginning.  Since we moved and even before we did Allison has shown a lot of interest in the potty.  She wants to sit on it all the time (she likes the adult toilet with an insert so she can sit on it by herself - she fell in at daycare without one so now she is afraid to sit on it without her ELMO potty toilet ring) and she will sit there for a LONG time.  However as long as she sits there she has NEVER actually done anything on the toilet!  But I had off last Tuesday, and after much encouragement from daycare and my mom that she was ready, decided to give it a try.  So, Tuesday after we went to the Y, we went shopping for underwear.  She was super excited, we got Minnie Mouse underwear!!  She wanted to put them on right away.  Unfortunately we got home right before lunch time, but I decided I would put her on the potty and then put the underwear on.  Like always, she sat there, but didn't go.  We put the undwear on, I figured we were pretty safe, she had just gone in her diaper and it was only 1 hour until nap time when I would put a diaper back on her anyway.  Well, we were eating lunch when she said "poop".  Ugh.  Luckily she did not POOP, but she did pee.  The underwear pack had 3 in it.  So after her nap we put on the second pair.  We took her to the bathroom every 20 min. and she never went in the toilet.  We ended up with 3 WET pairs of underwear.  And I could tell when she did have to go, she would cry and NOT want to sit on the potty. 

After that I had to work the next day and then 1 off then work the weekend with a lot going on during the weekend.  That is the part I am going to have a hard time with.  To be honest, diapers are convenient.  Potty training is not going to be easy, but I have a feeling it will be more work for me than her.  We have decided not to push it, she is after all, not QUITE 2 (Thursday!!).  Maybe try again in later October when I have a stretch of days off.  We will have to clear our schedules and not pack so many things into our days off too!  She is a very smart girl, it is just a matter of her really deciding she wants to do it.  Here are a couple pics of her playing in her underwear.  Forgot to get one of her on the potty!

Oops!!

Sorry, just realized I missed Tuesday's post!!!  I have a lot to post about, but I am going to save it for tomorrow.  Right now, I am watching Glee on my DVR!!!  Yeah!  After that I have a couple Y & R episodes to catch up on...uh, oh - this could be dangerous!!  Anyway, check in tomorrow (might be later afternoon) to see a new post. 

NW Willmar Residents!

Papers are signed, checks are written/cashed, boxes are unpacked...ummm, not quite yet on that one!  Oh, well.  We moved on Tuesday and thank goodness!  It rained almost ALL day here yesterday, and not just a little drizzle, downpoor most of the day!  (I know it rained south of Willmar Tuesday, but it was dry and mostly sunny here!!)  We are in the process of cleaning, unpacking and attempting to be organized.  Since I work starting tomorrow all weekend, I am hoping to get a lot done today.  Anyway, here are a few random pics from the last few days.  Unfortunately I did not get any pics of the old house after we were done in it and I didn't get any here before we moved stuff in.  We were kind of in a hurry to just get our stuff moved!

This is outside our old house.  Wanted a pic of that with the SOLD sign!!

Snapped a quick pic as we were finishing cleaning and loading before Jesse and I went to closing!!!  It was pretty hectic.  This was taken after the buyer showed up to do his final walk through!!!  Oops!

Dan and Bruce, my worker bees!  Thanks a million!!

Allie's first time in the new house, please ignore the mess on the countertops!!

Not the greatest pic, but a pic of Allie in her room.

She did VERY well.  Went to bed good last night, was whining a bit at 5 a.m., and 6, and got up at 7:15, but I was ok with that.  We need to get some blackout blinds for her room (ordered last night).  She is used to it being very dark.  And the sump pump runs a lot here, the one in our old house it seems NEVER ran.  We are in a lower area here plus with all the rain!

Once again HUMONGOUS (sp. sorry!) thank you to EVERYONE who helped us in any way!  Our parents, my brother, Kerri Ann, Josh N. (setting up our cable/internet), our realator - Lisa Mord (she is with All Star Reality in Willmar, I would recommend her to anyone, she was great and soooo kind!).  Sorry if I missed anyone, but we are very grateful.  It went so smoothly!!

Packing, packing, packing

I would have a pic to post, but the cord for camera to the computer is already packed.  We have been packing, packing, and more packing!!!!!!  I am sooo sick of packing.  But we have a lot of people to thank for helping us already!  My mom came Sat. early afternoon to help, and she has been a HUGE help, if it wasn't packing or cleaning she was entertaining Allie so I could be doing that.  Jesse's dad brought us 3 trailers!!!!  And both his parents helped pack and load the trailers!  Nancy brought lunch for us Sunday (delicious pot roast, and all the fixings) and she is bringing us lunch Tuesday at the new house.  My dad came today and helped pack and carry the big heavy things and load the trailers and so did Brad T.  THANK YOU to everyone!!  And Thanks in advance to anyone else who helps!!!!  Sionara until we move!  Can't remember if I shared it yet, but our new address will be:
509 36th Street NW
Willmar, MN  56201
Phone numbers will be the same.

Cute Pics!

Last Sunday when we had our last get together at our current house before we move on Tuesday (I'm getting a little sad) I asked my BFF, Holli, if she would snap a few pics of Allison with her fancy camera.  Well, let's just say Holli had a very LONG morning/early afternoon.  I was very excited they came to the party, but wasn't sure if she would still be willing/able to take some pics for me.  But she did!!  I didn't even realize it but her and her hubby had taken Allison to play on the neighbor's swing set and she snapped some GREAT pics in the process.  I am SOOO THANKFUL!!  They are super cute!  Not only does Holli have a great camera, she knows how to use it!  My problem even if I had a camera that awesome would probably be that I wouldn't even know how to use it to it's potential!  Anyway, the pics are so cute I have to share them.  (I am using them for Allie's 2nd b-day party invites too).  I think I see a future here...hint hint!

I LOVE this one.

Allie and her BFF, Audrey (notice the bandaid... reason for the LONG day for Holli, Tom, and Audrey).  Enjoying some cheese and crackers!  Thanks for bringing that, Holli!!  Great idea with kids around, can't go wrong with cheese and crackers!

Growing FEET

This weather sure sucks!  I am NOT ready for it to be this cold yet!  Maybe if it were OCTOBER 7!!  But, anyway, this weather has caused me to have to get out Allisons shoes instead of her sandals.  Which she hasn't worn pretty much since May!  As I was cramming her foot into the shoes the other day (I tried 2 pair!) I realized they were probably a BIT small, but I didn't think they were almost 2 sizes too small!!  Yikes, poor kiddo!  So, we went to Payless for their BOGO sale!  Allison LOVED it, she sat right down and started trying on ALL sorts of shoes (by herself, mostly NOT ones I would pick out!).  Back to being a girlie girl, she was picking all the pretty dressy shoes, and the other day she got mad at me because she wanted to wear a dress and I wouldn't let her!  So, anyway, she got her way with one pair...

Hmmm, I wonder which pair are HER favorite...(hint, it's the "Parkly" ones).

While I hope she doesn't end up with feet as big as her momma, she has grown a lot overall too!  I am excited to see how much she has grown at her 2 yr check up. 

I kind of felt like we were back to school shopping with all the kids going back to school in their and then we went to Target and got colored pencils and a box for markers/crayons/colored pencils!  Not that I am wishing her older in any way, but I can't wait to go back to school shopping! 

My Girlie Girl!

Allie is quite the girlie girl!  She LOVES chapstick, and asks for it constantly!!  2 of them usually (she wants 2 at once!).  I got her her own at Target yesterday, which she loved, but it smelled good, and yes, she did try to take a bite of it.  "Bite it", then I say "don't bite it, yucky!", then she repeats me AS she is doing it!!  But then did say, Yucky, and I don't THINK she did it again.  She puts it on her lips then licks them off over and over again!  This is probably going to CAUSE chapped lips for her!

SE to NW in 1 Week

In 1 week we will be moving.  I am very sad to be leaving our neighborhood.  We have wonderful neighbors and it is a great area.  On the backside of our house our neighbors are a co-worker of mine whom I love!  I don't know what I would have done without her when Allison was born.  They have a little boy who is 1 year older than Allison and I called her all the time.  She always seemed to show up at the right time and was able to calm me down.  I remember one time she came over to bring a present from someone at work and I answered the door in tears!  She came in and talked to me and I felt 100x better!!!!  Not only that, it has been so fun to watch Allie and Soren grow together the last 2 years.  I will miss being neighbors to them terribly!  But I know we will continue to be friends and support persons to each other!!  Our other neighbors have a swing set that they repainted and put new sand in the sand box JUST for Soren and Allison!!  Their kids have outgrown it, but they did that for us!!  We are so lucky!  Now we will have to invest in our own...YIKES!!  They also have mowed our lawn, mulched it and bagged our leaves in the fall for us!  (Hmmm, I think I am changing my mind on this moving thing!). 

But, I am pretty excited to move into our new house.  I am NOT into this whole packing thing, in fact, I have a long way to go!!!  But luckily we aren't going that far.  We are moving from SE Willmar, to NW Willmar.  Our new address will be 509 36th Street NW, Willmar, 56201.  (We will have the same ph. numbers).  I am going to try to get Christmas cards out early to everyone so they have the new address (and via email and FB...of course!).  So, one week from tonight we will be busy un-packing.  I may have to take a hiatus from the blog next week. 

But we had one more get together in our current house before the move.  It was fun.  We got to enjoy our neighbors hospitality again, as we used their fire pit!!  THANK YOU TO THEM!!!!!!  Here are a few pics.

Allie and Ava digging in the sand.  I wish I would have gotten a pic of the 3 girls (Allie, Ava, and Audrey together!)  Once again, I failed miserably in the photo taking dept.  It is hard to be the host, take care of a kiddo, AND take pics!  Oh, well.

Allie smiling for mommy!

Allie and Auntie Katie!  Tried to get Allie smiling, but this was the best I got.

Bye, Bye Paci!

So, I know a while back I posted that we were going to get rid of Allison's paci Sept. 1...well, that didn't exactly happen.  I chose to wait until today because we had family pics scheduled for Sept. 2 and wanted her well rested and in good spirits for the pics.  Jesse was home with Allison today, so he got the privelege of being the one to take them away.  I had bought her a new blankee to kind of "replace" her paci's.  So, she got to open a present then they put all her paci's in the box to give to other babies who need them, because "Allie is a big girl and doesn't need one anymore!"  I guess nap time went pretty good.  She went down good, but didn't sleep quite as long as usual (1 1/2 hours, usually 2-3 hours).  BUT...of course tonight when I had to be home alone with her (Jesse went fishing, I think he knew it wouldn't be easy!!) she cried, and cried, and cried.  I wanted so badly to just give in and give her one.  She sounded so pitifully sad!!  But I know the longer we wait it won't get any easier and even though I am sure dental work is in her future (Jesse and I both had braces, ugh!!) I want to do what I can to prevent it, not make it worse.

She is now sleeping peacefully.  I hope this lasts all night, but I won't be surprised if she wakes up.  I am sure if we can make it 3 days/nights we will be paci free!  She does not use one at daycare, so I don't think the naps will be as big a deal as bedtime.  So, I have my fingers and toes crossed this goes well!!! 

Weekend Pics

It was sooo gorgeous out!!!  This was the first night we were there.

Putt-putt Mini-Golf!

Had to take this pic for Jesse's Dad!!