Monday, December 29, 2014

Christmas

We've been staying very busy with holiday preparation and celebration.  There are hundreds of pictures that I could post,  but I'll limit it to the following... 
These would be the glasses that Grant got from the dentist when Ava went.
 Decorating Christmas cookies, and then enjoying them.

We had a play date with our friends Maria, Syd, and Juliet.  We attempted to make gingerbread houses.  It's safe to say that I'd never live in a house that any of us built. 

One night we decided to do pj's, Christmas lights, and hot cocoa.  We invited some of the neighbors to join us.  The kids had a blast, and I'm pretty sure that Caribou couldn't have been happier to see a group of people leave. 





My little reindeer at Grandma & Grandpa's house.  We celebrated Christmas in IA the weekend before Christmas.  Everybody was able to be there except for Uncle Rick, who recently had back surgery.  The house was filled, and we all had a great time.  It's always hard to say good bye and come back home.  We left early Monday morning to make it back for Grant's ENT appointment.  He passed his hearing test, and his ears look good after that horrible infection.  They want to see him back in June, and if his tube is still present they will discuss surgically removing it (and if they want to proceed I'll get a second opinion). 

Ava was obsessed with "exercising" with the Wii.  As you can see, the kids really got in to it (Nate, not so much)  :)

Grandma & Grandpa with all the grandkids
Sisters...love these girls! (ok, technically one is my sister-in-law)
Santa & the Mrs. came again this year.

Ready for their Christmas program.  Both kids did such a great job singing.  Loved watching them "perform"!



Ava took this picture, she did pretty darn good. 
Ava didn't mention that she was going to be Mary at her program.  We were very surprised.  She did great, and didn't even drop baby Jesus!
Christmas eve

The whole family (minus Uncle Rick)
Grant loved playing the piano and singing. 
We had our own little Christmas at our place on Christmas morning.  Around 9:30 Uncle Wes, Aunt Janna, Mema, & Boppa came for brunch and presents.  Wes & Janna left after gifts, I had to leave shortly after 2:00 to go and work an evening shift, and Mema & Boppa stayed until almost 7 that evening.  It was nice that they were able to stay so that Nate didn't have the kids by himself on Christmas.  It should be my last Christmas to work (as long as I stay at the same hospital).  I couldn't be happier.  It was so hard leaving my babies on Christmas, and not being able to tuck them into bed on Christmas night. 
Grandma Great and the great grandkids

Playing a little late night soccer.  Grandma Great gave Grant his soccer net. 
Two happy kiddos on Christmas morning. 

We celebrated our last Christmas yesterday.  We spent the day in Hollandale for the Veldman Christmas.  Other than Grant falling and scraping his head on the wall just seconds prior to family pictures, and him missing his nap and crying "I want a nap" as we finally just carried him out to the car at 5:00, it was a great celebration.  We got to see all of the Veldmans, and meet baby Maci so I was able to get my baby fix.  She is so sweet and adorable.  We're ready to get back into our routine and stay home for awhile though.

I hope that you had a wonderful Christmas.  Wishing you all a happy and safe new year!

Monday, December 1, 2014

Thanksgiving week

We hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and were able to spend time with family and/or friends. We were fortunate enough to get to spend Thanksgiving with my family in IA this year. We had plenty of time to reflect on our many blessings during the 6 hour and 15 minute drive to Grandma & Grandpa's. Yes, that's a short nap, 3 movies, 2 near accidents, and some greasy gas station cheese balls. Needless to say, the weather was not good and the roads were even worse. At one point we were going to turn around, but Ava really wanted to keep going (even though she asked us 50 times if we were almost there). Thankfully we made it safely and were able to enjoy our time there.

Let me rewind to last Tuesday.  Tuesday was an eventful day in our house.  After getting off work I picked the kids up from day care and rushed home to get ready for swim lessons.  As I was unloading stuff in the kitchen Grant fell on the hardwood floor.  Now, Ava tells me that she didn't push him.  She may have however, "brushed up against him".  He cried for a short time and was then fine.  I looked him over, and as I did I found this...

Yes, Grant chipped his tooth and then swallowed it.  We made an emergency call to our friend "Dr Greg" in IA to consult him on what we should do.  Thankfully there was no blood, just a very sharp tooth.  We had little time to dwell on this, and rushed out the door to swim lessons.  Ava was a rock star in the pool and passed her test to move on to the next level.  I'm amazed at the progress that she made in that short month.  We'll start lessons up again in February. 

Wednesday morning Ava went to day care while I took Grant into a pediatric dentist for an emergency visit.  Of course he doesn't start on our dental insurance until January 1st.  Oh well!  They were great with him.  The looked it all over, smoothed the tooth out, put a little flouride treatment on there, and sent us out the door.  I dropped him off at day care so I could run an couple of errands and pack.  We picked the kids up after lunch and started on our long journey south. 

Thursday was our big family gathering. The kids had a great time playing with everybody, especially their cousins. I have never been a black Friday shopper, but did head into Younkers with my mom and sister after the kids were in bed (and Daddy was half asleep on the couch).  It wasn't crazy at all, since the store opened at 6:00 and we didn't get there until after 9:00.  I was not going to miss putting my babies to bed on Thanksgiving so that I could go shopping.  Seems so wrong!

Friday morning we were all up early to head to IA City to tailgate for the IA/Nebraska football game.  It was a cold one!  Aunt Lisa & Uncle Brent brought there motorhome.  Now that is the way to tailgate in the cold!  Nate went to the game and I stayed back in the heated motor home with Great Grandma & Aunt Darlene.  Somebody had to hold the fort down.  :)  That evening Grandma Great, Aunt Lori, & Uncle Matt came down for dinner and for some birthday cake and ice cream for Aunt Lori.  The kids and Grandma even put the Christmas tree up that night.  The kids loved decorating it. 

At 12:30 am on Saturday Grandpa woke me up saying that Ava was sick.  I went downstairs to a very steamy bathroom where Grandma was sitting with her.  Her breathing was very tight and she had a horrible cough and felt very warm.  The steam didn't seem to be helping much so I brought her upstairs to sleep in our bedroom.  Thankfully she was able to fall asleep and the coughing subsided.  Her airway still sounded tight, so I was up frequently to make sure she was still breathing.  Grant woke up that morning with a cough and felt warm as well.  We let the kids play for a bit, had an early lunch, and hit the road. 

We laid low the rest of Saturday with the kids not feeling well.  At midnight that night Grant woke up with a fever of 104.6.  Poor little guy had the chills and chugged a whole cup of water.  I stripped him down, gave him Ibuprofen, and rocked him until his fever came down to 103.  Then I prayed that he wouldn't have a febrile seizure if it went back up.  Thankfully Ava had a restful night and had just a slight fever on Sunday.  I took Grant to Urgent Care on Sunday and they couldn't find anything wrong with him.  He continues to have fevers >102 today, and now has copious amounts of green snot constantly oozing out of his nose and now out of his eyes.  I'm calling in sick tomorrow and we'll be heading to the pediatrician in the morning. 

Well, that pretty much sums up our week.  Here are some pictures for you...
Thanksgiving day.  So thankful for these two amazing kiddos.  They bring more joy into our lives than we could have ever imagined.  I wish I could freeze them at this age.  I love watching them play together.  Ava is so nurturing towards Grant, and Grant idolizes Ava copying everything she does.  I pray that they will always love each other the way that they do right now.
Filling up their piggy banks at Grandma & Grandpa's
Chill time with Zacky
These kids love looking at pictures (at least I think that's what they are doing with his phone)
Looking for Herky the cat
Grandma watched the kids while Nate and I went to the game on Friday.  They stayed very busy baking and playing.  Thank you SO much Grandma.  We enjoyed our day away, and they enjoyed their day with you!
The best part of baking!
Grant LOVED driving the tractor with Grandpa.  It sounds like he could use a little more practice. 
All the cousins
Celebrating Aunt Lori's birthday
Grant & his buddy Grandpa
Ava got to drive the tractor too.  She told us she wasn't a very good driver...Grandpa confirmed that this was indeed a true statement. 
Grant also got to "drive" Grandpa's semi.  He could have stayed in there all day.
Playing outside


Tailgating in Iowa City

Grant's favorite part about putting the tree up was definitely the train.