February 2014

Jesper started preschool in January and absolutely LOVES his new classroom. They do a lot more activities with numbers and letters, and expect the kids to work together in groups as well as play independently. It's been a great transition for Jesper. Our only complaint is that now he really doesn't want to be picked up in the evenings - he's having so much fun at school that he doesn't want to leave! We are so grateful to have a wonderful daycare center!

First day of preschool

So smart! Jesper already knows his alphabet, and seems to really enjoy the letter challenges at school.

Some of our favorite things that Jesper is doing right now:
 - If you tell Jesper that he's a goofball or a silly goose, or anything else, his patented response is "I"m not a ____, I'm just Jesper"
 - He goes to bed around 8pm every night. As part of his bedtime routine, Dad has to "fly" him to bed like an airplane every night. He loves it and asks "Can we do it again, Daddy?" every time.
 - He recently discovered Candy Land and really likes to play against Mom and Dad. Usually, he wins. :) We tried Candy Land only a few months ago unsuccessfully, but we got it out again shortly after the holidays and his attention span is finally long enough to play!
 - This is not a "favorite thing", but is certainly something that we've been working on with Jesper. He is a notoriously picky eater, and we have often been guilty of making separate items for his dinner when we are eating something that we're pretty sure he won't try. We decided a couple months ago that we had to stop doing that, so we now serve Jesper the same thing we eat almost without exception. He is expected to try a bite of food that is new to him before he can have more of something else. For example, he has to try a bite of sloppy joe before he can have more applesauce. It's been rough going for a few nights, but he's starting to catch on. And Josh and I are getting more comfortable with him leaving the table without eating anything if he flat out refuses to try the food that we're serving.
 - Jesper's favorite things to play with are still cars, trucks, and trains. He really likes his "working trucks" (i.e. construction vehicles), and setting up his train tracks. He's also getting really good at setting up his flexible car track by himself.
 - He is starting to drop his nap. Some days he easily sleeps for 2-3 hours, but there are usually 1-2 days per week that he doesn't nap at all and just lays quietly at school or at home. It's really terrible timing - I'm hoping that he is still consistent enough with his naps that I have at least some opportunity for the triple nap once Baby Gray arrives! Jesper will be staying home with me on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and going to preschool on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

In other news, Josh took me on a very fun date to Barrio for my 29th birthday. We had a wonderful dinner and then went to the MOA to play miniature golf. However, we were enjoying our leisurely walk around the mall so much that the mini golf course closed before we were able to go. Oh well - we had a great time just hanging out together. I'm still the luckiest girl in the world. :)

29th birthday date - 36 weeks preggo

 

Gourmet Group at Pitzl's in early February - oh how times have changed. :)

I had Valentine's Day off, so Jesper and I surprised Josh at his office with a cupcake and a card and then went to Jesper's Valentine's Day party at school. I really enjoy spending time with him in his classroom so I can see and experience what  his days are like while Josh and I are working. There are a lot of new faces in his preschool class, so it's also nice to meet some of the new kids that haven't been in his classrooms before. Jesper and his friends made heart necklaces and got to mix up food coloring into buckets of snow. He had a great time!

Jesper and his friends played with colored snow at his Valentine's Day party

Meeting Halle Gail and Baby Preparations

Josh, Jesper and I were able to visit Brett, Diana, Malaila, and their new baby girl, Halle Gail, over Martin Luther King Jr. weekend in January. What a sweet little girl! Congratulations, Brett & Diana! We are excited to watch her grow up and really love that our children will be the same age.

Jesper has been getting a lot of exposure to new babies recently, with Henry Jones, Evie Pitzl, and Halle Carlson all arriving within a few weeks of each other. Halle was the first one that he held, though, and he thought it was pretty cool! She snorted and grunted a little, and he giggled every time she made a noise. :)

Jesper and Halle

Jesper had a blast swimming with Dad in the hotel pool

Hanging out with Dad in the hot tub

We are in the midst of mad preparations for our own new arrival. My pregnancy has been similar to how it was with Jesper, but I was more ill in the first trimester with this one. I actually threw up a few times this time around but with Jesper I only had a couple weeks of not feeling well.

My nesting instinct kicked into overdrive after the holidays. I kept thinking that my due date was so far away, but suddenly it was the new year and we had only 8 weeks left before Baby #2 was due. After the holidays, we quickly converted the guest bedroom next to Jesper's room to the nursery and moved the rocking chair and crib into it. Then we bought a new dresser, floor lamp, and dresser from Ikea, and a rug from Costco. I think the room is turning out really well!

We call the little one "Baby Gray" (not pink or blue, but gray - because we don't know the gender). We aren't sharing names, but we think we've decided on our top picks for both a boy and a girl. Josh and I are getting very excited to find out if we will be playing cars or dolls with Baby Gray and are anxiously waiting labor to kick into gear.

Christmas 2013

I started getting into the Christmas spirit really early this year. Nissa and I baked and froze Christmas cookies in November (it's great to have them close by so we are able to do stuff like that).

In early December, Sarah and Becky came over for a homemade "Let's Dish" morning. We made several freezer meals (beef stroganoff, chicken and wild rice casserole, quiche, and butternut squash soup). It was a successful day - we each went  home with about 8 meals and they were all pretty good. As Josh says, "I don't want to eat freezer meals every night, but it's nice to have them on hand."

Links: 

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/chicken_wild_rice_casserole.html 

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/slow-cooker-beef-stroganoff-i/

http://www.food.com/recipe/wolfgang-pucks-savory-squash-soup-105112

A few days later, Sarah, Brandon, and Sam welcomed home little Henry, and Pitzl's had Evie a couple days before Christmas. We are so excited for both of their families!!

Christmas decorations in the play area

We're also excited to welcome our own Baby #2 in early March. We're due on March 6, Josh's 35th birthday. This time around, we don't know if it's a boy or a girl, but we hung an extra stocking in anticipation of our new arrival. 

We were excited to hang an extra stocking in anticipation of our new arrival (due March 6, 2014)

Josh and I took Jesper to "Llama Llama Holiday Drama" at Stages Theater on Dec. 20. It was his favorite holiday book last year and we thought he would really enjoy the play as well. We were right - it was a hit! Jesper was enthralled with the play and clapped enthusiastically after every song. He sat on Dad's lap because he wasn't heavy enough to hold down the auditorium-style chairs. 

About 45 minutes into the hour-long program, Josh looked at me with a slightly panicked look on his face and said, "I think Jesper just had an accident." I quickly took Jesper to the bathroom and changed his clothes. When we came out of the bathroom, Josh was waiting for us. He pointed to his pants and said very seriously, "We have to leave." Josh was almost as wet as Jesper had been! I almost joined in the wet pants club because I was laughing so hard. So funny!!

We also started the "Elf on the Shelf" tradition. Jesper named him "Elfie". Here are a few of the places he visited us this year.

Paul and Gail came to visit over Christmas for about a week, and Kai and Ashley were able to come for a couple days. Brett and Diana were about 36 weeks pregnant with their little girl, so they joined in the celebration over Facetime. 

I went to the Christmas Eve service with Paul and Gail, and we spent that evening at our house. The menu was soups (chicken tortilla and chicken wild rice) and appetizers. We opened gifts and visited together. It was a great evening! 

The next day, we celebrated Christmas at Brian and Nissa's house. I worked on a puzzle nearly the entire day, but was really proud of myself for finishing it before we left. :) Later in the week we also went to Devin's hockey game in Richfield, and Paul and Gail went down to Windom to visit Per & Kim for a day. Overall, it was a very relaxed, low-key holiday. 

We had a wonderful time with family and are looking forward to a year of new joys, challenges, and adventures. 

Thanksgiving 2013

We spent the Thanksgiving holiday at Brian and Nissa's house per usual. What was different this year, however, was that we didn't have to drive to La Crosse. They moved to Cottage Grove, MN in October. Nissa stayed with us for about 6 weeks in September - October while she started her job and they finalized their house sale in La Crosse and their new home purchase in Minnesota. It is great to have them close by! We're also looking forward to Paul and Gail moving back in August 2014.

The Thanksgiving meal was delicious. Brian smoked the turkey again this year and the entire menu was fantastic!