Christmas Vacation

We had a wonderful, quiet Christmas around Madison. Well, sort of quiet. Annika was as usual fussy and not sleeping well. It was cold but Steve bundled her up in the stroller and took a 30 minute walk. She slept for part of the walk and promptly woke up once back inside the house.
We enjoyed a delicious red and green meal of raspberry-pistachio crusted chicken and wild rice pilaf.  Emma helped crush the pistachios with the mortar and pestle.  It was her idea to use it and at first we didn't think it would work. She persevered and proved us wrong! It turned out that using the mortar and pestle helped to make the pistachios stick better to the chicken, resulting in a very delicious chicken dish- the best ever!  Even Emma liked it as leftovers.
We rushed to make it to church on time, which meant that finding seats was impossible. If it weren't for Lynn and John we would have been standing. As it was, we squeezed into the spots, with one girl each on our laps. It was a nice service. Emma liked holding the candle for Silent Night.
Emma made sure we put out the treats for Santa (store bought dairy-free Newman O's) plus 9 carrots for the reindeer. She was particularly curious about whether or not Rudolph would come with Santa.
Annika slept for 6 hours I think that night- a Christmas miracle. :)  Santa had come and the reindeer had eaten the carrots to the ends. Rudolph did come because all 9 carrots had been eaten. After presents we just hung out all day. WE packed and organized for our trip.
Bright and early (5 am ish) we loaded up the van and started the looong drive to South Dakota.  Annika slept a lot, which was great.  Emma amused herself quite well for the most part. Once the DVD was introduced, though, it became a hassle to set it up and keep her behavior in check. We had a McDonald's dinner in Rapid City (in the car) and made it to the cabin in time for stories and bed.
Emma was fascinated by the loft and really wanted to sleep up there. Due to the steepness of the stairs and the lack of a door to keep out the sounds, we convinced her to sleep int he downstairs bedroom. It had it's own bathroom, which was fun for her.
Annika had a horrible night of sleeping. It was also hotter than blazes upstairs so I woke up dripping sweat. We had to open the window over the bed to make it comfortable.
The next morning we planned our day and headed to Mount Rushmore. It was snowing, silently and dream-like. It made for a gorgeous drive and view. There were hardly any people- yay!  Emma wouldn't smile for the camera and was very grouchy about the museum part.  Annika slept in the stroller and seemed quite content overall.
I don't remember the rest of that day. Except that night we went and saw Mount Rushmore lit up-cool. Then we drove into town for some beer and dessert. Emma chose strawberry cookies. I chose lime mini-popcorn bags. The popcorn was so good. Annika had another rough night.
The next day dawned clear and cold. Mount Rushmore was seen again in many different views all day long. The sideview of Washington was neat. Then Crazy Horse was a big disappointment as we drove up to it. It's not even close to being finished! Once we were inside and learned the story we felt bad for disparaging it.  The sculptor worked alone for a number of years. Mount Rushmore can fit in the side of his head (the scale is astronomical). The family doesn't accept funds from state or national governments. It's pretty amazing.
Emma liked the Native American museum part (just not the video, which she almost ruined with her whining- we were the only ones in the theater though). We had fun looking at the artifacts, rugs, bead work, etc.  We tried to come up with what our Native American names would be. I can't remember what she said.
We rambled along and finally headed out to the Nature Gates that was covered with metal animals. We each found our favorite. Emma searched for a horse and couldn't find one.
Then we headed to the Wind Cave. We had lunch in the center's small cafeteria. Chloe stayed in the van. Then we went on the 1 pm tour over 100 feet under ground. Emma was scared at first, like me, but we turned it into a game. Emma kept pointing to places where the Pegasus would sleep or fly through. The boxwork formations were yummy Pegasus food. Almost at the end Annika filled her diaper and began to cry. Steve had to take her back down the trail a bit to not disturb the ranger or the group.  The ranger brought up the point that people who go caving need to take food in and waste out, like one memeber of the group was showing us. :) It was funny.  (At home, when Emma saw the Wind Cave brochure she recognized the boxwork!)
On the drive back to the cabin we saw some elk and then some bison way off in the distance. We drove through some tunnels and saw Mount Rushmore yet again from different views. We ate some dinner cooked in the electric skillet and rested.
The next day we left later than we would have liked and made it home by 10 pm.  We played 20 questions and I Spy a lot on the way home. Annika needed to be soothed a lot as well. That's not easy in the car!



Overall it was a fun trip and we are glad we made the effort.

Happy 5th Birthday!

        Emma turned 5 this year! Nanie came out for 10 days, and Emma had fun having a new person to read stories with.  There were extra hands to bounce Annika when she fussed.  Around the weekend more family came to town. Aunt Margaret, Uncle Dominic and Patrick came down from Minnesota and stayed at our house. Aunt Lauren and Charlie and Great Aunt Kay flew into Madison the same night as Papa. Papa stayed at our house while the rest of that crew stayed at Aunt Susan's. Aunt Emily also came up and crashed on our floor.
         Saturday morning Emma and Patrick had a blast raking leaves and playing outside. Dominic and Daddy helped. :) Emma spotted two bald eagles soaring. Annika seemed to like the fresh air when she came out with Aunt Susan. That was a fun sighting!
           The invitations featured 5 butterflies so we stuck with the butterfly theme as much as possible. Saturday was the party at 3 pm with dinner of Papa's famous spaghetti sauce served over butterfly pasta. There were sauteed brussel sprouts (and something) that the aunts cooked up along with salad, bread, and rosy glow punch.  Pretzel and caramel butterflies were fluttering around. Tom and Karen made it over around present time and stayed for dinner and dessert. Aunt Susan made the cake topped with butterflies that the ladies decorated, including Emma! Guests colored butterflies to hang on the wall (they are still there) during waiting periods. Annika fussed a bit, but then happily slept in various willing arms.
On Sunday we all headed to Aunt Susan's for a delicious brunch followed by some walking around the zoo. It's always a favorite place to visit. The sun was shining and it was a glorious day.
         We also celebrated Emma's birthday with Great Grandma and Uncle Chuck on a day-trip to Illinois with Nanie. Emma loved the barbie and accessories she got from Uncle Chuck and the create your own fairy tale kit from Great Grandma.

      At the end of October Great Aunt Jan and Great Aunt Jackie came out. They all had a blast dressing up and trick or treating! Emma and Annika had a fun movie night with popcorn so Mommy and Daddy could have a night out. Fun for all!

At-home School

9/27/12 While I was making breakfast Annika was in the bouncer and happy. Emma was watching her. "Oh oh, a little spit up," she said while she dabed at Annika's face with a burp cloth. Then Emma started to play with the magnetic letters on the fridge. With every letter ("E"- this is easy! E says eh and E") she would hold it in front of Annika's face. And so began school. I was Emma's assistant I think. She did almost every letter. And next, "Now I'm going to teach her all the animals!" And Emma showes all the animals to Annika and told her the sounds they make. She did have help from the barn that goes with the animals. It was very sweet. Next Emma continued the schooling with the animal tracks cards. Nene or Hawaiian goose was one that they studied; Emma had to ask what it was. She repeated it right back to Annika.

Our first visit back to church since August 12th, Annika's due date was the same day as the Harvest Meal.  Annika fussed a bit so I took her out to the narthex for awhile. Back in church Steve held her and she fell asleep. Everyone was oohing and ahhing over her.One old man during the shring of the peace said, Wow! He needs a haircut!" Steve told me that his wife came up to Steve and said her husband was jealous because the baby has more hair than him.  Emma sat near Aunt Susan and when she was asked if she was going to the Harvest Meal, Emma said, "Yes as long as Annika doesn't spoil it and we can't go."

At the Harvest Meal, Pastor Jeff told us we make beautiful babies. Rachel held Annika and was very calm when Annika fussed and cried. Emma and Joe (a 3 year old) had fun chasing each other around. We left the meal when Annika was good and angry.

Nakey is best!

First Bath

Second bath- much happier!

Hooray for no diaper!

Annika loves to be nakey- once we got past the first bath. if she fusses and nothing works, we have open air time. It helps her mood and keeps her bum rash-free!

Toothy Business

At church on Sunday October 7th Emma was munching on a fruit leather. Actually she was suv=cking on it and pulling it out from between her closed-together top and bottom teeth. suddenly she says Mommy I have a loose tooth!  her voice was all wavy. i got a tad panicky (so not ready for loose teeth- is she really old enough?) so i say um which tooth?  it's bloody and she is starting to cry. let's go get some water at the fountain. emma really starts to cry and buries her head in my shoulder. i try to gently lift her head and tell her it will be better with some water/ she gets up and buries her face in daddy's chest. he asks her what is wrong and she shows and tells him. i say that i told her to come get some water but she wouldn't. he tells her something that causes her to get up and follow me out. in the narthex i say it must be scary but it happens and it will feel better to rinse her mouth. then we check it out in the bathroom mirror. she is sort of calmed down now and seems mostly concerned with the bloody taste. soo we take a cup of water back in.  slowly she stops lookin worried and begins to play with the tooth. after church when we leave and say how excitint it all is she gets upset and tells us not to be excited.  daddy suggests a culvers treat to celebrate but that we have to be able to be exvoted. emma slowly agrees that it is ok to be excited we just can't show it a lot.  at culvers she wiggles her tooth a lot and tells us about spencer who has a lost tooth.  she is excited all day about  the tooth fairy and telling everyone at school.
next morning she still has her tooth and says she is going to tell everyone about it. when i pick her up she still has a tooth but it is super loose. we reasd stories and she pulls the guardoan silver swan box that aunt susan gave her. we set it up on her nightstand.
after nap we arr getting ready to watch a moive. as i set annika on the ground emma says i lost my tooth!  i urned and there she was standing lookin shocked. i dropped it she says. so we start looking on the ground. moommy i think it is in my sleeve. it falls out and she says ooh gross it is bloody. then she happily puts it in the swan. She doesn't like the blood though and gets shaky and teaery-eyed. i give her ice and she chatters about the hole. she is excited to tell daddy qwhen he gets home.
before bed she tells me that she wants to keep her tooth. can we write anote asking the tooth fairy to leave her tooth? i don't see why not so daddy writes it for her. dear tooth fairy please don't take my tooth.
in the morning there is a note from the tooth fairy written in cursive, pink and purple handwriting, dear emma lovely tooth. TF.  Emma asks me how the tooth fiary knew to write in her favorite colors and how the tooth fairy gets in. I told her the tooth fairy is magic. Emma thought it amusing that the tooth fairy wrote emma how she did (with very curvey, drawn out "m"s).
She said she was going to show everyone at school her hole- especially Spencer.  When I asked her what Spencer said she responded, "hole."  hee hee 4 year old humor!

I wanted to take her picture but she said she doesn't want a picture with a hole. Christmas pictures will be really difficult I guess.  And now her other tooth on the bottom is loose!

I'm the BIG sister!

Finally, after waiting for what seemed like forever, Emma is a big sister!  Annika Marie was born on August 18, 2012 at 9:53 am.  At about 3 in the morning we dropped Emma off at Aunt Susan's house on the way to the hospital. I know that Emma chatted away in the backseat for the entire trip, but due to the contractions I don't remember anything.
Aunt Susan told us that Emma didn't go back to sleep after being dropped off. They played, colored, did a water color book, made food, and hung out.  Emma asked Aunt Susan if the baby was going to be born and seemed excited to meet the baby.
When Steve called to make the announcement, Emma said "I wanted a sister; I got what I wished for!" We didn't know the name yet. When they came to the hospital around 3 pm that afternoon I was nursing Annika, which is a bummer. Emma came in with a huge smile on her face but then stopped and was tentative when she saw the baby on my tummy. Emma was very sweet with the baby and held her a few times. Aunt Susan and Emma went home that night with plans to be in touch the next day.  (Aunt Susan told us that after we got off the phone with them to announce that the baby was born Emma focused on two things. She really wanted to meet the baby and to check on the status of my lap.)

Sunday Aunt Susan told us that Emma kept asking when can we go see my sister. They came about the same time as Aunt Darcy and Uncle Steve. There were presents for both girls, and Emma was only a little put out by the attention everyone was bestowing on the baby.  We talked about names and by the end of the day we had decided on Annika Marie, but no one knew yet. (The email went out that night.)  Aunt Susan and Emma came back with dinner from Monty's that night. We introduced them to Annika. Emma approved the name.
The next morning Aunt Susan dropped Emma off around 7am. We had a long day of sitting and waiting for our doctor to give us the OK to leave. Dr. Flannery came by around 12:30 so we went home not long after that. Emma chose Chinese food for lunch so they went and picked it up leaving Annika and I at home. It was a wonderful beginning of the next phase of the adventure- being home!

Emma seemed genuinely to love her little sister right from the start. And even though the days were disrupted by her, Emma seemed mostly concerned about the lack of attention. She didn't try to take it out on Annika. Whew. :)

Apparently Emma corrected Tom and Karen on the correct pronunciation of Annika during a morning visit before preschool.

She seems shy when people ask her if she likes being a big sister. Sometimes she says yes. She has yet to say no.

Like mother, like daughter

Emma has been watching me breastfeed Annika since day 1. Sometimes she stares. Sometimes it doesn't seem like she notices much. She has seen me use a breast pump a couple of times; that's the only time I feel really weird, but I try not to let it show. I just redirect her somewhere else.

Yesterday there was Emma with her plastic binoculars and a baby doll bottle. She pops her arm out of the sleeve of her shirt, tugs up the hem and proceeds to arrange the binoculars as follows. One lens of the binoculars was positioned over her nipple, the baby bottle inserted into the other end, one finger pressing up and down on a certain spot on the binoculars. We didn't make a big deal of it and said something Oh isn't that nice that you are pumping milk for your baby. (We gave each other a look though.)

A little later I took Annika in the other room to nurse her, and after a few minutes Emma came in with her breast pump. She sat down on the couch right next to me and pumped away. I calmly asked her if I could please take her picture. Emma said, "No because you don't see women getting their pictures taken do you?"

Nope I guess not. :)