Adventures in Babysitting

Our friends had called us and wondered if we wanted to watch their 1.5 month old daughter while they could run errands at Walmart. I understand their pain - and how much easier it is to get things done kidless (is that even a word?!) Since DH was at work, I figured, "sure, why not?!" So they brought her over, and man, was I in for it.

First off, I brought up Macyn's bouncy seat for Abigail to sit in, but Macyn wanted to sit in it herself. She had a hard time understanding that its made for babies, not a 14 month old. But in the end, she ended up sharing her seat...despite her trying to push Abigail's legs out of the seat!It was quite the night since Abigail doesn't take a paci & likes to be held, she cried some. Every time Abigail would cry, so would Macyn. Its a vicious cycle. If I would hold Abigail, then Macyn wanted to be held....but Macyn did like her for the most part. She especially liked to poke her.I love the 2nd pic where she looks so ornery! Its fun to see those 2 interact together. Despite being a year apart, Macyn could still get Abigail to smile. More so than I could:After that, and a poopy pants change, Abigail's parents came to pick her up. After watching a 1.5 month old and a 14 month old by myself, I am definitely NOT ready for another kid....this pretty much cured my baby fever....for a while!

Day after Christmas

Whats the day after Christmas without ANOTHER Christmas to celebrate? Before we took off for DH's side, there are some priorities that Macyn had to get out of the way first.

1) Play with Polie Bear from Aunt Brooke2) See if you missed any presentsAfter that, it was a fun-filled time at Grandpa & Grandma VA's. She got a lot of toys, a pair of socks, 2 books, and some new pajamas. She is quite proud of the new vacuum she got. She loves to push that thing around the house. It's never to early to learn how to clean :)I didn't get too many good pictures. I think she was overwhelmed by the excitement of her cousins and the over abundance of Zhu Zhu Pets. Afterwords, it was time to come home, put on her pajamas, and take a stroll in the Cozy Coupe....where she figured out how to crawl in without using the door.

Christmas Day

We spent Christmas morning sleeping in & going to the Grandparent's for lunch. We then headed to South Dakota for a good ol' family Christmas. Here are some highlights from our day:Seeing our adorable nephew, Caden, on his first Christmas. I got him some shoe socks, an outfit, a Christmas ornament, and a custom made photo collage.Griswold Family Christmas photo op. We all got shirts like this for Christmas, believe it or not!
Brooklyn receved some plaid loafers and slippersMe with my two favorite babies.Awesome moon shot as we were driving home.

All in all, it was a great Christmas spent with family. I absolutely LOVE Christmastime!

Christmas Eve

We had our 2nd annual Christmas with Macyn on Christmas Eve. We started out by going to church, where Macyn made it through the ENTIRE service! This was a Christmas miracle in itself! After church, we opened up our presents to each other:
DH got - a pillow!I got a Family wall shelf thingyMacyn got crayons, a coloring book, snow pants, and a Cozy Coupe....but her grandparents are the one who got her what every 14 month old would want - a jungle gym!Technically, its the All-Star Sports Climber, but its nice because it has a lot of activities - rock climbing wall, slide, basketball hoop, football toss, and soccer goal. She instantly figured out how to climb up the wall & shoot hoops. It took a little bit to figure out the slide since trying to walk down isn't usually the best solution. She now proudly goes down on her tummy, feet first; and once in a while head first.Besides putting the jungle gym together, Grandpa and DH also put together the Cozy Coupe which I am extremely thankful for. I'm pretty sure we would have been divorced had we done it boy ourselves. I would have never thought in a million years how complicated a coupe would be. But, Macyn loves it & that's all that matters

How to stay busy in the car

It is very hard to entertain a 14 month old on a 4.5 hour car ride. Here are some successes as to keep her occupied - Taking all the Kleenex out of the box:And whoever is not driving takes them right backs, folds them, and puts them back in the box. The bonus? Both the child and non-driver are occupied.

Next up, since there are only really small towns on Hwy 20, we found a Dollar General that happened to be open on Sunday. We needed a rest and Macyn had a great time destroying the toy aisle. We bought her a puzzle and a mini Magna Doodle. She really went to town on her Magna Doodle. So much she fell asleep in mid scribble:Even though its hard to keep her quiet and entertained in the car, I can't complain that we only made 1 stop down and 1 stop back home. Not too bad for a 4.5 hour car trip!

A Christmas Wedding

We had the honor of attending DH's cousin's wedding in Marshalltown. I was quite worried how this would turn out since bringing a needy 14 month old is always kinda iffy - especially for the 4.5 hour drive. She did okay with only 1 stop each way, but it definitely makes you say, "Are we there yet?" more times than usual :)

We decided to dress Macyn in her Christmas dress so she would get to wear it more than 1 time this Christmas season. It also matched the colors of the wedding - black & red, perfectly. She was quite happy about her dress, especially the sparkles. Myself and DH, however, were covered in them by the time the night was over.We were seating the 2nd row of the church, but that only lasted about 2 minutes before we decided it would be best to move to the back of the church. The church was absolutely perfect and there wasn't a bad seat in the house. We kept Macyn busy by eating Rice Krispie bars and playing with books. The service was short, sweet, and to the point with awesome music. It was just a great atmosphere and a beautiful wedding.

After the wedding we went to the reception where they had awesome food & music. We didn't end up dancing at all, though. Macyn was terribly fussy around 8:00 and had only napped once all day. So we were exhausted from traveling as well, and thought it would be best to head back to the hotel....where Macyn caught her second wind and stayed up until 11:00. We were able to snap some family pics and some with the bride before we left:

Congrats, Tim & Sara! It was a beautiful wedding!

Merry Christmas to Us

Josh and I decided instead of buying tons of gifts for each other, we would instead spend a day in Sioux Falls together and go to a Lorie Line concert. We took off about 10:00 AM and stopped to see our new nephew, Caden. He's still as precious as the first day we met him!Next, we went to the Cinedome at the Washington Pavillion. We ended up watching the movie, Alaska, and I ended up keeping my eyes shut most the time. If you don't know what a cine dome is, its pretty much this giant 1/2 sphere where they project a movie. I do not suggest going if you get motion sickness.....at all. I felt awful and sick the entire time, especially when they put you eye-level in the Iditarod. So I just kept my eyes closed :) Here is the best picture I could find of the cinedome:Next up, we ate at the Olive Garden where I accepted the waitress's offer of the sample wine. Boy was I happy I did! It is officially my favorite wine (besides Prairie Berry Black Currant). Its called Moscato. The liquor store did have this wine, but its just not the same. I am really hoping I get a bottle for Christmas :)We also splurged and got a dessert to take home. Man, was this DELICIOUS!?

It was called "Triple Chocolate Strata" Classic Italian chocolate torta layered with creamy mousse and topped with dark chocolate ganache.

After that it was off to the Lorie Line concert. We had a great time and was a great way to end the evening. I would highly suggest her concerts to everyone. It seems all age groups go to them and its definitely worth the price. You won't be disappointed! I love seeing her outfits and especially her shoes. The other musicians who perform with her are extremely good as well. Its just a great concert and we are considering making this a Here are some of the photos I took.All in all, it was a great day and really nice to have a date with Josh. I honestly don't remember the last time we did something together without Macyn. Don't get me wrong, we love her to pieces, but its nice to have a Mommy & Daddy night out!