Fun Pictures

Here are some fun pictures we have taken over the past few weeks.

Kaitlyn kissing the turtle by the Farmer's Market in Minneapolis.

Mommy and Kaitlyn posing by the turtle.
Kaitlyn standing our big dirt pile in our backyard. Kaitlyn and a milk mustache.

Girls Weekend

This past weekend my mom, sister, Kaitlyn, and I headed up to Two Harbors. My sister is planning a destination wedding at Gooseberry Falls this fall, so we wanted to go and check out the area.

We left bright and early on Saturday morning. We got to Superior Shores Resort just in-time to meet with the coordinator to show us around. The views of Lake Superior were amazing from the rooms. After our tour we headed up to Gooseberry Falls.

Kaitlyn wasn't too sure about the people who offered to take our picture. Later she asked us if one of them was Santa because of his long beard.

Kaitlyn loved riding on mommy's shoulders. It helped keep her from jumping in all the puddles.

The weather was a little chilly, but the sun was shining so it wasn't that bad. Kaitlyn loved watching the waterfall and climbing all the stairs.

The whole time Kaitlyn kept asking when we were going swimming. So, after much waiting we went back to Superior Shores and went swimming.

Kaitlyn was watching Nana and Aunty Anny doing hand stands and somersaults in the water, she kept telling me she wanted to do that too. I had to explain to her that she didn't know how to swim yet. Good thing we start swimming lessons this week.

Sunday we woke to a beautiful sunny day. We decided to walk down by the Lake and look at all the cool rocks. A fun past time from our youth. We could have stayed for hours looking at all the rocks.

My mommy and me on Mother's day!

Kaitlyn and nana by the lake.

Terrific Two's Part 2

This past weekend we were in Mora again for our Nephew's Baptism. It was a perfect opportunity to take pictures of all 4 cousins. These pictures are posted in chronological orders.

Here is Kaitlyn (2), Hailey (5), Darren (3), and Gibson (3 months). Several people were trying to capture this moment so it was hard to get them to look at one camera. At this point Kaitlyn is loving the attention until....

She realized that she wanted to hold Baby Gibson. It was quite the scene. After some bribery we convinced her to smile for a few more pictures. We told her that she could hold Gibson next.

All smiles again.... who says bribery doesn't work in the right occasions.

Happy that she got to finally hold her cousin Gibson.

Busy April

I can't believe that April is almost over. We have been busy! We are working on re-doing our deck and patio in the backyard, Nate started work, Anniversary Party, Baptism, and Nate completing his EMT classes.

A few weeks ago we decided it was time to start Phase # 2 of our landscaping projects. We aren't sure how many phases we will have, but we are on Phase #2. Since this phase is a big one, we have all the heavy equipment at our house. We have a back-hoe, Bob-cat, and a cement mixer. Kaitlyn loves to ride with daddy when he is working. Our good friends the Eggimans came over to see all the big equipment a few weeks ago. Here are some pictures:

Here is Kaitlyn, Brayden, and Kaylee hanging out in the Bobcat bucket. This was the best picture I could get. I love how not one of them is looking at the camera.

Nate had all three kids in the "Big Digger" (per Brayden). They loved to watch Nate move the dirt around. It was hard to get them to get out after their ride.
I have been taking pictures during the process, but you will have to wait until it is completed before I will post them. Also start planning to attend our "New Deck" party sometime in the next two month.

Terrific Twos!

We sure have been spoiled with such a beautiful spring. Above average temperatures, no snow in March, and not a lot of rain. This means lots of outside time. My mom has been watching Kaitlyn during the day while Nate and I are at work. They spend lots of time going to the park, story time at the library, meeting up with my sister and her nanny boys, and a ECFE class on Wednesdays.

Lately Kaitlyn has been choosing to go potty in her underwear instead of going inside to the potty. She is afraid that if she goes inside she won't be able to come back out. We are hoping this will change soon, since we are doing lots more laundry.

Easter we went to Mora to spend the day with Nate's family. Saturday we started a new tradition with our great friends the Nehrings. We hid over 100 eggs for all the kids. It was fun to watch all 10 kids searching for the eggs. Kaitlyn had to pose for this picture during the big egg hunt. Once she realized that there was candy and monies in each egg she wasn't much for posing for pictures.

Sunday we went to church and had a wonderful breakfast and service. Kaitlyn and her cousins had fun coloring and reading books during the service.

Easter Egg Hunt

Zion Luthern in Mayer hosted a Easter Event this past Saturday. Kaitlyn was pretty excited since this is where she will be going to preschool in the fall. They had several arts and crafts stations for the kids and a big Easter egg hunt. Here are some pictures of Kaitlyn during the Easter Egg Hunt.Kaitlyn and Daddy loved collecting all the eggs. Daddy helped her find all the eggs.
Kaitlyn was sad when all the eggs were collected, but that was short lived since we got to go the park after.
Kaitlyn and daddy on the way to her schools park. She was so excited to be at her school.

Kaitlyn and daddy digging in the rocks.

Busy March

March has sure flown by. The warm and snow less March let Nate get a lot of things done around the house and yard before the busy summer season starts. Nate has been taking EMT classes for the past few months. He should be done by the end of April. My mom is been adjusting and enjoying her time with Kaitlyn. We believe that my mom brought the Texas warmth with her. Thank you Mom.

Kaitlyn only wears diapers at nap time and bed time. She has woken several times with a dry diaper. She wears her big girl underwear all the time. My mom finished the potty training by helping Kaitlyn learn to go poopy on the big potty. It is so nice not to have to buy diapers on a regular basis.

The other day Kaitlyn and I decided to head to Hutchinson to do a little shopping. On our way there Kaitlyn told me she had a tummy ache, which usually means she either has to poop or toot. (Oops... Kaitlyn would say Fluff.) So, I decided that we better stop at the next gas station. When I put her on the potty, she tooted and than said "All done!" Yes, we stopped for her to fluff. She than asked me if she could see her fluff in the toilet. The joys of potty training.

Here is Kaitlyn posing. She loves getting her picture taken and than looking at it after.

We have also been working on colors, numbers, alphabet, and her full name. She knows that she lives in Mayer, Minnesota too. Here is a quick video of her saying her name. She always starts out saying her first name really quietly... than goes for the gusto with her middle and Last name. (According to Kaitlyn our new last name is McMeilly).

Nate and I before the Mayer Fire Department Banquet.

This spring we have had some flooding in Mayer. It was fun to go and drive by the river to see how high it was getting every night. Here are some pictures of the Crow River that runs through Mayer.

Co. Rd. 123 on the way to Watertown.

Not sure of the road name, but in Watertown on the way to Delano.

Hwy 25 heading back to Mayer. The road never fully closed, but it was down to one lane.

Hwy 23 heading into Mayer. Normally you wouldn't even be able to see the River from here.

First Hair Cut

We finally did it! We cut Kaitlyn's hair for the first time. Nana, daddy, and I created a little beauty salon right in the kitchen. Kaitlyn did really well, but it was really hard to keep her head straight. She kept wanting to look at what we were doing. Getting ready for her first haircut.Nana cutting Kaitlyn's hair. Originally I only wanted to give her a trim with at most an inch off, but it ended up being about 3 inches off. Here is the conversation between my mom and I.

"Is that too short?" Nana (After she made the first cut.)

"It's fine, but it's a little late if it is too short." Nikki

After poses! It is really hard to get a 2 1/2 year old to take profile pictures.

Big Girl Bed

We inherited a daybed from my mom, now that she lives with us. We decided this would be a good option for Kaitlyn's big girl bed. This also allows another room for guests to sleep in or if Kaitlyn isn't feeling well. We can just sleep on the trundle bed. Nate and I my mom put the bed together a few days ago, but we haven't let Kaitlyn actually sleep in it, until last night.

Kaitlyn loving her new big girl bed and bedding.

Kaitlyn being silly while I am trying to take pictures. She is the real "Drama Queen".

Kaitlyn getting ready to go to sleep for the first time in her big girl bed. She only woke up once because she was thirsty. I am hoping for continued success during this transistion.

Updates

Potty Training... so far so good. We have yet to accomplish pooping in the potty, but we can go all day with no accidents. She still gets marshmallows for every successful potty trip and will sometimes ask just for trying. We have been using pull-ups since poopy in the potty is not a big priority for Kaitlyn.

Terrible Two and half's.... Nate will tell you that Kaitlyn is very whining when I am around. I would have to agree, but he claims she is fine when it is just them. This past Sunday we were all recovering from some strange stomach bug. Kaitlyn who had the least issues kept asking for different snacks through out the day. Trying to stay firm with NO. She would throw herself to the ground and cry and ten minutes later ask again. I tried telling her she was driving me bonkers, but she only repeated the word "Bonkers?". Nate and I were pretty tired of listening to the breakdowns we decided that she needed to go to her bedroom to cry. She did this several times with no complaint. One time she came out of her room with her face all red and blotchy from crying in her room. (It was really hard not to laugh.)

Holiday Inn... A few weekends ago, Nate's family spent the weekend at the Holiday Inn by MOA. We visited for the day and went shopping and swimming. Here are some pictures from our day.

Kaitlyn getting ready to go swimming. She had so much fun that we had to tell her get out even though her lips were blue and she was shivering.

Kaitlyn loved jumping into the pool with daddy.

Kaitlyn holding her cousin Gibson for the first time.

A Quick Trip

After several months of planning and organizing we headed to Texas to bring my mom back to Minnesota. Nate, my dad, sister, brother-in-law, and I loaded up in our truck and started the 18 hour and 1300 mile trip. We left late Thursday evening. My dad, sister, and I crammed in the back. (Thank you Anny for taking residence in the middle seat.)

Nate and I did the driving on the way down. My favorite part of the drive was through the southern part of Oklahoma. It has snowed early in the night so the trees were beautifully covered with snow. Once we got to the Texas border I handed over the driver seat back to Nate. We had heard that Dallas just got 14 inches of snow. I was not ready to tackle bad Texas drivers and snow with a truck and trailer. I would say that we passed over 75 cars in the ditches for about a 4 hour stretch.

Here is some cool scenery we saw in the southern part of Oklahoma. It was so pretty.

We arrived in Onalaska, Texas around 3pm on Friday. We were greeted by my mom and aunt and uncle. They took us to dinner and we relaxed by watching the opening ceremony of the Olympics.

Here is my mom's house in Texas when we arrived.

Saturday we woke up and started packing. We were done around noon and decided we needed to do a little site seeing. We drove to the Trinity River Dam that supplies Houston's water supply. On the road again.... Exactly 24 hours from arriving in Onalaska, TX we were on our way back to Minnesota. My sister, my mom, and I in my mom's car and the boys in the truck. Between the 6 of us we all took turns driving through the night. We arrived safe and sound around 1pm on Sunday. Anny taking the first part of the drive.

To recap... We spent over 40 hours in a vehicle and traveled a total of 2600 miles within a 3 day period. It was worth it since we now have our mom and nana so close. (She is living our spare bedroom downstairs.)

Potty Training

This weekend we decided to really focus on potty training Kaitlyn. We started Saturday morning. She picked out a pair of kitty underwear. She was pretty excited about getting marshmallows for having successful potties. We spent the morning asking "Do you have to go potty?" Most of the time she would say yes, so we would go into the bathroom and attempt to have a success. Here are some notes from the day:

1. Kaitlyn loves to go potty just a little each time so she can get more marshmallows.

2. Kaitlyn would get so excited to see if she went potty, that she will get up mid-stream to check. (We spent a lot of time cleaning up the floor.)

3. Kaitlyn went "big poopy" on Saturday in the potty. During this trip to the bathroom she decided it was a private matter and asked that I leave the bathroom. I am surprised she didn't ask for a book or newspaper. She was rewarded several marshmallows for her success.

4. Kaitlyn had only one accident on Saturday evening while waiting for daddy to come home.

Sunday started the same. No accidents and several trips to try to go potty. We explained that if she needs to go potty that she can just go and we will come in when she is done. Let's just say that we spent most of our awake time in the bathroom checking for more potty.

Here is Kaitlyn's potty chair. She has decided to take both potty chair types and make them into one comfy "extreme" potty. It does create a little more clean-up, but it works. I am hoping that we can transition onto the "really BIG potty" soon. I am not a big fan of the whole dumping process.