Thanksgiving Weekend

Here it is Sunday afternoon, and I am making what seems to have become my ritual Sunday post. It has been a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend full of family and fun. To start things off, Mattey and I watched Angels and Demons on Wednesday night. It was an entertaining movie, but not the best I have ever seen. It did keep our attention. Thursday we went to Matt's parent's house to celebrate with his family. Vickie made most of the food, while the Skala kids brought a few things to share as well. I actually made a few of my mom's recipes: pumpkin bars, Polish drumstick and Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie. It was my first time trying them and I think they turned out well! It is special for me to be able to honor her by making the foods I grew up with at the holidays. It was all so yummy. We even brought the food back out for supper for round 2. During the afternoon we watched the Packers beat the Lions :) and the other games that were on. Grandma and Grandpa now have a kitchen set in their toy room, and Kelsey loves it! She spent a lot of her day playing with it.
She also liked pushing the shopping cart around. Nolan and Kelsey played together a lot, too. Nolan gets a little rough with her because I am sure he is used to having to hold his own with his brothers. But Kelsey keeps going back for more, so she obviously doesn't mind it too much! Before we left, Nolan and Kelsey took a bath together, and Kelsey was laughing like crazy! Nolan kept dunking his head, splashing water and being silly, and Kelsey loved it. She even tried dunking her head under the water, too! Those two could be trouble together!

To end the evening, Nate and Diane came over to our house. Natey and Matt watched the Minnesota Gophers basketball game while Diane and I watched the movie My Sister's Keeper. Talk about a tear-jerker! (the movie that is, not the game) I seriously spent half the movie crying. Very emotional storyline!
Friday we braved the crowds and did some Black Friday shopping. We have made it a tradition to go the past few years. We don't get up at 4am, but we make our way out later in the day. This year we found some great deals and I am happy to say we are almost done shopping! What a good feeling! One of our purchases on Friday was outdoor Christmas decorations. Matt decorated the house for me this year, and it looks beautiful! Thanks, Mattey! Next we went to Stacey's house to hang out for a bit. With Nate and Diane in town, it is nice to spend time with everyone. We finally made our way home and put up the Christmas tree, as well as all the inside Christmas decorations. Whoo-hoo!

Dave, Vickie, Diane and Nate stopped over Friday night so the boys could watch more basketball and the girls could chat. What a busy day! Saturday morning we went to my brother, Brian's house. It was our year to be in Minnesota for Thanksgiving, but we still wanted to see each other since we are only an hour away. We had a delicious meal together, complete with my mom's pumpkin bars! I brought along the camera and video camera to get some updated pics of all the kids together, but got too busy playing and talking and didn't take one picture! Bad me! Usually I am the camera lady that everyone groans at because I am always requesting pictures. I guess that means more pictures at Christmas! Saturday night we ordered pizza and rented yet another movie, Four Christmases. We recently bought a Blu-Ray DVD player and we are sure getting some good use out of it lately! The movie was really funny! I highly recommend it during the holiday season. This morning Matt went to school because he had some work that he wanted to finish up before we head back to school tomorrow. Kelsey and I went to church, and she did better this week! We had about a 10 minute fussy time where I wasn't sure if we should stay in or go out. Sometimes she is not being naughty, but just jabbering away. After being super antsy for that short time, she fell asleep. During the week she only takes one nap at Mary's, but she seems to take more than one on the weekends. I guess she is catching up from the week. I tried a new recipe for supper tonight--white chicken chili. It is in the crock pot now. I will let you know how it turns out!
There you have it! Our weekend has been very full, and I am sad to see it go. I love the time I have at home with Kelsey and Matt. I feel so blessed to have them in my life. I am also grateful for our brothers, sisters, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends who are so dear to us. We hope your Thanksgiving was just as wonderful!

Eau Claire Visit

Saturday we went to Eau Claire to visit my college roommates, Liz and Kristen. Liz still lives in EC and it is a middle meeting point for us because Kristen lives in Wausau. Mattey and Kelsey came along which made the ride go quicker, although Kelsey was quite antsy this car ride and did not sleep much either way. We spent our time catching up on life, eating some yummy appetizers, and reminiscing about our time in college. Car horns honking in the middle of the night, our ar class we took and barn books, and what we used to wear to go out. Good memories :) Here we are at our 412 Hudson House in 2003.
Liz has a 7 month old son, Collin, and he and Kelsey were buddies and enjoyed playing together. Matt was a trooper and watched the kiddos while us three girls gabbed the afternoon away. I feel so blessed to have these two amazing women in my life! They are truly wonderful friends and I am always thankful that we continue to make time to see each other.

As an added bonus, we got to see my cousin Katrina who attends UWEC. We stopped to see her dorm room, took her out for supper and then got her some groceries. It seems so weird that she is already in college and makes for a deja vu moment when I am back in EC on campus. It was so good to see her! She makes me very proud.
Today we are laying around watching football and relaxing. Yesterday was a busy day and it feels good to be able to relax. I am hoping to get a little more Christmas shopping done this afternoon, but we'll see how motivated I am. The upcoming week should be nice because we only have to teach three days and then we get a four day weekend. Can't wait! Have a great Sunday!

Uv You

This will be a brief post, but I had to share. This morning as Mattey was getting Kelsey ready to leave for Mary's, I gave her my usual hug and kiss and told her I would miss her. When I said, "I love you", she said back, "uv you." It totally melted my heart. What a great way to start a Friday.

Shots, Meeting Leia, Shopping

Kelsey had her 15 month check-up on Friday and everything looks great! She is 22 1/2 pounds and 31 inches tall, which puts her at 50% for weight and 75% for height. She did have to get three shots, one of which was the second half of the flu vaccine. They can only give you a 1/2 dose when you are a baby getting it for the first time, so it was time for Kelsey's second half. I am thankful Mattey was there because I think even I tear up when she starts to cry. This time it did not last that long, but it still makes me sad to know she is in pain. After the doctor appt. we went out to eat at Plaza Morena (a great Mexican restaurant) to celebrate how brave Kelsey was. What a deal for mom and dad :) We watched the movie State of Play that night. It was a pretty good movie with lots of twists and turns to keep you thinking.
Saturday morning we went to Burnsville to meet our new niece, Leia. Kelsey absolutely loved her. She kept wanting to see Leia and touch her. Kelsey also got to play with Soren and Annika.


It was a very nice visit, and we are glad we got to meet her! After our visit, we stayed in the cities for awhile and ran a few errands before heading back to Owatonna. Later that night we watched The Ugly Truth. It was a good date night movie!
Sunday mornings have been more interesting in church lately because Kelsey has not been falling asleep like she used to during this time. So now we play the game of trying to keep Kelsey quiet and entertained. She does great the first 20 minutes, but after that it gets tricky. We have had to take her out of church the past two Sundays now because she just wants to talk away and gets mad that we can't put her down. Both times we went out though she fell asleep within five minutes. After church we had breakfast with Matt's family. Once we got home, Daddy and Grandpa watched football and Grandma, Kelsey and I went to do some shopping. I am proud to say I have officially began my Christmas shopping! I don't know what has gotten into me this year, but I am very excited about Christmas already!

Little Monkey

Kelsey's new thing is to want to play on the bed or couch. She stands up and then jumps. Our neighbors have a trampoline that she has been on before, and her daycare has one as well, so maybe she thinks the bed or couch are her personal trampolines. Just an FYI, Matt or I are always by her when she is doing this :)
Kelsey can now climb up the stairs and turn around to go down them on her belly. We have been pushing it by not getting a gate for our steps because for a very long time Kelsey never even noticed them. However, now if we say, "Do you want to go downstairs?", she knows right where to go. It does make me nervous because she does pretty well, but I still worry. Again, we don't let her do this alone.
She goes for her 15 month check-up today which means shots. I swear, the cry she lets out when it happens is so sad :( Good thing Daddy will be along today to help comfort her (and mommy).
Finally, we are starting to feel like we have an echo in the house because Kelsey is attempting to say everything we do. It still only comes out as gibberish or one word at a time, but she is constantly talking to us. It is so awesome that she can communicate more things to us now. Matt and I just commented that it will be fun to see her reactions when Christmas comes around because she is so expressive these days. Have a great Friday everyone!

What a Week!

This week has been pretty hectic. You might want to get a snack before reading this--it's a long one :)
Monday
Monday we drove back from Green Bay. When we got home that evening, Kelsey seemed a little warm. Sure enough, she had a low-grade temp. She has been cutting her eye teeth for what seems like forever and so we just assumed that is what it was from. However, she has also had a cough for a week now.
Tuesday
After a long night with little sleep, Daddy stayed home with her on Tuesday and took her in to the doctor. They checked her ears since she is infamous for getting ear infections while teething, but they looked ok. Her lungs sounded fine and her temperature had gone away by the time she got to the clinic. The doctor said it is probably viral and to let it run its course. She still seems to have a cough, but no more fever. With all the H1N1 stuff out there, I guess it is better to be safe than sorry.
Wednesday
Wednesday brought a whole new kind of weird to our house. I had gone into the computer room to print off the blog from October and thought I saw something move across the floor, but I convinced myself it was nothing. Later that night Matt called to me from downstairs to come down. Sure enough, he saw something skitter across the floor too! We had a mouse in the house! Disgusting! To make matters worse, I was not a very good helper because I was so grossed out. We called Matt Ginskey over to come and help move furniture so Mattey could catch the thing. I should have video taped. Our basement looked like a huge mess! We moved every piece of furniture and the darn mouse was nowhere to be found. So Mattey made a run to Wal-Mart to pick up some traps and I slept with one eye open that night. In the morning, we found the mouse stuck in a trap. Thank goodness! EW! Since then, I have thoroughly cleaned my house and still feel like I am constantly checking the floor. I associate a mouse with a dirty, old college house, not a nice home that is well kept. Dave did find a small hole chewed by our air conditioning unit outside, so he patched that up for us and hopefully we won't have anymore unexpected guests! On
Thursday
Thursday I was up in the cities for a workshop which meant getting up extra early and a long day of driving. Mattey had his last team dinner that evening due to their playoff game on Friday.
Friday
Friday was another exciting day. First, Mattey had his playoff game to go to state vs. Lakeville North. Unfortunately, they did not win. The crowd for Owatonna was great and the boys actually stuck with them and made the game close, but did not pull it off. It was another great football season for Mattey. It is always bittersweet when it comes to an end. I am excited to see more of Mattey, but sad that his team did not go to state, too. While at the game, I got a call that my sister, Jolene, had her baby. This is her third child. Leia Christina(pronounced Leah) was born around 7:00pm and weighed 7lbs. 2oz. and was 21 inches long. Both mom and baby are doing well. Due to strict hospital regulations because of all the H1N1 stuff, we did not go to the hospital to see the baby.
Saturday
My dad and Chris did come from Pulaski on Saturday though to meet their 7th grandchild. Lucky for me, they stayed with us in Owatonna on Saturday night. Since this will be the last time I see them before Christmas, Vickie helped me (well she did most of the work actually) to make a turkey meal. I had never made a turkey before, so it was a new experience. We spent the evening at Dave and Vickie's and even squeezed in a game of Farkle. It needs to be said that when my dad and Matt's mom get together, they are two peas in a pod and the jokes don't stop coming. It was a very fun night. Here are Daddy and Kelsey putting some money in Kelsey's piggy bank on Saturday afternoon.
Sunday
Sunday morning we were up bright and early to eat breakfast before my dadand Chris had to head back. I feel very lucky to have seen my dad twice in a week! Here is Kelsey saying cheese when you take out the camera. You can see she is in mid-word as the picture is taken.
We are planning to go meet Leia this week and I will post more pictures of her then.
Have a great week everyone!

Pulaski Visit

We had not been to Pulaski since July, so I could not pass up the chance to go home and see my dad from Sunday-Monday. Matt and my brother, Brian, went to the Packer/Viking football game and Kelsey and I jumped at the chance to see Grandma and Grandpa Smith. Due to Matt's playoff football game on Saturday night, we were unable to leave until Sunday morning. We were up at 5am and left the house by 6am. We picked up Brian in Farmington and made it to Pulaski by 11. Kelsey is a great traveleer and slept and played like a champ. It makes our long car rides a breeze. Once at my dad's house, we unpacked and got the guys all geared up for the game. My dad, Kelsey and I dropped the boys off in GB and stayed to tailgate for awhile.

It was a beautiful day for football so we enjoyed being outside and taking ih the crazy atmosphere. We went back to Pulaski to watch the game, while the boys headed into Lambeau Field. At my dad's, Kelsey was able to show Grandma and Grandpa all that she has learned. They saw her three weeks ago when we went to the apple orchard, but her vocabulary has really taken off since then. She dazzled Grandpa by saying "Papa." We also got to see Aunt Evie, Uncle Dennis, my cousin Jody and her kids, and Paul and Mary. Lucky us! We made homemade pizza for dinner and watched as the Packers let the Vikings win. It was not a very pretty performance. I guess this means we just have to beat them in the playoffs when it really counts! When the game was over, my dad went in to GB and picked them up. Due to all the traffic, it took them awhile to get home and they looked beat when they arrived! I think we were all in bed by 9:30. This morning we stopped at my dad's store to say goodbye to my dad before heading back to Minnesota. We also always stop by my mom's grave before leaving town. Even 9 years later I still get tears in my eyes when we stay there. It was special though because my dad, Brian and I all shared a few thoughts about how family is the most important thing. Isn't it the truth? Thanks for a great weekend!