Hometown Holiday Weekend

Owatonna hosts a Hometown Holiday weekend every year and we decided to join in the festivities this year. Kelsey is finally big enough to actually understand more of it and also be able to handle being outside in the cold for part of it, too. Here is Kelsey all bundled up and ready to go!
We began by eating supper at The Kitchen with Grandma and Stacey and the boys.
They had a cookie decorating station for the kids while we waited for our meal. It was pretty cute. Kelsey chose a snowman cookie to decorate and with the help of Grandma, here is what she made:


Next up was the parade. I thought it was very well done with lights on all the parade entries. Kelsey liked the blow-up Santa on a motorcycle. It was pretty cold, but the parade was short enough where we weren't out there too long. We did go down to Central Park following the parade in hopes of seeing them turn on all the lights, but we had kind of reached our limit in the cold and decided to head home.







Friday made it look a lot more like Christmas around here due to the winter storm that dumped about 6 inches of snow. We had planned to go to the Village of Yesteryear for Christmas in the village, but backed out due to the snow. We did go to a very neat event that supported a local organization called Beds for Kids instead.

Today we had Breakfast with Santa. Last year Kelsey was very afraid of Santa and wanted nothing to do with him. We talked to her about seeing him ahead of time and really talked it up before we left, but we still weren't sure how she would react. When we first went over to see him, she grabbed on tight to my shirt and said "no mommy". But then we talked to him a bit while I held her and then he asked her to sit on his lap for a picture and she did! AND--she even smiled for the camera! What a difference a year makes.

I Not Going

Kelsey has been entertaining us with many one liners lately. This morning when we were getting her ready to go to Mary's she was pretty tired yet and not wanting to get ready. We kept telling her how much fun it would be, how she gets to see her friends, etc. She then told us "No, I not going today." Thankfully she was fine when she was dropped off though.

She likes to tell us "I do it" and then has to proceed to try to do many things on her own.

She likes to say who is a boy or girl. "Daddy a boy, Mommy a girl, I a girl, too!"

Many things are her favorite right now. "Ohhh, that my favorite."

If we say we like something, she will say "Me too!" However, that little stinker is smart because we tried it when we say carrots or broccoli or things we know she does not care for that much and she would stop and then say" I no like that Mommy/Daddy".

She wants to come in now when Matt and I go to the bathroom and then cheers for us by saying "Yay Mommy/Daddy, you went tinkles."

She is very anti-jeans right now. I have no idea why, but when I try to put jeans on her, she is not having it. She lays there saying "no put my jeans on. I no like them." I have tried to trick her and say they are blue plants or put them on when I think she is distracted, but she knows everytime.

If we try to play with her or get her to do something when she doesn't want to, she will say "No, I working" to avoid it.

When we were doing dishes tonight after supper she was playing with something from the tupperware cupboard and I tried to take it from her. She told me," Mommy you naughty. You go stand in corner." Not sure where she heard that before because we do not use that as discipline at our house yet.

She is really into wanting to hug and kiss us. She will come up to us at random times and say "I give you hug/kiss. I love you". How sweet is that?

Tonight she wanted to play with her baby and change its diaper. She had to get out wipes, lotion, A&D ointment, and Desitin. I hope she wants to be this helpful when the baby arrives.

Speaking of baby, we have 100 days to go!!! Tomorrow we will be down to double digits. We are currently almost 26 weeks. The baby is moving a lot and I absolutely love it. The baby seems to move the most when I am sitting in bed in a reclined position to watch TV before going to bed. It is so amazing. I have also started to develop heartburn again. I had it with Kelsey too, so I am ready for it. The other thing that is back is my sock line. When I take my socks off at night, you can see the indent of where my socks were. I guess my feet are a little swollen at night. Nothing bad, but enough that I can slightly notice. However, I will take it all gladly :) I still don't have a feeling one way or the other about whether the baby is a boy or girl. We also do not have names locked down yet either. Good thing we have a little time to get that figured out. It will come to us :)

Thanksgiving Weekend

Wednesday

We were set to leave for my dad's house on Wednesday after school. However, Mother Nature decided it was a good day for a sleet/ice/snow storm. Matt and I went back and forth about whether or not to go or wait until about 5 minutes before it was time to leave. We decided to give it a try and if it was bad enough we would either turn around or get a hotel if we were far enough. So off we went. Usually it takes us about 5 hours to get there. This trip took us 7 hours! It was a rough ride with moments of grabbing the side of the door for me when the car would slip. I think the fastest we went was about 55 mph on good stretches. There were times when Matt and I just both hoped we were still on the road since there was so much ice and snow covering it. Kelsey did amazing and only got fussy about 30 minutes from my dad's. What a ride!

Thursday

Thursday morning we were all up bright and early. My brother and sister and their families all stayed too, so it makes for a full house with 8 adults and 7 kids. We take our showers in shifts and also take turns watching kiddos while everyone gets ready. This year we went to my cousin Tawny's house to see my dad's side. My dad comes from a family of 6 kids and 4 of them made it. It seems like we don't see them all enough, so it was good to catch up. Here is my dad with 2 of his sisters, Susie and Cathy, and 1 of his brothers, Jim. His brother Dick and his sister Mary were unable to make it.


This is all the first cousins that were there--Tawny, Matt, Jolene, Brian, Kristin, Amy(who flew in from Florida) and Sam. (Raelin and Shawn were also there, but were MIA for the picture).


Here are all the second cousins--Soren, Annika, Leia, Lauryn, Miranda, Korrine, Kelsey, AJ, Logan, Carson, Sadie, James. (Danny was also there, but not in the picture).

A Smith tradition is to do something called the "ring test" when you are pregnant. My dad's sisters take the father's wedding ring and a piece of hair from the mother. The hair is wrapped around the ring and dangled over the mother's belly. If the ring swings back and forth, it is supposed to be a boy. If the ring swings in a circle, it is supposed to be a girl. And the results--a boy! The test proved right for Kelsey, but we will have to wait until March to see what this little bambino turns out to be.

Once we got back to my dad's house, it was time for round 2 of turkey and family time. This time around, my mom's side of the family came over. We were also joined by Chris's son, Jeremiah. It was good to once again be able to relax and catch up. I have to admit, I was pretty exhausted by the time they all arrived. With getting to my dad's late the day before and being up extra early, I was a little out of it. However, I did manage to stay awake until they all left. Not by much, but I made it :)

Here are all the second cousins on the Wojkiewicz side--Soren, Annika, Leia, Lauryn, Miranda, Korrine, Kelsey, Emma, Jayden, Kaesyn, and Cale. (Ryley was not there.)



My brother brought his IPad and it was a big hit! The kids really like the hangman game application.

Friday

Friday brought a new kind of crazy. Chris, Jeremiah, and Rolf were up early to shop and brave the Black Friday crowds. I just can't seem to get into that. I do like to shop that day, but I have never gotten up early to rush into a store at 4am. Maybe next year? Anyway, Brian and Molly left for a wedding for the night and we got to watch 7 kiddos for the day/night. It was fun/challenging/entertaining. The kids were all really good and there were enough adults left to make it go smoothly. During the day, we played games and lounged around. Our neighbors, Paul and Mary, stopped over for a bit to join in the craziness. I also was able to sneak in a little time with my best friend from high school, Tasha. We have not seen each other in awhile, and it was sooooo good to see her and meet her boyfriend, Bryan, and their dog, Lucy. I love that girl and it makes me so happy we have stayed close for so long.

That night we had a PJ party complete with a movie, root beer floats, and popcorn. The kids watched The Princess and the Frog and loved it. They would get up to dance during the movie and all hold hands and dance in a circle.



Saturday

It was time for us to head back home. Here is one last picture of Kelsey and Grandpa Larry before we left Pulaski.
We were glad to hear the weather forecast looked better than on the way there. We took a new way home because we stopped at my college roommate's house on the way. I have not seen Kristen's house that she and Mike built last year, so it was about time I got there! And what a beautiful place it is! I feel very thankful that it worked out for us to stop. I also love this girl and am so thankful that she is such a big part of my life.

The rest of our journey home was filled with new sights as we toured the middle of Wisconsin along the way. It was a good change and made for a great trip home.

WOW! So much to share in this post. Hopefully you made it to the end. I thought I would end with a thankful list to round out our Thanksgiving 2010 weekend:

I am thankful for....

*an amazing husband to me and father to our daughter. He is so incredible and I cherish Mattey with all I am. There are not enough words to express my gratitude for having him in my life.

*our amazing daughter. Kelsey brings more joy to our lives than we knew possible and we are blessed and honored to be her parents.

*our unborn child to come. We are so thankful that the Lord blessed us with another miracle and we can't wait to share our lives with this child.

*my faith. The Lord is good and blesses us everyday. This year made me really have to believe in my faith and put my trust in the Lord. How lucky am I to be called one of his children.

*our parents, sisters, brothers, nieces, and nephews. They are all so loving and supportive and we feel blessed to call the Skalas/Smiths our family.

*our friends. It seems we don't always see them as often as we would like, but when we do, we can pick up right where we left off without missing a beat.

*our jobs. Matt and I get to share a profession where we help children learn and grow. What a rewarding profession that allows us to support our daughter and also make a difference in the lives of other children.

*all the little things we take for granted and don't say thank you enough for. Food on the table, a roof over our head, our health, our safety, and the list goes on and on.....

Happy Thanksgiving!

Skala Thanksgiving

We celebrated Thanksgiving with the Skala clan on Sunday. It just so happened to be the Packer/Viking game, so it seemed appropriate that we get together to eat turkey and watch football. To get ready, Kelsey and I made desserts the day before. Kelsey was all about wanting to help. She is Miss Independent right now and wanted to crack the eggs herself, as well as dump in all the ingredients. I was actually surprised at how long it kept her attention. I think her favorite part was helping me mix it all.


Sunday came around and we started the day with church.

Next we headed to Dave and Vickie's. What a feast they put on! It was delicious! Good thing I wore sweatpants :)


After everyone stuffed their faces we all watched as the Packers royally beat the Vikings. It was a proud day to wear green and gold!

That night we came home and put our Christmas tree up. I know, I know, it seems early. But, technically Christmas is only four weeks away, so I figure we might as well get as much use out of it as we can. Kelsey was way more into it this year than last. She didn't care too much with putting the actual tree up, but really liked putting on the ornaments.

She also got her own tree in her room this year and was happy to decorate what she would say "my owwwwnnnnn kiss-muss tree."


And while I am talking of Christmas decorations, I need to give a big THANK YOU to my hubby for putting Christmas lights on the roof this year! What a guy :) He spent all Saturday afternoon putting lights up on the house. I love it!
Let the holiday season begin!

Weekend Visitor

We were lucky enough to have my cousin Katrina stay with us for the weekend. We picked her up on Friday afternoon and dropped her back off today. Katrina is a sophomore in college at EC and was looking for a break from the dorm scene for a few days. Friday night we ordered pizza and rented movies. Poor Katrina learned quickly that I am not the night owl I once was. We sat down to watch Snow White with Kelsey first at around 7:00 and I was sleeping by 7:30. Even Kelsey stayed up longer than me. However, I did wake up to finish the movie Matt and Katrina started while I was putting Kelsey to sleep. Saturday was filled with lots of lounging and watching college football. The ladies did head out for awhile and do some shopping despite the snowy weather conditions. That night brought more relaxing and movies. However, movies and I didn't mix again because I once again fell asleep. Sunday we went to church, had breakfast at St. Mary's, and watched football. Kelsey sure loved having Katrina here who she fondly calls Ka-cheena. They played barbies, dolls, and kitchen. It was a very low key, relaxing weekend which was perfect for all of us. We loved having Katrina here for the weekend and hope we can do it again sometime!

Top Ten

Our Kelsey girl is quite the little lady. She is amazing us with the things she says and does and definitely keeping us on our toes. Here is a current top ten of what she is into right now.

10. Wearing a pair of sunglasses that have a glasses strap

9. Playing her card game and matching up the princesses that are the same

8. Dancing and singing to a song called "Let's Do The Numbers Rhumba" on one of her music CDs.

7. Putting her hand on her face and saying "So Daddy/Mommy"

6. Not wanting to wear jeans and letting us know by saying "I no like those jeans."

5. Putting on her own shoes

4. Singing and spelling her name and then waiting for us to clap so she can clap, too

3. Playing with her Barbies--We recently discovered my old Barbie cars and a kitchen set for them that she loves. We also found a Ken doll so Daddy can play, too.

2. Laying on the pew at church in a certain place every Sunday and reading her books

1. Singing the song "Beauty and the Beast" while wearing her princess crown and dancing with Daddy

Trick or Treat

Kelsey was a monkey this year for Halloween, and she played the part well :) When you asked her what a monkey says, she would jump around and say "ooh, ooh, ooh, ahh, ahh, ahh." We even tied some red bows on the ears just to make the costume a little more girly. We practiced saying trick or treat because this was the first year that she actually went door to door.


To start the Halloween fun, we went to the Knights of Columbus kid's party at St. Mary's. It had games and prizes for the kids, and all you had to donate was a can of food to get in.


Next up, we went to Great-Grandpa and Steve's house.

After that we made our way to Nate and Diane's. They have a very kid friendly neighborhood and we did our door to door trick or treating there with the Ginskeys, and Grandma and Grandpa. It should be noted that Matt was Dad of the Day by dressing up to join in the festivities with Kelsey. It was cute to see them together.



While trick or treating, Kelsey serenaded us with a rendition of Holy, Holy, Holy. I have no idea why she picked that, but I guess she is getting something out of church afterall. Once at the door she would say "trick or treat" and "thank you" followed by "next house."

While walking, Jacob was her hand holding buddy. Nolan really wanted to hold her hand too, but she pretty partial to Jacob.


Before heading home, we stopped by Mary's and a family friend's house. I was not sure she would stay awake for the stops, but she made it.

When we got home, we found our own neighborhood swamped with cars, so we went to a few of our own neighbors' houses before calling it a night.