Two weekends, two trips, and one fabulous husband.

Dave has been super-daddy, and super-husband while I have been away for two weekends in a row. What a good sport. I know it is really busy around here with the kids, and even though he says he enjoys every second of it, I can read through the lines and tell he is exhausted. Also, the fact that he was been in bed by 9pm on the Sundays that I returned has also been a good indication as to how tired he has been.

I spent the weekend of Nov 14-16 in St. Louis with Stacy and her kids, which was great. I had not seen them since July and I cant believe how big her baby is. We picked up right where we left off. We spent the days managing the kids and the evenings eating ice cream and talking/watching tv. We did some figuring, and that was my sixth trip this year. Wow, hard to believe. The circumstances are so crappy, but our friendship has strengthened in so many ways, as well as the friendships surrounding mine and Stacy's. I know I've touched on this before, but I don't feel like I can say it enough. The luck I've had in the friend department is something I'll never take for granted. 

Maggie and I went to Minneapolis this last weekend for our biannual shopping trip. We got smart this year and had babysitters come at 9 on Friday morning so we could get on the road early. As the weekend approached, we created a master list of 'to-dos' and 'to-buys' and then compiled the list into a master game plan on the drive up. Its all about strategy, and I'm happy to say it paid off. Our first stop was in Edina where my friend Leanne met us. We wandered around there for a few hours before heading to our hotel. We stayed at a hotel which is connected to the Mall of America which was genius. There were no parking lots to navigate, no coats to lug around, and a convenient place to drop off our bags when they got too heavy. Leanne hung with us for several hours and then had dinner with us before she returned home on Friday evening. It was really great to be with her, and I know she was grateful for a day out as well.  Saturday was one big shopping spree. We started at 10 when the shops opened and made a dinner reservation for 9pm when the shops closed. What a day! We returned home on Sunday afternoon and couldn't believe the weekend was over. We were tempted to just stay a couple more days. Thank God for a fabulous sis, seriously. The kids were so happy to have me home, Greta has hardly let me out of her site since then :).

In the week between the two trips, Dave came down with strep throat. Poor guy. He carried through like a trooper and fortunately the rest of us avoided it. In that same week, we celebrated our 5th anniversary since our first date. Hard to believe how much has happened in five years. Dave and I had chemistry and companionship from the beginning, but I didn't realize how much more about him there was to know. I'm grateful for his persistence and commitment to his family. It was after our second date, the following week, that he told me I was the one for him and he wasn't interested in waiting around for long. I thought he was crazy, but was interested to see where things would go from there. Lucky for me, and for him, it worked out! Happy anniversary, Dave. Thanks for a great five years.

Sweet Greta at the grocery store. 

After nap fruit snack.

Lol. 

Twin selfie. 

Bundled up Sully. 

Christmas lights are up! Almost time to turn on the Christmas music. 

Greta is 1!

I can hardly believe Greta turned one. What a year it has been. I get a little emotional when I think back to the days just before she joined us, then the excitement and adjustment to two. She is the sweetest, most smiley girl I know, and I'm so lucky she is mine. 

We celebrated with one final nursing session first thing in the morning and then did only fun things all day, including Kindermusic, lunch, naps, and a big birthday party with our families. We had a houseful and as you could imagine, she was completely overwhelmed. Sully loved to help her blow out her candle and open gifts. In true big brother form, he still sings 'Happy Birthday' (in his own lingo, "Happy...GG!" followed by fake-blowing out a candle). She loves this attention from him. 

Greta was also lucky to get a new cousin on her birthday. Our nephew Kyle and his wife, Amy were due 8 days earlier with a baby girl. As the days ticked away, I hoped, but didn't anticipate that it would actually work out. She ended up being induced on the morning of November 5th and at 2:34pm Madelynn Rue came into the world. She weighed 6lbs and 5oz. Dave and I were able to meet her the following day and she is a beautiful baby. We are so excited for Kyle and Amy.

We went in to see Dr Sam for Greta's one year check up on Friday and got a great report. She is 18lbs 10oz, 29 inches tall and her head circumference is 18 inches. We followed that up with 5 shots and a blood draw. Sully also got his flu shot the same day. Needless to say, we were all happy to leave the doctor's office. 

Good morning, birthday girl! 

"GG one! Sully two!"

Madelynn Rue

Sweet Greta (with a little support from daddy).

Cupcake consideration. 

A little help from Isaac ;).

Balloon fun.

Sully and his BFF, Anna.

Birthday family photo.

A ladybug and a lion.

Halloween was a hit. Sully was a lion and Greta was a ladybug. Initially Sully refused to wear his costume, so we started a few weeks ahead of time. We would practice getting him ready and he only obliged to wearing his costume after Greta was in hers. So typical.

I should preface this with the reason we chose Sully's costume. He loves to roar, and he is really good at it. Even Greta gets in on the fun with her little grunty roar. It is so sweet. At this point, Sully even talks back to me in a "ROAR!", its impossible not to smile at that.

Dave didn't get home from work until after 5 so we scrambled into costumes and headed out around 5:30, it was pretty cold, so we were glad to get an early start. We loved the excitement all along the boulevard. The houses were completely decorated, with many of the homeowners in full attire. Greta and I made it to a couple of dozen homes before heading home to pass out candy. Dave and Sully went on and according to Dave, he roared at all of the right times. He was a hit.

We had a massive turn out last year, so I decided to count our trick or treaters this year in order to have a number in mind for years to come. I bought enough candy for 350 kids ($94 dollars worth!), and we ended up with 150 kids. Needless to say, I overshot, no surprise, I always do. I think if it had been a bit warmer I would have been closer.

We have the best neighborhood for Halloween.

Halloween afternoon smiles.
Sully is 2 years and 5 mos. and Greta is almost 12 mos.  

The difference a year makes, I was 39.5 weeks
pregnant with Greta last Halloween. Im wearing the same
shirt as last year :).

Family selfie while trick or treating. 

Greta girl helping me pass out candy. 

Sully in the pursuit of candy.  

The ladybug and the lion.