Visiting the Northerner's

This year, we visited the Speckeen's a little later in January than usual. Generally, we make it up north for the annual New Year's Speckeen Celebration, but weren't able to make it this year due to work schedules. However, without all the celebrations happening, we had a VERY relaxing and fun time....

Elijah loves taking baths at Grandpa and Grandma "Stateens" because the tub has no texture on the bottom, which makes slipping and sliding around perfect for our wild boy.

We don't have our hearts set on Elijah being an athlete... He loves music and reading! We are so glad he takes so much interest in these "nerdy" things... We hope he pursues his love for music because he's showing so much potential.
Uncle Will took Elijah outside in the snow to play with the dog... they had a blast, but I'm pretty sure Uncle Will was exhausted!
He got a hold of someone's goofy glasses...How cute is he?!
Jeremiah and I were able to get together with some of our Northern Friends. While we missed the friends who weren't able to make it, we had a blast! We went bowling and I failed miserably, but Jeremiah did awesome
Definitely not just a bowling ball...
So serious... Guess you have to be to get the scores he got that night
My Aunt and Uncle let us visit so Elijah could have a chance to ride the snowmobile! He loved it! It was so cold out, so I had to make him come inside much sooner than he preferred... that made him pretty "angry!" but his Great Auntie gave him some hot chocolate and a brownie and it was all good.
Getting a ride from Grandpa in his Tonka Truck- his Christmas present from the Speckeen Grandparents! He loves that Truck!

With my Auntie Kaye in my awesome maternity shirt "... and all I wanted was a backrub"

Santa @ Going Bonkers

This year, Jeremiah's work hosted a Christmas party for the kids at a place here in town called "Going Bonkers". The kids got to play and get their picture taken with Santa (AKA, Jeremiah). Elijah asked for a "Green Present". This is the first year he's taken to the idea of Santa and he really enjoyed it... quite different from screaming on Santa's lap last year. However, he must have felt some level of comfort with this particular Santa. ;)
Bonkers is like tunnels and trails of woven seat belts up in the rafters where kids can run and parents just want out of. It smells, it's hot, and the spaces get a little small from time to time. But it was a ton of fun.


Now, that's just cute.
Going down the slide... the slides were even fun for mommy! Super big and FAST!

Meeting Santa
I wonder how many years it will take him to figure this out...

Eli's First "Big 'Ol" Missouri Snow

Well, I have found myself far behind in the blogging world again but better late than never, I suppose. We have had a fairly decent taste of snow this season and Elijah LOVES it. Anything "big" to Elijah is "big 'ol, big 'ol, big 'ol" and this was his first "big 'ol snow" (that he was actually big enough to play in).
He learned to throw snowballs at mommy
He had so much fun being pulled on the sled. We even found a very small hill in the woods behind our house to go down, but once was enough... there were too many sticks and a small bit of frozen water at the bottom. Mommy could only chance it once- not to mention the climb back up was a bit tough for both of us.
And Finally, his first snowman. As you can see, there wasn't enough snow to make him any bigger than Elijah, but Eli didn't care. He chose the hat for his snowman buddy to wear and helped put the (baby) carrot in his nose... we used our scented pine cones for his eyes and gave up on the idea of a mouth :)

Christmas Tree Hunt with the Speckeens

Well, after years of an artificial tree, we finally went to a tree farm and cut our own tree down! Now, our house smells like pine tree and cinnamon pine cones (I discovered those last year- they're the best!).
So, it was nothing like finding a tree in Wisconsin. It was almost 70 degrees outside. Jeremiah was in shorts and a t-shirt and I was way over-clothed and suffered the consequence. Pregnant woman in too many clothes= SERIOUS hot flashes. But, regardless of the weather, we tried to make it fun. Elijah happened to be crabby- a typical mood for him lately... Maybe he's pregnant, too. He always tells me there's a baby in his tummy.
Anyway, we went to a tree-farm where they took us on a hay-ride to the hill of trees. It was a neat experience. The tree selection wasn't all that great, but going to another tree farm wasn't an option for us at that point in our son's crabby day, so we picked the best one we could find and it worked out just fine.The whole gang- ready for the hay-ride to the tree hill
Elijah doing what he does best... whipping out his "jingle bells" and peeing in the grass- no shame

After some drama, we found our tree
Elijah and Daddy cutting the tree down
My Dad and Brother Willy, graciously tying the tree to their van

Elijah decorating the tree in his usual attire- his underwear
The Finished Product

Lefse11/20 -11/21

Growing up, we made Lefse as a family each year. And, each year, I was asked "What's Lefse?" Well, I have tried to implement the tradition in my family and have succeeded- minus 1 year, I think. Each time we talk about our up-coming Lefse-making extravaganza, we are still asked what it is, because few people have actually heard of it.
This year, I worked until 11 the night before, and 9-5:30 the next morning, so I had to do the "night before" preparation the afternoon before and we weren't able to start until I got home the next evening... but it all worked out just fine.




So, this year, we did 10 pounds of potatoes... You start by peeling and boiling them the day before



Then, you mash them with cream and butter


And here's what they look like, going into the fridge the night before

The next day (or night), be sure to have PLENTY of flour on hand and plenty of HELPERS... This year, Jeremiah's parents came and helped eat the Lefse... I mean make the Lefse. And, Elijah joined in on the fun, as well.





So, after hours of ricing, rolling and frying we had plenty of Lefse... Didn't get any pictures of the ricing part- which Jeremiah did most of after a lesson from THIS LEFSE MASTER... But, it was a long and tiring process- not to mention the clean-up. I think we worked for a good 4 or 5 hours... Here's me, rolling the VERY LAST piece of Lefse. Okay, so I was being dramatic, but I was feeling this exhausted.

You Just Haffa Believe (a peak into my boys mind)

My son is so funny, sometimes, that I thought I would share some of his famous one-liners (and the stories behind them)

The other day, I gave him a bag of bread crusts that nobody had eaten and were beginning to grow. I said "please throw these over the fence for the birds to eat." He replies "AYE AYE CAPTAIN MOMMY" and did just what he was told.

Last week, we took a trip to the library where they have small computers, with a keyboard, mouse, and games made for small children. We sat down at the computer and I asked him what game he wanted to play first. He said "DORA!" to which I replied; "Elijah, they don't have Dora, but they do have Arthur, I Spy, Little Bill, Clifford..." And Elijah says "Sure they have Dora, Mommy. You just haffa to believe".

Then, on our way home from the library, he saw a yellow school bus- which he always points out. He said "There's the yellow school bus that can take me to school." I said, "Yes, Elijah, when you turn 5 you can go to school and ride a school bus, if you want to. But, you will have to ride without mommy or daddy. Will that be okay with you?" To which he replies; "Yes, Mommy. I won't be scared. If I do get scared, I can just sing a song... OH THE WHEELS ON THE BUS GOES ROUND AND ROUND...."

Today, he came up to me and told me "I have green eyes." I reminded him that his eyes were blue and not green. So, he dropped it and went to do something else. Soon, he came back and told us that he was "going to look in the mirror at his blue eyes."

He really never stops talking. Not even in his sleep. Yesterday morning, I went into his room because I heard him whining. He was still asleep, but he said "I need that apple off the tree."

He isn't funny all the time. I'm sure I will find some things slightly more humorous when I am older, and not living that particular experience. But, for example, we have taught him his manners. He is really good at his please, thank-you's, and excuse me's. So good, in fact, that occasionally, when I tell him to do something, he replies "I'm sorry, Mommy, but I'm not going to right now." Or, "No thanks, Mommy, I'm playing with my tractors right now." We often hear people say "at least he was being polite about it" but I almost wonder if you can really make deliberate disobedience "polite." Well, if you can, my son has found a way.

All I can say is, when he's 15, I don't want to know what he'll come up with. He's a clever kid.

13 Weeks and Counting

So, yesterday when Jeremiah, Elijah and I arrived at the doctor's office, I did my normal stuff; BP, Weight, Pee in a Cup.... However, as I was walking into the room the doctor was flying down the hallway and out the door. He had to go deliver a baby... bad timing on that lady's part ;) Anyway, Jeremiah was bummed because he doesn't get to come to every appointment, so missing out on this one was disappointing. However, we re-scheduled for today and it couldn't have gone better (except if Jeremiah could have been there).
With Elijah asleep across two chairs in the exam room, we proceeded with the ultra-sound.... no baby calls today. Usually, we have about 15 minutes or less, but I was the only patient in the building today, so the doctor decided to play with his machine. He took these really cool pictures...

This is a full frontal of Baby Helvey... who will remain Baby Helvey until it's birthday... we will keep the sex a secret when we find out what we're having. Deal with it, Mom ;)

Hear Rate was right around 164- I forget the exact number, due to hormones :)