We Gotta Get Out of This Place!

"If it's the last thing we ever do...We gotta get out of this place"

It's been a long winter and we are really getting the spring itch.  And enrollment in our local park district was down, so all the kids classes were cancelled.  So since there is no dance, gymnastics, or Tot Rocks classes this session, we are looking for "educational adventures".  This weekend we went on 2 new adventures to keep things exciting. 

On Tuesday, we went to Jump N Jiggles in Elk Grove.  It's a fun place that has slides, balls, a large play place, and a carousel.  It was a lot of fun!

Thursday, we went to Art Studio 4 Kids in Bloomingdale with Nicole, Joey, and Jackson.  It was so GREAT!!!  For $5, Abigail was able to make as much of a mess as she wanted for an hour.  They had paint, art projects, and a giant water table.  It was a great day!  Unfortunately, they are closing down after this weekend...I wish we would have found this place sooner, but we will look for a similar place for next winter!  Here are few pics from our day:

All day, Abigail would say "Cheese" and make this face!  So cute!  Look at her art work...she's got talent!

At the water table

Dot Art

Caitlin was with us too, but she was very tired and took a nap!  :)

More new adventures to come...we are trying to explore a new place each week.  We really can't wait for Spring and Summer.  Some of the 1st new places we are planning on checking out include:  Morton Arboretum, Pirates Cove (LOVED as a kid), Rainbow Falls, and an off-leash dog park near our house!  Also, both girls are going to be doing swimming lessons this summer...which means mommy has to do 4 weeks of swim lessons instead of 2.  COLD!!!!  But we can't wait!

Have a great weekend!!

(I did 2 posts so check below for our GMW post)

2nd Annual GMW

This weekend we headed up (I guess it's more "over") to Indiana for our 2nd annual GMW!  Giardinira Making Weekend! What is Giardiniera?  It's basically a bunch of vegetables (cauliflower, celery, olives, carrots, peppers, etc) that are diced and jarred in oil...and then used as a condiment with hot dogs, etc.  The boys love this stuff.  And while the girls (adults) don't eat it, it's a great excuse for a cozy weekend at the cabin.  And we may not eat it, but we sure did a great job drinking across the street at the bar while the boys (and Nana) worked in the kitchen, right Mo???  Here are some pics from our weekend:

Rob and B...2 of the official GMs...wearing their official "we crossed the state line and are now Indiana-ians" gear!

An action shot of Rob, B, Nana, and even Abigail in on the action!

Aunti MoMo getting some cuddles from Abigail (and Kramer too)

The girls with Nana and Papa...and that's right, matching pajamas.  One day the girls will get me back for always making them match...probably when I'm in my nursing home, they'll make me dress the same as my old lady bff...or Rob!  :)  Thanks Nana and Papa for the matching PJs for Valentine's Day!

Getting some rest in her new big girl cabin bed!

Caitlin's 1st trip to the cabin!!!!  It's the official "1st trip to the cabin" nap..Abigail did the same thing!  Caitlin had a great weekend at the cabin.  She is going to have a great summer here!

Thanks to Nana & Papa and the Glures for a great weekend...see you next year!!!

Abigail's 1st Haircut

This post is a little bit behind..but about 2 weeks ago Aunt Julie and I took Abigail to get her 1st haircut.  I was not ready to part with her baby curls yet, so it was a very conservative haircut, but she needed a little trim!  She seemed to enjoy being "pampered"...and really enjoyed sitting on the horse, but next time has requested the car!  :)

Pre-Haircut

Not quite sure about this yet....

There you go...she found the mirror!

Good view of Mini-Snippets...it's really cute for kids!

Now it's getting fun!!!!

Post-Haircut (Still long, but the ends were trimmed. Next haircut I know the babycurls are going to have to go...sob sob.)

While we're at it..What's Abigail up to???

T-R-O-U-B-L-E!

Just kidding, she's a really good kid...she's just into an "exploring" stage.  She likes to get into the dog treats, dog food, mommy's makeup, medicine cabinet, etc!  If you take your eyes off of her and it's too quiet, you can guarantee there is a clean-up involved! 

She has also taken her roll of "big sister" very serious.  She reminds me when it's time for a bottle, diaper change, or nap.  She's a really great big sister!  She doesn't seem jealous, just wants to help at all times!  

(I had to work and apparently I wasn't supervising well enough...Caitlin got a diaper change from Abigail, including her first experience wearing big girl undies!  I got a great picture of it!)

Potty Training is going pretty good.  She has an accident or two a day, but I think the problem is that I will often put her in pull-ups, and it's confusing her.  I need to just stick with undies (other than naps, she's not ready for naps yet).  We often hear "I do it"...so we are trying to encourage her independence while still making sure it's not too messy!  She really likes to choose her "underwears" and usually picks "Minnie", but also loves "Elmo", "Ponies" (My Little Ponies), and "Cinderellas" (Princess).

Her language has exploded!!  She's using 4-5 word sentences constantly.  Yesterday in the car, she talked constantly for 2 hours without a break!  I can't even begin to list her words because she has too many!  Sometimes, it amazes us what she knows.  For example, she'll tell Caitlin "Sorry Charlie" if she's crying!  Or she'll tell me "Later Gator" when leaving a room.  She is also picking up EVERYTHING we say, so we are working at using kid-appropriate wording!  She loves to sing.  Her favorite song right now is "Happy Birthday, dear Pampa!"  She's starting to learn her letters, which really amazes me, and her colors.  Her favorite color is blue!  She is really into coloring, playdough, and her babydoll.  She mimics everything I do, especially when it comes to her babydoll.  She feeds her, changes her diaper, swaddles her, slings her, and props her up to watch tv!  She is in a really fun stage!!!!!

All You Need Is....

L-O-V-E

We (I) LOVE Valentine's Day in our home!  I think it's such a great day just to remind your love ones of how much you love them!  It's about red, hearts, and fun little trinkets!  The girls had a great Valentine's Day!

Decked out in Valentine's Day pj's and sunglasses from Grandma and Grandpa

Abigail helping mommy make heart-shaped, pink pancakes!  Check out our matching aprons...the 3 girls got matching aprons for Valetine's Day!  Bring on baking projects!!!!

Here is us after Valentine's Day checking out all the goodies.  The girls got HOOKED up!!!  PJ's, shirts, books, sunglasses, playdough, undies, socks, purse, bracelet, baby toys...all fun little things to remind these girls that they are loved!  Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa, Aunt Julie and Uncle Joe, and Aunt Katie for all the presents!!!

On Valentine's Day, we had a small party to celebrate my Dad's 60th birthday!  He knew about the dinner...but the surprise was we rented a private room at one of his favorite restaurants and brewery, Emmmitt's.  We also surprised him with some of his closest friends there!  It was a great afternoon...we went on a brewery tour and did a beer tasting before dinner!

The 2 Birthday People!

A family picture! 

My parents with some of their closest friends...and travel buddies!

Abigail sang "Happy Birthday" to my dad ("Pampa") and me all dinner!

That's one cool baby!!!

Grandma and Grandpa with their grandkids

Look at how cute Caitlin is looking at Abigail....that's love!

Also, thank you to my family for all of the wonderful b-day gifts. I got some amazing gifts, including a new Vera Bradley diaper bag which I have been wanting, a new workout outfit (need that), an awesome purse, and a Steam Mop...which I was so excited about!!!  Also, I was surprised with Starbucks coffee and breakfast...and I went and got a manicure as a gift from my wonderful hubby!!!  Oh, and on Friday I celebrated with my best friends by seeing Valentine's Day and then going out for Sushi!  It was a great bday...thank you to everyone for the calls, emails, cards, and gifts!!!

Hope you had a great Valentine's Day!

Where's the love????

Oh, it's coming!  Red hearts, red pajamas, red pancakes, red sunglasses...it's all coming!  We are just really struggling at the Wennerstrom home with illness.  Caitlin and I both got what Abigail has (still)...so there are 3 sick girls at this house!  I think we are on day 9 of being cooped inside our house...with our big outtings to the dr's office!  I really hope we all start to get over the hump!  It's rather disgusting over here right now!

I will post about Valentine's Day when I am feeling better...and have happy girls again!  :)

What have you been up to today???

We've been up to some of this:

and a little of this:

and a whole lot of this:

while watching this:

and don't forget some of this:

Abigail has had a cough for a week or so at night, but yesterday it started to get bad and she had a fever, so we went to the dr.  They think she has some sort of bronchitis.  Most preemies have issues with breathing when they are sick because their lungs weren't fully developed at birth.  She is using a nebulizer to help open her airways because the dr said she was really struggling to breath.  This morning the fever peaked and went away with medicine so we are hoping she's on the up and up.  In the meantime, it's a lot of R & R & M & E...Rest, Relaxation, the "machine" as Abigail calls it, and Elmo..who apparently is her go-to man when she is sick!  We are also keeping Caitlin as far away from her as possible to keep her healthy!!!!  We go back to the dr on Friday and are hoping for a good update so we can see more of this:

All in a day's work in the life of a preemie!  (Once a preemie, always a preemie!)

Happy Birthday, Grandpa! Part 3

Loved from the Start!

Caitlin

Abigail