Baby Tornado

When we first told Elizabeth that she was going to be a big sister we asked her if she wanted a baby brother or baby sister. Her response was, "I want a baby tornado!" I think she got her wish. Patrick started crawling over a month ago when he was just 6 months old, and now that he's all of 7 months he has decided it's time to pull up on EVERYTHING. If it moves, even better. He'll push it along and walk behind. Diaper changes are wrestling matches. I've stopped using the changing table since he usually ends up hanging upside down off the side as I hold on to an ankle and try to grab wipes. Such fun!

So here are a few videos of his progress. The video of him crawling in and out of the bottom of the saucer was actually the first time he ever did that. He has become much more efficient, and it has actually become one of his favorite hide outs.

Obviously, there have been birthdays, holidays, and milestones galore since my last post. Maybe when/if my little tornado stops spinning quite so fast I'll catch up...

Baptism

We had Patrick baptized when he was just a week old. We asked Bob (a.k.a. Gramps) to be the godfather, and he was going to be in town that weekend, so it worked out pretty well. Patrick, however, did not think it worked very well. Apparently, he was STARVING and screamed through the whole thing. Mommy was also a big mess. Eight days postpartum and the AC at our house stopped working...in June...in Atlanta...with all the grandparents, an aunt, an uncle, and 3 cousins in town. And then a big storm came through that night and knocked out our power! Turns out we all survived, got the kid dunked, and Jesus loves us all...even though he has a twisted sense of humor.

Baby Patrick

My mom came down to Atlanta on June 4th because I was feeling like something might be happening soon -- a perfectly logical thought given that my due date was the 8th. For the next 12 days, she cooked for us (lots of eggplant and pineapple), shopped for us, hung out with Elizabeth, and helped me keep my mind off the fact that I was STILL pregnant. It was a huge blessing to have her with us. On the evening of the 15th, we went to Dairy Queen after dinner. As we ate our ice cream a huge thunderstorm came through. There was also a full moon that night and a lunar eclipse. It took all those forces of nature to finally kick me into labor, and I felt the first contraction that night at 10pm! We went to the hospital the next afternoon at 1pm, and Patrick arrived at 3:49. The labor and birth was our ideal. I labored at home as long as I could, and then had a wonderful, non-medicated water birth at the hospital. My parents and aunt brought Elizabeth to the hospital, and they got to meet him while we were still in the delivery room. Elizabeth has loved her brother from the moment she saw him. She is an amazing big sister!

Patrick Joseph
June 16, 2011
3:49pm
9lbs 9oz
21 inches

Dentist

Elizabeth's first trip to the dentist was Friday (Dance performance and dentist appointment -- big day!) I had taken her with me to my last appointment, so she could see all of the tools and get an idea of what to expect. She did great! Of course, it helps that our dentist has televisions above every chair, but I honestly don't think Elizabeth would have stopped talking had we not been able to plug her into an episode of "Dora." She loved the cotton candy toothpaste, thought the suction tool was great fun, but informed the hygienist that her floss tasted a little bit "funny." When she was all finished and got a great report from Dr. Bolen, she announced, "I am so proud of myself!" She got a super cool new toothbrush and chose a toy mermaid from the "treat box," and she was sure to tell Dr. Bolen that candy is a treat, too. Wishful thinking for her next visit, I suppose...

Dancer Girl

Elizabeth spent the last week going to a half day dance camp at one of our local studios. She was so excited to be a ballerina! On the first day, she walked up to one of the teachers and asked, "Where's the stage?" Oh, dear... They actually did a little bit of ballet, cheer, and tumbling, but all she cared about was wearing her leotard and ballet slippers every day :)



On Friday afternoon, they had a "performance" for parents, and she was very pleased that Mommy and Daddy were both able to be there. It was my first day of maternity leave, so I didn't even have to bring any of "the babies" with me! (She calls all of the children I keep in my daycare "the babies," regardless of age.)
As you'll see, the performance was a very casual demonstration of what the girls had learned over the course of the week. It was hilarious! Sorry the quality is not the best, but you'll get the gist. And if you have trouble finding her just look for the smallest one with dark hair! (In the final segment, when they're all on the mat doing "the bridge" she is in the upper right corner.)

Big Wheelin'

Elizabeth LOVES to ride her Big Wheel that Gege and Gramps gave her. She has certainly come a long way in her riding ability. And she's great about watching for cars while she's cruising down our street--actually, when she sees a car coming she screams, jumps off the bike, and drags it to the side of the street. As far as I'm concerned, that reaction is just fine!

Here's a video of her very first excursion...





and this was just last week...

Jack Turns 4!

We got back yesterday from our trip to Charleston where we got to help Jack celebrate his 4th birthday, and had a great time hanging out with Megan, Hans, and Ben as well as Hans' parents. The party was on Saturday at The Children's Museum of the Lowcountry, and the kids had a blast! In addition to all the super cool stuff at the museum, they also had a birthday parade for Jack, plenty of cake and snacks, and marble painting for the kids -- such a simple craft, but lots of fun! Elizabeth didn't see the point in wasting time with the marbles when she had a perfectly good napkin and fingers to use in creating her masterpiece. As you'll see in the second video, the cake kicked in quickly! After the party, Elizabeth crashed for a 3 hour nap (truly a miracle) and Jack took his new big kid bike for a test drive! (Sorry I don't have pictures of that--I was "supervising" Elizabeth during nap time. I'm sure Hans and Megan will post some soon.)
Thanks to Megan and Hans for their hospitality, and a huge shout out to Patrick for staying put and not making his appearance in South Carolina.

Easter

Eggs and bunnies and chocolate, oh my! This was the first year that Elizabeth really got into the swing of things at Easter, and she had a great time! We met the Easter Bunny on Holy Saturday, and then on Easter morning, after beginning the day nice and early with an egg hunt and a power breakfast (a.k.a. Cadbury Egg), we were off to Mass, where she actually sat with us rather than excusing herself to the nursery!

The pink bunny ears that you'll see below were a craft that I did with the kids at The Green House, and she pretty much wore them every day for a week!

Disney!!

Elizabeth was lucky enough to share her first trip to Disney World with all 4 of her grandparents and her awesome Aunt Anita! (Mom and Dad, too, but who cares about us when the grandparents are around?!) We really had a great trip. We just did the Magic Kingdom this time, and we took it pretty easy. We would head into the park first thing in the morning, and then right after lunch we headed back to the hotel for swimming and nap time. We did go back to the park one night for the Electrical Parade and fireworks. She is still talking about the parade! She absolutely loved it...the fireworks, not so much. We had earplugs for her, but Ed and I still had to make a quick and tearful exit with her once they started.
Her favorite part was definitely meeting all the characters and getting their autographs in her super cool autograph book that Gege made for her. She was pretty hesitant with the characters at first, but by the third day, she was running right up to them with open arms!
Thanks to Gramma, Grandpa, Gege, Gramps, and Anita for making it such a special trip!

Go Pack Go!!

Not sure if you've heard or not, but THE PACKERS WON THE SUPERBOWL!!! It's true that Elizabeth is not really a direct participant in this post, but THE PACKERS WON THE SUPERBOWL, so the post is more than justified. Plus, when Elizabeth found out that she's having a baby brother, she announced that we should name him Aaron Rodgers, so she is already green and gold through and through :)

Anyway, on their way to their Superbowl victory, the Pack made a stop here in Atlanta where they soundly defeated the Falcons. On hand to witness the whoopin'...Ed and Megan, of course, with their Cheese Heads in tow! Hans and I, being the amazing spouses that we are, stayed behind with the wee ones and let the Wisconsin natives enjoy the festivities in person. Here's a sampling of what they witnessed...

Ice Skating

Elizabeth had her first ice skating adventure on New Year's Eve! It was about 60 degrees here in Atlanta, so it was perfect at the outdoor rink in Centennial Olympic Park. When we first arrived, we weren't sure we would make it onto the rink at all. The music was very loud, and Little Miss Sensitive is not a fan of loud (unless it's her own voice). But as you can see from the video, she warmed up and had a GREAT time! She thought it was soooo funny every time she slipped :) A big shout out to Daddy from Wisconsin for being able to skate and handle her. I was pretty proud of myself for being able to manage the camera, sometimes in reverse!

Christmas!

This was our first year staying home for Christmas. It was very different, and, of course, we missed those that we weren't with, but it was actually very relaxing and laid back for the three of us. Elizabeth was a bit overwhelmed on Christmas morning, so we went easy with the camera. The video here is when she finally stopped opening presents and played with her new nativity for several minutes--she started coming out of the haze by the end of it :)

Thanksgiving in Minneapolis

This year the Link family Thanksgiving gathering was hosted by Wade and Suz in Minneapolis. We had a great time with everybody and even had snow! Elizabeth put her new snow suit to good use, although, as the temperatures were in the single digits, the kids didn't last long outside.

Halloween

Elizabeth decided to be a firefighter for Halloween this year. She had a great time Trick-or-Treating, although she was a bit too polite. Anytime she was offered more than one piece of candy, she replied "No, thank you. One will be plenty." We'll work on that for next year...

Elizabeth turns 3!

We had a great time celebrating Elizabeth's big 0-3! She chose a Dora the Explorer theme, so we had a scavenger hunt, monkey cookies, chalk, bubbles, tattoos, and even cupcake decorating for all the little munchkins! (I highly recommend cupcake decorating as a means for busy mamas to avoid having to decorate an entire cake--the kids love it. Said busy mama looks like a hero rather than a slacker.) We were very lucky to have so many friends and family in town to help party, and the weather was perfect! The wind even died down at just the right time to allow for candle lighting :)

Notice

As you all have noticed, I'm doing my best to update the blog and keep it that way! I just uploaded a new post for June, so check it out if you're interested. I'll have a couple new posts coming in the next week. Thanks for all your patience and incessant nagging...

Grandfather Mountain

We spent Labor Day weekend in North Carolina, and we made the trip up to Grandfather Mountain on Sunday (along with everybody else in the state). Despite the crowd, it was a great day--perfect weather, perfect scenery, and perfect company!

Elizabeth loved seeing all the animals...

She learned some new growling techniques from the bears...

We made the trek up to the top and were treated to amazing views. And, of course, we made the trip across the mile high swinging bridge (that's a mile above sea level, not the ground!)

Our Washington Vacation

We just got back from our highly anticipated week-long vacation in Washington! We had a wonderful week with Gege and Gramps and Anna and Thomas. Elizabeth was busy, busy, busy but managed to find some time for relaxing, too...

The Boat

Elizabeth was very excited to get to ride on Gege and Gramps' boat and especially to get to wear her "boat coat" that she had been talking about for about 3 months. She seemed quite pleased with the coat's design, particularly the color--good job, Gege and Gramps!

She never would sit on Gramps' lap and help drive. Who would want to drive when you can play with the radio?

These first few shots are from our very first afternoon there. Our plane got in around noon, and I think we were on the river by 3pm--no need to waste time!

Elizabeth wasn't a big fan of going too fast in the boat, but she loved it when Gramps would stop for a bit so she could sit on the back of the boat and dip her feet in (or Anna and Thomas could dip most of her body in!).

The second day out we took the tube with us, and miraculously, Elizabeth decided she needed to ride. She barely moved the whole time, and the truly amazing part was that she barely spoke! She did say later that she liked it, though.

The Game

On our third evening there, we went to a Dust Devils baseball game, the AAA team that they have in the Tri-Cities. Elizabeth still wasn't completely adjusted to the time change, so we really weren't sure how long she might last. Sure enough, during the first inning she decided it was too loud and started crying. We got the kid an ice cream sandwich and let her run around in an open area along the 3rd base line, and surprisingly everything was fine.

Also aiding her recovery was the fact that she got to run across the field with Dusty (the mascot) and all the other kids after the 5th inning! Right before we (yes, I was the lucky one who got to run with her) ran out on the field she looked up at me and said, "Mommy, this is a great adventure!"

You can see her in this picture right in the middle in a red dress, and I'm in front of her in a red shirt. We had some video, too, but it's pretty shaky because Ed was laughing so hard...

After running across the field, she decided it wasn't so loud after all, and it was okay to go back to our seats with everybody else. As luck would have it, Dusty pretty much hung out right in front of us for the rest of the game!

Anna got her a giant pink #1! The excitement of this gift got her through to the bottom of the 9th, when she very calmly requested to go home, and so we went with a very happy, very tired little girl.

The Birthday

We were lucky enough to be able to help celebrate Gege's birthday on the 17th. That night we took the boat down the river to a restaurant for dinner...

and on the way back home for cake and ice cream, we were treated to an absolutely gorgeous sunset. Happy Birthday, Gege!

The Parks

This was the first time we had been out there during the summer with Elizabeth. We discovered that the Tri-Cities has great parks.

She was sure to wear her new "Super E" cape... gotta look good when you're meeting people.

One of the parks (that is right on the river and has some beach access as well) had a wading pool for the kids, and it was free! We're not accustomed to free pools around here. Elizabeth had a ball--she was not pleased when it was time to go meet Gramps for lunch even though she was shivering and had purple lips.

Smores!

Bob and Julie have a fire pit in their backyard, so we thought it would be fun to make smores one night. Since Julie won't be around for Elizabeth's birthday, she went ahead and gave her her gifts while we were there--which included this fetching wing and tutu ensemble. Elizabeth wasn't that into the smores. She ate the chocolate off of hers (smart girl) and then spent the rest of the evening flying around the yard as Peter Pan.

Spudnuts!

So these pictures are mostly for my dad (Calvin). He had read or heard about The Spudnut Shop out in Washington state several months back. He mentioned it to me, but I hadn't thought anything about it since. Well, on our last afternoon there, we just happened to eat lunch at a restaurant in the same shopping center as the Spudnut Shop, so, of course, I had to stop in for dessert, and Elizabeth was happy to join me in the taste test. A spudnut is a doughnut made with potato flour, and turns out, tastes pretty much like a doughnut...go figure!

The Plane

Elizabeth did great on the plane rides (two flights each direction). Going out there was a piece of cake, but our return flights were pretty bumpy--note the spilled juice down the front of her shirt. Thank goodness for the Princess Lea headphones that Ed borrowed from work so that she could watch Sleeping Beauty...and Snow White...and a few Thomas episodes.

She was certainly glad when we were back on the ground in Atlanta. The Super E cape helped her navigate us to baggage claim!

Huge thank you's to Bob, Julie, Anna, and Thomas for a great trip!! And to Sully, as well, for tolerating Elizabeth's intolerance of him.

Baby Benjamin

Elizabeth's newest cousin, Benjamin Anderson Bocksnick, was born on July 3rd! We gave Megan and Hans and big brother Jack a couple weeks before we barged into Charleston for a visit, but we wanted to be sure to get there before Gege left.

Elizabeth wasn't really interested in the baby, but on the other hand, she and Jack had a GREAT time playing together! This trip was really the first time that they've been such good little playmates--they've always just sort of been interested in their own thing or worried that the other may try to steal a toy... It was so much fun to see them interacting so well!

And Benjamin is such a cutie pie! Welcome to the world, Benjamin! Can't wait to see you again soon...

Fourth of July

This was Elizabeth's first year participating in Decatur's Fourth of July parade...or any parade for that matter. Our friends, Frank and Jenn, offered her a spot in their wagon with their daughter, Flora Jane, and Elizabeth was quick to accept the invitation! The Decatur parade consists of a few hundred kids with decorated bikes, wagons, scooters, etc., a sprinkling of political candidates, the obligatory Boy Scout troop leading the way, and the fire truck bringing up the rear. It's perfect for the kids, and miraculously the heat wasn't as brutal as it could have been.

The parade is followed by a concert and picnic on the square, and, of course, fireworks at dark. Elizabeth tolerated about 5 minutes of the fireworks before deciding that they were too loud--this was a vast improvement over last year's 30 second stretch!

She was a quick study on the "parade wave"...