Christmas Vacation – George

On the 27th, we loaded everything up and headed to George. We stopped in Emmetsburg to see a friend, so that helped the break the trip up a little bit. That night we celebrated Christmas with my Dad’s side. Noah got a little farm set and Faith got a cookie jar toy and they both got an ornament with their pictures on it. It was also Ryan & Dee’s 7th anniversary!!!

The 28th we headed to Ryan & Dee’s farm to go sledding!!! Noah was actually more interested in seeing the cows, so after a couple of trips down the hill, Rick and Noah went to look at the cows. A few days before we came back to Iowa, he said he wanted to see Reid and Ryan’s cows and that it was cold so we needed to cover the cows up with blankets. So maybe he was concerned about them! Here’s a picture of Renae and Noah coming down the hill…Renae said she was trying to be dramatic for Noah’s sake!!

That night we had Christmas with my Mom’s side. Mom vetoed my vote to not dress Faith in her Christmas dress. So Faith got to wear it one more time! The grandkids sang “Jingle Bells” for everyone…at least they attempted it!!! It was pretty cute. Noah got a game and Faith got a sippy cup with her name on it.

The 29th was spent as a little more relaxing day, but I did get my hair cut…7 inches cut off!!!! It really needed to be cut…I haven’t had a haircut since a month before Faith was born (and she’s now 9 months old)! That night, we had our family Christmas!!! Noah got a Thomas match game and a bath towel and toy. Faith got a pink tea set and a glow worm (this brought back memories for Renae and I because we each had one when we were growing up).

That night, Noah didn’t really seem to be himself and after everyone was getting ready for bed and leaving, Noah threw up all over me – I’m not good at handling puke!! We thought it was too much junk food over the last week mixed with being on the go so much. Well, after throwing up a few times, we figured it was probably the flu. Needless to say, we didn’t get much sleep that night. Faith also got sick during the night, but we figured that they’d be better by the morning for our trip back to Kansas. They seemed to be fine for the first 4.5 hours, but then it all went down hill after that. First Noah was sick a couple of times…and we only were 1/2 successful at getting the bucket to him soon enough. We pulled over at a gas station to “get cleaned up” and to empty the bucket. Once we were back on the road, he’d do it again and then Faith decided she wanted to join in a few rounds. I’m just surprised I didn’t join in…it took about everything in me to keep from throwing up.

As soon as we got him, I started the bath and just let them soak for awhile while Rick cleaned out the car. I’m just glad that Rick can handle it!!! I’m not sure what kind of bug Noah picked up, but he’s still throwing up every once in a while and now we can add diarrhea to the list! They both seem to have that right now. I’m really hoping that they get over this bug pretty soon…I think I’m doing laundry non-stop right now.

Besides getting the flu, it was great to be back with family over Christmas! It was nice to get back to a little warmer weather and not see any snow!!! I’m pretty sure we decided on the way home that Christmas needs to be at our house next year! I’m sure we’ll change our mind and forget about the car ride back…eventually!!!

Christmas Vacation – Mason City

We headed for Iowa a day earlier than planned, so we could beat the snow coming in. We didn’t make it back to Iowa last year because of the weather, so we were not going to miss it again!!! We got to Rick’s parents on the 23rd and the kids traveled great!!!! We stopped in Des Moines to eat and to let Noah run around for a little bit. I think Faith was just as excited to get out of her car seat because she crawled all over the place when we stopped! We opened presents that same night. Here are the presents the kids received:

Here is also what Faith accomplished while we were in Iowa. Rick seen her climb a couple of stairs while we were still at home, but when we were at his parents, she climbed all the way to the top! Once she got to the top, she would pull herself up at the windows and look outside. I think this is the favorite place in the house for the kids. Noah loves looking out the window, watching the cars go by.

On Christmas Day we played outside for a little while in the snow. Okay, so it was mainly Rick and Noah outside! They went for a sled ride down the sidewalk and played in the piles. We also got to meet up with Renae and her family as they were headed to her in-laws for Christmas. We met up at a hotel and the kids could run around. I think Noah liked playing with his cousins because all he talked about after leaving them, was Kahle and Bodee. We couldn’t see them soon enough again!

The 26th, we spent just relaxing. Rick was in bed most of the day, but not really relaxing. He had the flu, so he was pretty miserable. He was in Noah’s bed, so at nap time, Noah didn’t have his bed to go to. I tried to tell him that he could sleep in my bed, but he decided that he was going to sleep on the floor outside his room. I guess whatever works!!

It’s Santa!

Well, Noah seems pretty excited to see Santa and tell him what he wants for Christmas. During breakfast this morning, he was going thru all the trains that he wanted…Hiro, Duncan, Salty, Cranky and Edward. I’m pretty sure Santa is only bringing him the first two…hope Noah is okay with that!!!! He keeps adding to his list, how can I keep up!?! He also wants a red car, blue car, green car, yellow car, a police car, a fire truck, an ambulance, and a school bus. So he was all prepared to talk to Santa…

So off we went to Bass Pro Shop to talk with Santa – they actually give you a picture for free…and you can take your own! This is the picture that I took of Noah…he was busy telling Santa where the train is at. I didn’t get a picture of Faith…she was too busy crying. The picture we got from Bass Pro Shop, is a pretty good one of her crying!

We spent a lot of time by the train track and we also wrote a letter to Santa, colored a picture and had a fresh warm chocolate chip cookie (I think Faith had more than anyone!). Here’s a few more pictures from this morning.

Getting Ready for Christmas

Well, we are getting in the Christmas Spirit at the Nielsen household. I have not baked as much as I normally do…maybe we’ll do some more this week. I better make some Peanut Butter Balls for Rick so he doesn’t dis-own me! Noah and I did make some Creme deMinthe Bars and a Birthday Cake for Jesus this last week. Noah wants to stir and help mix and pour and lick the beaters!!! He is SO my kid!!!

Noah also thought Faith needed something to snack on too. I had the container of puffs sitting on the table and Noah dumped about the whole thing on her tray. Not sure how many she ate before I noticed, but she was shoving them in by the fistful!

Noah was pretty excited to eat the Birthday Cake we made for Jesus. He also licked the beaters…and the bowl when we made this. He tried to go straight for the batter in the pan, but I thought that was maybe a little too much!!

Rick thought Faith NEEDED a Christmas dress, so here it is. I think Noah is even wondering what is going on with her!!! He kept looking at her shoes, like “These are not her tennis shoes…what are these things?” Actually, I think I wore these shoes when I was little. They were in the closet with some other things my Mom pulled out of her cedar chest. They fit Faith and I didn’t have to go shopping, so it was good!!!

Pumpkin Patch

We went to the KC Pumpkin Patch today!! They had all kinds of stuff for kids (and adults) to do, including a tricycle track, petting zoo, Pumpkin Cannon, Mining, Duck Races, Jumping Pillow and…

Great Pumpkin Slide

Ducks to feed

SpongeBob Hay Pants

Train Ride

Playground Equipment

And of course, lots of PUMPKINS!!!

It was a great time and Rick was happy because he got a Funnel Cake!!! I might add, it was REALLY good!!! And on the way home, we topped the excitement off with Casey’s Pizza!!! I think we will be making this an annual event!