Ski day with their Grandparents

My parents love spending time with Elliot and Aiden, and ask to be with them any chance they get. Our boys love them more than anything so being with their Mormor (grandma) and Morfar (grandpa) is definitely one of their favorite things to do!

The weather was gorgeous today so we decided to head out skiing. My mom and dad met up with us in the trails.

Elliot skied up front with my dad and Mike, while my mom and I took it easy with Aiden. We had a sled for Aiden to sit on when he got tired, but he insisted on skiing like his big brother the whole way!

As always, we have to stop for a lunch break out in the woods. It doesn't get much better than sitting around a fire with a sandwich, hot cocoa, and orange slices... and of course a bite of chocolate before you hit the trails again!
We made a cozy sitting area near a hill where the kids could play. The kids are referring to Aiden, Elliot AND Mike and my dad. ;)

It was such a fun and relaxing day, and I am so grateful for my parents being so involved in our boys' lives. It is so nice to have them with us on our little outings!

Guess what mommy has in her belly?

Today was the big day when we told our boys that they're getting another sibling. We weren't really worried about their response because Elliot has been asking for months for a baby. We decided to wait until the initial 12 weeks were up to tell them because we knew once we told the kids, they would tell the world. After all, our town isn't that big so we have to be prepared for people to find out as soon as the kids know.

To make a long but cute story short, I will keep the cheeeesy details for myself and just tell you the outcome. The kids were even more excited than we expected!!!

Elliot jumped up and cheered. Then he gave me a BIG hug! He was so sweet. He started listing off all of the reasons why he really wanted another baby. Although his reasons were just simple and cute, I adored every single one of them. He was beyond ecstatic! It was perfect!

Aiden was really happy as well. I don't think he fully grasped the concept of getting a little baby because he denied becoming a big brother. Elliot is the big brother - we can't have two of them! He also looked at my belly and laughed cuz he couldn't see a baby! He understood that something was going on though and copied Elliot's actions by showing us how happy he was too. He ran and grabbed a book with a picture of a baby to show me what a baby looked like. It was adorable!

I feel so complete right now! I have Mike, who loves me more than I will ever understand. i have these two amazing sons, and now we're having one more. I'm so content!

Family bowling

I got off work pretty early today so we decided to take our boys out to do something fun. They've both been sick with fevers and sore throats for the past week and are finally getting back to themselves. So after being cooped up in our house, they needed to get out! The weather was crappy and I really didn't want them to get sick again, so we decided to try out bowling instead.

We all had SO much fun! Elliot did great and asked if we could do this more often. Aiden used the little helper stand, which worked perfect for him. He got really into it! It was a fun indoor activity that we'll definitely have to try again! :)

I'm pregnant!!! :)

The news are officially public: Mike and I are having another baby! We've known for quite a few weeks and are overjoyed! It's been really hard keeping quiet but since I had such a rough pregnancy last time, we decided to take it easy and not stress over it this round.

The due date as of now is August 25th! We're having our ultrasound at the end of March... that's too far away! We're definitely finding out if it's a boy or girl this time though! Mike and I keep telling each other we think it's a girl, but at the same time, my mom got all the girls so I'll probably get only boys. You know what though? I would be extremely happy if it was another boy. Aiden and Elliot are the best things that have happened to me and I would love to have another little guy in my life! They are such sweet little kids and I feel like we've done a pretty good job raising them so far, so I'm sure we could handle raising another boy.

If it's a girl, on the other hand, it'll be a whole new experience for the two of us! Everything will be new... new firsts, new challenges, new moments. It will be great! It would definitely add a lot to get a little girl into this family. Plus I would LOVE to get some girly toys in this home eventually because I really just don't get Transformers and Bakugan. Barbies are so much easier to play with! hehe ;)

Anywho, we're really excited and can't wait to share the news with the world now! YAY!!!

Birthday parties

What happened to good ol' birthday parties? Having friends over to play. Mom making pizza or other good food that kids love. Pop. Cake. Goodies!

Now a days, it's rare to be invited home to a kid's house for his/her birthday. So many kids are having their parties at McDonald's and various Playlands. That's fine and Elliot has a great time, but really, are we expected to spend that much on just 2 hours of playing? It's crazy! I'm all for going to these places once in a while, but those are places we reserve for rainy days.

Elliot is turning 6 years old next month so he asked the big question: "Where should I have my birthday party?" Without thinking twice, "Home" I said. I'm sticking to parties-at-home as long as I can. I love having kids' parties. I love planning a theme, having fun games, making creative food. I asked Elliot if he we could do that - plan a fun theme and everything that goes with it. He was really excited, so lets just hope it stays that way!

Surprise date

I am so excited for this weekend! I'm planning to surprise Mike with a date, just for the two of us. I've already arranged for a babysitter and now just have to plan the details.

Mike is a big fan of movie theaters, while I would rather spend money towards something (anything!) else and watch movies at home. But, since this is going to be HIS day, I know a movie will be the perfect thing. I don't know which one yet, but I've heard Avatar is really good so maybe we'll try that one. We don't go out often... alone, that is... so I'll have to make the most out of our time. Maybe we should go to a coffee shop or go out to eat? Or is that to boring?!

I don't know. I'll have to plan something good! But then again, we're not very picky so as long as we get to go out together, I know we'll have a good time.

I can't wait!!!

"Poengrenn"

Elliot is a part of a ski activity that we call "Poengrenn." It is cross-country skiing where you meet once a week for a ski meet and then you get a point for every meet you attend. At the end of the season, you'll get an award based on the amount of points you've collected. For Elliot's age group, they get an award as long as they've been to a certain number of meets. They don't take their time so it's mostly just for fun, but it's still set up as a ski competition, only it's more about just completing the trail.

Elliot LOVES it! He has his own jersey that he has to wear at every meet. They all start at the same and end at the same location, but throughtout the course, they get to choose their own route. The little kids have a shorter lap on the flat ground, while Elliot likes to ski the middle length that's more hilly. There is a longer trail for the bigger kids, but we haven't tried that one yet.

I cheered Elliot on as he was approaching the "MÅL" (goal) sign. He was doing so good! As I ran up to congratulate him, he said "Hey mom. My buddies are over there so I just have to say something quick," and off he went. What happened to my little boy? He looked so old today. After hanging out with his buddies, he came back to me and gave me a big hug! Yay, my little boy was back! I squished him and told him how proud I was of him!

Another Poengrenn was over. We had so much fun! Elliot got another point towards the award that he's so excited for and we're already looking forward to next week!

An appointment, what?

I had a good laugh today... I don't know if it's at myself because I'm so forgetful lately or what, but I found it funny.

First of all, let me add that I had no plans of going anywhere besides work today! So I get a call and it's the secretary from the doctor's office. Here's our conversation (translated into English so I don't have to write it twice):

her: Hi, this is Heidi...
me: Oh hi... (thinking: umm, why is she calling)
her: I'm sorry but we have to cancel Aiden's doctor appointment today due to his doctor being sick.
me: Oh ok... (whoops, he had an appointment?!!?)
her: If you'd still like to come in, I can weigh him and try to answer some questions for you.
me: That's no problem. We can just reschedule for another day (cuz I had no plans of going in today)


Phew! Good thing the doctor was sick so she had to call me. I had NO clue that Aiden even had a doctor's appointment coming up!
Note to self: how about I write it on the calendar or phone next time!?! hahaha

Coffee with the 'Mommies'

I love my little family, but it's always nice to get out of the house for some R&R, so tonight I headed downtown to meet the girls from my 'Mommy Group'.

We met when we were 6 months pregnant and were expecting babies within a couple months of each other. We actually started out with 18-19 mommies, but after a few of them moving, we're now down to 15 (I think). During our first year as mommies, we met once a week. We started out going to coffee shops, but as the weather got nicer we started going on walks with our little ones in the stroller. As the kids started getting more mobile, we changed our meetings to our houses instead. This made it easier because now the kids could lay on the floor and play.

Our babies are now TWO years old and no longer babies, but our group is just as close of friends. Now that we're back to work and the kids are at daycare, we don't get the chance to meet as often, but we keep in contact towards e-mail and good ol' facebook, as well as try to meet for coffee or visits at each other's houses as often as we can.

We're an awesome group and I'm so glad we've been able to stay in touch. It's not every day that a group of 15 women meet and ALL get along and stay friends for years!

Whoops, I got a little sidetracked...
Point of my story is that I had a great time tonight. It doesn't get much better than a cute coffee shop, good friends, a delicious coffee drink, and great conversation! <3