Dates

Ever since Hadley was about two and Zoey Belle was a little newborn, Eric has been taking the girls out on dates. They usually get to pick somewhere to go out to eat and sometimes it involves a movie (if there is anything worth seeing showing in York), or a trip to the ever exciting Walmart. Sounds riveting huh? Well, we are left with little options due to the small town factor, but none the less, the girls and Eric love their dates. Our Friday evening started out rough with Zoey Belle vomiting and running a fever. By Saturday morning her fever had broke, but she was not eating much, was drinking a lot, and was just tired in general. Eric had already promised a date to the girls, but since Zoey was sick, she had to be left out. It was sad. She wanted to go so badly! Hadley went to eat at Runza “the place where you get ice cream when you are done” and went to grab a few random things we needed from walmart. Hadley picked out a special treat and even shared some when she got home.

Sunday morning, Zoey Belle slept in until 10! All of the sleep must have done her good because she was up and at ’em, and raring to go on her date with daddy. After moving around a bit it was clear she was feeling fine. She chose to eat at McDonald’s and even got ice cream. Eric didn’t keep her out too long and she even fell asleep in the car. We had contemplated letting the girls skip naps since Zoey had slept in so late, but after falling asleep in the car we figured the rest might do her some good.

While Eric took Zoey Belle on her date Hadley and I made multi colored crayons. It was easy and fun so as soon as Zoey was home she wanted to make some too. So onto batch #2! It was a fun activity to do with the girls and since they love to color so much we thought they would love it.

Each of the girls had so much fun this weekend they have asked to go on more dates this week. Eric is going to be gone for a good portion of the week so I think it was good for them to get some quality time with him.

Hustle and Bustle

Yikes, it has been a month with no new blog posts! We have been busy…and out of town…and lazy…

To fill up the missing gap we had a fun Holiday season! We were all over the place and it was great. We started off having an early Christmas celebration with just our family on the eve of Christmas Eve. It was amazing. Eric and I decided that we were going to do a “minimal” Christmas this year (and because of it’s success every year to follow). The girls each received a gift from Eric and I and a gift that their sister picked for them. They also had some small gifts from Santa in their stockings when they woke up Christmas Eve morning.

First, I have to say, Eric and I try to be mindful about our parenting decisions and how to raise children who have grateful hearts. This Christmas was a success. We really wanted to avoid the chaos of tearing through massive amounts of toys and gifts just for the “excitement” of seeing their faces light up with all their new stuff. We wanted to teach them that gifts are just that, gifts. We are blessed to have what we do and we all need to appreciate our blessings. In our experience, kids get an overwhelming amount of new toys and then pick their new favorite and toss most the others to the side. Our girls never stopped playing with what they got. It was not overwhelming, and it was amazing to see their faces light up when their sister opened the gift that they picked out for each other. They were so happy to give. It was beautiful…and our girls were thankful for what they received. We are very proud of our girls.

They did of course get spoiled by the grandparents, but that is not something we can help! We are just trying to keep reinforcing that we have a very loving family and how amazing that is!

We had an incredible time out at the farm with Grandma and Papa, and had lots of fun playing with the whole family at the Schmit Christmas on Christmas Day. The day after Christmas Eric and I took the girls into Lincoln to see Tangled. It was a really fun day and all of us loved the movie.

After a day of “rest” and laundry we went to Des Moines to meet up with Nana. We went to a hotel for a night, swam, ate, shopped, went to the zoo and headed home. The girls did not want to leave and it was a short visit, but we were very happy to see Nana! Hadley and Zoey Belle loved all their gifts and I have used them to my advantage. I have made a “rewards jar” for the girls to choose a reward out of when they complete extra tasks around the house or show positive behaviors. Eric and I wanted them to be all non-food related rewards so now they can earn time on new computer games or video games. We all benefit from it now!

After another short day of rest and laundry we headed out to Omaha to see Grandpa Ronn and Grandma Rachael. For our “Christmas” with them we stayed at the Coko Key Water Resort in Omaha over the New Year’s weekend. It was incredible. Our girls are little fish…and Eric is too, so the pools, water slides, water games and endless water did not disappoint. There was something for everyone and it was an amazing blessing to spend such quality time with the grandparents. Hadley adores Grandpa Ronn’s goofy, wrestling side. Zoey Belle was a bit of a sour puss on that weekend. It may have been too much Christmas celebrating for her. She was quiet and cuddly most the weekend, but mostly perked up after eating. Everyone thinks that she is just like me, but that description fits Eric to a T. She was also pretty whiny, but that is her form of terrible two’s. Grandma Rachael also came prepared with the girls gifts for their birthdays and she let them open them early. Zoey Belle has not put her gift down yet. It is an orange character from Dr. Suess’s “The Foot Book” and she is always dragging him behind her. If she realizes she doesn’t have him she will yell, “WAIT!!!!! I need mine orange guy!” We are so thankful for the memories and the amazing weekend. It was a great way to bring in the new year!

Now we are back into the swing of things. Preschool has resumed, Eric is back to work and I am back to babysitting. It is not nearly as fun as the holidays were, but routine is good too.