Minnesota Trip #2

Our second trip to Minnesota this summer went just about as fast as the first. We decided to fly this time, so Ellie had her first plane trip that Thursday night - she did great and slept the whole way there (though the fact that she had shots that morning may have had something to do with it!). Heather and John picked us up at the airport, and from there we went to dinner where Ellie enjoyed spending time with her aunt and uncle. On Friday, we had a bunch of errands to run and then had the wedding rehearsal that evening. After that we enjoyed a FANTASTIC night on the dinner boat cruise around Lake Minnetonka for the groom's dinner.

Saturday was another very fun but very busy day with the wedding. Then Sunday we went to a brunch at Amanda and Steve's and wished them well before they left on their honeymoon to Hawaii. Sunday was also Nick's first Father's Day and Ellie treated her daddy to his last Twins game at the Metrodome. Bev & Daryl and Heather & John were also able to join us for that and we had a great time, despite the fact that the Twins lost... bad. After the game, we stuck around and Nick got to run the bases down on the field with Ellie and then we had our picture taken with the mascot, TC. After the game, Nick chose to go to dinner at Town Talk Diner in Minneapolis and Darren and Aeleah met us there. It was really nice to see them!

Nick had to fly back to Montana on Monday morning as he had to work on Tuesday. But Eliana and I were able to stay the rest of the week to visit with friends and family. Monday afternoon and evening we spent with the Larson family. Ellie was worn out from the wedding festivities, but she still made a good impression on the kids! I had a great time showing Ellie off to the kids that I cared for when they were babies.

On Tuesday, Ellie and I drove back to Willmar, visited Grandpa Daryl's office in the afternoon (no cavities - yay!), and then Grandpa Dave babysat while my mom, Bev, and I went to see the movie, The Proposal. It was excellent and I definitely recommend it! Hilarious!

On Wednesday, we visited Great-Grandma Marcus and she couldn't believe how big Eliana had grown since she last saw her. That afternoon, 3 of my good friends from college (Kari, Gail, and Meghan) and I had a little reunion and we had a great time catching up!

Thursday was another very busy day as Ellie and I drove to Marshall to visit Great-Grandma Wyffels. She was able to get some really huge smiles out of Ellie! Then we went on to Slayton to see Alicia and Karen that afternoon. Again, it was great to catch up with them and I can't believe it had been 2 whole years since I had last seen them!

Friday was a much needed relaxation day for Ellie and I. We pretty much just slept and sat around all day - we were both exhausted. Then on Saturday, we decided to have a ladies' only lunch and took the grandmas out to eat to say thank-you for all their help. Ellie enjoyed a nice stroller ride with Grandma Vicky that afternoon, and then we went and said good-bye to Grandma Bev and Grandpa Daryl that evening. It was a nice night to sit out on the deck and enjoy the MN weather.

Sunday morning, Grandma Vicky drove us to the airport and it was time for us to leave. :( The second flight wasn't quite as easy as the first one with Ellie, but she still did pretty good. It's definitely more work traveling with an infant by yourself, though! (Especially when they don't sleep the whole time or decide to have a major poop right as we're taking off and you have to somehow change a diaper in the mini-bathroom which you can't even stand up straight in, let alone turn around in! I wish someone could have taken a picture of that!) But we're home again and Ellie was glad to see her daddy again. We're now working on trying to get back into somewhat of a routine again before we leave for a short vacation to Banff, Canada in 2 days!

The Szulczewski Wedding!

This is a busy summer for my family this year as our family continues to grow larger. On June 22nd, my sister, Amanda, and my new brother-in-law, Steve, were married in Plymouth, Minnesota. It was a gorgeous wedding and you could tell that a lot of hard work went into planning the day. We enjoyed a fantastic dinner cruise on Friday evening after the rehearsal - so fun! Then after the ceremony on Saturday, the wedding party boarded a party bus and headed out to take pictures at the Twin Towers in Minnetonka. Then at the end of the evening, Nick and I had a special treat - Grandma Bev and Grandpa Daryl kept Ellie with them for the night so Nick and I were able to stay until the end of the dance and have a late night. Everything turned out wonderful and we couldn't be happier for the both of them. Congratulations Amanda and Steve! We wish you the very best, and are proud to welcome Steve to the family! May God Bless You Both.

Here are some photos from their big day:

Amanda & Steve

Me, Nick, & Ellie

Heather & I practicing our duet

Me, Mom, Heather, & Amanda

Ellie is 2 months old!

Eliana is growing far too fast in her mommy's opinion! She is learning things so fast and will carry on a "conversation" with anyone who's willing. She's also getting better at holding her head up (she has her daddy's big head!) and doesn't seem to mind tummy time quite as much as she did early on.

On Thursday, June 18th, Ellie had her 2 month check-up at the doctor's office. She had to get 3 shots and one oral vaccine, but handled them pretty well. Her measurements were as follows:
Weight: 10 lbs 10 oz - 63rd percentile
Length: 23.5 inches - 92nd percentile
Head: 44cm - 90th percentile

We took her to the hospital 10 days later where Grandma Bev measured her again.
Weight: 11 lbs 3 oz
Length: 24 inches
Needless to say, she's growing very well, and I'm already getting a little sad when I look at her newborn photos! They aren't kidding when they say it goes so fast!

June 2009

It's hard to believe that it's already been 2 weeks since Sarah and Brad's wedding, and yet here we are - getting ready to head home to Minnesota for wedding #2! But before we leave, I thought I would catch you all up on what's kept us busy since we got home.

June has been a bit of a crazy month for Nick and I. We left behind some beautiful summer weather in MN to come back to snow in Montana. Yes - you read correctly. SNOW IN JUNE. So Nick's garden got put on hold for another week. He was able to get it started after work a couple nights and it seems to be growing well now.

For those that don't know, Nick started running shortly before Ellie was born and he's quite good at it. He's run a few races now and finished a 10K this weekend with our friend Moe.We took a little roadtrip to Rexburg, Idaho this last weekend for the race. It was another long weekend in the car, but Ellie did really well again. We pulled into Rexburg late Friday night. Nick and Moe ran the race on Saturday morning while Ellie and I cheered them on (Ellie cheered in her sleep, obviously). Then, finding that Rexburg didn't have a lot of things to offer us in entertainment, we decided to drive to Bozeman, MT and spent Saturday night there, instead. It was a relaxing weekend and we enjoyed some beautiful scenic drives through the mountains.

Ellie has grown considerably the past few weeks - we even noticed quite a gain during our last stay in MN. She is 7.5 weeks old now and has been giving lots of smiles and is cooing! She is turning into quite the little chub. We're not sure what she weighs (she has her 2 month check-up with shots (so sad...) this coming Thursday), but she is gaining a lot of little rolls on her arms and legs, and is now sporting a double chin. :) All of the 0-3 month clothes that were once falling off her, are now being filled out and I can see that she won't wear them real long.

The Meichsner Wedding!

So the main reason we went back to Minnesota this month was because I was asked to be a bridesmaid in my double-cousin Sarah's wedding (our mothers are sisters and our dads are brothers!). The weekend was filled with lots of fun wedding festivities and we all had a great time. I'd just like to say thank-you to Nick for being such a doting father to Eliana all weekend and also thank-you to my parents for all their babysitting help! And of course, Congratulations to Sarah & Brad! Here are a few photos from the weekend:

The Marcus Family!

Rehearsal Night

Mr. & Mrs. Brad Meichsner!

The Hoppe Sisters: Cindy, Vicky, Karla, Karen, Barbara (my grandma), Doreen, Janelle, & Stacie

The Wyffels: Gary, David, Rick, Patricia (my grandma), Bill, Bonnie, Shirley, & Daniel

Grandpa Dave & Grandma Vicky with Eliana

Sarah, Brad, & Jonikka

Eliana, Jonikka & Sarah

The Double-Cousins: Jonikka, Amanda, Heather, Jenna, & Sarah!

Eliana's First Trip to Minnesota

Eliana will be 6 weeks old tomorrow - can you believe it? It's gone so fast, especially when we have spent the last 11 days traveling to, around, and from Minnesota. She had lots of firsts on this trip - the first time seeing grandparents and aunts and uncles (not to mention all the other family members that got to hold and love her!); her first roadtrip; her first overnight away from both Mommy & Daddy; and her first time in a hotel (of many that will occur over the next several months).

Here's a review of our trip: We drove 12 hours on May 21st and made it to Casselton, ND where we spent the night with my best friend, Brandy, and her family. It was great spending time with our 3 beautiful godchildren, even though it was a short trip. The next day we traveled the last 4.5 hours to Willmar, MN. Grandpa Dave and Grandma Vicky fell in love with her immediately (Nick and I were quickly forgotten once Ellie was spotted!). She also got to visit Grandpa Daryl quick at work.

On Saturday, we had Heather and Amanda's bridal shower which turned out beautiful. Ellie enjoyed being passed from one person to the next when Grandma Bev wasn't holding her. Later that night, Nick and I both left to go to Minneapolis for Amanda's bachelorette party and Steve's bachelor party. Ellie spent the night at Grandma & Grandpa's and was so exhausted that she slept all day and night (which was a good thing since Grandpa Dave didn't want to keep her up in the evening...)! Nick and I had a great time at the parties, though I was glad to get home to see Ellie on Sunday afternoon. Nick spent another night in the Cities so that he could see a Twins game this season, but was excited to see Ellie when he got back to Willmar on Monday!

On Tuesday and Wednesday, Ellie and Nick spent some time with Grandma Bev, Grandpa Daryl and Great-Grandma Marcus while Jonikka went to St. Cloud for her cousin Sarah's bachelorette party. Nick had his first overnight alone with Ellie that night. On Wednesday, Jonikka got back and enjoyed her Mother's Day treat: a pedicure, spray-tan, and eyebrow wax. That night we had pizza with both the Marcus and Wyffels families.

Thursday was finally a laid-back day where we stayed at home all day and spent quite a bit of time enjoying the beautiful weather out on the deck. On Friday, we packed up all our stuff (a LOT of it as those with newborns know!) and headed to Alexandria for the wedding rehearsal. (More to come on the wedding in another post.)

After the wedding festivities, we had the long drive back to Montana on Sunday. Again, Ellie did FANTASTIC in the car. She was again exhausted from being held so much on Saturday! However, Monday was another story as Ellie soon learned that she wasn't getting the attention and holding that she had received in MN!

We're adjusting to being back home - getting unpacked and everything cleaned and put away. However, it won't be long before we head back for Round 2!!!