A day at the park

These pictures are from a spontaneous park trip after going to an Arts/Farmer's market a couple of months ago with my mom. 

We walked from the market which is held under a bridge by the river, to a nearby park. The girls had a blast even though there were no swings or slides here. 

I can remember coming to this same park when I was 11 weeks pregnant with Elizabeth on my 21st birthday. Patrick and I had gotten bagels from Einstein's (their onion and chive cream cheese is so good) and ate them together under an old tree on a bench. It is fun to see my girls playing together here. 

In the far background of this picture, there are some people having a picnic. There was a little girl around Elizabeth's age, so she had to crash. It is so sweet seeing her make friends.

Ballet

At the end of August, Elizabeth started a ballet/tap class. We were both a little nervous on her first day, but she did really well. No tears. She had a really good time. Other weeks, however, there has been crying. For over a month, she would freak out every week before we left for ballet. She would cry and give me all sorts of silly reasons why she didn't want to go. She didn't want to wear her tights or leotard. She didn't like to brush back in her tap shoes because she felt like she would fall over. 

If she could give me a good reason why she didn't want to do it, I wouldn't have continued to make her go. After every class, she would come out smiling. I would ask if she had fun, and she would tell me that she did indeed have fun. She said she wouldn't fight it the next week, but she still did. 

It's December now, and she usually doesn't fight it anymore. She has friends in her class and she wishes it was Monday a lot so she could go to ballet. 

Choking

Today was scary. I know I recently posted about a couple of close calls with Elizabeth. Things that could have turned out so badly but didn't. Today we had another. Tell me that other parents have these, too. We can't be alone in this. Elizabeth and Adelaide were having a snack of strawberries and blueberries at the table today. I was in the kitchen, about to swap a load of laundry, when I heard Patrick ask Elizabeth if she was okay. Her back was to me, but I could tell she wasn't. She was choking. 
The girls have choked before, a little. I have had to remove Elizabeth from her high chair when she was younger, turn her over and pat her back hard. That was always the extent of it. She was fine after that. I actually felt relatively calm about choking, but I had never really experienced full. on. choking. She could not breathe. Patrick and I took turns holding her and banging on her back. I reached in her mouth, but didn't feel anything. I am always afraid of that part though, because I don't want to push anything farther down. Patrick was doing the heimlich on her. Her body was trying to get it out. Little pieces of strawberry were coming out, and she was sort of trying to throw up. She was panicking. I was freaking out. I yelled to Patrick that she was turning blue. I was debating whether or not to call 911. He put his finger down her throat, did a sweep and pulled out a big hunk of strawberry. That did it. He put her down in my lap and went to sit in a chair in the living room. All of this happened in the span of less than a minute. Patrick thinks it was less than 30 seconds, but I think it was a little longer. 
I was shaking and holding her. After a couple of seconds, she sat up and told me, "I thought I was never going to breathe again." I thought the same thing. It was terrifying. A stupid strawberry not fully chewed almost brought down my beautiful 3 year old today. I am so grateful that my husband was there, that he was so in control of the situation. Honestly, if it were just me today, I don't know if our ending would have been as good. What if I hadn't even noticed her choking because of the laundry? What if I couldn't get enough control to get the job done? I don't want to think about the guilt and pain of what could have happened, but it keeps coming back to me. I am so grateful tonight for my two healthy girls and one strong husband. 

What happens when your husband is away.

So my husband went to an Austrian Economics study student conference thingy for a week at the end of July. I missed him, but my mom came and stayed with us (she doesn't live far, but I don't like being without another adult at night... don't judge). If you know my mom, you know that where she is, things get done. Like the hutch that we meant to paint for a long time. Ta-da.

The garden that we had been meaning to plant. Shazam!

We also went to the beach, to Adventure Landing (a water park), and the downtown library. We had so much fun, but by the end... I was ready for my honey to come back, and my mom was definitely ready to be home. She didn't sleep well here, (thanks upstairs neighbors) and she was getting grumpy... but we did have fun!

It happened.

A ponytail. It's amazing.

It didn't last.

Our godson!

Isn't he the sweetest?

Clearly, Elizabeth thinks so. She reminds me of me as a child. I wanted to hold any baby any time, and she is the same way.

She gets a little upset when I try to help, but it's for the safety of whichever little blessing she is gripping/squeezing/holding.

This is our third godson. The first two are the twin sons of my best friend. They became our godchildren the first year we were married and remained our only godchildren until little Maximilian, pictured above. Apparently we make girl ourselves, but only get godsons. I love being asked to be a godparent. It is such a privilege and a hard decision. You are asking these people to be a part of your life for the rest of it. To be there for your child even if only to pray- the most important part. Thanks for asking us, friends.

Date night

Date night. How amazing are those two words? I'll tell you: SO AMAZING! we had our first date night... maybe ever- in July. My in-laws came over to watch the girls, and we went to dinner at Outback and to the movies to see The Amazing Spiderman (which was awesome). 

It is soooooooo nice to go to a restaurant and be able to sit and eat and talk and take as long you want. It's nice to go to a movie and not have to worry about keeping a baby or toddler quiet. It's nice to be able to give my undivided attention to my husband for a little while and talk and joke and laugh. It's nice to help remember why I chose him to be with for the rest of my life. 

More often, I say! More date nights! Luckily, we have no shortage of people willing to watch our little boogers. My mom or my husbands parents or siblings... maybe we should call someone up this weekend...