Penis

"Mom...it is really kind of sad you don't have a penis. Having a penis is fun. I am not sure I can hang out with you much anymore."

Love this kid.

State Fair

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Ingrid and I took the kids to the state fair. It was a long ride there and back in one day but I am glad we did it. The kids LOVED seeing the animals and LOVED climbing on the tractors. We ate yummy food ( I finally braved the line and tried a pork chop on a stick). We did a LOT of walking and it was pretty warm. We pulled a wagon with the boys in it and pushed a stroller with a pretty little girl in it.
Hayden's highlight every year is seeing the sheep getting sheared. He doesn't talk about sheep shearing during the year but as soon as we walked in that is all he could talk about. Funny how he remembered from last year. He also loved cotton candy. Maybe we can make that a state fair treat.
I had to feed Elsie and some point during the day so I pulled up a chair, covered us up with a blanked and fed her. Not thinking I was making a statement or anything a older woman passed by me and smiled at me walked a few more steps past me....turned around looked me in the eye and said "good for you". Not sure where most women feed their babies at the state fair but evidently you don't see many doing it in the building next to the little hands on the farm. :)

Gabrielson Reunion

Most of our Gabrielson crew. There were 4 other Gabrielson families and ours was by far the largest.
A few of the cousins. We used to spend the summers in Clear Lake together growing up. Oh the memories.


We gathered on a farm in Britt Iowa with 240 Gabrielson relatives. It was a blast seeing everyone. We ate a yummy catered meal from my cousin. Watched the kids play and chatted. It was a HOT day and it flew by and I didn't feel like I got to chat with everyone. Still had a great time. Wish my dad was there. Such is life. We stopped by his graveside on our way home. Elsie had never been there. He would love this Grandpa stuff.

New Van

Sooooo.....I have always told Joey that as soon as he gets a new job we are going out to look at vans. He negotiated for the new job for 3 days. One day I thought he was going to take it....the other not. So needless to say I held up to my end of the bargain and we went looking at vans. I had been tirelessly searching for a month online and found a few good contenders. After 2 days of looking we found one and are now the proud owners of a Honda Odyssey. Oh the room....oh the comfort. We said goodbye to the focus and hello to a car payment. Haven't had one of those in 5 years.
Worth it????? YES.

New Job

Joey accepted a new position at work. He is now going to be a field service engineer specializing in GPS. His new boss referred to him as the GPS guru. Basically he has to know every product his company sells and then has to go help the customers fix any problems they can't fix. So this new job will involve a lot of travel. He is excited. It is the perfect job for him. Every day is different and keeps him on his toes. The position involves domestic travel and lots of international travel as well. He will be a military adviser which will require 2 weeks of military training...weapons and all and maybe travel into hostile territory. Ummmm with that all being said I am very supportive of his promotion and say bring on the frequent flyer miles!!!! :)
Joey went to AZ a few months ago for 2 weeks and we managed just fine. They say if he travels domestically he will be gone for a few days at a time and no more than 2 weeks internationally. We will have to see how it plays out. He is very excited and I am excited for him. Today was supposed to be the last day at his current position...still a position that he loves and hates to leave......however his bosses boss got wind that he was leaving and put the kabosh on it for a few more weeks. Apparently the company's goal can not be met if Joey doesn't write software for this one project. Don't they have like 200 software engineers in this division for that? Oh well.....he gets his new title in a week and will get paid even though he will be doing his old job for a maximum of 1 more month. That is when the fiscal year ends.
It is a new adventure and we are both excited to see where it takes us.

Catching up

The last month has been crazy. It is hard to believe that the summer is winding down and before I know it Hayden will be in preschool 3 days a week. I am looking forward to getting back into a routine. We got a taste of fall like weather last week and it really put me in the mood.
Elsie has been doing more and more lately. She is now 7 months and sitting up well. She is liking her belly time a lot more now and usually spends it pushing herself up to see where he brother is running to. She is jabbering A LOT. And laughs and sequels at most everything her brother does. Hayden loves kissing and hugging his sister.
Hayden has kept me busy this summer. He runs from the minute his eyes pop open in the morning until they shut at night. Whew....the energy this kids has. It is full guns ALL DAY LONG. Our neighbor girl is going into 7th grade and came over at least once a week for the past month to play with Hayden while I cleaned or ran errands. It was nice break for the both of us.....Hayden LOVES playing with her.
Hayden participated in a sports camp this summer and loved it. He learned hockey, basketball, t ball, soccer, and tennis. He loved it and you could sure tell he was in his element. Dare I say we have a sports dude in our family. Guess Joey and I will have to learn some sports stuff. :) I think this fall we are going to try either flag football or soccer.

Baptism

Grandparents.

Elsie and her Godmother Aunt Jen. Her Godfather was home with sick kids.


Our typical family portrait. Still a stinker with pictures. :)








Elsie was baptized today. It was such a wonderful event surrounded by 40 of our friends and family. Every time I host a gathering in our cozy home I swear I am going to just invite a few people....never happens. Every time right before our guests arrive I get nervous thinking how the heck all of these people will fit in our house....but it always works out.
We ordered pizza here after the baptism and had salad. We are truly blessed with our families and our friends who we think of as family.
I haven't crafted for a while and totally got the itch to do so. I made a banner for Hayden's birthday and decided to make one for Elsie. I made some pinwheels (thanks for the idea Missy) and even found the energy and time to make a ribbon topiary...all of which will go into Elsie's room when she gets one once the upstairs is finished.
Our good friends the Bellows family came down to help us celebrate. They spent the whole day with them. We took the kids to the splashpad and came back to our house for dinner and more playtime. We had such a good time catching up and wish we saw them more. Or even better wish they would move to Iowa.....or even better yet move to CR.

Hula Party

This morning at 10am sharp Grandpa was here to pick up Hayden, Faith, Noah, and Sara for the 2nd annual Hula Party. Grandma P has her house decorated full on for the luau. They play games, swim, eat, watch movies, and play. They keep the kids for 3 days. It is both great for us and great for Hayden. :)
Thursday night Joey and I met my old friend Kyle and his fiance Mackenzie for dinner at Zoey's in Marion. It was a great time and so nice to catch up. Kyle and I have been friends since 9th grade. We went to college in the same town (Minneapolis) for a while until I moved back to Iowa and we are glad to have him back in Iowa.

Monster Truck Party

Birthday #4 was a success. Hayden requested a Monster Truck party. It was filled with food, pinata, play, and even a little stunt airplane flying from daddy. Hayden had a blast. He loved all of his gifts and having all of his friends over to play. We grilled hamburgers and had all of Hayden's favorite foods. Turkey dogs, cheese balls, cowboy caviar and chips, carrots and dip, and oriental salad.

6 Month checkup

Elsie is growing well and had a great checkup today. She is 17lbs. 10oz. and 28 inches.
She had 2 shots and handled them well. Hayden on the other hand excuses himself into the hall whenever they get the needles out because he says he doesn't want to hear his sister cry.

She has 2 teeth now and is rolling when she feels like it. She is content sitting on the floor or laying on the floor and playing with what is around her.

She is eating yo baby yogurt and loves it. She has started some veggies and likes them so far. She is quite the shudderer. Some kids gag but Elsie shudders and it is quite the display.

Ever have one of those weeks

Our washing machine started smoking and quit working, I was turning into target at a decent rate of speed and nailed the back tire on a curb which resulted in 2 new rear tires. Argh!
We were getting tired of our front loading washing machine anyway. They don't wash the best and no matter what you do they stink like musty mold.....so we are going back to an old school top loader. We found a used on from someone at Joey's work for $150. I am excited!

Today we went to visit my friend Sara at their farm. It was a hot one. Hayden and Briar had fun going down their huge water slide, running around the farm, and shoveling hay. Elsie had fun watching Weston scooch across the floor and roll around like a mad man. They are only a day apart but he is moving like crazy and Elsie is content just laying and watching him.

Wednesday we met my sister's friend and old roommate Nicole in Vinton for pictures on Elsie 6 months and Hayden 4 years.

Wisconsin Visit

Our Wisconsin visit was a great time. We saw a lot of people and spent time with both Grandmas. It was nice to spend a few days there and visit. The shower was beautiful! Leah got so many nice gifts.
The trip basically was filled with eating, visiting, softball, eating, visiting, eating, shopping, eating. They have the best food there. Best pizza, Italian, pastries. Yum.
Elsie was a good rider up and back.
Joey and Hayden were so excited to have us back they met us in Dubuque. Joey took Friday and Monday off of work. He and Hayden kept busy. On Monday they toured Dubuque. They went to the shot tower, rode the car up the hill, explored, went into WI to buy fireworks, stopped at the Ertl store in Dyersville for some more tractors and implements. Those 2 are 2 peas in a pod for sure.

First Tooth

Elsie got her first tooth while we were in Wisconsin. She is getting big too fast!
We had a great trip. We ate pizza, shopped, visited with cousins and grandparents. It was a wonderful time. I seriously love Joey's family.

Joey and Hayden met us in Dubuque on our way home. They spent the day in Dyersville checking out a John Deere tractor store. They went to see the Shot Tower in Dubuque and rode the trolly up the hill. They even ventured into Wisconsin to pick up some fireworks. They had a great time hanging out for the 4 days. They are 2 peas in a pod and have a lot of fun together.

Wisconsin

Tomorrow Elsie and I are headed to Wisconsin with Joey's mom to attend a bridal shower. We are staying for 4 days. I am looking forward to hanging out with his family and eating some yummy food. It will be nice to hang out with Joey's grandmas. Grandma Paricka hasn't met Elsie yet. She is looking forward to it.
Hopefully Elsie handles the long car ride well and loves the girl time she is going to get. :)

Joey and Hayden are going to hang out with Grandpa P for a while tomorrow. I am sure they will find something exciting to do while we are away.

Mastitis......

Ouch...ouch...very painful......ouch.....

Fun 4th

We had a great time at the farm for the 4th. We enjoyed great food and lots of activity. We swam, rode the gator, dirt bikes, 4 wheeler, horses, watched Faith and Noah in a parade, got massages, and fished. It was a blast!Joey had Monday and Tuesday off as well. He worked mainly on leveling the bathroom floor upstairs (nothing in this old house is level) so I can have a nice flat surface to lay some tile. Joey has to build the walls up in the bathroom and build in the shower. Then electrical. We will hire out the insulation and drywall. Maybe we will be finished by the end of the year?!?!? We are cramped but managing. Hayden and Elsie are sharing a room. We managed to get a bed, crib, and 2 dressers in his small room. Our basement is overflowing....the thing we need the most surprisingly enough is book storage. I am so excited to have tons of bookshelves in the upstairs. Oh and a new bedroom and bathroom as well. :)
Thursday we had a birthday party for Theo. Once Theo's hits every year I know that Hayden's is just around the corner. I can't believe he is going to be 4. Yikes. Tomorrow we have a baptism class for Elsie. Hayden is having his first ever hired babysitter at our house. It is long overdue and we have the perfect setup. Our neighbors from El Salvador have a daughter that is starting to babysit. She is going to help me out a couple of times a week also so I can run errands with just Elsie. I think Hayden will enjoy the break as well.

We have a rollover!

Elsie rolled over from her back to belly yesterday to get closer to me in bed...I thought it was a fluke because I thought I was providing momentum laying next to her. She proved today that she can do it. She did it once for me and once for Hayden. She gets on her side...kicks her leg like she is starting a motorcycle.....and flips her hip. Exciting!

We have been BUSY lately. This week seemed to fly by. We played with friends....went to the zoo.....played more with friends......had sports camp....and prepared for our holiday weekend away.

Today I got caught up on laundry and started my baking marathon for our trip to De Witt this weekend. I made 2 pans of scotcharoos, a double batch of oriental salad, a double batch of Jennie's potatoes, and a buster bar dessert thingy. We are looking forward to spending a couple of days at Joey's sisters house in the country. They have plenty to keep us busy and plan to attend a parade and fireworks (praying the weather holds out)

I have zoo pics to post, but need to find the camera. I will catch up after we return Monday. Joey has Monday and Tuesday off. Hope everyone has a great 4th!!!!

More.....

This pretty much sums up Hayden. Gun in one hand...broom in the other.

Matt and Michelle

Welcome Elsie Faye

Family of 4

Well......I am hoping my blogging sabbatical is over. It has been almost 5 months since we welcomed sweet Elsie Faye into our lives and I must say this past 5 months have flown by!!!!
So...I need to start blogging again because I am going to kick myself a year from now if I don't. Time flies and life flies by too quickly. I love looking back at my old posts...and am looking forward to continuing to chronicle our lives. Hopefully without another 6 month sabbatical. :)
Without further ado here is what has been happening:

• Elsie Faye arrived January 22 weighing in at 7lbs 9oz and 20 inches long.
• Hayden is a great big brother who lovingly refers to his sister as "sweet honey"
• Hayden is a big ball of energy who loves loves loves to test limits and boundaries
• He loves John Deere still
  
• Hayden also loves to watch videos on youtube of tractors, rockets, garbage trucks, snowplows, rc tractors, rc monster trucks
• Joey invented "something" at work and was awarded a trade secret. It has to do with lasers so Hayden and I lovingly refer to him as Dr. Evil. (Austin Powers) "laser" get it? :)
  
• We decided to gut our upstairs and transform it into a bedroom, bathroom, and small living area. It was quite the gut job. Thanks to Joe and John who helped with the demo.
• Our 3rd dumpster from upstairs was just picked up yesterday. We have the bathroom plumbed in and I am soo happy I figured out how to get a small shower in as well as reusing the old clawfoot tub.
  
• Joey has taught himself framing and is doing an amazing job. He moved a couple of knee-walls back, built a walk in linen closet, and built a walk in closet. His next task is to frame in a wall for the shower and build some bookshelves and built in shelves in the bathroom. Then electrical etc. We are hiring out the drywall and insulation.
  
• Joey went to AZ for 2 weeks over Easter. He worked on a project with the military in the desert by the Mexican border. They were training the military on corneal recognition machines they developed to ship to Afghanistan to be used at military checkpoints. He had to have armed guards with him the whole time because of the threat of bears and the are he was in is a high crossover point on the border and lots of drug/gang activity. He loved it. Only my husband. We managed very well while he was gone. It went by fast.
• Elsie Faye is growing and talking and eating well and playing and giggling (mostly at her brother) and smiling. She is such a joy.