Winn Weekend // 5-2-14

I'm not sure how exactly this happened, but it's already August. Surely, I'm not the only one who is outraged by that sneaky surprise? I keep seeing "back to school" posts on Facebook and am a little very happy I'm not working this year. I have a whole month of summer left. A month full of frolicking in the sun, leisurely walks, dinners on the patio... Precisely the kind we had on Saturday. Our friends came over for some healthy turkey burghers and between trying to keep Annika at the table (as opposed to ON the table) and attempting to eat one-handedly, while holding Mr. Leo, we enjoyed our time together. 

Sunday marked my very first time on the boat this whole entire season. How is that possible? My wonderful in-laws and the 4 of us spent an awesome Sunday afternoon on the lake. Everybody got to get in the water, except Mr. Leo and me. Mr. Leo slept through the entire thing and I... well, I was too busy eating cheese and crackers and drinking my iced latte under the canopy. Annika at first wasn't sure about all the waves and the rocking, but then she got her water wings on brave and would jump into the water to whomever was near and ready to catch. She had a blast and a swim diaper full of sea weed:)

Positively glorious time with family!

the one and only way my toddler will eat broccoli

Also, the only way I actually enjoy eating broccoli myself. Also, one of the ways I'm channeling my Martha Stewart in the kitchen. Doesn't happen often, but when it does, might as well document it, right?

It's pretty simple, actually.
You will need a couple of eggs, some broccoli, salt and pepper. The amounts will be based on the number of mouths at your dining table.
First wash this yucky stuff, then cut off the florets.

Do you steam your veggies, btw? I used to always just boil them, but word on the street says steaming is the thing now. It's healthier or something.
After you steam (or boil) the veggies, sauté them with some eggs.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper and voila. By the way, I'm a faithful believer in this seasoned salt. I think it makes everything taste delish. Maybe not chocolate though...

You can be crazy and put some grated parmesan cheese before serving. I'm not crazy, because it means that my toddler will focus her whole attention on those tiny pieces of cheese and that will just negate the sole purpose of this proud my-child-eats-broccoli post. Nuh-uh!

And then, enjoy... Your meal and watching your toddler eat something that doesn't involve sugar.

I also got to enjoy my view;)

Annika says...

Here is another, smaller, installment of Annikaisms. There are so many these days that I can’t keep track any more:)

Talks to self:

Where is Annika? There me is!

-Annika, if you have a baby brother, what should his name be?

-Sister.

-What are you doing, huh, mama?

-I’m drinking coffee. What are you doing?

-Not drinking coffee.

Starts (fake)crying and I don’t respond. Comes up to me and in the most pitiful way whines:

-      -Ask what’s my matter.

Greg gets out of the shower and Annika walks in right after.  All I heard was:

-Daddy’s tail!

… and then everyone died. Laughing!

a two-week-old, a two-year-old, and two exhausted parents in love

In case anybody missed the news - a brand new Winn joined our family (almost)2 weeks ago. Meet Leo Thomas Winn. A sweet, sleepy, cuddly bundle of cuteness who is an exact replica of his big sister, which makes him an exact replica of his dad. I've been robbed of any sort of resemblance with my child yet again. I guess it's all right, all I did was carry these offsprings in me for 40 long, not-so-pleasant weeks and have undergone 2 major abdominal surgeries to get them into this world. No biggie, children, thankyouverymuch!

So far, Leo has been very easy. Sleeps, poops, eats, sleeps, repeats... 3-4 hours stretches of sleep at night. Very happy and content when awake. Unlike his sister, who was very "vocal", especially in the rare moments someone dared to not hold her. She was a good sleeper, gotta give her that!

Speaking of the big sister... This has a been a bit of a challenging time with her. On top of her terrible twos (which alone would have been enough!), the parentals made her move houses and brought someone else to love on into the family. I mean, the guts! My little girlie has been nothing short of traumatized. Once a happy-happy sleeper, she now cries and cries and wants to hold my hand until she falls asleep. Once a sweet little baby girl, she now acts out like a teenager. The ''NO, MOMMY!" is oh-so-prevalent in our house these days. 

Just in the last 3 days things have gotten better with her sleeping. She is getting used to her new room and is once again happy to talk to her toys and animals before falling asleep. (We had switched her to a toddler bed, but quickly realized she wasn't ready, so back to the crib she went!). But the behavior is still a bit off and this is something she'll have to outgrow. 

Annika does love her brother though. First thing I hear in the morning is "I want to go see my baby Leo!". She wants to hold and kiss him all the time. If only she would understand that she doesn't necessarily have to hit him first, before kissing him.

And us... Well, we are adjusting. There've been tears, tiredness, but overall we are managing. Even though we both can't wait when the littles start playing with each other, we are trying to enjoy this stage of life. We know it's all going to go really fast, so we want to cherish these moments.

*** Gee, I really need to break out my real camera again... If only I could find it in this mess...***

moving, having a baby... you know, the little things...

So, I guess we've officially moved. It's been a hard few days, physically exhausting and emotionally draining, but it's over.
Aside from a few boxes in the attic of the old house, all of our junk is currently in the new house. A lot of it is in the garage, but I'm just trying to avoid that area as I unpack and clean up what's inside the house. We moved on Saturday, but today (Tuesday) was the first day that I've felt like we were home. While Annika was in daycare, I cleaned, and cleaned, and organized, and decorated, and cleaned some more. I cooked our first meal here, too. Kind of a big deal, seeing that I don't usually cook at all:) There are still lots of things to do in the house and it's pretty much still a blank canvas, but it's livable. I have so many different decorating ideas, ya hear that, Pinterest? Can't wait to get my hands dirty, in a creative sort of way, in the next few months or so.

Oh, and we have exactly one more day as a family of three. Thursday morning, bright and early, Lord willing, a forth member of our family will be joining us. And then... well... just pray for us.

I'm planning to spend all day with Annika tomorrow... We are going to go to the park, then have lunch in our village (with ice-cream... shh, don't tell daddy! or my gestational diabetes!), then after nap we will do our pedicures and maybe bake something.  Our last day just the two of us, awe... I think I'm going to cry at some point or another too...

Here are a few bits and pieces (from my phone!) of the new house... remember it's a work in progress!

4th of July in Winona Lake

Well, it's Monday after 4th of July weekend and it may as well be January 2nd. You know, the festivities are over and the reality of everyday life hits you in the head like a boomerang and knocks you down on your knees where you sit and wonder, what in the world just happened.
I guess things weren't that dramatic, but who doesn't like to exaggerate?:)

4th of July here was very fun though. The weather couldn't have been more beautiful and our lake was SWARMING with boats full of vacationers. The main street of our town was lined up with lawn chairs from early morning. People were that eager to call a spot for the parade and the fireworks in the evening.

We spent most of our day hanging out on the lawn with our friends and some semi-naked people.

In the evening we went over to our friends J and Kirby's house for a traditional celebratory dinner. Kirby is a great cook and she is also from Texas, which explains her obsession with wrapping everything and their aunt in bacon. Delish!

Annika's sleeping schedule is completely off this summer, so by the time we got her home, in bath and her PJs, the fireworks started and we just let her stay up and watch those from our pier. She was in awe and things got even better for this girl when someone showed up with a huge bag of cotton candy. This iPhone picture is the only picture we took from the fireworks show.

Hope you had a great day celebrating America's birthday. Cheers.