Holiday Weekend

We had a great "first" Thanksgiving at home, though we did miss spending the long holiday weekend with our family but it was nice not to have to drive anywhere and be in the comfort of our own home... just the four of us! :)
Matt gave me the list of food he wanted for Thanksgiving and I cooked it (first time cooking a Thanksgiving meal). I made ham (honey glazed), green bean casserole, mashed sweet potatoes, and this corn casserole (recipe from his mom). And I made a pumpkin pie.. yum! Everything was amazing and I was so proud of my self that everything got done at the same time!! :-)

I had to take a picture of the awesome work I had done for my first Thanksgiving.

What was even better about our Thanksgiving meal, was both girls were napping so Matt and I got to enjoy it alone. No whiney voices, no crying.. it was GREAT! :-)

With the long holiday weekend we were able to get tons of things done on our "to do list". We put the tree up (well Matt put the tree up and put the lights on it) and we both decorated it. He also got lights hung outside. Go Matt!



We also finished Emmersen's room.. Well for the most part- we still have to get a sheer/curtain to put underneath the main curtain.

When you first walk into the room:







I can't believe Emmersen is already 2 months old! It still feels like a couple weeks ago we were just coming home from the hospital. :) She is growing like a weed.. not as fast as Avree did at this age. She is still in newborn clothing and 0-3 month sizes, and we just ran out of newborn diapers so I am now using size 1 (which are still a little big, but I don't want to buy another pack of newborn). Last week she was 8 lbs 13 oz. A big difference from her birth weight (5lbs 15oz). She has been a good baby and loves to sleep. (Sounds just like Avree as a baby) She wakes up once a night, usually around 4 AM and will go back down till 8/8:30ish.
Emmersen is a little more temperamental at times and will let you know right away when she isn't happy. She loves to smile and coo at you when you talk to her. It is adorable! She loves watching Avree and loves having Avree talk to her. I would say right now her 2 favorite people are Avree and I.

Here are just some random photos of the girls from the holiday weekend:





Hope you all had a great Holiday Weekend!

My First Roadtrip with the Girls

Last weekend Avree, Emmersen and I drove to Iowa to see Ashley Van Dyke and her baby, Kaden. Who was born 2 weeks and 2 days before Emmersen. Ashley's husband Kevin and I grew up together. Our families have been great friends for a long time! My mom and Kevin's parents (Verlan and Carol) also came to Kevin and Ashley's house.
We had a great time and I know the grandparents loved spending time with the kids :-)

Kaden and Emmersen (He was playing "hard to get" all weekend and wouldn't look at Emmersen) :-)


Grandpa Verlan and the babies


The Grandma's with the little ones


Avree and the babies


Mom's and their babies (notice Kevin passed out on the couch behind us) :-)


We had a great weekend catching up. It was too short though!! Avree had a great time with the grandparents (she was calling Verlan and Carol, grandma and grandpa too). She kept them busy by having them chase her and putting them in time out! They must have been naughty grandparents cause they were in time out a lot! :-) She LOVES putting people (or her dolls) in time out but I promise she doesn't spend a lot of time in time out at home! We do threaten to put her in time out if we have to count to 3. Typically when we are about to say 3, she stops whatever she isn't suppose to be doing. :-)(waits till the last minute... very stubborn)

Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving! We are staying put over Thanksgiving and going to have our first Melhus Family Thanksgiving at home (just the four of us!)

Halloween

I didn't get very many pictures of Halloween cause I left my camera back in Pella.. go figure, something else that went wrong that weekend on our trip back. (Read previous post) :)
I got a bunch on my phone but I need to figure out how to put them on the computer and get them up here.

Avree got a bunch of candy this year and had a bunch of "trunk or treats". At school they got to dress up in their costume and they had a trunk or treat, Matt's work had a trunk or treat for the kids and then on Halloween she got dressed up again and trunk or treated. Avree was a witch this year and Emmersen was a pumpkin :)
It was pretty chilly this year so Avree was a little whiney and didn't want to hold her bag or wear her hat or hold her broom. I guess she was a mess. (I didn't end up going out with them Sunday night cause I was so congested in my nose, that I had a headache and my whole right side of my face was in pain. So Emmersen and I stayed home where it was warm) But Matt, Papa and Nana all went with Avree. :-)

Trunk or Treat Halloween night at our church




Uptown Liberty Halloween night





Hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween!

First trip back to Iowa

A couple weeks ago we decided to cart everyone back to Pella for the weekend. It turned out to be a "not so good weekend".
We took off for Iowa Thursday night and drove right to Matt's parents house. Everyone did good in the car and both girls slept! Friday morning Matt had to get some work done so us girls went to visit Great Papa and Grams. Avree loves going over to their house to play. She always goes right to the basement (pulling papa Jerry right along with her) to play with the toys. They kept the toys that Matt and his brothers use to play with when they were little. Brings back some great memories for Matt when Avree plays with those toys. :-)
Great Papa and Grams with the girls


We then decided to head to Iowa City to see his brother and watch Matt's cousin play volleyball that night. On our way there, we stopped to see my grandparents. They hadn't seen Avree in a long time and this was the first time they got to meet Emmersen.
Great Grandma/pa McCulla with the girls


We met up with uncle "boo" and headed to the volleyball game. Matt's grandparents and aunt and uncle (from texas) were there to watch Rachael play. I am so glad we got to watch her play but I just wish they would have won the match that night! I love volleyball so it was fun to watch a college team. (Go Hawkeyes)Avree even got up on their big screen during a time out. She was doing some dancing and when she looked up and she saw herself on the screen she immediately stopped and got a little embarrassed. :) It was so cute!
We stayed in Iowa City that night with uncle Boo. Everyone was tired and getting cranky and needed sleep! On Saturday we got to meet up with my mom and we did some shopping in Iowa City.
My mom and I with the girls


Finally around 5 (PM) I convinced Matt (he was tailgating and watching the Iowa football game) it was time to go and head back to Pella. (I wanted to be back in Pella early afternoon!) I was tired dealing with both girls and walking around all day. On our way back to Pella, my service engine soon light came on, along with the battery and brake light flashing. I didn't know what to do, so I kept driving. Well we are right outside of Pella and I noticed the flashing lights (brake and battery) were staying on and I had no acceleration power. So I pull off onto the next road, scared to death, and didn't know what to do. Avree's in the back crying (has been since we left Iowa City cause she was so tired and couldn't/wouldn't fall asleep), its pitch dark out, and the headlights are starting to dim. So I shut off the car and thank goodness it started back up. I just wanted to get "home"! We did make it back to Pella ok but my car needed to be looked at. Sunday morning Papa Dave said he didn't think we would make it back to KC. (He thought it was the alternator by what we were describing to him) Of course nothing in Pella is open on Sundays so we had to switch cars with them! We had 2 kids, 2 dogs and all of our stuff that we had to pile in his mom's car. We were jammed packed! We did make it back to KC safe and sound though! (What a weekend!)

Papa and Nana with the girls




Avree and Emmersen

She loves her blankie just like big sis :)


Monday morning we all woke up... SICK! Matt started getting a sore throat, Avree started getting a runny nose and my cough got worse (I was sick with a bad cough a couple weeks before this) and I started getting a runny nose.
What a weekend!!!! It was so good to see our family and let them meet Emmersen, but I think we would have been better off staying home! :-) Our next Iowa trip... not till Christmas :-) (We need a break, haha)

Updates

Sorry it has taken me a while to get more updates of the girls.. Been busy and keep forgetting to upload the pictures on the computer.
Updates on Emmersen:
Matt and I got lucky again with a GREAT baby! She hardly cries, sleeps all the time and when she is awake she is so content and watches everything around her. Her night time schedule has been pretty consistant for a week and a half now: 8-8:30 PM bedtime, 2:30-3:30 AM feeding time(I am usually waking her up to feed or I hear her moving around a bit) 8:30-9:00 wakes up and feeds (then usually goes back down for a couple hours). As you can see, she is a great sleeper :-) She is now starting to wear newborn sized clothes (no more preemie clothes)! So now more options of clothes to wear ;-)
Things she likes:
~ Her soothie (AKA- paci)
~ LOVES cuddling people
~ Likes to be swaddled at night
~ Her swing
~ Likes stroller rides
~ Doesn't mind her baths
~ Kisses from big sis

Things she doesn't like:
~ To be naked! (which is why at times she doesn't like her bath)
~ Sometimes doesn't like getting dressed
~ Laying on her back after she has eaten

I can't believe she is almost a month!! (On Tuesday the 26th) She is such a blessing to our family and we are so lucky to have TWO beautiful, healthy girls.

Updates on Avree:
Avree has been going to PDO for a month and a half now. We think she really enjoys herself. We still have some mornings when she doesn't want to stay but she stops crying/whining pretty quick. She is talking all the time but we sometimes have a hard time understanding some sentences/words.
Avree has been a GREAT big sister. She is always very gently and cautious around Emmersen. Always giving her kisses and rubbing her head or back. There has been a couple times after Matt gets home and Avree and I run some quick errands so I just leave Emmersen at home with Matt, and she always asks "where's baby" when we get in and out of the car. She then asks to go home so she can see the baby. :-) She still just calls her baby.. we think Emmersen is a long, hard name for her to say.

Enjoy the pictures:

2 weeks old ( with Grandma/pa McCulla)






3 weeks:
Emmersen in the stroller in her bassinet-

KC Zoo-




Professional Photos (Taken by Matt)




We are making our first family trip this weekend! Going to Pella for a couple days. Hopefully the drive will be uneventful :-)
Well that's all for now! Happy Halloween!

Emmersen Faith!

I know a lot of you have been waiting to see pictures of the newest member of the Melhus clan.. Sorry it has taken me a little longer than I thought. Since last winter when Matt decided to buy a professional camera, we have switched to using his camera for everything. But with doing that, I now have to wait on him to get the pictures uploaded to the computer and he has the edit them. So that is why it has taken me a while to get the blog updated on some things.
Now on to more important things... Emmersen!!
Emmersen decided to join us on September 26 (her due date!) at 12:09 PM. She was a whopping 5 pounds 15 ounces and 17 3/4 inches long. She is so petite and perfect! She has light brown/blonde hair in the back and a little bit of blonde hair on the top.
Avree is such a PROUD big sister! She seriously can't get enough of Emmersen. She is always asking to hold her, is always kissing her and likes to get close to her face to say HI. She has been a big help and always bringing us stuff for Emmersen (but doesn't quite get the fact that Emmersen doesn't need those things and is too little for them.) :-)
The 1st night Matt's parents brought Avree in to meet her little sister, she had a big smile on her face when she walked into the room. She was happy to see momma and came and sat down with me on the bed (I was holding Emmersen). We told her to say hi to the baby and she didn't think twice about it. (we thought she would be a little shy at first). She then wanted to hold her. So we washed her hands and got the boppy pillow and put Emmersen on her "lap". She was smiling ear to ear. Matt grabbed his camera and Avree was so cute. We kept telling her to be careful and don't move, so when Matt was getting pictures of the two of them she smiled but had the goofiest smile and would only move her eyes. She was so afraid to move her head (since we kept telling her to be careful and not to move). It was hilarious and adorable.. :-)


Everything has been going great since we got home Tuesday. Avree hasn't really acted out or been any different (and I hope she doesn't go through that). Emmersen is a great baby (just like big sis was) and hardly cries. I think I have only heard her cry 7 or 8 times. She sleeps great (atleast 4 hour stretches at night, sometimes longer if I don't wake up). I actually have been waking her up at night to feed her!
She can't even fit into newborn clothes yet and is still in preemie!! Such a little peanut. I can't believe how small the preemie clothes/socks are. They could seriously fit on Avree's baby dolls.
We think Emmersen and Avree look a lot like sisters, but we think Emmersen looks like mommy's baby pictures (and lots of people thought Avree looked a lot like Matt) So a good mix of all 3 of us :)

Enjoy the pictures:
Nana and Emmersen at the hospital-

Proud big sister and proud grandparents-







Grandma Hansch came to stay with us a night...


Big sister holding little sister..

Avree giving "the look"..

Avree "reading" to Emmersen..



Such a rough life.. :-)


Comparison photos:
Avree:

Emmersen:


I also am going to be changing our blog to private so please email me if you want me to add your email address to the list so you can still view/read our blog. (There are people who follow my blog and I don't have any idea who they are, and there are lots of pictures up here of the girls', and I don't want random people (who I don't know) viewing/reading this stuff. So I am going to change that and only allow family and friends to read the blog.

All for now!