January Blues

I find January to be a wonderful yet boring month. After all the craziness of the holidays it is really nice not to have anything to do or anywhere to go for almost an entire month. However I forgot that I live with a toddler who gets extremely board very easily. The newness of Christmas presents has worn off and mother nature has decided that it is actually winter so outside is off our list of things to do. Pair all of this with a pregnant mama who still feels incredibly sick and incredibly exhausted and it makes for some rough days in our household. Not that Em is really all that terrible she just is in the testing limits stage. Some days I really want to give in just to make life easier for everyone but I am trying to make sure she understand the boundaries that exist in our house. She also is struggling with the concept that my pregnant belly is not a soft pillow for her to sit or climb on. It could get interesting as we go on.

I am working on living in the present and enjoying the quietness of January and the spunkiness of my 18 month old. But it is hard not to think ahead to July and it is hard not to start preparing for baby K #2. I am both anxious and excited for what is to come.

Holiday Hangover

This Christmas was like many others. We spent a lot of time in the car, saw a lot of family, ate a lot, and slept a little. The major downside was that Emily was sick. After throwing up here and there the week before Christmas I took her in. They diagnosed her with a sinus infection and said the build up of mucus was too much for her to handle (Hence the throwing up). She was put on some antibiotics. The unfortunate thing is they didn't really kick in until after the holiday weekend.

She was a trooper through it all. She enjoyed opening presents and eventually got the concept that she had more than just one present to open.  We ended up having a great holiday all and all.

Getting back on our schedule has been a little tough. I feel like there is a bit of a Holiday Hangover in our house. We were all sick at some point and time in the last 2 weeks so I think we are still getting our barrings in the new year.

We are excited and looking forward to 2012. Emily continues to amaze us on a daily basis. Her vocabulary is growing every day and she is really discovering her sense of humor. I am looking forward to watching her grow up this year. Plus we get to add a new baby into the mix. Which is very exciting and nerve racking. I am hopeful that the transition is a smooth as possible for all four of us. I love being pregnant and feel extremely blessed for this time in our lives.

We wish everyone a very Happy and healthy new year full of love and peace!

Expanding

We are excited to let everyone know that Emily is going to be a big sister! Yes, we are expecting our second child. We are extremely excited and blessed. I am due on July 10th which is the day after Emily's 2nd birthday and 3 days before Kevin's 33rd birthday. We may need to change the name of the blog to House of Four Krause's :).

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Big Sister Em

Thanksgiving 2011

We were with my family this year for Thanksgiving. It was a special year because my cousin Erich and his wife were here from North Carolina. We don't get to see them very often so it was nice to catch up. They brought their 2 kids Caden and Alayna. Alayna is about 9 months or so and it amazes me how much older Emily seems. I mean I understand that she is older but I continue to forget that she really isn't a baby anymore. Emily, after a nap, had a blast playing with the kids. Caden would chase her around the house and she would dissolve into giggles. It was so fun to watch.

Em got to spend Friday with Daddy and Papa (my dad) while my mom and I went out and did a little shopping. She had a great time. She enjoys her walks with Papa and having him read to her. Once we got home we packed up and headed home.

On Saturday Emily's cousins came for a visit. Brynn, Brielle, and Bennett had yet to be to our new house. Grandma and Grampa Krause watched all four kids while Brian, Beth, Kevin, and myself went to the Badger game. It was a great game and the kids had fun together too.

It was a long and exhausting weekend. We have so much to be thankful for. We are truly blessed with great family and friends. I am looking forward to another year full of blessings and good things.

October is Over?!

October was a crazy busy month for the Krause family. Kevin and I had a couple of wedding celebrations and there are several family birthdays to celebrate as well. Plus we were fortunate enough to attend many of the Brewer playoff games. Because of all of this I haven't blogged in awhile.

Emily continues to be a happy go lucky kid. She loves to run around outside and explore things in our house. She can say many words and can be quite demanding when she wants something. Em hates hearing the word no and it has brought on a couple of tantrums. But overall she is doing great!

We were able to squeeze a late visit to the Pumpkin patch right before Halloween. We went to the same patch that we went to last year. I think Em could have done without the corn maze but she loved running around the pumpkin patch picking out our pumpkins. I am looking forward to this being a family tradition of ours.

On Halloween this year Kevin had to unfortunately be out of town for work. My good friend Aubree invited us to go trick or treating with her kids. Emily was so cute dressed up as a pumpkin. She liked to grab the candy from people and put it in her bucket. But I am pretty sure her favorite part was the wagon ride. A fun time was had by all.

Look how tall I am!

Picking out the perfect pumpkin with Daddy

My little pumpkin

Going to get my candy

Enjoying the wagon ride with Tae

Wisconsin Sports Baby

It has been a crazy time in Wisconsin for our sports teams. We were lucky enough to take Emily to a Badger game at the end of September. We went to watch Kevin get those knees up with the UW alumni band. We had a really fun day but it was very windy in our seats so we only stayed for the first half. Emily loved clapping and cheering for the Badgers though!

This past weekend Kevin and I were able to go to the Badger Nebraska football game. Thanks in part to my dad who was able to babysit on a Saturday night! Emily had a great time with Papa reading about Choo Choos and listening to his Donald Duck impression. Bucky did not disappoint. Badgers beat the Huskers! Kevin and I had a great time.

The next day we took advantage of Uncle Brian's playoff tickets and went to the Brewer game. We had a ball. Emily did great tailgating and had a pretty good time at the game too. Thanks to Grandma and Grampa Krause who helped keep her entertained! We will continue to cheer on the Brewers as are hopefully headed to the world series.

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Walking on Sunshine

Emily started walking last week. On a random Tuesday she must have decided that she had had enough of cruising and crawling. And she has never looked back. When I picked Em's up from daycare that random Tuesday they told me that she had taken about 8 steps. Which is more than she had ever done before. She did the same thing a couple of times at home that night. Wednesday morning came and I was a little concerned that maybe she had forgotten how in her sleep. Boy how wrong was I!?! Now her favorite thing to do is walk laps around the island in our new kitchen. She even believes that she can almost run. Which often results in a lot of falling. She loves chasing too. It is so fun to chase each other around the kitchen and listen to her giggle. Emily is a ball of sunshine these days. You can see on her face how happy she is that she is now upright and moving more quickly.