Elsa LOVES Halloween!

We had so much fun with Halloween this year!!! Last year, despite living in a very large neighborhood, we only had 3 trick or treaters. This year was CRAZY!!! Luckily we didn't run out of candy. The weekend started with the YMCA Halloween party. Elsa loves dressing up in her cousin Lauren's snow white costume, so we put her in that for the party. They had face painting, games for all ages, and prizes. Elsa did not want to leave! She didn't quite figure out that you had to actually play the game to get the prize. Sometimes she would just walk up to the prize bucket and reach on in.

Then, on the 31st, Elsa celebrated Heritage Day (Oktoberfest) at her school. She dressed up in her Drindl and had to bring a food item for the potluck from her heritage. I made Hungarian Goulash. Aaron said the food at the lunch was amazing.

And, on Halloween night, I don't know who had more fun: Aaron and I or Elsa. Trick or treaters are allowed to go out from 4-7pm (which I LOVE the time frame...in England we had trick or treaters past 9pm). We are so blessed to live in a great neighborhood with LOTS of families. We have really enjoyed getting to know the family right across the street from us. Gretchen and Tim have three kids with Annie being the same age as Elsa. So Gretchen and I took the kids out while the dads stayed back handing out candy (and, drinking beer). Elsa wanted nothing to do with the wagon and was running from house to house with the older kids. She had so much fun!! It was fun meeting other families in the neighborhood. Afterwards, we went over to Gretchen and Tim's house for cocktails while the kids burned off their sugar highs.

Welcome to the Big 10 Nebraska!

We were very excited when Nebraska joined the Big 10. Some of our really good friends we met my first year in the military are from Nebraska, so we decided to make it an annual tradition for each Gopher-Nebraska football game. This year, the Nielsen's came up to Minneapolis for the game. Despite a Gopher loss, it was fun to catch up with them, see the "new" stadium, and walk through campus. It was homecoming weekend and was crazy! I couldn't believe how many Nebraska fans took over the cities. I promise we will do more shopping next time Melanie :)

We stayed at the Grand Hotel in downtown Minneapolis-I can't believe how much downtown has changed since my college days! Thanks to my MIL for watching Elsa so Aaron and I could enjoy our first weekend away together without a kid in tow.

Fall fun

I absolutely love the midwest fall season--Cooler weather, vibrant colors of leaves, long sleeves...

We don't have many trees on our lawn, but enough to create piles of leaves to play in.

One October weekend, we ventured up to Door County to a local festival. One of my partners has a nice boat, so we hung out at the marina and then ventured onto shore to enjoy the festivities. Elsa had so much fun with Maddy and Grace.

The transition thus far

I have to admit, I was quite nervous to start private practice. I left a very stable career in the AF for one filled with lots of uncertainty. Even though I wasn't happy with my practice in the military, I know there are a lot more people that are even more unhappy with their careers, but stay in put. But, after almost one month, I have realized that it was the best decision! I love practicing OMS again, we have settled into a great neighborhood with great families, and have started making some great friends! I enjoy working with all my partners and the girls are incredible. All have made the transition smooth!

The other thing I was nervous about was how the pregnancy was going to go. At 26 weeks with Elsa I had already started to have swollen ankles and a sore back. But, thanks to prophylactic wear of my compression socks and a back brace (thanks for the suggestion jean), I have had no problems! Here is a bump shot at 28 weeks. Even though I am larger than I was with Elsa, I have gained probably half the weight. The only uncomfortable thing is that this baby seems to be much more active at ALL hours of the day.

Elsa starts Montessori

We had decided before we even moved to WI to try to find something to enroll Elsa in to foster her social development. Her pediatrician was a little concerned about her delay in speaking and we felt that being around other kids in an educational environment would be great for her. Most parochial preschools we were researching only had programs for 3 and 4 year olds and then it was only for a couple of hours each week. With another baby on the way, we wanted a little more structure for her. That is when I came across a Montessori program that offered programs for 20 months-3 years. It offered really flexible options and we decided to put her in 5 half days each week. She LOVES it. Her speech has progressed remarkably well in just a few short weeks and she is even counting to ten! I also love how it is Christian based and they say prayers before snacks and read Bible stories. We went out and bought her a lunch box and back pack and she is so proud to walk around with them. Mrs. James is great and we couldn't be happier with the school. The only thing that is a challenge is coming up with lunch box ideas! I feel like we make her the same thing all the time!

Elsa in MN

When we made the decision to exit the military, we knew the summer would be crazy. Due to the housing market in CA taking a further decline, we decided to rent out our house. We initially put Aug 15 as the occupancy date, but we were able to find good tenants who were interested in a 4 year lease that wanted the house ASAP. I think they would have preferred the house in May, but we were able to negotiate for July 9th. So, back to temporary military housing we went. I felt like we had just left there! Trying to keep a toddler entertained in a small apt last fall was not easy. So, we decided that Aaron and Elsa go to MN for the month of Aug and hang out with cousins, Grandparents, etc. It was extremely hard for me as I had never spent one night away from her since she was born. But, I knew it was better for her. As the pictures show, she had a lot of fun. I was sad that when we would skype she would barely sit still to talk to me. But, I was happy she was so entertained! Peggy had flown out to help Aaron with the drive. I had wrapped gifts that she could open each day. She loved opening her presents!

They were able to stop in Omaha to visit some of our friends. They played in a water park and went to the zoo.

In MN she was able to celebrate cousin Hunter's birthday! I think she liked hanging out with the boys a little too much!!

I love this shot...she is so focused (so much she dropped her nuk)

She LOVED the Schwimmer's dog, Maddy. I love these photos where she was trying to read to Maddy. Maddy was a good trooper with Elsa and listened to every word :)

Aunt Andi's farm proved to be so entertaining. Elsa loves farm animals.

Aaron and Elsa went to my family's house in Mankato for a long weekend.

She loved playing with her newest cousin Evi and hanging out at Andi and Corey's house

She even went to the Carver county fair and watched daddy run his 2nd half marathon!