Coco Key Adventure

We finally went... For Christmas, Frank's secretary got us passes to Coco Key - the indoor water park. It's a national chain, but we never went to the one in Chicago. It's one of the big attractions here in Omaha. Ellie was super excited to go - Nathan was interested in "swimming" but I don't think he really knew what he was getting into. We decided to make a mini stay-cation out of it. We picked Frank up after work on Friday and headed to the Holiday Inn (Coco Key is attached to the Holiday Inn) - took us about 5 minutes after getting to our room before we were all suited up and ready to get wet! (Well, most of us...no matter how temperature controlled, I have a hard time getting into "swimming mode" when it's 5 degrees and snowing outside...) But, we did it -- plenty for the little kids to do - lots of little slides, basketball hoops in pools, fountains, spraying things... ahhh, yes... classic water park stuff. We had everyone pretty well tuckered out by 8 or 8:30 and (since it was "vacation") we topped off the evening with ice cream and once we got back up to the room - everyone was asleep within minutes! Excellent.

The water park doesn't open until 10:00 am, so the next morning (when everyone was awake by 6:00), we killed some time wandering around, ate at the hotel breakfast buffet (kids eat free...they've probably changed that policy after Nathan consumed his body weight in Frosted Flakes!), took Flat Stanley around for some photos and even swam at the regular hotel pool (oh yeah, more swimming...not at the water park, but the regular pool opened at 8:00). Even though we had to check out of our room by 11:00, we were allowed to stay and play until 3:00 -- we almost made it - we ended up leaving around 2:00 - which was plenty for all of us. Even Ellie, who would never have admitted it, was exhausted and didn't put up too much of a fight to leave. You know, besides all of the people staring at me (and my ginormous belly), it really wasn't that bad... and the kids DID have a blast (and that's really who it's for, right?). We will probably go back, but not soon - it's more like a "once a year" type of a treat...

Besides that, Frank has been busy busy busy around the house. He painted our room, and our bathroom, the downstairs bathroom. he put up new light fixtures in the dining room, living room and a new fan in our room. This dump is starting to look more like "us." By the time we get it the way we want it... it'll be time to come back! We have this "list" of things we want to accomplish before this baby comes, and slowly but surely, we're (well, Frank mostly) is chipping away at it. Of course, the things we still have to do are things like "think of baby names" and "pack a bag for the hospital"... yeah, important things... but at least we have a new light in the dining room! :)

Hope everyone has a great week -

Happy March!

Valentine's Day Weekend

Friday, Feb. 13th:
In true Omaha fashion, Ellie's preschool Valentine's Day party was cancelled due to snow. I felt bad for her, mostly becuase (being from Chicago), it had never even occurred to me to check for school closings. I knew it was supposed to snow that day, but as of 8:30 am -- not a single flake had fallen. (Preschool starts at 9:00... I thought we were "safe.") Actually, it's pretty lucky that I turned on the TV before we left -- that's when I noticed all the school closings on the crawl at the bottom of the screen -- oops! So, the second holiday party cancelled due to snow... Ellie handled it alright - I convinced her that they would "do" the party on Monday (I hoped they would, anyways.) We went to the grocery store, where all of Omaha was (apparently) stocking up before the "big storm." Total chaos. By 10:00, we were back home, ELlie and Nathan switched back to their pajamas and we were in for the day -- big pot of chili for dinner - kind of nice, actually.





Saturday, Feb. 14th: Valentine's Day


Not a big holiday for us, really -- usually just a bag of candy hearts and a couple of cards. But, this year, Frank sent flowers on Friday and the card read: "How about dinner tomorrow night?" OK, I'm thinking our usual romantic "order a pizza after the kids are asleep...." Sounded good to me - but NO, he had arranged a babysitter to come over and we...wait for it...went OUT - dinner AND a movie (and we even stopped b the hospital in between to get a quick tour of the maternity floor -- like most other things in OMaha, it was nice -- small, but nice and new-ish). It was a fun night - always takes us about 20 minites to adjust to the fact that we can finish a sentence without being interrupted by one of "them." It was very fun!





Sunday, Feb. 15th: Oliver's baptism


Frank took the trip alone - we wish we could have all been there, but for us all to fly would have been pretty pricey (especially since we waited too long to finalize plans!) and it would have been hard to drive it without Frank taking a vacation day (he's a little protective of using them so early in the year...especially with baby coming up soon.) He said it was a nice day - he took lots of pictures and it looks like the event was a "success." :)

The Hilts Visit Omaha and Nathan Turns Three

Getting spoiled -- another fun weekend with visitors to Omaha! We love it! This weekend, the Hilts made the journey west. They arrived around 1:30 on Friday afternoon and Ellie and Nathan could barely contain their excitement. The cousins were in the door just long enough to take off their shoes and then the whole foursome disappeared up the stairs together to go play - a beautiful thing! They actually did a great job "playing nice" all weekend - there was a lot of hanging out time (I'm sure they were glad to have driven all that way to just "hang out") :)

Saturday was Nathan's birthday (the big 3!) and we spent the morning at the Children's museum downtown. Very fun. There was a new traveling exhibit opening on Saturday and they had a special "member preview" an hour before the museum opened to the general public. That was nice - to be in there for almost an hour with no crowds. We were able to see everything in the museum and still be out the door by 11:15 or so -- plenty of time to stop for lunch on the way home - and attempt to get everyone down for "quiet time." (Or not so quiet time with all three girls in one room - oh well...) We ended up doing Nathan's presents late afternoon, so we could fit in an early dinner and still have time for cake and ice cream and of course an after dinner "video night" for the kids :) We (the adults) entertained ourselves into the "wii" hours of the night playing just about every wii and wii fit game that we have. I must admit, I was pretty much humiliated in everything except darts and "dancing with the stars", I clearly dominated those! :)

It was a fun weekend -- weird to think that we probably won't have any visitors until "baby-time" (which is 8 weeks from tomorrow, but who's counting??). Lot's to do before then, so hopefully these weeks will go by quickly!

The Roderick's Visit Omaha

Frank's sister Gina and her husband Kip... and of course, Oliver came out to Omaha this weekend. We had a great time - we hope they did, too! Ellie was beyond excited to have "baby Oliver" here for the weekend and Gina and Kip are very gracious to let her "help" whenever she could. Other than constantly reminding her to stop "jumping around" near his head (she was THAT excited!), she did pretty well as the designated helper. We can only hope that she is that excited / helpful when the new baby lands here for good!

It was a cold weather weekend here this weekend, but we didn't let that stop us. We went to the Children's Museum - the new exhibit is all about "presidents" -- it was a little old for our kids, but there were a few fun things for them. Ellie and Nathan both did the "make a campaign ad of yourself" running for president. There was like a web-cam thing that took their picture and put their face on a grown up body and made a commercial... Ellie wanted to be a man, and the picture of her face on the man's body looked exactly like Frank - it was eerie (and hilarious). We also braved the zoo -- not the best day to be tromping around outside (high of 15 degrees), but we didn't stay long. We hit the big (indoor) exhibits that were near the entrance -- the aquarium, the butterfly garden, the "jungle" house,... When all was said and done, I think we'll have to go back on another cold and snowy day -- we literally had the place to ourselves. The kids had the run of the place - we probably saw as much of the zoo in the one hour today as we usually see in twice that amount of time. Very cool (or cold, I guess...)

It was very fun to have them here -- always sad to see visitors leave :(

It helps to know that we have the Hilts coming next weekend -- full report to follow!

Potty training...mission (more or less) accomplished!

Well, after a solid week of constant reminders and even more constant rewards, we are far less frightened to be away from "the potty" for any length of time. We ran errands as usual last weekend. Sometimes, we even let him decide if he "has to go" or not...risky, but... This may be the first thing that's been easier to accomplish with Nathan than with Ellie, and I think the reason lies primarily in the fact that we were just plain less spastic and stressed about the whole thing. We were on Ellie's case constantly! With Nathan, we're just sort of like - what's the worst that could happen? Pack some extra clothes and we'll see how it goes. We've still got him in pull-ups at night (necessarily!), so that will be the part of this puzzle that doesn't go as quickly as with Ellie, but every kid is different, right?

Enough about that - we spent yesterday and today celebrating "black history" here :) Ellie came home from preschool yesterday (MLK Jr. day) with a whole host of questions about Martin "Luber" King -- about the only thing she picked up from school was that he was shot and that he wanted boys and girls with white skin and boys and girls with brown skin to go to the same stores. (It's a start...) We spent a lot of time trying to explain the civil rights movement to a four year old. She also knew bits and pieces of the Rosa Parks story, so we got that all cleared up, too. Transition to today (1/20), when "barackO" (as she calls him) was inaugurated. She was mildly interested in the coverage (probably because the TV was on more than usual today!) and "got it" that he was our "first president with brown skin." After watching a montage of previous presidents taking the oath of office, she asked, "why are all presidents mans? Why arent' there any lady presidents?" Atta girl. She also hopes to live in "a white house" someday... Frank said that the only way this could happen was if he was the president -- she chanted all the way through dinner "Frank Williams -- president of the whole world!" When Frank said that that would likely never happen... and maybe mommy should be president -- Ellie started cracking up and decided that no, that would not be likely either, you know, with my "big belly" and everything! We all decided that Ellie would be the most likely candidate from our family to ever become president and then we could all come and live in the white house with her :) (During this whole discussion, Nathan was eating as much pasta as possible without interruption!)

Otherwise, we are gearing up for our weekend with Gina, Kip and Oliver. Ellie has been very interested in pulling out the high chair, bottles, and all the gear -- I can only hope she has half of the enthusiasm for her soon-to-arrive sibling as she does for her cousin! We can't wait to have visitors in Omaha -- we'll post pictures on Sunday! Have a great week!

Potty Training... sigh...

OK, so "after the holidays" is here at last and we no longer have any excuses to put things off! We are not much for New Year's Resolutions around here, but we did make a list of things that we've been meaning to get done for a long time... at the top of the list was potty training Nathan... quick! Before this baby is born... This is one of my least favortie parenting tasks for sure!

So, we went cold turkey, like we did with Ellie -- no more diapers, no more pull-ups -- we started on Saturday (I just can't imagine doing those first couple of days without Frank around...). And we had all the rewards in place - the jellybeans, the stickers, the "potty presents" from the dollar store. No more fooling around on our parts - On Saturday, it was just as we expected - about 12 "accidents" throughout the day. We could barely keep up with the laundry! SUnday was a little better -- down to maybe 4 or 5 accidents. Still not really convinced that he was "getting it" but less laundry anyways. Monday was better still - only three accidents and all before noon. And Tuesday (today) - we have turned the corner, officially, I think. Now that he gets how to "let it out" and how to "keep it in" (too much information??), he gets a kick out of going potty "standing up like daddy" -- it's a hoot and he cracks up the whole time! He even has so much FUN going potty today, that he has even refused the jellybeans and the potty presents (which is good... there's only one of those left!). So, (knock on wood), NO accidents so far today - much less stressful day (and much less laundry...)

So, we'll see if we can keep the good momentum going - next phase, staying dry overnight... we're on a roll so far, so we'll see how it goes.

Have a great week - stay warm!

Home for the Holidays

Our first holiday season out of state... hmmm... it was different for sure! We celebrated Christmas on three diferent days instead of one. Here's how it went down:

December 25th -- Just the four of us in Omaha.

The day started out much like any other Christmas (besides the fact that we had to really be sure the kids were asleep before we snuck all the loot out of the attic -- right past their rooms -- and downstairs to the tree. We've never had such a treacherous "santa route" before, but it worked out OK. We ran them around pretty good on the 24th, so they were asleep pretty quickly. Ellie woke up at 6:00 am on the nose (we sort of have a rule... no getting up 'till the "sixes" on weekends / days off...) And like a good little rule follower, she told us she was awake for a while in her room ("It took forever for the 5 to change to a 6"), but she waited. And at 6:00 am, she came in shouting, "It's Christmas, it's Christmas, it's finally here, ...." Cute. Nathan didn't wake up until almost 7:30... it was agony for her. (And we kind of woke him up - seriously! What kind of kid has to be woken up on Christmas morning?!?!?) We got downstairs, did the present thing -- gifts were well received, I think. Frank purchased a doughnut-maker for the family - and of course, it's the first thing we opened to try out. When we lived in Chicago, it was a quick present-opening and then off to shower and get ready to go to Cary and Glen Ellyn. But, this year, we had the day to ourselves -- nothing to do but lounge around, play with our new stuff, and eat doughnuts of course :) It was a relaxing day -- Ellie was all about staying in her jammies all day (Nathan is still a man of routine... about 11:00 am, he started requesting "pants and a shirt.... get dressed?" We were amazed at how tired we were after a day of lounging, but it was fun to spend the day lounging together!

December 26th: Clean-up and Pack-Up

Frank had to work on the 26th, so the kids and I spent the day cleaning up Christmas, opening up more toys (i.e. fighting with all of those plastic ties!) and taking down the tree. I know, kind of hasty, but we were heading out of town for a week and I didn't want it to be up all week drying out and then having to deal with it when we came back. Lucky for us, it was near 60 degrees that day and Frank was even able to tear down the outside lights before we left, too! Another good "home day."

December 27th: The journey to Cary

This day would have been a lot easier without the ice storms through Iowa. It was a tricky drive...and long. A trip that normally takes us 7 1/2 hours took a good 9 hours. But, it wasn't the extra time that was the killer, but the weather! Rain, ice, "wintry mix", potholes, traffic (in chicago, of course!). It was a long day in the car, but once we got to Cary Christmas, it was all worth it. Unfortunately, the Williams clan had been hit with some kind of nasty stomach bug. It started with Gina, and had been passed on to Richard and Rich. Rich wasn't even able to make it out to "Christmas" -- we entered the infirmary trying to avoid the inevitable. While we were at the WIlliams', Frank also caught the bug, but the rest of us were clear! We had a great visit... Frank and Nana took the kids ice skating (which Ellie LOVED!), we went to the movies (which both kids loved) and we got to go visit Emma at her new place again. It also shouldn't go unmentioned that we were able to hit a few of our favorite "not in Omaha" restaurants: Portillo's and Potbelly...yum! A fun first half to the week!

December 31st: Transition to Glen Ellyn

We headed south to GLen ELlyn on Wednesday -- we usually celebrate New Year's Eve with my sister and her family - always a good time. Until this year, when Ellie came up to us with that "look" in her eyes around 8:00 pm. "What's the matter Ellie?" The gag, then the full blown "spit out" (as she calls it) Puke everywhere! Well, now Ellie has the bug - ick! She had a rough night (all night), which means we all had a rough night, but she woke up on the 1st ready to go and no further "incidents." We had spent the night at my sister's house. So, we all headed back to my parents house to do the "dykstra christmas." Another fun scene -- 4 grandkids and wrapping paper everywhere! We were grateful again that our families would postpone their Christmases until we got to their part of town -- we sure would have hated to miss it :) The rest of the week was fun -- lots of cousin time, another trip to the "choo choo train restaurant" (see the Thanksgiving post for the details on that one!), and plenty of time to hang out with Grandma and Poppa and all of their new stuff. We even managed to squeeze in a pseudo-birthday celebration for my dad, whose birthday is on the 6th of January... and we ordered pizza -- good ol' non-omaha pizza. I think that was a treat for us, not my dad, but...

We left chicago on Sunday, January 4th. What a difference a week makes! We made it back to Omaha in the standard 7 1/2 hours. Plenty of sunshine and not a lot of traffic -- a much more pleasant drive! We have been getting back to our "routine" - Ellie is back to preschool and we finished putting away Christmas, officially. Now, we are on to the list of things that we have been putting off, you know, until "after the holidays." And, as always, it's a big list. This year, it seems to be more baby-related than anything (think of a name, for starters!) :)

Happy New Year to everyone! Hope 2009 is good to you all!