Grammie stays to Play

Nick headed off to Minnesota for work yesterday. I know he will miss the kids but I am jealous of the sleep he will be getting! Grammie came in to stay and help me and play with the kids. She got in Sunday evening and we went to Chili's for dinner and stayed up late watching Frosty the snowman for the 87th time. This morning I took Addy to the open gym in Buda for the first time. She has loved gymnastics since we started it in Owatonna and I am so glad to have found a good gym nearby. It was so much fun! Today was our first experience with a foam pit and Addy loved it. There were a bunch of kids and it was so much fun watching Addy have fun. Grammie and I took turns playing with Addy and holding Charlie. All of the little girls were very interested in seeing him! This afternoon, Aubra and Ryan came up for a visit. Ryan was such a good sport playing kitchen with Addy and pretending to drive her and all of her babies on the couch for hours. Charles snuggled into Aubra's arms and slept away most of the afternoon. We are so lucky to have friends like Aubra and Ryan that feel more like family. They are so sweet to our kids and I can't wait to meet their kids someday and try to show them the same love and attention. We all miss Nick but it sure is fun having Grammie stay the night. She and Adalynn have been doing all kinds of crafty and baking projects while I alternate snuggling with my sweet boy and running around cleaning like a crazy person. I am amazed by how much more energy I have even with next to no sleep than I did at 9 months pregnant. Nick being in Owatonna is making me very nostalgic for our home of just 8 months. I wish I had thought to do this there, write about our daily life. I loved walking to the grocery store, park and dry cleaner with Addy in the stroller and playing with the neighbors in the communal backyard. We made wonderful friends during our short time in Minnesota and learned so much about contentment, making the best with what you had available and living within our means. I loved finding new activities and experiences for Adalynn like the Steele County Fair with it's exotic petting zoo and cheese curds, the Mall of America in Minnapolis, gymnastics with Miss Bree, the Lake Kohlmer beach with Aria, Lillie, Miles, Jareth and Laney and endless park visits with all of our neighbors. Addy loved watching Nick and his friends play company softball and stopping for an ice-cream cone at Blast whenever we had time. Although money was tight, it was such a fun, memorable time for our family and we were blessed to live there.