Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! Our little lion was sick, so we didn't get to go trick-or-treating :( We were really bummed (well mostly Mommy and Daddy since Brecken doesn't know much about it yet.) He has even been practicing his lion roar and saying trick-or-treat, but I guess we'll have to wait another year. Although I do plan to bring him over to a couple of our neighbors later in the week once he is feeling better. He came down with a pretty high fever yesterday afternoon and has started coughing again. The dr. told us earlier to start the nebulizer at the first sign of any respiratory issues and so far that seems to be keeping things under control. We're thinking it's probably just a virus because there was a girl at daycare last week that had similar symptoms and was out for several days. Anyway, enough on our little sicky. Here are some Halloween pictures...

Vocab. Parade at school - check out those lovely pants

Mommy made Pumpkin Pancakes for Breakfast on Sunday

Carving with Daddy

Poor Brecken - sick on Halloween

Brecken is a Big Boy

I have suddenly realized that Brecken is really growing up... About a month ago we converted his crib to the toddler bed, and recently we have packed away the sippy cups and high chair and took down our baby gate. Wow, Brecken is definitely not a baby anymore. How did this happen...where does the time go? I have to say though that I just love the age he is at right now....he's just getting to be so much FUN!

Concordia Homecoming 2011

Last weekend we headed up to Moorhead for Concordia's Homecoming. This year we stayed with the Endreson family (DJ's friends from college), and we had a GREAT time! Saturday morning we went to the parade, which was lots of fun. The rest of the weekend the kids just played together - the highlight was probably the bouncy house they had. Here are some pictures...

Tenley (1), Brecken, Kaycee (5)

All done

My friend, Amanda, and her fiance also joined us at the parade, and it was so great to see them too! After the parade, we had lunch at Panchero's, and then it was nap time for the 2 younger kids. During nap time, I went to meet up with another college friend, April, and it was great to catch up with her as well! Sunday, we left right after lunch and we were able to make a stop at Lake Osakis to see Grandma & Grandpa Hoelscher.

This weekend, DJ and Brecken went up to Browerville so DJ could do some work on his deer stand. I have the house all to my self and am getting caught up with pictures while Mama Mia is playing in the background :) Tomorrow my goal is to wash windows and get a bunch of school work done, then possibly meet my mom in the evening to go shopping if the boys aren't home yet. Hey, I have to sneak in a little fun while the boys are gone ;)

2 year Check-up and more...

Brecken had a great 2-year check-up with his pediatrician a couple of weeks ago...He weighed in at 28 pounds exactly (50%) and was 35 1/4 inches (73%)! What happened to our little peanut?

Last weekend we went to a Corn Maze for some fall fun. They also had a petting zoo, corn pit, and giant slide. It was LOTS of fun and here are a few pictures.

Corn Pit

This weekend was unfortunately not so fun...Brecken was sick (with Bronchitis!). He started with a little cough here or there around Tuesday last week. Then Thursday I got an e-mail at work from his daycare lady saying that he wasn't feeling that great, was crabby, and just not acting at all like the normal Brecken, but he didn't feel warm and she didn't think it was anything too serious. Well Thursday night he had a fever of 101 and was up coughing throughout the night. So on Friday afternoon DJ took him into the pediatrician and they did a chest x-ray because his cough sounded so terrible. The radiologist wasn't available right then so the dr did her best to read the x-ray and said she saw a little cloudiness which was likely the start of Bronchitis. She didn't want Brecken to have to wait through the weekend to get the official word, so she started him on the Z-pack (Zythromax) and said to give him nebulizer treatments every 3-4 hours, as needed. Saturday morning I got the official x-ray results online and found out that he indeed did have Bronchitis and possibly the very beginning of pneumonia :( Overall, he's done really well and is still his happy, silly self. We've actually had a hard time keeping him mellow so that he can better. He just wants to keep go, go, going! The nights have been another story...when he lies down, he coughs, and coughs, and coughs! It's been almost like having a newborn again with the amount of sleep we've been getting around here :( The dr. said to call on Monday if he's not doing a lot better. I have to call to get a refill for the nebulizer anyway (since we're still using leftovers from when he was just a few months old), so I think I'll also let her know that although his fever is gone, his cough is pretty much the same as it was on Friday :( Here's to hoping for a better night's sleep before the work week (and I'm getting observed tomorrow - nice timing ;)

Another Great Recipe

Cheesy Pasta Bake:
http://www.kraftcanada.com/en/recipes/cheesy-pasta-bake-126141.aspx?cm_mmc=eml-_-rbecaen-_-20110831-_-1114&cm_lm=A83DCDF268B3E4886D7F26A3D07FD9BC

Brecken's 2nd Birthday

I'm a couple days late, but Happy Birthday, Brecken! I can't believe our little peanut that started at just 2 pounds is now a big two-year-old! On his birthday, it's incredible to remember the journey he has had. I look at him on his 2nd birthday and just cannot believe that he was born 3 months early, yet never had a single surgery, and he is a completely normal two year old in size AND development. We are just so thankful that he his able to live a perfectly normal life. Miracles DO happen, and we are so grateful that God blessed us with a huge miracle!

Here are a few pictures from his birthday party with the family, last Sunday, 9/18.

It was a full living room!

Cake made by Great-Grandma Schmidt

And here are a couple pictures from his actual birthday:

Baseball cake that Mommy made

He ate a whole piece of cake!

 And a little video :) You'll have to pardon my singing!





Oh, and his daycare lady e-mailed me this picture from his lunch party with his daycare friends -





Hallelujah - No Matter What

Last Saturday, I attended a women's conference titled,  "Hallelujah!--no matter what...The journey from hurt to hope." The keynote speaker was singer/songwriter Heather Williams, and she has quite the inspirational story! Heather had a very rough childhood to say the least. She was abused and neglected. After high school she turned her life around and got married to a strong Christian. They got pregnant after trying for 5 years, and after the baby was born, he died of a medical issue at the age of 6 months! If she can still praise God after all she has been through in her life, I think almost anyone can!

Here is a video of her inspiring story (definitely worth 7 minutes of your time!)...
http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=91B1E1NU
(I hope she can inspire you in a similar way that she did for me.)

Here is a link to a shorter version of her story.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CG3n0htT-2Y

For more information, you can visit Heather Williams' website:
http://heatherwilliamsmusic.com/Home

I would love to share my personal reflection to her story and how I can relate it to our experience with Brecken's premature birth, but I'll save that for another day. He's up from his nap, and I'm off to play with that miracle boy now :)

Oh, and I have to say THANK YOU to D.J. for encouraging me to go to the conference even though I didn't know a single other person that was going. I was definitely glad I went!

God bless,
Laura

Brecken's Girlfriends

It seems that everywhere we go it's girls, girls, girls! We are in BIG trouble if this trend continues in his teenage years!

Liana and Brecken dancing

Liana and Brecken again

Liana, Brecken, Amaya (fellow preemies & friends)

The neighbor girl and Brecken

My friend's daughter, Emmelia

Daycare friend, Brielle

Daycare friends Emma and Paige (It's ALL girls at daycare!)

And I could continue with a lot more girls too if I had pictures of all of them!

Recipes!

Over the last several months I've been trying really hard to plan out new meals before I head to the grocery store. Otherwise I end up getting the same old things every time, and it gets rather boring. Since I've found quite a few good recipes (all fairly easy too!), I thought I'd share them because I know how hard it can be to come up with new, easy dinner ideas. If you have any recipes you'd like to share, you can e-mail them to me at laurahoelscher@hotmail.com and then I can post for others. I figure we might as well swap recipes to save us some time and energy :)

Here are some of the recipes we've liked (I won't waste your time posting the not so good ones):

I'll start with a few of our favorites...
Tortellini Marinara - http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Tortellini-Marinara
Taco Bake - http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/taco-bake-63779.aspx
Cajun Chicken Pasta - http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/main-courses/cajun-chicken-pasta-6/

Weeknight Ravioli - http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/weeknight-ravioli-bake-114685.aspx
Pierogi Beef Skillet - http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Pierogi-Beef-Skillet
Sweet 'n' Tangy Pot Roast - http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Sweet--n--Tangy-Pot-Roast (This is more of a BBQ flavor that works well for BBQ sandwiches.)
Shortcut Stroganoff - http://www.campbellkitchen.com/recipedetail.aspx?recipeId=25201&fbid=tXRAP4S_Xe4
Pineapple Pork Chops - http://www.moneywisemoms.com/2009/09/wfmw-pineapple-pork-chops.html
Teriyaki Chicken & Rice - http://whilehewasnapping.blogspot.com/2011/03/20-minute-teriyaki-chicken-rice.html#axzz1VuKaA9fd
Banana Brownie Waffles: http://mealmakeovermoms.com/kitchen/2010/02/10/banana-brownie-waffles-giveaway-for-a-cuisinart-belgian-waffle-maker/

And a great smoothie:
http://mealmakeovermoms.com/kitchen/2010/05/03/healthy-meal-with-kid-appeal-award-mommys-kitchens-blueberry-banana-smoothie/

I find most of my recipes at Organizing Junkie - Menu Plan Monday...It's on my link list. I don't follow her menu plan, but it's a great source for recipes. Another good source is the cookbook, No Whine With Dinner. I asked for it for Mother's Day, and DJ & Brecken got it for me :)

Enjoy everyone!

NEW YORK!

My mom and I took a trip to New York last week, and we had such a great time! My mom has always wanted to go to NY, but my dad didn't really have any desire to go soooo... I got to go instead! We've talked about going for a few years, but it took until now to actually put it into action. We were only there 3 nights, and 4 days but I'm pretty sure we packed every attraction into our trip! We saw Times Square, Rockefeller Center, two Broadway shows (Mary Poppins and Sister Act - both were awesome!), the Empire State Building, Ground Zero, Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Central Park, and went on a Harbor Cruise. We took the tour bus to a couple sites that were the farthest away, but other than that we walked, and walked, AND walked! We never once set foot on the Subway or a taxi! The trip went really well and we were amazed with how fast we got oriented in such a big city. The only little glitch in the trip was our flight home. We were scheduled to leave at 8:35p.m. but we were delayed due to some thunderstorms there. We got on the plane just before 11p.m. but then didn't actually take off until almost 1 a.m. because of the runway back-up! By the time we landed, stopped at my parents, and I got back to Elk River, it was 4 a.m. (5 a.m. New York time!)  I think I'm still trying to catch up with my sleep ;)

Here are a few of the trip highlights:

Times Square

Broadway show #1

Tour Bus

Views from the top of the Empire State Building

Night Tour

Central Park

Broadway show #2 - Sister Act

Thanks, Mom for a wonderful trip and great memories!

(While I was gone, Brecken spent one day getting reacquainted at daycare, 2 days at Grandma and Grandpa Hoelscher's, and one day home with Daddy.)