Poop Show.

Dear Adam Howard: this is what happens when you poop through your clothes at Gigi's house on a day when your mom is a little frazzled and doesn't have a change of clothes for you in the diaper bag. I blame our travels. He looks good though, and was pretty happy once he got warmed up.

He was less happy when, while sharing the tub with Ellie, she dumped a cup full of water down his face. She was just trying to help!

Meanwhile, we have delved into the world of potty training, after Ellie got really excited about the discount Hello Kitty undies that Gigi bought for her. The first 12 hours were a bit of a crap show (har har) but since then she's been doing really well and is very excited about having Hello Kitty around. Today she walked into music class, hitched up her tutu skirt and screamed delightedly at Lexi "I HAVE UNDERPANTS!" Then later during music Lexi held Ellie's arm and said very seriously "you belong to me, you're my best friend." Kristen and I nearly cried. Those sweet girls.

Meanwhile, pictures from the wedding are beginning to filter in from the internet. Here are a few choice ones:

Doing some EXCELLENT dancing with my boyfriend

Break dance fighting with the bride.

Trip Videos.

Just a few nuggets of joy!

Thanks to Grandma Rosie, Ellie no longer cares for plain ice cream. She likes it to have chocolate sauce on it, as you can see from her face and her teeth.

Home Again, Home Again.

We made it home, safe and sound. What a great trip! It feels like we had a thousand different vacations crammed into one week. Saw all the Millers, the Thiels, and then saw Becca get married to a wonderful man. It was the best of times, it was the best of times.

I could not have asked for two better travelers in the back seat. Adam slept the entire flight home and most of the driving. Ellie didn't sleep on the flight, but was happy to color nonstop, until we finally got her engaged in watching Ice Age so that Tim and I could zone out for a bit. It was just a really refreshing trip, tiring as it was. Seeing my kids through other people's eyes (instead of my own tired mom eyes) really helped me appreciate what dreamboats they both can be.

The wedding was wonderful! All of Becca's planning really came together for a great day. The food was fantastic, the DIY flowers were beautiful, and the bride was gorgeous (Brian looked cute too.) Ellie's flower girling career was fairly brief, but fun. She loved her dress and her new sparkly shoes, and the other flower girl Natalie. They both walked in holding my hand, but then bolted down the aisle. Natalie ran to her grandma, and Ellie came back and yelled "com'n mama!" She and Adam lasted about five minutes into the ceremony, and then that angel of mercy Gigi whisked them out to the bride's room. All night people kept telling me how cute the kids were, and they were... because they didn't disturb anything.

This is what Becca and Brian discovered when they went to the bride's room for a few moments of newly married quiet time after the ceremony.

This is how Adam spent the morning of the wedding. And when we took group photos I put him in his car seat, and he continued to sleep for awhile. What more could you ask for in a baby?

The girls with the bride and groom before the ceremony.

These are all terrible cell phone pictures - the photographer snapped a few of us as a family, and some of the kids, which I will hopefully have soon. In the meanwhile, I have to go throw myself at Justin Timberlake. It will be my REAL vacation.

Chicago.

We made it! The four hour drive took us closer to seven hours (11am to 6pm) but such is traveling with little kids. Stopped for lunch, got everyone fed and changed, pulled back onto the highway and heard some music from the back seat. Butt music, if you catch my drift. Back off the highway to do diaper changes in a creepy abandoned gas station's parking lot. We did get to have Culvers twice though, so I shouldn't complain. And we got a chance to stop by and see Kate's house, which was lovely. I have also managed to get a lot of reading done in the car, and have finally trained Ellie to say "another song please" instead of whining "I don't like this song!" when she hears a Miss Elena song that doesn't meet her liking. I AM SO SICK OF MISS ELENA SONGS.

The kids were both good travelers though, other than ill timed pooped. Ellie is content to look out the window or read a book, and only spent a little time playing on the tablet. Tim and I were feeling pretty smug the other night - we let her play the Monkey Game on her way to Famous Daves, and then we considered letting her play with it at dinner, since it was late and she was already on the feisty side, but we decided we didn't want to have "that kid." She was remarkably well behaved through dinner, and we felt quite accomplished, especially because next to us were two grade school aged boys who didn't look up from their game boys the whole meal, despite their mom nagging them.

We're sad to say goodbye to Grandma Rosie and Grandpa Howie and everyone else in La Crosse, but ready to get some wedding fun happening! We managed to meet up with everyone for dinner, and Ellie very proudly showed off her new sparkly gold wedding shoes. Tomorrow is flower prep, pedicures (thank heavens!) and the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. Our little apartment here is nice, and I'm happy to not have Adam in the same room with us. And we'll get to be reunited with Gigi soon! Who doesn't love Gigi?

My grandparents and their little namesakes

Snuggle buddies

Culvers stop #1

Last Day in La Crosse

We had a great time at the pool this morning, though I must admit, it makes me feel old that David and I are at the pool chaperoning our kids, when it feels like not that long ago we were asking Grandma for money to go to the pool in Holmen. The new Erickson pool is really great - the wading area is really large and only gets to about 2 feet deep, with lots of sprayers and fountains that Ellie loved. She went down the water slide a couple of times with me, and like the fearless girl she is, threw herself in the deep end before I could stop her (she quickly surfaced and I pulled her out.)

We also went to ShopKo this morning, where she got some glittery gold Mary Janes for Becca's wedding. As we left, she said "oh, I like ShopKo" and I have never been more proud. The big highlight of the day was going over to Hailee's house and seeing her bunny rabbit and her new puppy. What could be better? Grandpa came home for dinner tonight and we'll see him tomorrow before we hit the road back to Chicago. Hopefully the kids will continue to be good travelers. Ellie has slept better than I anticipated, given that falling asleep has been such a nightmare at home this past month or so, and Adam continues to be his good natured self, though this morning he was awake and wanted to eat at 4:30 and he was hungry at 5:15 the day before.

From our visit to Maiden Rock

Reading with Grandma Rosie

The little Packer fan snuggles with his great grandma

Everyone snuggles with Auntie B

Rabbit time!

Maiden Rock

Another good day around these parts. Adam was up early but went back to sleep, so the majority of us were asleep for the majority of the time until about 8:30 this morning. Can't complain too much about that (yes I can. Being on vacation with two little kids is exhausting!)

I did get to go for a quick run this morning though, which was great and much needed, and by the time we were all ready, Grandma was home and we set out towards Maiden Rock, where my Grandma Pat is buried. It's such a pretty drive, and so familiar to me after many childhood visits in summers past. We stopped in Nelson for lunch and had sandwiches and ice cream from the creamery. And I bought three bags of cheese curds, because I am hoping to cause my entire digestive system to shut down by mainlining cheese. DON'T JUDGE ME. The garlic curds are really good - highly recommend.

Then we drove through Pepin, Stockholm and Maiden Rock, and to keep Ellie from falling asleep I kept pointing out random houses and saying things like "there's Grandpa Charlie's old house, wave!" It might have been his house, so it's not like it was a total lie.

The cemetery was nice, as it always is. Very peaceful. Ellie was impressed with Grandma Pat's "pretty stone" and was interested in the fact that Grandma Pat had been tall like Gigi and Daddy. She also enjoyed eating the blackberries that grow on the edge of the plot, which I encouraged. It's what my grandma would want! I of course, also got eaten alive by mosquitos.

We drove home on the Minnesota side, which is not as pretty or exciting. Probably because there are more Vikings fans. Ellie fell asleep, and Adam woke up crying a half hour from home and I made the Sophie's Choice to let him cry so Ellie could nap a little longer. We had dinner tonight out at Famous Daves with everyone and tomorrow we're meeting Dave and Hailee for a swim at the fancy local pool. So many water slides!

And of couse, tomorrow I'm hoping to hit up ShopKo.

La Crosse

We made it here safely yesterday afternoon, after a stop for Culvers and a stop for snacks (both necessitated by Adam waking up and screaming in the back seat.) The kids have been remarkably good travelers and decent sleepers - Adam is not giving us the kind of easy overnight rest that we get at home, but a 6-7 hour block is nothing to sniff at, especially as he's fighting a cold, in a new place, and working reeeeeeeeally hard on rolling over (made it 90% of the way this morning, but then was content to lay and suck on his hand instead of pulling his head up.)

We had dinner last night with the whole family, which was great. Ellie and Hailee get along like gangbusters, and everyone was impressed with Adam's ability to just lay around and enjoy the crowd. Today we're heading to Maiden Rock, and then out to dinner. Tomorrow there's plans for a morning at the pool and then perhaps visiting Hailee's new puppy and her bunny rabbit. All the things Ellie loves!

Adam meeting Grandpa Charlie

Ellie gardens at Lisa's

Kids table

The Howie babies. Adam was quite content to snuggle with his great grandpa