Pedersen Twins (plus one!): Meal Planning, Visit to NJ

We're settling in and had a better week this week! It certainly had its ups and downs. I started a meal plan from 100daysofrealfood.com (you can get them free if you sign up for their email on the website). It's great, it gives you a shopping list and breakfast/lunch/snack/dinner every day. I cooked and baked all Sunday morning to prepare. And our week has gone so smoothly. AND we've been eating so healthily! Veggies, whole grains, protein. Both Kurt and I have lost weight. And I think the kids' moods have improved, both from just getting used to things and due to a better diet.

The girls helped me go shopping for the meal plan. It was a long trip and they got a little crazy towards the end, but when we got to the cash register, the cashier said they were the most excited to help kids they'd ever seen. It's true, they, especially Signe, absolutely adore helping with most everything. I need to appreciate that!

We signed up yesterday for swim lessons for the girls at the community center I've been lifting at. It's a class where they'll be expected to be in the pool by themselves. Of course either Kurt or I will sit nearby on the deck, at first anyway. But it's a big step!

Leif's big thing recently is saying "ba" constantly. He loves balls, and he loves his bottle. So it's ba ba ba all day long. He's turning into a helpful little guy too. When we're ready to eat he goes to his highchair (and can almost climb in yikes). When it's bathtime I tell him and he charges upstairs. He just has pretty good coordination in general so we don't need to have a gate on the stairs, which is so nice. His main stinkery thing he's been doing lately is putting things in the toilet...nothing too terrible so far, but still gross. The girls didn't really go through that phase, because when they were his age, we just had the bathroom closed with a child-proof handle cover. We can't do that now because the girls can't open it when they need to potty.

Last week I visited Meg and Dave and baby Jamie in New Jersey! We even stayed overnight. It was a fun adventure although the NJ Turnpike is NOT fun. Those lanes are so narrow and people dart in and out and AHH. It was fun meeting the cute little guy and catching up with Meg. It's only about a 2 hour drive from us. We'll be back in mid-July to celebrate her birthday.

Nothing much planned for the 4th - Kurt has Friday off, yay! We'll probably just unpack and organize more. There are fireworks over the Hudson so we might look into that. It's just that, traditionally, those darn fireworks are set off at night, so far past bedtime...there are always snakes!

The secret staircase. They love the tool kit.

Meg and Jamie and us

Freya got a much-needed haircut. Waiting for our turn.

We went to a party for Kurt's work. It was really fun. This was a game we found in the basement. The girls did pretty well giving clues (after a couple rounds of just telling the person what was on their forehead).

Playing doctor at the playground

Big climber

Freya is starting to "get" pumping.

We were playing a game Freya made up. The person on the top of the hill is a flower. The people at the bottom yell "I'm going to smell you" and run up. And smell the flower.