What's new with the Gacniks?

Well, I can tell you what is not new with the Gacniks....no new baby yet. I can't coax this little lady to make her debut, regardless what spicy food I eat or how long I'm on my feet every day. Yesterday I cleaned the house, baked in the kitchen some fresh apple bread, bribed the family to go for a long walk (followed by ice cream of course), made dinner and still nothing. I'm telling you, this little lady may be a touch stubborn. Jeremy and I have no idea why.....just kidding. Maddie and Luke are doing great. We ventured to the apple orchard this weekend to pick some apples and go for a tractor/wagon ride. If you ask Luke, his farmer buddy was really nice and a good driver of the old tractor. It doesn't take much to excite a 2.5 year old. Maddie was on a hunt for the BIGGEST apple and found one. How is Jeremy? He's doing well and is probably more worried about me going into labor or doing something inappropriate...like climbing on/off wagons for tractor wagon rides. Or let's see, jogging during a "walk" to offer incentive to this baby. I guess I can see why he just shakes his head with my crazy shenanigans. He's a good sport though! We are hoping the weather holds out a bit longer so the kids can continue to play outside, ride bikes and just enjoy what's left of summer. Fall is definitely in the air in Minnesota, as the leaves are all changing colors and display a beautiful yellow, orange and red vibrant color. We know one thing in life and that is by mid-day Oct. 8 a new little Gacnik will be welcomed to MN. Even though we are yet to have a name for the little lady, we are just hoping for a happy and healthy little baby and delivery. Cheers everyone!

Miss Maddie is 5...

...where did the time go?! Well, Maddie turned 5 a week ago. Gosh, she is growing up fast, too fast!!!

We had a fun party this year. Since the party was so close to the new baby's due date, we had to keep it simple for anyone to pull-off in case we were at the hospital. So, we did the unthinkable and what we said would never happen, we approved the princess party. Yes, Elsa herself stopped by our house and entertained 5 little girls and one loving brother for an hour and a half. Let me just say that was the SMARTEST thing we have ever done. If I recall, Jeremy cracked a beer open at one point as he kicked back and watched. The princess literally did it all. Heck, she even brought the cupcakes. Money well spent people....that's the opinion of one very pregnant mama! Anyway, the kids loved it and Maddie now wants to visit Annadale (sp?) where Elsa is from and Luke asked for Ana to visit for his birthday. Funny. Safe to say they had the time of their lives!!! The little lady has certainly grown up too fast. She was very excited to get a new-to-her bike on her birthday and has been on it non-stop.

Old man Elvis

There are many things in life we ignore and one of these is that everything has a lifecycle. All relationships have a start, a middle and eventually and ending…a goodbye for now.

We experienced another one of these moments last week. Our buddy Elvis joined his friends, Sadie and Dibs, and I’m sure is now drinking from a bottomless bowl of cold water (or a toilet if someone left the lid up). He was a great dog and a loyal companion. I relate the relationship to this guy as one of unconditional love. Elvis was the man in my life, long before Jeremy, the kids or other dogs were around. He was a great dog, a stubborn one at times who would let me know if I wasn’t giving him enough attention, but a great dog. The gentlest of breeds and welcoming to anyone….especially if they had a treat. He handled each of the relocations like a champ and welcomed every adventure. We are all adjusting to our new normal without our old buddy, but it was time. We are thankful for the last year, but on Labor Day I finally accepted the decision I had to make. Jeremy always told me it would be my decision since he was my dog, and trust me, making this decision 35 weeks pregnant was the last thing I wanted to do. But, I also knew I was being selfish not making the decision. Everyone is adapting at their own pace. Maddie asked last week at bedtime if we could get another “Elvis” and I said we would in time. Most likely though, the next one would have a different name. She was okay with that. She and Luke loved the big guy.

Bailey is adjusting to her new normal and overall is doing well. She really has taken to all the extra loving and treats. There has been no shortage of either of those.

So anyway, we will miss the guy who tore through my garbage when he was 2 years old and strung it all over my house….the guy who was so proud of himself when he discovered and “took care of” a rabbits nest in my back yard at the age of 4….. the guy who let Maddie sit on him like a horse…..and the guy who welcomed every one of my family members like long lost friends.

If you build it, they will come...

...Friday night a Craigslist special arrived. It was safe to say that Maddie and Luke were a little excited about this new toy. When we decided to buy a bigger home this year, we promised the kids a swing set with a tire swing. Who knew it could be so important to them. Apparently, this is the coolest play ground equipment ever. So, to Craigslist I went to track down a swing set that met our specifications and was listed for a price I was willing to read. Friday night I found one and they previous owner was willing to deliver it....score! Good thing Grandma and Grandpa were in town for a visit, because we all went to work building for 2 kiddos.

What else? 6 more weeks until the little Sherpa arrives. Now, if only we had a name for the little tike. We have a solid list of names, but not one that has stuck. Madeline is still stuck on Coco; which is short for Coconut. At this rate, it may stick. ha! We are settling into the new digs. 2 weeks now and already we know more neighbors than ever before. It's great. Of course, the not so great part is the AC breaking within a 4 days of closing and then being without it for a week. That was less than ideal. Oh well, it is now fixed.

Okay - off to bed, but hope you enjoyed a quick update. Julie

Pink..

...is in the future. We had a little fun this summer with some cupcakes. In finding out the gender of our upcoming addition, we gave a friend an envelope with a photo/sticky note revealing the gender of the baby. (no, we did not peak in advance) So, one evening she came over with cupcakes, which included a color filling. We all were surprised and excited to learn pink is returning to our vocabulary. Maddie has been working on names for her baby sister. Here is her current list.... Coco for Coconut Elsa Ana Bella ....do you sense a trend to princess names for some, except for Coco, which she really likes. I guess it's safe to say the baby will be well loved. In other news, MN is breaking more records. I know what you're thinking, after the 8 month winter which set record low temps for extended periods of time, what more is there? Well, the second wettest April on record. And now....breaking records for the amount of rainfall in 1 day and then in a month....which is leading to record breaking flooding....Jeremy and I just shake our head. Luke had a bit of fun a few weeks ago. Turns out a new virus is in town....and Luke caught it. This included 4 days with crazy high fevers. One evening after we hit 104.8 after giving Advil to the little guy, we were told to visit the ER. Luke was a trooper and did great. Amazingly, you can double up on Advil and Tylenol and this virus handled that well. So, for 4 days we used both to keep him from spiking the crazy fevers. It was a long night, but thankfully after chest x-rays and other tests we were cleared to go home with meds. Sorry for such a lull in posting. To put it bluntly, I'm tired. Something says that isn't going away anytime soon. :)

Time to go public..

Can you imagine this family growing by 2 feet this fall? Jeremy and I will practice our "zone" defense this summer in preparation for #3. We told family early October is a beautiful time of year to visit, because on an annual basis we begin filling ~70 bags of leaves....and then the snow hits. Sounds great, huh? So, if you are bored this fall and need some new cuddles, stop by for a visit. Bring an extra set of clothes because we create kids who can projectile burp and have massive diaper blowouts. I believe this is an impressive trait and will make for great college admission essays, don't you think? Anyway, it's time to go public that the Gacnik household is growing.

*A fun note about this picture...I was ~12 weeks pregnant and "sucking in" to fit into this wedding dress in TX. It was a crazy secret to keep from everyone, including family, for this length of time but the bump appeared sooner than expected....so, the secret is out.

Spring?

We got a taste of spring the last week and trust me, we have taken advantage of every minute of it. The kids quickly requested their riding toys instead of a shovel....after 6 months, who could blame them? Anyway, Maddie took off on her strider bike as if she rode it all winter long. I pulled out a 2-wheel pedal bike some old neighbors in CO gave us and asked her to give it a whirl. Amazingly, she caught on within a few minutes which shocked Jeremy and I. Within 5 minutes we moved to the street and Maddie told me, "Mom, you can let go." uhhh......kiddo, this mom will never totally let go. However, off she went on the bike and was having a ball. So every day since then we have been riding bikes after daycare. We took the training wheels off the Minnie bike Santa brought over a year ago, which is really too small, but it works for practice. She thinks that is just wonderful. Maddie now thinks it's pretty special to ride her bike when Jeremy or I go for runs now. Talk about growing up all too fast. Luke is a bit skeptical of the strider bike, but exploring it more and more every day. I have no doubt he will be cruising in no time. He is more into running the street and riding his other toys. He's all boy, so really, he prefer jumping in the puddles and getting his shoes wet. ha! So, without delay, here are some pictures of our outdoor adventures. It's safe to say we are hopeful spring is here to stay.

Howdy Y'all

We are Texas bound in the morning for a rooting-tooting-wedding this weekend. To get in the spirit of Texas, the kids have been wearing their cowboy hats around and saying "yee-haw" and "howdy". We want them to fit in....which might be a tad difficult based on their albino skin tone after 7 months of winter. But hey, it's worth a shot! Luke is a little ring bearer and I'm thinking we may show up with this hat at rehearsal just for kicks. Melissa, the bride, would laugh so it would be in good fun.

Do you want to build a snowman?

Wow, what a winter. We have had plenty of snow to build a snowman, but temperatures cold enough to prohibit it. Crazy, huh? That doesn't stop us from trying now and then. Last week we had another round of snow, about 8 inches, and Jeremy made steps in the snow and carved out a slide so the kids now have an outdoor playground made from snow. It was rather cute watching them play as I shoveled....wait, how come I was shoveling...... Things are going well. We took advantage of a winter escape to FL this winter for 10 days and it was amazing. The kids did great traveling and Jeremy and I enjoyed the opportunity to play outside without bundling up. We visited Clearwater Marine Aquarium and the kids loved it. Really, that is an understatement. We went 3 times to the aquarium, which is really a marine rescue, rehabilitation, and release center. Yes, this is where Winter (the dolphin from Dolphin Tale) resides, but if you ask the kids their favorite things were the otters, turtles and petting the sting rays. It's such a tremendous education center and I highly recommend it to anyone visiting FL....maybe even more than Disney. (gasp, yes I said that)

We camped part of the week at Disney and the kids enjoyed running around, playing on the swing sets, going swimming and of course going to Disney World.....Madeline fell in love with her princesses again and Luke liked looking at his favorite characters from a distance. There was no chance he was going to touch them. ha!

That's really all. It's been a great winter really. If you removed the extreme cold we have experienced I think we would enjoy MN more. However, 50+ days of subzero temps have taken it's toll on us. We are hoping it improves over the next 2 months......one can hope, right? Take care and stay warm!

New Year ....New Post

Well, time to stop being a slacker. I'm sure you were wondering what happened to the Gacnik family since the Nov. post. Well, I'll tell you. Thanksgiving came and went...we were in IA with the Kiefer family and it was wonderful. Christmas came and went....we were home for this. We enjoy waking up in our own house, with our own traditions Christmas morning. New Years came and went....we were home for this as well. Literally, we stayed home until.... ..Grandpa Kiefer fell and broken his tibia & fibia and herniated a disc in his spine. So the kiddo and I packed up and headed to Iowa (warmer destination, huh?) to help out and keep his spirits up and drink wine with grandma. (I drank the wine, not the kids). Anyway it was a great little getaway but it was not accompanied by warmer weather. In fact, they hit negative temps. It was nuts. We headed back to "tropical" MN early to get ahead of a storm coming through. You'd think I would have strayed away from the cold temps, but no, we hurried back the 5 hours and arrived when it was still warm, -15 degrees....the following morning when we woke up it was -28 degrees with a -53 windchill. Have I mentioned we really do not like cold weather.

My brother Matt said it best at Thanksgiving, he really doesn't miss the cold and finds if he want to ski and be chilled to the bone, he can fly to it....I'm starting to like his mentality. Cold and snow is one thing when you can play outside. Once it's sub-zero it just loses the fun. Okay - enough of it. We live in MN where it snows 8 months out of the year. It's bound to be cold!

Other than that the kids are doing great. We have personal concerts every day with Luke rocking out to "The Wiggles" and testing his dance skills. Maddie has been working at her gymnastics. In addition, we have been visiting the ice rink (in the summer months it's called a playground, but in the winter they cover it was water and turn it into an outdoor rink). Anyway, she's having fun and a little dare devil. What else, not much really. Sorry for the absence for awhile. I was busy being a mom and that took priority. I'll try to keep you followers.....are there any followers? is anyone out there?.....well, I'll keep the blog updated. Cheers

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Everyone has a calling....

...I just didn't know Luke's was to be a garbage man (aka sanitary engineer).  He sure hurries to put his books and hat on and join daddy on this Sunday night adventure.  

Surprise

Maddie and I thought we should let you know we are still here. Just living life and having fun. Honestly, we have been caught up in everything else that the blog was set to the side temporarily. Don't worry, now that it's getting cold outside you may hear from us more frequently. 

Apple Orchard

I know, I know, I'm delayed on posting. It's been busy. I'm sure you have been busy to with whatever you do. So without further delay, here are a few recaps from last month. I took a vacation day to accompany Madeline's class to the Apple Orchard. It was great. We made some apple cider, picked apples, climbed on bails of hay, and went through the kiddie maze.

Loaders

Luke is all boy. That's really an understatement.  On a trip back from grandma and grandpas he fell asleep holding his new Loader and was not about to give it up. 

Maddie has her Doll and Luke has his Loader. Classy.  

Preschool

Well Maddie is back in school and loving it. It's safe to say she is exhausted by the end if the day as well.  Check out the pics. Luke was very eager to greet his sister when the bus dropped her off.