Now That's What I Call Christmas!

This year we started some new family traditions:

--We went to the Roper Mtn Christmas lights. This wasn't the first time we have gone, but it was the first time we got out of the car and walked around. They had a cute sleigh and snowman for picture taking and tree-lit paths to walk through. There were some other fun things indoors that we didn't participate in this year but maybe next year when the kids are little older.

--We decided instead of the typical appetizer/dessert Christmas Eve dinner that my family has always done to go Ethnic. This year we had Thai food. We were supposed to spend some time talking about the culture but mainly we talked about produce. I'm not sure why or how it came up, I just remember a conversation about eggplant.

--To continue a tradition from Brad's childhood (and basically the only one he can remember) I decided to make one gift for the kids. This year it was a felt board (pictured above) to go in the basement. It started out pretty basic...small garden, apple tree, fish pond, but I have plans to add to it in the future.

--And although, we have no control over the weather in the future, we sure did have fun playing in the snow. It was technically a White Christmas because it started snowing in the evening of Christmas Day. But we didn't get to wake up to it like all the movies. We had fun playing in the snow the next day though. I thought the best Christmas gift I could get was that most of church was cancelled so I wouldn't have to teach my lesson. That was, of course, until the Grinch asked me if I could go ahead and teach it the first week of January :(

Merry Christmas to all

...and to all a good night!

Where The Wild Things Are...

While my parents were in town we went to the zoo. It was a beautiful fall day and the zoo was just the perfect size for the Little Mister. There was enough to keep him interested and excited (he kept saying, "let's go see something else, Grandma") but not too much that he got tired before we finished.

We saw lots of wild animals like elephants,


giraffes,

Suz.

But he said the pig was his favorite.

However, Grandad and I can both agree that the wildest things at the zoo that day are pictured right here.

Thanks for the fun visit! We can't wait for you guys to come back again.

Thank Full

Guests:
Grandma & Grandad
(sorry your family couldn't make it, Sirpa)

Menu:
Turkey
Sausage & Herb stuffing
Mashed Potatoes & Gravy
Whipped Sweet Potatoes with Pecan Crust
Zupha (Swedish braided bread)
Cranberry Relish
Green Beans
Pumpkin, Apple, and Coconut Cream pie (crust made from scratch, of course)
Homemade Nutmeg Whipped Cream
Homemade Vanilla Bean Ice-Cream

Who's jealous?

Besties

They say that diamonds are a girl's best friend. I can't argue with that. However, until you get some diamonds of your own, it sure is nice to have a couple of girlfriends to keep you company.

In case you are new here, these "Besties" are all sisters to the "Buddies". It's cute how that worked out, huh :)

For Daddy

Hurry home.

We miss you.

Love,

The Little Mister

&

Baby Sister

3 months

Oh Baby Sister, you are so cute and cuddly!

I love kissing your fat little cheeks. I think this is my favorite age. You are still so small and baby-like but can smile and laugh at us.

You love it when we talk to you. You especially love watching your brother.

You like to be held sitting up and facing out so you can see everything that is going on.

You get such a big grin every morning when I get you out of bed.

You can lay in bed and talk and entertain yourself for up to 30 minutes, which is great because sometimes that is how long it takes me to finish up my task with the Little Mister and get to you.

You play with your hair when you are sleepy, just like your Aunt Suz used to do.

I'm amazed that you are already sleeping 11-12 hours a night and

still take good naps. It makes up for the fact that you don't sleep very well when you aren't in your own bed and that you don't like to take a bottle.

I'm so happy to be your Mom!

Outtakes

So, maybe these are outdated, but still too cute not to share. Thanks again Angela, for the fun party!

dissension in the ranks

Cowboy makes a break for it

Chicken's outta there and tears all around :(

You really have to have a lot of respect for children's photographers. Not an easy job at all!

Little Monsters

Happy Halloween!

Two months

Height: 23 3/4 inches

Weight: 11 lbs 9 oz

New skills: Holding head up, smiling, laughing and cooing, and sleeping through the night! It's not every night yet, but several nights and I'm ecstatic!

Likes: Milk, playing on her playmat*, sucking on her fist, watching her mobile or the ceiling fan.

Dislikes: Shots, being strapped into her carseat, evenings.

*I usually lay her down on her playmat every day while we are eating lunch. It's the cutest thing. She just stares up at the toys - especially the star and blue bird - and smiles and sighs at them and kicks her legs. She also makes these adorable baby pterodactyl sounds.

"I will take good care of you."

Little Mister to his Baby Sister

Also overheard lately...

"It's ok Baby Sister, I'm here. I'm here."

"Hi Baby Sister, do you want to play with me instead?"

"Kawen, Kawen, where's Bwad?"

"It's dewicious!"

"I'm genius." (or ingenious - I'm not sure)

"Nank-you Mom. Nank-you"

"Where's the ceratops?" (triceratops)

"Oh, I know dat."

"Bye Mom. I'm just going upstairs. You stay here. I'll be wight back."

"We're going in the castle!" (the mall)

"Where are you guys?" (first thing after he wakes up and comes out of his room)

"Big, bad, dog!!!" (in a really gruff voice)

"Weezer eat California." (I'll let you figure that out)

Baby Blessing

Baby Sister and her Daddy

Baby Sister and her Mommy

Baby Sister and her besties

Wrapping Up Summer

Final swim.

Backyard fun.

Dress-up.

Grape picking at the Happy Berry.

Labor day picnic.

Moosey

Some pictures of our favorite girl :)

Look what I made!

Tutu and matching headband for Baby Sister.

I think it turned out pretty cute. But if you think that's cute, you won't believe how well this next one turned out...

wait for it.....

Baby Sister

8 lbs 6 oz of adorable

I think I am getting pretty good at this.

More pictures to come soon, I promise.

Nursery and some new creations

The nursery is ready. Really it was quite easy to turn it into a girls room. Brad's mom made the adorable bedding, diaper stacker, and window valance. She did an amazing job. All I had to do was hang some new curtains, switch the changing pad cover, and add a few finishing touches. I'm still in the market for the perfect mobile to hang over the changing table though. I think it turned out really cute. This baby is already so loved, she also got 4 handmade (all knitted I think) blankets. One from my sister, one from my mom, and two from Brad's mom. Oh and also I snuck in there a picture of me at 38 weeks. This will be the last picture I take - I don't document getting any bigger than this :)

And lastly, since the nursery is done and the house is mostly clean, I had some time to work on a few new creations for Baby Sister's wardrobe. It's pretty fun and easy to embellish baby clothes. I might be addicted.

P.S. I didn't make the pants. I don't think it will be worth it to make pants until she's at least wearing 6 month sizes.

Little Guy Turns Two!!

I can't believe how fast the time has gone by and how much he has grown.

• He talks like crazy now. All.The.Time. And repeats anything you say, unless you want him to repeat it and then he doesn't. For instance, I tell him I love him sometimes and then ask if he can say "I love you mommy". Nothing. But I did overhear him say "I wuv Thomas (the train)". Awesome.
• He loves to do EVERYTHING by himself, and gets frustrated when he can't. So he say's "mommy help" then gives me two seconds and goes back to doing it himself.
• He thinks everything pink is for baby sister - even my pink high heels.
• He loves to swim and climb and run and has more sense of adventure than sense. I find myself saying to him several times throughout the day - "no, don't go head first"...off the couch, down the slide, down the stairs.
• His favorites toys are books, trucks, letters, and stickers. And recently has been asking for the mail - he calls it "coupons". Weird, but ok.
• I can get him to clean up almost anything if I sing the fun to do song. As in "picking up toys is fun to do".
• He's getting really good at throwing and catching. Maybe he will be a baseball player someday.
• He can count to 10 (and sometimes 16 because we have 16 stairs and we count them as we go up or down) but he always skips the number one. I guess I need to work on that at least before he goes to kindergarten.
• He asks to go on a playdate everyday. This is my own fault because I always bribe him into sitting still to get dressed in the morning by telling him we are going on a playdate. A lot of times it's an actual playdate but sometimes it's a playdate to the gym or church (and he goes to the nursery) or a playdate with mom to the store. He doesn't seem to care what kind of playdate he's going on, but he does name each of his friends that he expects to be there.

Here are some pictures from his birthday parties. We celebrated over a couple of days.