Where's Claire?

The other morning the kids were making little beds on the floor while pretending it was nap time. As I looked around to find Claire, she was nowhere to be found.

Hmm, I wonder what is in that box?



Oh there she is...

These kids have so much fun together. I can't believe how well they have entertained each other through out this cold weather. They hardly ever get bored, and seriously, this has been one long and cold winter. That is also why I have been lacking posts as of late. We don't really do anything. I have just been getting the house organized and ready to sell why Nate has been working working and more working. Between all the glorious residency projects/ requirements and church callings, we figured in the next four weeks he will be home 1, maybe 2 times to help put the kids to bed. Seriously, this is getting old.

But anyway, I finally took Cassie and Claire to the doctor for their well check ups. I have been putting it off because I really don't like taking the kids to the doctor this time of year. They always seem to get sick after. But both were due for shots so I finally took them in. And yup, Cassie now has a yucky runny nose that I love wiping every 2 minutes of the day.

So at 4 1/2 months Claire weighs 15 lbs 3 oz (75%) and is 27 inches long (97%). It is so nice to finally have a baby that isn't "failing to thrive".

At age 3, Cassie is about 30 lbs (just below 50%) and is 36 3/4 inches tall (75% I think). So she is growing pretty nice as well.

That is all for now.

Spiderman

Dylan figured out how to do this a while back and he does it all the time now.

He'll climb to the very top of the door and just hang out there for a while. It seems like just yesterday that I was doing this same thing. Okay, so maybe I really was doing this yesterday. Just kidding,

Here I am

Wow, I can't believe I let 2 weeks go by without a post. I am very sorry to let my avid readers down. Just kidding. Life has just been busy and is flying by way too fast. I mean seriously, where did 2008 go? Did that year not go by super fast for everyone else too?

Well anyway, we had a great Christmas. It was so fun to have such excited kids for Christmas and watch them be so giddy. Christmas Eve was spent with the kids and I. Yup, Nate had to work. It was a little hard for me being away from family that night and husbandless for the evening, but it was so relaxing and peaceful. I think I had the kids in bed by 8 and then I watched The Forgotten Christmas Carols on DVD. I have to say that I think it is much better watching it live than on DVD. But it was nice. I guess I'd better get used to holidays without my husband because he will probably have to work many of them from here on out. He has made it this far with out working Christmas, so I guess it was his turn.

The kids loved their PJ's! Not sure why Dylan is so blurry. He wouldn't sit still from excitement.


The kids were really really really excited to leave Santa something to eat. Since corn dogs recently became Dylan's favorite food, he was determined to leave one for Santa. Along with some turtles (that he helped make), caramels (or carnivals, as Dylan calls them), egg nog, and at the last minute, Cassie thought he needed a banana too. Santa will defiantly love these 2 kids!




Christmas morning was so nice. I was really worried about it just being our family, but I think I prefer it that way now. We took a long time opening presents and we even had an intermission to eat some cinnamon rolls. Then we relaxed and just hung out. Nate had to leave for work at 12:30pm again and I was okay with that. That meant we didn't have to go anywhere for dinner and the kids and I could stay in our PJ's and play with new stuff all day long. It really was a good day.




Dylan being a little overwhelmed by the whole thing:




This rocket/spaceship building thing was by far his favorite toy:

Cassie was in love with her Dora tent, which sadly is already broken. For some reason, she thought if she jumped off the couch on top of it that it would hold her. Nate tried to tape the rods back together after they snapped, and the kids seemed satisfied with it. I wish I had a picture of it now, it looks so funny, but they still play in it.

So anyway, since Nate worked during Christmas week, he got 5 days off shortly after so we decided to head to my sister's house in Wisconsin. We both wanted to relax and we knew we would relax better if we were away from home because we always think we have to get things done when we are home. So we called them and told them were heading their way and Brian (my brother-in-law) got right on setting up his projector and surround sound. It was awesome. It was better then watching a movie in the theater. Their whole house would rumble as we (mostly the guys) hibernated in the basement and watched 8 movies during our stay. I know, doesn't sound like fun but it was. We just hung out on our butts the whole time and ate a ton. Thanks for letting us invade guys.

Oh, and with gas being so cheap the whole trip cost us a total of $60!!! Oh, and plus $17 in dang toll booths. Oh, and a $20 ticket for parking on the street during winter. Oops.

Birthday fun

This little girl turned 3 last week!!!

She started off the day by opening presents, which mostly consisted of things pink and princess themed.

We then went bowling and to her favorite place, McDonald's. It was actually very nice at McDonald's. There were no other kids around so Nate and I sat and watched Dylan and Cassie play for almost 2 hours. I know, that is a bit extreme, but they were happy and being good and Nate and I didn't mind one bit just sitting and watching them play. (the first picture above is her in the slide at McDonald's, in case you were wondering)

The kids LOVED bowling!


We were then going to go see a movie, but since we were at McDonald's so long, we decided to rent a movie and take it home. We rented The Polar Express. I love that movie. We need to buy it. So while the kids watched the movie, Nate and I fixed the Christmas tree and re-decorated it. That is right, we re-decorated it. And why? Because during the night when Nate had fallen asleep on the couch after a late shift, he woke up to it falling down (almost landing on him). It was pretty funny. I woke up early the next morning and came into the living and there were Christmas decorations EVERYWHERE. And pine needles too. And water too. The lights had even fallen off, so we had to put everything back on again. This happened to us 2 years ago as well. We don't have good luck with real trees I guess.

So then we had cake which, as you can see in the next picture, Cassie was very excited for...

(she actually was really excited, just took a bad picture I guess)

And here she is trying to show me how old she is:

(please ignore the laundry room/garage entrance in the background)

And must we forget who else celebrated a birthday this month?...........

If I would have known the camera was going to be out I wouldn't have put my pj's on so early. I just love to be comfortable, that is all.

And what did we do for my birthday? I went shopping ALONE.....oh wait, the baby was with me. But that was okay. She was good. Then we went and found our Christmas tree (which was cold, but really fun) and went out to Applebees for dinner. I think my roommates started the Applebees tradition in college and we have kept it up ever since. I never even really liked the place at first, but we just kept on going and now I really do like it. That's all.

Oh, and then we had ice cream with cake that Nate made and then watched a movie. I think. I can't even remember.

It was a great day. And now I am officially 28. I say officially because for most of the year I have been telling people that I was 28. I don't know why, I just really thought I was 28 already. Dang it, there goes a whole year of my life. I think I will blame in on the fact that I was pregnant most the year.

And now, I think I will surprise Nate and shovel the drive way before he gets home from work tonight. There is so much snow out there right now! (or maybe I will just go to bed)

The Nativity and Breath of Heaven

I am sure most of you have heard this combination of The Nativity and the song Breath of Heaven, by Amy Grant. I watch this numerous amounts of time during the Christmas season because I like it so much! Make sure to turn your volume up because the song makes it extra special! Enjoy.

Winter

I think we are in for a long winter here in Michigan, considering the amount of snow that has already fallen and continues to sit on the ground. I really do love the snow and winter season, however, I am already tired of:

1. - Snotty noses

2. - Static hair

3. - Dry skin

4. - Wet pants and socks from the slushy sidewalks, and

5. - Bundling up and hauling 3 kids everywhere I go

We are all much happier if we just observe from inside. (and go out to play in it once in a while)

Bitter Sweet

Well, we're back from a week with family and what can I say, it was a bitter sweet week. It was so good to see everyone and spend time with them, considering the circumstances. My sister is doing amazingly well and her kids seem to be doing alright too. There will be tough times ahead and I wish I lived closer to be there for them. The funeral was in Las Vegas and it was really good (for a funeral). Lots of funny things were said about Casey. He was a great guy. Then we all caravaned up to Alberta and had a viewing and burial. The burial was the hardest, I think. He was buried next to his little boy, Reggie. I bet those two are having a ball up in heaven right now.

We had so many family members crammed into my parents home, and that is how we like it. All my siblings and their families, plus some of my uncles and all their kids. So much fun.

3 things always happen when we go home and spend time with family:

1.- We stay up WAY too late.

2. - We eat WAY too much food.

3. - We laugh WAY too hard.

Such good times. It is always hard to say goodbye and come back to Saginaw. I do like it here, but I am getting anxious to be closer to family. I feel so useless during times like this and wish I could be closer. But last week was the perfect dosage of family to get us through Christmas and the next few months.

And the only photos taken during the week...

Claire and her cute little cousin Morgan.

We managed to squeeze in a Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday before most people took off. Dylan must have been starving because he was guarding that ham like a hawk. (Yes, we had turkey too)

We took a red-eye flight home at midnight on Sunday and I couldn't sleep a wink. There were some Hutterites (like Amish people) sitting right behind me that had never flown before and they wouldn't stop yelling across the isle to each other. And the blasted guy that was snoring in front of us is another story.