Christmas at Home - #3

Yes, we really did celebrate Christmas three times this year. That is less than in years past. But since Oma had an early Christmas celebration on the 24th, we were able to return home, to spend the night at our home Christmas Eve. That allowed us to have Santa visit us at home vs somewhere else. We've talked quite a bit about Santa over the past few weeks. Everytime we've been out, when Cailin saw a picture of Santa, she would point and try and say "santa". Santa was also very generous and brought some presents that were under the tree as well as stuffed everyone's stockings full of fun stuff.Cailin (with shopping cart in hand) had to check out the tree. Everytime she sees it she still says "WOW"
This is a really cute hat/mitten set that Uncle Chris got for Cailin. You can't see the top but it is a penquin. Pretty cute. It's in the wash now, Andrew managed to spit up on it promptly, so it hasn't yet been worn outside. Plus the weather has been pretty warm, so that's ok. Andrew enjoyed the festivities as well. He is sort of mesmerized by Cailin. She's kind of tornado at times, so he just watches her closely and laughes. He got a lot of fun stuff from santa too. Drew has also been teething pretty heavily, so that is the cause of the rash around his mouth (he is drooling and chewing CONSTANTLY - poor boo). He has already gotten one tooth on the bottom, a very sharp one at that, and has a second one just popping through next to it. Looks like he'll have a steak soon enough!

Drew helped Daddy open up his presents from Santa. Mostly, Drew liked to chew on the paper. He's a good helper.

Cailin also got a tunnel from her Oma. It's a rather large toy when open, so it takes up a bit of real estate. She does certainly love it. Lately, she's been putting every one of her stuffed toys in there (including her 9 care bears). She thinks that's funny. She also LOVES it when Ripley has to check it out. She will chase that cat even when she's in the tunnel. Busy, busy.

On Christmas Eve, we all piled into the family car to head down to Nelson, WI to Oma's house. We saw Uncle and Uncle Chris there too. The kiddos got a lot of presents there, Cailin had a grand old time ripping off the wrapping paper. More books - not that she hates that or anything!! Cailin and Daddy went exploring around the farm and Cailin even got to 'help' feed the chickens as well.

Uncle even held Andrew a few times and they became instant best buds when Uncle fed Drew his bottle. Food, as you all know, is very, very important to him.

Cailin also got to hang out with Oma's dogs, Rosie (the French Bulldog) and Millie (the pug). They weren't exactly sure what to make of Cailin, although Cailin really liked hanging with them. Rosie thought it was cool that Cailin would occasionally drop food. She was kind enough to clean up after anything that Cailin dropped. It was a fun day, and the weather cooperated too, it was an easy drive day.

Christmas with the Friary Side

We celebrated Christmas with Daddy's side of the family on Saturday, December 23rd. We went to Northfield to Uncle Gary's and Auntie Lee's house. We had a BLAST. Everyone was there to spend the day with. The kids got TONS of presents.
Here, Auntie Rayna is pictured, holding Drew with Auntie Lee helping.


Here, Uncle Sean (aka - Stinky) was holding Drew. At one point, mommy was buried in presents. Cailin and Drew got lots of clothes, books and toys. It was a lot of fun for Cailin to rip off the paper. One of the favorite gifts was a shopping cart that Cailin immediately started toting around throughout the house (of course new Care Bears helped to 'break it in'). Oh what fun. Drew liked pretty much anything he could chew on, so he was pretty happy about that. We also got to spend the day with Auntie Wanda and Uncle Sean, who drove in from Wisconsin.
Here, cousin Kayla and Auntie Wanda are hamming it up for the camera. Those two were inseperable the entire day!

Classic

Tonight, we were enjoying pizza. She LOVES pizza. Cailin was able to smear it everywhere. She even had it in her hair!! Classic.

We're Cookin Now

This past weekend we spent a great deal of time cooking and baking. We were all getting into the Holiday spirit and getting all the cookies made. Cailin was a good helper. She even got her own utensils out and did some 'cooking' of her own. She says that she's making 'soup' when you ask her. She mixes it up and gives everyone a sample in the room.
Andrew also got in the spirit with his new bib. He hasn't actually eaten any cookies yet, so don't worry, we're not trying to totally corrupt him yet. We're going to at least wait until he has a tooth or too - Soon enough....

She's a Friary....She loves Fords

We spent a great deal of time this past week at the Ford Dealer here in Shakopee. Mommy got a new car. We spent several evenings there getting everything together and everytime we were there, Cailin always refused to leave. She wanted to stay and play. Proof is this picture of her in the back of a brand new pickup truck, plowing around. I'm sure the salesman weren't too happy with that, but oh well, Cailin was happy right?? Usually when it was time to leave, Cailin would lay down on the floor and not want to leave. Funny. She certainly picked up the "Ford" gene from the Friary side. Luckily she wasn't really interested in the Mustangs yet....

Thanksgiving Weekend

We went to Pine Island to visit the family over Thanksgiving Weekend. We sure had fun. We were able to take advantage of the nice warm weather and take a long walk. Cailin, Drew, Daddy and Grandma played at the park. We stayed overnight with Grandma and Grandpa. We even visited with Great Grandpa Bud and Great Grandma Bea. Great Grandma Bea is great with Drew, she helped him with a little snack too! We missed Uncle Sean and Auntie Wanda, but overall it was a great weekend!! We spent Sunday with the Lechelts playing at their house. We always have fun playing there, Auntie Buzzy has so many fun toys and Kayla is fun to play with too!

Oh Christmas Tree

We picked out our Christmas tree last weekend and got her all set up. Cailin now says "WOW" very enthusiastically whenever she sees it all lit up. Cailin was able to put the star up on the top of the tree.

Baptism Weekend

Drew was baptized this past weekend at our church, Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church. He did pretty well, but was pretty pooped out after the festivities. The service was very nice, they had the Minnesota Boys Choir performing throughout the service. The minister that baptized Drew has been a minister for 10 years and this was her first baptism. She said this was a very memorable day for her and that she will always keep our family and Drew in a special place in her heart. That was very sweet. There was a part during the service where the parents were asked to walk through the sanctuary to 'show off' the newly baptized child so everyone could get a closer look. Cailin was going to sit with Oma while Daddy, Drew and Mommy circled the church. We were walking and I heard laughing coming from behind me. Wouldn't you know it was Cailin, who had escaped from Oma and was hamming it up in front of everyone right up front!! Funny girl, upstaging her brother already. The group picture is mom, dad, Cailin, Drew and Drew's two godparents - Cousin Joey (right) and Uncle Chris (left).
After the service, we had a small gathering at our house and had some lunch! It was a very nice day!!

Yum, yum

Drew has recently started eating solids, which he really has taken well to (I'm sure you are all suprised...) He loves sitting in the highchair at the table with everyone else. Here he is eating his latest favorite - Peas and Cereal. He likes to make a mess. He's teething pretty good now, so it's hard to keep his hands out of his mouth to get the food in, he likes to chew on his fingers so much....

Over the weekend.....

We were busy this past weekend. We had to do a bunch of errands on Saturday, new tires for Mom's car, Costco, grocery store - etc. Then we came home and Auntie Katrine and Tony came to visit us, what a nice suprise!! Then Uncle came for a visit that afternoon. Sunday was more low-key and we hung at home. Cailin LOVES to read, and this week, she found an old favorite "My Day with Daddy" and Drew was sitting up in the living room, when Dad put his famous "reading hat" on Drew. He looked so funny. He actually seemed to like wearing it ok, we were suprised. Cailin thought he looked pretty funny. Mike then named Drew "the Mini-Thurston Howell III" (if anyone ever watched Gilligan's Island....)
We also had Uncle Dan and Auntie Rayna (the Buzzys) and Kayla over for a visit too, Cailin sure likes to see them too!
Next weekend is Drew's big baptism and party. Party on Wayne!

Helpful Sister

Cailin likes to 'help' Andrew. If she thinks that Andrew is sad or bored, she tries to get him a toy to play with. Even though Cailin initially had a hard transition from single child to older sister, she seems to think her little brother is 'pretty ok' (in the famous words of Uncle John). Showing how much she likes her brother, she was willing to share her prized collection of Care Bears. She's so helpful!! Drew's expression is like "uh oh..."

Uncle John and Auntie Melissa would be so proud.....

Uncle John and Auntie Melissa and cousin Michael sent this great Redskins outfit for Drew to proudly wear. So sure enough, Drew wore his new outfit proudly this past weekend. So how did the Redskins do anyway???

We also have a picture of daddy and Drew sleeping on the couch, probably while watching football. Seems Drew likes to watch a game or two. Those two are like peas in a pod!!
:)

Cailin got to go trick-or-treating this year. Most of you might remember that she is obsessed with CareBears, knowing she has about 7 now I think. AND, she likes to carry all 7 with her pretty much everywhere, although we do limit her to 1 on outings, including to daycare.
:)
So I found this outfit at Once Upon a Child (I saw it on the internet brand new for almost $40, but was too cheap to justify) and thought it was perfect. She wasn't thrilled to wear it the first few times we tried it on her (for her to get used to it...), but she got used to it ok.
Daddy took her trick-or-treating and Drew and Mommy stayed home to hand out candy to the kids in our neighborhood. Daddy and Cailin went to the Buzzy house (the Lechelts) to hang out and trick-or-treat in their neighborhood. Cailin apparently LOVED her evening out, and seemed very intriqued by the other kids in the neighborhood. Lots to see. She has also found a great in candy. We've been able to skate through this far without her knowing what candy or chocolate is, so we've been blessed so far. Now, she wants to eat a lot of candy, mainly chocolate!!

Ok, so Cailin has a few favorite things to do. She is a pretty busy girl. She LOVES to read as most of you know. I think we read well over a hundred books yesterday alone (well not all different ones, but we read pretty much EVERYTHING yesterday). She also loves to wear shoes, especially mom's shoes and walk around the house. She also loves to torment the cats (lately pulling tails) and play outside. This past weekend was so nice, she got to play outside a bunch. We went to the park a few times and she went for a walk with dad and Drew too. We'll have to admit that she is a strong-willed, independent sort (somewhat like her mama) with a great sense of humor. What a funny girl.

This weekend, she mastered saying 'one time' meaning 'one more time' and putting her index finger in front of her face. That looks pretty cute and is hard to resist when it's time for tubby or to go home, when she looks at you seriously, puts her one finger up and says 'one time' in her toddler jibberish. Funny girl, think we'll keep her.

So here is Drew sitting in his big boy highchair. Ok, it was Cailin's high chair, but still he likes to sit with the family during meal time. He hasn't quite grasped the full concept of 'eating' solid food, mostly we like to play with it in our mouth AND we LOVE to make Rasberry noises and it's super fun with cereal in our mouth!!
Drew went to the doctor last week and weighed in at 20lbs! Our little linebacker. Uncle John is convinced Michigan or Ohio State will be calling soon to lock Drew in for the football team! He's also almost 28" tall, which is pretty darn tall (so maybe basketball is in his future?? His dad and cousin Joey will like that!).

Hello Everyone!!
We thought (thanks to Lisl!!) that this may be a great way to keep everyone around the country up to date on our little munchkins and the family. Seems that time goes by so quickly these days, so maybe this would help.
We'll try and keep this up to date!!
Karen