Christmas recap

I'm a little behind on my posts. Here's our shots from Christmas 2010.

Gus set out a cookie and a cup of milk for Santa before he crawled into bed on Christmas Eve.

When he awoke on Christmas Day, he was impressed that the cookie and milk was gone, but his main focus was on the packages in the living room that weren't there when he went to sleep.

Home Depot Workshop! Yes!

Safety breakfast,
then starts the assembly.
And of course there was the traditional kids on Christmas, in front of the tree photo.

This is Nora's best pose.

More Nora Claus -

We had a few days to recover, relax, and disinfect after our first Christmas with Gma Vickie and Gpa Dave. Then, over New Year's weekend, we celebrated Christmas with my side of the family. Steph, and Hava were in from Boston (Mike held down the fort in Boston), Josh, Christy, and Will were back from their Christmas with Christy's family in South Dakota, and Mom and Dad drove down from Minot. It was wonderful!

Nora soaked up her time with Aunt Steph.

She loved her Christmas gift. Turns out, so did everyone else. I should have purchased infant sensory balls for everyone. They were a hit all weekend!

Hava and Gus played, and argued, like siblings. So cute.

Again, the sensory balls. The best gift of 2010.

Art project time!
Josh, the artist of the family, doing his own art project while the kids work. Show-off. But I like it.

Ahhh, a long day of playing means a bed-time snack is a must.

The play resumes, for day #2.

Gus and Gpa Steve
Nora, on her first Christmas, eyeing up the teething ring taped to her present.


More Spidey gear? Yes, please.

Will dug into his gifts like a seasoned pro, even though it was his first Christmas.

The girl photo. Also, do you like my lamp hat?

The kiddos with their loving grandparents.

"You ready for bed? Yeah, getting tired. Wanna sleep over? I have room in my crib. BYOP (pacifier). No problem."

On second thought, Will preferred to bunk up in the boys room with Gus.

We had 3 days of quality family time together. On Day 3, we decided to head out into the blizzard, to grab dinner as a family. Table for 7, with 1 booster chair, 2 high chairs, and 1 sling for a car seat. What were we thinking.

Will and Nora were the first ones ready to go.



Turns out everything went great.

Home again for some reading with Aunt Steph.

Reading was waaay better when done in Gus' secret fort.

After a long week traveling, and constantly on the go, Hava relaxed with a little yoga.

And Will relaxed by going absolutely bonkers in his Johnny Jump Up. I wish I had a video because it's hilarious.
Hava and Steph made one last stop at Josh, Christy, and Wills' before heading to the airport. We miss them already!


We loved every minute we had with our families this year. We missed seeing our extended family members in Minot, but we will catch up this winter or spring when we're all feeling healthy and not contagious.

Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!

Blue

Gus helped me wrap presents last week. He was in charge of decorating the name tags. At one point, he got bored with his job and turned around to watch TV. About 3 minutes later, he came back to decorate and when I saw his face, I gasped. He had no clue that he had forgotten to replace the lid on his marker while pretending it was lip balm.

After I gasped, I burst into laughter, which scared him. Here's the scene unfolding:


He only cried for about 1 minute, and the marker washed right off in the tub.

Very funny!

My kidney, the grinch. And other holiday-time germs.

For the past 30+ years, Ross and I have made the trip back to Minot, ND to spend Christmas with our families. We've never missed a year. Until now. We finally met our match. Who knew a kidney stone could stop us (and by us, I mean me), dead in our tracks?

Add to that, the stomach flu attacking each member of the family one-by-one, and there you have our 2010 holiday schedule. And I even baked this year. It's the last time I try that.

We'd like to give the in-law/mom-and-dad/gpa-and-gma of the year award to Gpa Dave and Gma Vickie, for their caring and sharing this weekend. By caring, I mean them dropping everything and driving down to Fargo on Christmas Eve to be with us to celebrate a mini Christmas, and help with the kids. By sharing, I mean us so generously sharing our flu germs with them. That's right. Our guests even received the royal treatment.

Today and tomorrow, we will disinfect this place in preparation for another weekend of family in town.

Amidst all the craziness, it was a great day and Gus was happy as a clam. We had everything we needed.


By the way, Nora was the only one who didn't get sick. Which explains her looking good for a picture.

Merry Christmas everyone! We will certainly remember the Christmas of 2010. And now that I'm no longer in pain, I'm already looking back and laughing at it. Kind of.

Nora is 4 months old

Nora's stats from her 4 month doctor appointment:

14 lbs., 9 oz (70th percentile)
25 inches (77th percentile)

She enjoys watching Gus, rolling from her back to tum, taking baths, and not sleeping through the night.

Who needs sleep when you can see this smiling face 2 or 3 times a night?

Let the indoor activities begin

I hear we've received a record amount of snowfall, to-date, for December in Fargo. We don't mind the snow, but when it's also frigid-cold, we need to find fun things to do inside.

Like vacuum,
or bring massive icicles into the house to see how long they'll last.


Have our cous and auntie over for some fun.

Watch your brother play outside. Or maybe she's day-dreaming.

Start the holiday weight gain early!

And attend sporting events. Thanks, Bjorn, for these great tickets!

Wrestle your uncle,
then slow things down a little and enjoy the music.

Will is learning, too.
We've had friends over to play. This is Jake, my co-worker's adorable little guy.

And of course, we went to see Santa. This must be farmer-Santa. He was nice.

Gus got a cookie from Mrs. Claus.

Gus and Jake loved the snow!


Winter is definitely upon us but we're looking forward to it this year in our new house.