Christmas 2010

Nine months pregnant, I was not allowed to travel for this Christmas. So 2010 became our first one alone, or without our close family. It actually wasn't as sad as I thought it was going to be. The worst day was the one where my family arrived at my parent's house all together. But Christmas was okay.

We got up later than normal - awesome right?! Let their kids discover their filled stockings (a new tradition for us). Next I cooked our traditional breakfast - coffee cake, of course. Then it was time for presents! We even had gifts from my parents since Terry parents had just been here the previous weekend and brought them.

Here's Terry instructing the kids where to look for the photo =) As you can see from the window, we did not have a white Christmas. We've only had two dustings of snow this year!

The first gift they opened was Zuzu pets. They were a hit, until they began opening other presents... And doesn't Snap look excited in the back?

Terry got lame clothes from me. But hey, he needed them.

Noah has recently started enjoying Cars again (he went through a Cars phase at 2 years old) so he was really excited about this gift.

Uncle Nathan and Aunt Ana got Evie some little princess things which she enjoyed - and they went well the the princess shirt she was already wearing!

Noah did a dance over this gift from my parents - an airport.

These might have been the #1 gift though: Pillow Pets!!! Noah was so very happy with his puppy. Thank you Aunt Stephanie!

And Evie loved her Unicorn - or "Corn" as she said for a while.

She got a couple Ponies from us

Daddy got mommy a nice necklace. And you can see the bracelet the kids got me. He was so upset yesterday when he discovered it in the bathroom at the end of the day (I forgot to put it on). Apparently, I have to wear it everyday.

A Tinkerbell outfit from my parents - Evie calls it a butterfly

An art easel from my parents

After our time alone together, a couple from church, Larry and Cheryl, invited us over to hang out with their big family for the afternoon. We had such a nice time. And the prime rib didn't hurt either!

big girl

Evie has had a big girl milestone - yesterday she sat on the potty twice on her own initiative! She is coming along, though she still has some accidents. She is helping to make this next baby a better transition than it was with Noah. Noah was over 3 when Evie was a couple months old before I forced him to potty train. Evie is just over 2.5 and she's got it! Way to go little squish!

box boy

Here is how Noah was watching Saturday morning cartoons today:

Yes, from inside his box. He watched one hour of cartoons, all of it, from inside his box. Silly boy.

34 weeks

I'm not sure what happened with my editing b/c my shirt definitely does not look like this. But you get the idea. This is me at 34 weeks or 9 months pregnant, due about January 26th. Baby is approximately 4 and 3/4 pounds heavy and 18 inches long, about as heavy as a cantaloupe or honeydew.

SIX more weeks to go and I'm excited! I have the kids' beds ready, the baby bassinet out, the car seat cleaned and ready, a hospital bag packed and a birth plan complete. I'm ready if I go early, which I wouldn't mind at all ;)

2010 church christmas children's program

This year at church Noah is in the kindergarten Sunday school class even though he's not in kindergarten yet. Evie is in the preschool class. For the church Christmas children's program Noah did not want to participate, initially. We tried to reason with him but it was no use. He was afraid and he just doesn't like this type of thing. If he doesn't want to do something, it's very difficult to get him to come around. And you can forget about a good attitude.

So Terry and I bribed him, or as a friend said, we used good incentive. The kids had been watching daddy install lights in the downstairs ceiling and were really enjoying playing with the flashlight. Noah especially wanted his own flashlight. So Terry told him he could get a flashlight if he participated in the Christmas program and did his best job. And what do you know, it worked!

When we were at Target last weekend, we bought them both a boy and girl flashlight - Cars for Noah and Princesses for Evie. And when Noah was complaining about going to a practice the day before the performance (he said people would laugh at him =( ), I tried reasoning with him to no avail. So I told him he could do his best or no flashlight. That silenced him. And he did wonderfully for the practice. He did even better on Sunday in front of the church. He smiled and did the actions and sang the song. We were so proud of our boy.

They sang a song about how they'd, "give God me this Christmas, it's the best gift I can give. I'll give God me this Christmas and for Him I will live. I'll give God me this Christmas, from my head down to my toes, I'll give God me this Christmas, that's what He wants the most!"

And Noah even learned something, thanks to VeggieTales and the Minnesota Cuke and the Search for Noah's Umbrella. In this video, Minnesota is afraid to do silly things for fear people will laugh at him. He learns essentially that it's more important to please God than man. On his own initiative on the way home from church Noah said, "I was afraid people would laugh at me but I felt God smiling at me." This is what I tried telling him before practice (remember what Minnesota learns) but he realized it on his own I guess. What a sweet boy.

Next up was Evie. She had been fine about singing but we didn't want to leave her out so she was going to get a flashlight as well. She surprised us with how well she did. She was outstanding. We practiced at home but she really stood out. In fact, she was one of the only kids singing and since she was singing loud, she stole the show. It was stinking adorable. I couldn't stop laughing and most of the audience was the same way. We got many compliments on her performance. She is not shy like Noah!

Evie's class sang "Away in a Manger" and "Happy Birthday Jesus."

Evie inherited a box afterwards. And Noah was so funny up there - I was worried he would fall down since his box was so long. But he did great.

Flashlights!

honey-do lights

All the ceiling lights in this house were the original, very dim square lights. We replaced the main floor and upstairs lights (and even added quite a few more) before we moved in but Terry saved the three downstairs lights for a winter project.

Here is the downstairs before we did anything to it - wow, does it look different now! You can see just one square light here. And this photo is with a flash - it was a whole lot dimmer without it.

Here you can see both living room lights and the guest room light.

Here's Terry doing his thing. Changing the lights wasn't as simple as just plugging the new ones in. He had to get a new junction box, figure out the weird wiring, screw in some supporting boards and then install the lights. Thankfully, he was not electrocuted =)

And here they are. I took this photo without a flash, at night. The lights are extremely bright - they each take three 60-watt bulbs a piece (we got them at Menards on sale). They are a little too bright actually =) But it's so great to be able to see down here when you need to.

And here is the guest bedroom light he just finished two nights ago. This room was so very dim before. I think our guests will appreciate being able to see their things (we also got a room darkening shade so it will be easier for them to sleep in here).

Bam! Crazy bright, right? Good job Terry!

2010 tree hunting

The same day that we got the new bunk bed, we went to a tree farm and got our Christmas tree! We weren't thinking that we would do it before our drive to Kearney so we weren't dressed warm enough. We regretted that b/c the wind was so cold! But that helped us to choose quicker =) They are huddled in front of the tree out of the way of the wind.

This is the first year we've had the trailer. It was so convenient. We were unaware that the twine that they had tied the tree down with broke off but the tree was fine nonetheless!

A llama and two donkeys. Noah wouldn't come near but Evie did. That llama was a little freaky. I kept thinking he was going to spit at me so I can understand Noah's trepidation.

Inside the barn we visited with Connie who raises Irish Wolfhounds, which, as you can see, are simply huge! Again, Noah was afraid but Evie eventually ventured a little closer.

When we got home, Terry started putting lights on the house, which we've never ever done before.

It's mommy's job to put lights on the tree. A little more difficult with an 8 month baby belly on my lap...

Evie helped with the ornaments a little but mostly handed us the ones she wanted on. There's the belly again. Haha

Noah put all his under the tree and has been moving them around ever since

I love this season. I just sat on the couch last night and admired the tree in the dark.

And here are our simple lights. I like simple, not flashy.

beds!

I've been feeling the nesting urge lately. I wanted to get the kids bed situation settled before the baby comes, so I encouraged Terry along those lines (since he wasn't feeling the nesting bug).

Last week he went and picked up Evie's new mattress! Brand new through the door.

We'll be leaving Evie's crib in her room for the new baby but she will sleep on her new mattress in there until the baby needs a crib.

I busted out her new sheets and the bedspread a friend gave us. Woo who!

A few days later, after we got Noah's room settled, we took his box and frame and put it under her mattress so she's not on the floor anymore. Yay!

Saturday we took a trip to Kearney to pick up the kid's new bunk bed from Slumberland. We found it at home and paid for it there but were able to get it from Kearney! It didn't take Terry very long to put it together either.

Noah is all ready for his first night on the top

And here it is! Once the baby goes into Evie's old crib, she'll move into Noah's room on the bottom bunk. Noah is a little concerned that she'll talk and wake him up. It might be an adjustment for us all... But I'm so excited to have everything all settled. I even set up the bassinet in our room ;)

32 weeks

Here is me on Sunday after church for my 32 week picture. I thought I'd better take one so my mom could see her Christmas present to me - the boots =)

I don't know if I've said here on the blog, for archiving purposes, that I think there's a boy in my belly. I've gained a lot of weight just like I did with Noah. So there it is. I'd be very, very surprised if it turned out to be a girl.

swimming again

What is there to do when it's cold outside on vacation? Swim inside! We always go to the Y when we're home. This time Steph took pics for me and though she included some of my tankini baby belly, I won't be including them here. No one needs to see that!

Daddy was a shark attempting to get his kids so I was able to have lots of nice cuddles with my girl since I would keep her safe.

Kids hiding with their mama from the approaching threat

But I couldn't save them all the time... What fun would that be?

The boy

Pool break. And this is so typical - Evie smiles and Noah just stares. He's stared like that ever since he was the smallest baby =)

The girl

sparkly storybook island

My family and I hit opening night of "Christmas Lighting of Storybook Island" after Thanksgiving was all over.

This was our second time going together and although it was "warmer" than previous, it was still pretty cold. Funny enough, I was pregnant with Evie the last time we went!

It was difficult for this amateur to get good photos in the dark but here is one: the pumpkin. Everything was really beautiful. The only thing that marred the experience was Noah's incessant whining about the cold.

Father/daughter

We were admiring these trees, though you can hardly tell that's what they are.

My family! Us, Gramma, Grampa and Stephers

Just us

Just Steph and Steve. They are engaged!

And one shot of me leading Noah through the park