31 December 2010

1.  We were so lucky to have been able to spend time with our families for the holidays.  First up was Christmas Eve at the farm with my family.  We attended church at Swedlanda and then went back to the farm for our traditional Swedish meatballs and Swedish sausage.

2.  Then on Monday, we celebrated with Eric's family with our traditional soup meal.  

3.  Once the holidays were over, it was time to get ready for Avery's dolly & me par-TEA!  It was her first kid birthday party.  It was SO SO fun...thanks if you brought your daughter and their dolly.  They were all so polite and we had tons of fun.

More pictures on the PDP blog!

4.  We date traded with Rach and Brad the past two nights.  Finley totally cracks me up and this picture epitomizes why I don't miss cleaning up babies after they eat spaghetti and how much I love having a dog who cleans up under the table! 

E and I got to eat at Redstone and catch a movie. Perfect date night!

5.  If you are the praying kind, please pray for my friends Melanie and Derek and their baby Lincoln.  Mel is my best friend from school.  I have had a blast sharing her first pregnancy with her, which ended a bit early when Lincoln was taken by emergency c-section on December 20th.  After experiencing some trouble after he was born, they have found that Linc suffered oxygen loss sometime during those last few days before birth and has brain damage.  My heart is breaking for them and their new little cutie.  http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/lincolnhendrickson/

While you are at it my grandpa is also in the hospital and E's grandma is still in the nursing home recovering from a broken hip...they could use your prayers as well.  Lift them up for us, will you?

We hope you all had a great Christmas with your families and we hope to see you in 2011.

24 December 2010

1.  Merry Christmas!

Now that all the hustle and bustle of Christmas preparations have passed, I am finally getting around to posting and using the family pics we had taken this summer.  I have been toying around with the idea of changing over to colored pics...sometimes black and white tells the story better...sometimes it completely misses the point.  I like the continuity and style choice of all b&w, but sometimes I miss colored pics. 

When talking to my mom and sister about this, my mom said "Why don't you just have some of both?"  To which I said, "Mom, because I have a problem.  You know this."  She's also the one who laughed and rolled her eyes when I told her if I die to tell everyone to wear either apple green or hot pink to my funeral {with black pants of course because they're "slimming"}.  I can't help it.  Color coordination makes me happy.  There are worse things, people.  But really, that is probably what we will do....some of each.  But because I am crazy about things like this I will probably go back to the past few posts that will be included in the same blog book {I get them printed by season} and change to colored pics. Eventually.  Not tonight, but someday.

Anyway, back to the family pics.  Too too many we loved to share them all, but {more than} a few of our faves...

2.  The kids had their Christmas Program at church last Sunday.  Tate was a shepherd and Avery was an angel.  Cute cute.

I LOOOOOOVE how loud Jacks is singing in that last one.  Ha!

3.  After the program Grandma Becky hung around to bake cut-outs with the kids.  They had a blast and did end up with quite a few cookies even though at the beginning they were eating them as fast as they were baking them!

 

4.  We had our own little family Christmas as we traditionally do on the 22nd.  We had a candlelight steak dinner, opened gifts, then watched a movie together.

E and I decided this summer that this Christmas we were only going to make it "Summer Christmas"... with kids that have only fall and winter birthdays we always find ourselves with gift ideas in the summer, but by Christmas those things aren't available or we've forgotten.  We started buying a few things as they went on clearance at the end of the summer.

I was a little worried that they would be disappointed they didn't have toys they could use right that second {they did pick out gifts for each other that they could play with right away} but they totally surprised me by being super excited about it all!  The bikes were a hit instantly.  After we were done opening and were watching the movie the kids disappeared for a bit and came back down dressed in their swimsuits and spread out their towels and told me they were tanning.  E and I just burst out laughing. They were so excited I even let them sleep in their new suits.  Bikini for bedtime...sure!

5.  Yesterday was Avery's 5th birthday.  Proof that I let them sleep in the swimsuits is that while she's opening her gifts from us they are still wearing them!

She is one happy girl with her Tangled dress and wig from her brothers and an American Girl doll from us {which her daddy realized yesterday was JUST as much for me as her}!

We try to always find something to do as a family on Ave's birthday since we are always out of school and work.  We have a year's pass to Underwater World and had some free points at Nickelodeon Universe so we headed to MOA for the day {complete with a stop at American Girl...which may or may not have been a good idea...every single thing was "SO CUTE!"} and finished out the night with Punch Pizza and put the kids to bed early.  E said after they crashed "I feel so bad...I just realized we didn't give Avery a cake or let her blow out candles."  I am not worried...she never missed it and she will have candles to blow out next week at her party.

....................................

I overheard Beckett telling Aves when they were riding bikes and playing Rapunzel yesterday morning "Avery, I am just trying to get through the holidays!"  My sentiments exactly, Beckett!  A great reminder they remember EVERYTHING they hear.  We are off to the farm today.  We hope you all have safe travels and a Merry Christmas! 

17 December 2010

1.  Last Friday we had Eric's agents and staff over for the CBB holiday party.  You never quite know how an office Christmas party will go...but when the last guests left at 1:22 {one left doing multiple somersaults down our driveway in the falling snow} we knew it was a success.  There was lots of laughter at the Newman household that night.  I'm just glad E still had a job Monday morning.  I wasn't sure how some would react when he got his Speedo out, but all is well.  =)  He only wore it OVER his jeans to shovel snow so people could get out, but still.  COME.  ON.

2.  Speaking of that snow...Holy Hannah.  Shakopee held the state record for the weekend with 21.5 inches falling in 24 hours.  Thank goodness we had no place we had to be since everything was basically cancelled for the weekend.  We spent a lazy Saturday at home together which we haven't done in quite some time.

When it was time to blow snow E was sure glad he got the snow blower working again.  That would have been a LOT of shoveling.

A view from the street Sunday morning...

3. By Sunday the snow had basically stopped and we were somewhat able to buck the drifts to get out, so we headed to church to light the Advent candles and then zipped off to celebrate my Dad's birthday with my family.  After a nice lunch we retired to our house to let the kids make cookies with Gram.

Of all the kids Ave was the most dedicated baker.  Beckett just wanted to stick his tongue in the sugar in the bowl {see pic above...can you tell he was caught red handed??} and Jack just wanted to keep adding Hershey Kiss wrappers to the dough.  Little stinkers!  Tate was at a birthday party and missed out on most of the making of the cookies...but was still there to enjoy the eating part!

4.  It was "Watch Week" at Avery's dance class.  We are normally are not allowed in to watch classes, but during watch week you can go in watch and take pictures and video.  After these two pictures I decided I needed to move so my flash wasn't in the mirror in every picture...

 Much better after I moved...

She seems to have fun with the other girls, especially loving that Brielle is in the same class!

She loves ballet but really loves the tap portion of class and is doing her aunties proud!

Santa happened to stop in during dance as well.  I had to laugh because as soon as we got in the car she said "MOM.  Did you see Santa's shoes?!  That was NOT the real Santa."  I said, "Yes, I noticed too.  It must have been one of Santa's helpers.  His beard didn't look real either."  She said, "It kept falling off!  So fake!!!"  She cracks me up.  She can spot a pair of Sketchers a mile away.  =)

5.  On Wednesday night I was leaving school with a little bounce in my step.  I had all my lesson plans ready for Thursday because my team teacher Angie was going to teach for me on Thursday.  I taught a couple mornings for her in October when she went to Florida with her family so she was going to return the favor so I could finish up my Christmas shopping.  I was rifling through my purse on my way out to my car and realized my keys were not there.  I immediately knew I had locked them in my car.

I am not even going to get into the details of the entire night, but after E came and we waited 2 hours to get someone to come make us a set of keys the guy called and said that he wasn't going to make it so we left my car in the school parking lot overnight.  I would like to say the conversation was rosy waiting in the car, but it surely was not.

I was more calm than I was the last time I locked my keys in my car in the school parking lot 6 years ago...that time I had a screaming 8 month old who had been holding the keys while I strapped him in his carseat and locked the doors with the remote.  After calling 911 I waited not-so-calmly with a policeman for 45 minutes until the tow company came and opened the doors and rescued my screaming infant.  So in the grand scheme of things this was much better.  Not as good as, say, NOT locking the keys in, but you know what I'm sayin'.

So after my car spent a night at school, we stopped at school during our shopping trip and met our new best friend...

Within about 10 seconds we were in and in about 10 minutes we had a second set of keys!

In spite of a damper of the night before we had an awesome day shopping.  We haven't shopped together for Christmas gifts since before Tate was born.  E insisted on saying "Glad Tidings!" to everyone who wished him a happy holidays...he's such a geek but I sure laughed.  Hopefully we'll make this a yearly tradition...maybe without our new best friend the key guy and the "glad tidings". =)

10 December 2010

1.  Friday night was Avery's preschool Christmas program at Mount Olive.  Even with the snow, we all made it on time...Addelay, Aves, and Olivia even had time to pose for me before they lined up...

After some sing-shouting like only 3 and 4 year olds can do, they posed for a group pic.

A little closer up...

Then the obligatory pose with her adoring brothers...

We sure love this little lady!  Can't believe she'll be in Kindergarten before we know it.

2.  Saturday morning was Eric's annual Trees for Toys event at his office.  It is always such a fun event.  I take pictures of all the kids with Santa, Eric runs around talking to all his clients and referral friends, and Becky and Roger chase our kids around...thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

3.  We added another member to our family Saturday night.  This little guy just happened to show up...

  

After some discussion the kids have named him Eddie.  If you've never heard of an "Elf on the Shelf" read more about him here.  The kids can't wait to wake up each morning to find where he's moved to.  With a crazy December I am NOT above a little help with behavior modification...just sayin'.  

4.  Eric was doing dishes this week and paused to snap this pic of Tate reading to us.  It really is amazing watching a kid learn to read.  I've seen it lots of times before at school...but it is even more amazing when its a child of your own!

Gotta love a little No, David!

5. Our Christmas cards are finally in the mail as of 3:00 today.  Eric's letter is as long as ever...I know you can't wait!  {Sense my sarcasm??}  Glad to have them done with a jam-packed weekend ahead.  If we haven't already gotten it, please send us your card, too.  I live for mail in December!!