Pop's Christmas continued

Opening presents at Pops

Emily pointing out things in her new book.

Pop and one of his 'girls'.

The best book eva!

Daddy and Ethan looking at his new book

Ethan and Emily scored big on books at Pop's house. It's a good thing. They both love them.

My sweet boy.

A shot of Miss Emily

Pop opening his bandana's gift. The blue camo one and the weed one was the best!

Emily checking out Ethan's new ambulance from Uncle Bill, Lindsey and Autumn.

Mommy checking out Emily's new PJ's. They are pink with sparkly moons, stars and hearts. Aunt Kati Ann got them for her and she loves them.

Christmas at Pops Continued

Ethan reading one of his new books.

My handsome boy.

Emily with one of Pop and Kati Ann's 'girls'.

Ethan's always just hangin out.

Christmas at Pops

Bert with his babies

Miss Emily

Cropped shot of Emily. She doesn't pose well so I have to get what I can.

Emily with one of the two pappions my Aunt has. It's either Stella or Lola.

Pizza Elmo Video

I bought Ethan a Pizza Elmo this year because it seemed like a big present for the season. I didn't actually play it but after he opened it, it is kinda freaky. The pizza has a face and sings. Now that is kinda weird. That toy might take some getting used to.

VIDEO: Santa has arrived

Santa arrived on Christmas Eve morning this year.

Ethan got a Elmo Chicken Dance from mommy and daddy. Hopefully, they will be flapping their arms like chickens before too long.

Emily got several new movies ("moo moo's"). Should take her a few months to get through those. One is on Elmo and potty training. I'm hoping it comes in handy in the next few months.

Ethan and Emily checking out the Rockin' Elmo. Ethan loves the guitar and is getting really fast at figuring out which buttons to push to make it work.

This is what Nana from Iowa got Emily for Christmas. It's a Dora Sticker activity book and a Dora dry erase board/activity set. Nana got Ethan two different sets of bath toys however, they didn't get pictured. They happened to be opened at a time when no adult was present! I'll snag a bathtub shot to show sometime. Ethan will love that (someday)

My little Bubbie hanging out on his Zebra.

This present for Ethan was sent by his Aunt Linnie in Iowa. It was a drum which held 5 different instruments (bells, xylephone, NOISE MAKERS FOR SURE....5 different ones we are certain as both kids have enjoyed them the past 2 days). Since this is a ...PG13 blog on it's worst day, I'll not mention what Bert had to say about it. hahahaha! Evidently, I've become immune to the noise these two make and just tickled that he/they love it.

Ethan is still exploring the sounds all the instruments make.

Emily opening her present from Jessica.

Ethan, always helpful when paper needs torn.

This was actually the gift Aunt Kim gave Emily the night before that Bert put together after she went to bed. It's a Dora kitchen set, complete with dishes and little plastic foods. It's also got a working radio and a phone attached that rings at random. There are little recipe cards that fit in slots near the top and instruct her on how to do things. She LOVES this and is already bringing me plates of food (I'm assuming she's fixed herself). Ethan was just super excited that plastic banana's were included. "nana, NANA"...over and over. That's his favorite food right now.

Jessica sent Emily a Princess tablewear set which will go great with this gift. This was pure luck as Jessica didn't know Emily was getting this so it worked out super great.

Ethan requires a little assistance still but will master the "Sit n' Spin" in no time.

Emily's presents were nearly as big as her!

Ethan was all about ripping paper. If there was a loose edge, he was grabbing it. This was Emily's present from Jessica and she had some help opening it.

More of Santa's presents...

Technically, this was Ethan's present. But, Emily loved the bouncy Zebra just as much as he did!

Little Bubbie trying out his Bouncing Zebra. He loved it.

Emily checking out her new Artist/Music Activity Center.

Ethan was a bit overwhelmed for awhile.

Santa has Arrived!

Santa has just arrived. It only took him about 4 hours to assemble everything and wrap all the presents.

Ethan loved his car! He needed some help at the beginning on how to get in. Not long though and he was jumping in and out of his car with no problem.

Baby Girl loved her car.

Little man was the first to roll his car...right in the kitchen floor. He learned the hard way not to put all his weight on the open car door. No harm done though!

""The Ball Video""

My sweet and loving sister got the best gift for Ethan this year. She called me one day and was like "what is Ethan into, I'm Cmas shopping". All I could think of was balls! He loves balls, any shape and any kind.

So off she sprints and finds this awesome gift that he just loved and actually, doesn't realize how much he's going to love until it's all set up.

He had 3 big packages. The first package was an inflatable swimming pool. I remember Kim saying the gift wouldn't make much sense until he opened his other two presents.

Present number 2 was a big box full of ONE HUNDRED BALLS. Guess what was in the third box? ANOTHER ONE HUNDRED BALLS. That's two hundred total! We'll be setting up the pool in the basement and dumping all two hundred balls in there and just let them go crazy. And go crazy they will!!!! Just one box caused all kinds of excitement as you'll see here:

Memaw's House continued...

Emily is very much the paper ripper too, but she's a bit OCD about it, haha!

Emily and Ethan both are big on this gift this year. It's been one of their favorites over the last 3 days.

Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

I've been pondering for the past 3 days on how to sum all the events of the past 3 days up. There is just no way to write about everything so it's going to be described in pictures. The kids had a great Christmas. It was 3 days of presents, presents, presents. Not only we're they totally overwhelmed, but mommy and daddy were too!

We'll start with some pictures from MeMaw's Christmas. I ended up with a stomach bug that day and didn't take as many pictures as I normally do. Aunt Kim and Uncle Matt took some so when I get those, I'll add them later.

I cropped several good shots of the kids, which I've added with the original copy. If anyone wants to get their own print of a certain pic, just right click and save the picture to your computer. Then send it off to walmart or walgreens via their website. That's the easiest way I've found to do it. Call me if you need help doing that. Also, in case you didn't know, you can click on any picture and see a full size pic to check out any details you like.

Ethan became a PRO at paper wrapping this year! The bows were cool, but ripping paper just couldn't be beat!

Emily showing Ethan how the new present works. She was very helpful this year at helping Ethan get his presents out of boxes.

The Ball Gift from Aunt Kim is undoubtedly a remembered moment and probably will be talked about for Christmas's to come.

Ethan's in heaven!!! One hundred of the TWO HUNDRED BALLS he got from Aunt Kim.

Uhm....Where did December go????

For someone who did nearly 80% of her shopping the day after Thanksgiving, I sure don't feel ready for Christmas. It's midnight and I just now put in my last order for a Christmas present at walgreens.com for a gift to be given day after tomorrow. Now that's bad! It's just pictures which will be ready tomorrow, but I sure did put it off till the last minute.

Company Christmas parties have taken place. Bert's was at Sean G's house and it was really nice. It was Mexican themed and everyone had a good time. Emily really loved their little girls baking set/oven/groceries toy setup and I was thrilled! Her Aunt Kim is getting her one for Cmas. We couldn't drag her away from it and when we did, she brought something with her. She's going to love that.

Mine was at my supervisors house (Clayton) and we had a good time there as well. Lots of finger foods and "bring your fav dish" type food...which I love. There was a good turnout there as well. We did Secret Santa through December and mine turned out to be Matt D/his wife Annette and they did a great job buying me things. Flavored coffees, Christmas mugs, Sonic gift card, stuff for the kids, TGIFridays gift card and a beautiful angel decoration. I was totally spoiled. I felt bad for Matt. His Secret Santa did zero, nada, zilch for him this season so I plan on giving him a special "Thank You" in return.

Iowa presents have arrived and we're anxiously awaiting Christmas morning. I showed the kids their wrapped presents but then put them away. There is NO WAY curious fingers could stay away from any presents placed under the tree this year. Aunt Linnie surprised me with Ethan's present (She drew Ethan's name this year). She made me a hand-made blanket to snuggle up with and also sent a purple night gown to sleep in. She went above and beyond and someone remind me to spank her on my next trip to Iowa (Thank you Linda!)

So tomorrow is a serious wrapping day, actually, a serious wrapping night. The basement is FULL of presents, not only for the kids, but for family as well. I kept putting it off because I couldn't actually put them under the tree. Now the moment has arrived and I've got to get on it!

Sunday, we go to my Mom's and do dinner and the gift exchange. It's really nice that we pick a time when everyone can attend and not just a 'set' time every year. Bert or I usually have to work either Christmas Eve or Day and my folks feel it's more important that everyone can be together rather than the fact that it took place at a certain time. Nothing sucks worse than to be at work and know there is a family get together taking place that you can't attend.

Christmas Eve day, Bert works part of the day and I will probably be rushing to wrap presents still. That night, Santa comes though. I'm not sure Emily grasps yet who Santa is. We've colored Santa, read some Santa books and watched videos from last Christmas but when I mention things like "you better stop being mean to Ethan or Santa won't come visit"...she just looks at me like "yea, whatever!". I'm thinking Santa will be a bigger bargaining tool next Christmas.

So Christmas eve we have several things to put together. We got them matching "go cars", which are little carts that they peddle with their feet to go anywhere. They are covered like a real car and have steering wheels. They are on all the daycare playgrounds in the area and I figured we could decorate them with stickers or decals when Spring got here. For now, they can zoom around the basement in them. Emily also got a artist activity center that Bert will have to put together and Ethan got a "Jump'n Scoot" type toy that has to be put together. I think those are the big things that "Santa" has to deal with. Then, I spent way too much getting odds and ends. There will be plenty of pictures later to show everything.

Christmas morning, after Santa, we go to my Grandfather's house out in Billings and have a brunch type meal and exchange gifts. That afternoon, we decided we would let them open more presents that we got them instead of trying to cram it all in before going out to Pop's house (we're meeting at 9am) It's going to be a fun filled day!!!

That evening, my mom fixes enchiladas so we'll go over there for dinner.

So, there will probably not be many updates here until after Christmas. Then, there will be a lot of picture entries and hopefully, by the 1st, I will be all caught up with everything I want to remember about this holiday.

Despite the stress and hectic schedules, this is by far my favorite time of the year.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Busy Time of the Year

Let the Christmas get-togethers begin! Bert's work Cmas party is this Friday, mines next week, then massive amounts of family get togethers the week after that. I'm excited though. The kids are going to have so much fun.

Ethan's been sick this past week. He had a bacterial infection in his groin area and also a stomach issue that caused severe diarrhea. He was absolutely miserable last Friday until after we went to the doctor. He got a antibiotic shot while there, antibiotics to take for 10 days and also Tylenol with Codeine. He slept VERY peaceful over the weekend. His appetite is just now coming back but we are still on Pedialyte, probably until tomorrow. His infection is all cleared up and he hasn't had diarrhea for two days so I think he's over it. Luckily, Emily didn't catch his bug.

Last Saturday was our final game of poker for the league. Bert won second ($300). I wasn't at the winner's table but played cash game and won $100. Mom came over and helped me prepare all the food in afternoon and Kim watched the babies and put them down that night. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't have been able to get everything done. I think we're going to have an open game in January sometime and then league will start again in Feb. I hope I have better luck this time around.

So, Christmas is almost here and there will be lots of pictures posted so stay tuned.

Ethan's First Tae Kwon Do Kick

One of the best pieces of advice I ever got by other parents was to keep your camera handy because opportunities present themselves all the time and by the time you found your camera, got it out and ready, the moment would have passed.

This is soooo true!

Bert taught Ethan his first kick today and I grabbed the camera.

Enjoy

Weather is turning yucky!

I'm watching you folks in Iowa and your weather today. 5 feet of snow??? I think we're going to get just the wet stuff later today.

The kids are doing great. Emily woke up to a dusting of snow one day last week and was in total amazement till it melted. She still thinks the tree is "hot" and tells everyone who walks through the door to "no touch"! She's talking more and more and the cute word of the week is "lemonlade", her version of lemonade. I've been printing out Cmas pictures and she's been coloring Santa and Christmas trees but I don't think she gets who Santa is yet. She and Ethan have their first meeting with Santa next week.

Ethan is walking more than crawling now. He's also climbing. Kitchen chairs, kitchen table, coffee table...you name it. He's also starting to connect more and more when taking swings at Emily. He's sporting a new bruise/cut on his forehead from falling into the wall. I didn't witness it but I think Emily helped him a little. He's so funny to watch. Even though she bullies him around, he still acts lost without her like when he wakes up from a nap before her. My grandfather told me she'll develope a maternal instinct to protect her brother someday. I'm kinda looking forward to that.

So not a lot going on this weekend. I'm watching the neighbors 3 kids tonight and Bert is going to a little get-together across the street for one of our poker players who is moving to Arkansas. Tomorrow, I work an evening shift which I'm looking forward to. I've done Quality Assurance shifts almost all November and looking forward to getting back on the console.

Some of my family has shown interest in making their own blogs. I really hope they do. It's really fun to play around with and it's a great way to keep in touch with everyone.

Ok, thats all for now. You folks getting snow, stay warm and safe. Talk to you soon.

The Tree is Up!

I put the tree up and happened to capture the kids first reactions.

Thanksgiving Eve

I hope everyone who takes the time to read this blog has a great Thanksgiving. Or, if you've traveled, made it home safe, sound and full.

Bert's off this year and we're going to my parents house for dinner. My grandmother is also going to come. This is the first Thankgiving my mom is having at her new home.

My walmart trip is made and I've got the fixins for Baked Beans and Deviled Eggs. Eggs are boiled and waiting for me to manipulate in the morning. Beans are really simple and I'll do those in the morning. This is probably one of the best eating holidays there is in my opinion.

I've decided to venture out on Black Friday. This will be the first time I've ever done what is becoming a national holiday it seems. I'll be at Walmart about 4:30 am and grab as many deals as possible starting at 5. My neighbor also suggested I get a paper tomorrow and check out the ads for any other great deals in Springfield that I just can't miss. So now I've been scrambling to get lists together so I can be prepared. (Have I mentioned I hate mornings?)

Anyway, kids are doing great. Ethan is walking more and more every day. I'd say he walks more now than he crawls. He's getting to where he fights back when Emily bullies him. She's a quick learner too though and I've watched as she takes a swing at him, then takes a step back because she knows he's gonna swing back. He misses most of the time and just gives out a yell. Sometimes though, he's so mad when he yells, he draws it out to a point where his whole body shakes as he runs out of breath. My boy has learned what "being pissed" is. I give it 6 months then there are going to be some real battles going on around here.

Emily got a bang trim this week while daddy got his hair cut. No hair cut for Ethan. His curls are just now coming back. It could change, but at this point, he's gonna have thick curly hair soon.

Ems is talking a lot more too. We've been working on noun/verb combos and she is doing really good with that. She repeats A LOT, probably too much at times. "That boy" and "oh my lord" comes out in great dramatics sometimes. She can also say "clock" now, no problem.

We got snow flurries tonight! Certain people say that our winter is going to be worse than last year. I really hope they're wrong.

Stay tuned for Thanksgiving pics later this week. Also hoping to get a decent shot to put on a Christmas card. We'll see about that.

Few More Chuck E Cheese Pictures

Food Network Rules!

I bet I have the Food Network on my kitchen TV atleast 5 hours a day. I love several of the shows on there. Too bad I can't get my kids past fish sticks or mac and cheese.

Ethan has become very independent at meal times. If he can't feed himself, he pretty much does not eat. The latest goal for Emily is to STAY at the table until she's done eating. Ms Busy Body can't seem to do just one thing at a time.

We had two Chuck E Cheese birthday parties to attend last week. The kids had a great time at both parties. Emily ventured into the big tunnel maze that winds around the ceiling of the place. However, she'd only go up there with Charles. Once there though, she loved it. Both the kids pigged out on pizza too. I'm not sure how...they have crappy pizza (but a great salad bar)

I think Emily is going to be in trouble someday. Ethan has already started to fight back. He'll take a swing (usually missing) or attempt to chase after her when Emily is mean to him. He's taken a few handfuls of hair and jumped her case by yelling at her a few times....which is hilarious...I can't help but laugh. He doesn't say a word but his little body shakes when he yells at her that hard. I'd say when all those teeth do come in, Emily will be sporting some pretty unusual bruises.

Still no results on the "potty". Ems will sit there anytime but will not "go". We visit the potty about 20 times a day (sigh)

Not a whole lot planned for the week. Bert or I work every day and we have poker league this Sat night. It's the last game before the big final. It's kinda nice actually, I'm tired of running running and hope to get some cleaning done this week (yea right)

It's also almost time to get Christmas stuff out. I probably won't put any ornaments on the tree again, just a bagazillion lights and garland. This year though, I'm putting out a bunch more decorations. I have lots of lighted decorations which Emily will love. Plus we have the lighted Christmas tree and lighted presents that will go out on the lawn. The kids will be able to see them out their bedroom window. Wait....I should probably put those Halloween decorations away first eh?

Wanted to mention a quilt a friend made for Emily as a baby gift. It's mostly pastel colors and probably 4 foot in length. When Emily was an infant, we used to spread it out and she'd lay on it, play on it, etc. I loved this quilt because it has a lot of purple in it AND it was handmade which makes it special. I'm glad to say that Emily has grown into this quilt. She now will not sleep unless she has it with her. She has to have the blankey that Aunt Linny gave her up around her face and she also has to have the quilt/blanket that Mindy made her laying across her to cover up with. I'm glad Emily loves this quilt because I absolutly love it too.

Anyway, here's some pics from Chuck E Cheeses. Ethan loved the slide and even did it himself several times. Emily is finally big enough to do things other than baby rides. We have a great time there.