Merry Christmas!

A paper cut? Already?
Alex's gifts to Abby :)

Both kids received Buzz Lightyear wings from Mom/Dad. Look out walls, here they come!

A Toy Story Christmas.

Legos ruled Alex's pile as well :)

Despite fighting the stomach bug, Alex had a great time opening gifts Christmas morning. He also had fun picking out gifts for others and watching them open his choices. He works very hard deciding what things to get for others. When I took him shopping for his teachers he was so thoughtful, I couldn't believe it! All the teachers wrote him detailed thank you notes expressing their delight as they could tell he thought long and hard about what to buy.

Abby needed a little prodding when it came to opening gifts and really just wanted her milk and blankie first thing on Christmas morning. She watched Alex open gifts for a while then decided to join in the fun!

Elfie made his way back to the North Pole with Santa, and even left Alex a little "goodbye" message on the fireplace doors :) He made a mess while he was here so no one is sad to see him venture back to his home. Between the marshmallows all over the kitchen to the toilet paper pile in the living room, Elfie was certainly mischievous this year!

We are eager to make our way to Cincinnati to celebrate with family later this week!

The Nutcracker, Joffrey Ballet, Chicago, IL

Alex and Mom before heading out on our adventure!
The parking lot for Auditorium Theater is right under the elevated train downtown and Alex thought this was awesome!

Alex, on Michigan Ave, super cold and ready to go!

Waiting for them to open seating.

In our seats, which Alex will tell you were not the best because he could not see over the bar. He sat on our coats though and this made him just high enough to see well.

For years we have listened to a CD of the Nutcracker Ballet during the month of December. Every year Alex has asked if we could go see the Nutcracker. Finally this year I caved and figured he could sit still long enough to give it a try. The first act kept him intrigued as they told the story of Clara and the Nutcracker. The second act, however, was so much dancing that he resorted to a little drawing in his notebook to pass the time. His behavior though was top notch and he knew if he wasn't going to watch the show he had to sit quietly...which is more than I could say for many of the others in attendance! At one point he said "Mom, who would bring a baby to the ballet?". I was thrilled to get to see the show though with my favorite little guy!

Gingerbread House Decorating

Alex, Vanessa, and Sophia getting started at the bakery.
Very proud of his creation.

Eat one, glue one on, eat one, glue one on.

Eating a bit as soon as we got home.

I was on the fence about the gingerbread house decorating this year until Alex asked in November when we would be going to the bakery. He remembers from year to year and it is a great set up. All of the candies are provided along with the preassembled and super delicious gingerbread house. Alex made another wonderful creation and we let him dive right into it this year instead of forcing him to just stare at it for weeks and weeks.

Abby's 2 Year Well-Child Visit

Little Miss Abby doesn't turn two until January but needed a shot anyway so we went ahead with her well-child a few weeks early. She's developing well and the doctor has no concerns. We have lots of concerns, like "why doesn't she listen?", or "why does she act out in public?", and "why does she eat great one week and like a bird the next?"...but then we remember she's 2 and that's just what 2 year olds do :)

Abby is such a joy and it is often hard to get mad at her because she's so darn cute. She adores her brother and is suprisingly flexible from day to day. She still naps once in the afternoons and sleeps well at night. Her vocabulary is increasing daily and when she puts 2 or 3 words together I am still caught off guard that she can talk like that.

In this picture she had climbed into Alex's bed to read some books, in the middle of the afternoon. Sometimes when we can't find her, she's crawled into one of the beds upstairs (probably to warm up given how cold it is here!) and is just snuggled in under the covers looking at a toy or a book. I like the way she thinks! She doesn't stay there too long but it is funny that this is where she goes to get away from the commotion downstairs.

Height: 34" (70th percentile)

Weight: 29lbs (84th percentile)

Children's Christmas Party

Brad and Alex painting ornaments. Abby + paint + her Christmas dress = we just let her play in the gymnasium instead!
It was great to have space for the kids to run off some energy on a cold, snowy day.

Posing with Dad. Getting Abby to stand still is no easy task.

Getting Abby to smile on Santa's lap is no easy task either.

Everyone is all smiles after dessert!

Alex and Abby had fun playing games, eating treats and doing crafts with the other kids at Brad's work party for the kiddos. Abby apparently isn't a big fan of sitting on Santa's lap, but she bounced back pretty quickly. We forgot to take photos at the adult party but can assure you we had just as much fun, minus the arts and crafts!

First Good Snowfall

What an adorable snowman!
Alex has already taught Abby to only eat the white snow.
This sled is super fast, prompting neighbors to ask us what we put on the bottom of it to make it so slick!

Everything always look so pretty and calm right after it snows.

December 3rd-4th brought our first good snowfall of the year. Snow on a Friday night could not be more perfect for us since everyone is home and can play in the snow in the morning. Abby loves eating the snow and Alex is a sledding maniac. Our house is on a bit of an incline, but to call it a hill would be a bit much. He gets a good running start though and look out! We'll have to take him to a real snow hill next time we get a good measurable snowfall!

Houston

Becca and I did some Christmas shopping...
Here's Brad waiting for our luggage at Midway. Funny comparison...luggage at Midway almost always takes 30 minutes to get from plane to baggage carousel. Our luggage at Houston Hobby was out in 2 minutes.

Brad had a training class (FINALLY!) in Houston right after Thanksgiving, and we were eager to go visit a few friends with new babies and catch up with friends we hadn't seen in quite some time. Actually, some of the babies were not so "new" anymore as Ben is approaching his first birthday already! But, it was great to visit with as many friends as we could in 2.5 days and eat as much yummy Tex-Mex and Barbeque as we could. Grandma Kathy was kind enough to stay with the kids for a few days and we are very grateful for that! I think they enjoyed the focused one-on-one time with someone other than us and that is good for all of us every now and again. I wish I had taken more pictures but I simply forgot. Alex is already asking to go to Houston again so we'll have to take a family trip down soon. He loves going to Space Center Houston and Kemah!

Thanksgiving In Cincinnati

Abby, Buzz, and Woody started off the morning at Grandpa's with some pumpkin bread and juice.
We celebrated with Grandma, Gigi, and Chuck a day early.

Abby was still fighting an ear infection and nasty cold so she took an extra long nap that day.

Alex and Aiden played together at Grandma Eileen's house.

The kids helped set the table...

By Saturday it was time to head out of town and get our sickies back to their own beds. We visited Aunt Nicci and Uncle Andrew at their new apartment and went to lunch to celebrate Nicci's birthday.

Uncle Andrew taught Abby how to watch videos on his phone. She now knows more than I do about cell phones.

We were able to spend Thanksgiving week in Cincinnati visiting with friends and family. Many thanks to Grandpa and Patti for hosting us again this year at Thanksgiving. Abby and Alex enjoyed playing with Max the dog, cousin Aiden, and all the different toys they could find at all the grandparents' houses (some actual toys, others not so much). This was Abby's first trip without a pack n play as she can climb right out of that crib. She ultimately slept on the air mattress each night like a big girl, but getting her to stay in bed was a task (no different than some nights at home in her toddler bed!). She doesn't know where she wants to sleep actually, as she doesn't want to be in her bed but really doesn't want to be with us either. When given the option, she always returns to the bed that's lower to the ground and where she can sleep alone. I'm pretty certain that at her age, if we told Alex he "needed" to sleep with us on vacation, he'd do so in a heartbeat, much like he would now :)

The kids were fighting colds so by Saturday we packed up and came home. By Sunday morning we were all up at walk-in care to be checked out as the following day Brad and I were flying to Houston. Everyone checked out fine and the colds continued to run their course.

Visit to Gigi's House

Trying to figure out the tinker toys.
Oooh, what pretty shells you have Gigi!

Abby wanted to play with the fabric strawberries, but when she discovered all the colored gravel underneath them, she was all about that instead.

Looking through the bowl of seashells from the FL shore.

Brushing Elmo's hair, with Gigi's hairbrush.

When Alex asked if we could stop at Gigi's house over Thanksgiving break and we were happy to oblige. On our way to Cincinnati we made a side trip up to Hamilton to pick up Gigi and visit a little while at her house. Alex hadn't been there since before Abby was born, but thanks to video, pictures, and a mind like a steel trap, he remembered lots about her house.

She broke out a few little toys she still had in the house, such as TinkerToys and a dancing Elmo doll. As you can see by the pictures, the kids wanted to play with everything that wasn't really a toy and Gigi was happy to let them do so!

Fruitful Vine

Tabor Hill...

Decisions, decisions

At Contessa...

Round Barn...

Saturday Brad took me on a tour of the local Michigan wineries, not too far from home! We stayed in New Buffalo, MI (same town we visited this summer for our beach trip and LOVED!) and took the Fruitful Vine winery bus tour to 4 local wineries around St. Joseph, MI. We had no idea that being along Lake Michigan makes for such ideal conditions in the grape-growing business! It was amazing how many wineries, vineyards, and fruit orchards we passed while were were out and about. The day was not rushed and there were tastings at each winery with lunch in between. It was a great way to celebrate my 30th birthday! Many thanks to Aunt Nicci and Uncle Andrew for manning the "funny farm" while we were gone! Alex and Abby had a blast with you both!

Visit with Nicci and Andrew

Mmmm, rice!
Her cheese face.

Alex's buddy Josh happened to be at the tree show too :)

Our little Teletubby!

Aunt Nicci and Uncle Andrew came up to visit this weekend and kindly watched the kiddos on Saturday while Brad and I went on a tour of various Michigan wineries. It was a lovely weekend! Friday night we went to dinner in Bolingbrook and then hung out to watch the Christmas tree lights that are set to music. It was really cold outside so the kids were pretty bundled up!

Abby's First Haircut

At this point, I had to put the camera away and hold her still.

Abby's hair is so wild and crazy, I thought maybe a little trim around the edges would help her out. I assumed a lollipop would distract her enough from the scissors that everything would go smoothly. We plopped her up in the little Barbie Jeep that they have for the kids and as soon as the stylist put the cape on her, Abby flipped out. Nothing would settle her fully. So, she removed the cape, snipped a little off the ends and away we went. No sense in forcing the issue. It looks cute and is pretty even so we are pleased. Once she was finished, Abby was able to play with the toys while Alex got his hair trimmed and that made her quite happy.