Christmas Day 2009

Christmas Day was great! We spent the first part of the morning at home, having our own little family time. We video taped the morning, but I didn't get any still shots. The children loved seeing that Santa had visited and opening their gifts. Cubby also got to spend two hours shovelling out our driveway! There was just TONS of snow! (I think he's hoping Santa will bring him a snowblower next year!)

Then, around lunchtime, my sister drove over and picked us up (she has 4-wheel drive) and we were able to spend the afternoon at Mom's with the rest of the family. We had a wonderful brunch and had lots' of fun opening lots' more presents! Christian and I got a nap in that afternoon and we then stayed for dinner as well. Soooo wonderful to be able to rest, relax, play and celebrate Christmas with our loved ones!

Brunch with our bunch! Games with Daddy
It's Bumblebee!

Christmas Eve 2009

Christmas Eve this year was spent at my mom's house. (We usually go out to my grandma's, in Ashland, but, we were in the midst of a blizzard and so the venue was move into "town".) We had a wonderful dinner and opened a few presents. When we got home, the kids enjoyed putting out cookies and a note for Santa before completely crashing out for the night!Christmas Eve dinner, complete w/ham, cranberry salad, rolls, and swedish meatballs!Mom and Harvey

Erin and Kyle, getting a little tipsy on the sparkling cider

Grandma Carolyn and Harvey

My latest parlor trick

Emily's new ice skates!
Playing play-doh...always a favorite!

More to come on Christmas Day....and the blizzard! Merry Christmas to all!

Two Bits (Shave and a Haircut)

Since Cubby is not currently using his shaving cream (click here to see why, not he ever really needs to use it), we decided to put it to good use.


We added food coloring to it and had some fun just being messy.

Afterward, we cleaned up and continued the fun in the tub. We sure have a lot of fun at our kitchen table.

It's SNOWWWWW Fun!

Emily and Christian have been enjoying the snow!

A "little" blizzard didn't deter them from going outside and helping Daddy shovel the driveway! (Actually, he shovelled and they played, but hey, they were good company, right?)

Yesterday, was so nice outside! The sun was shining and after lunch it was the perfect time to play outside. (It totally wore them out and they both ended up taking good naps--a rarity for Emily these days!)

If you look closely, you can see our versions of the trail markers that you see while hiking down in Moab and the like. I can't get down and bend over to help roll out a snowman these days, so this seemed to be the best substitute :-).

We were really hoping for some more sun today (Saturday) so Cubby could take the kiddos sledding, but it wasn't meant to be. Maybe Santa will bring us another sunny day when Daddy's at home so they can go! My belly is just huge and my snow gear (jacket included!) doesn't zip anymore! ***Maybe we'll have little Miss Kari before the year is out??? (Wishful thinking on my part!) I'll be sure to take some belly shots in the next week or two and you can let me know what day you think she'll arrive....

Christmas Programs

This past week we got to see Emily perform in two Christmas programs. And, of course, they were just darling to watch! We do have video of her singing and dancing, but it would take hours to download (our computer is just so slow), so, the still shots will have to tell the story.

The first was at her dance studio. They did a dance to "Santa Claus is coming to town"--we LOVED it! Emily was so animated and knew all of the little dance moves. Hi-lariously cute.

The second program was her preschool program. Before the "big" kids came out, Christian and his friend, Julia, had a great time entertaining everyone running around and giggling. Christian kept trying to tackle and wrestle her though--such a boy.

Emily 's class sang three songs. They sang "Three Wise Men" (to the tune of "Three Blind Mice"), a kind-of "Letter to Santa" song, and another rendition of "Santa Claus is coming to town." Emily sang out clearly, some kids kind of zoned out, and some of the other kids in her class were such hams--sooo funny to watch them all perform, faces and all!

Afterwards, Santa came for a visit. It was cute because he knew all of the kids' names! Yes, it was our favorite YMCA worker, Mr. Gary! Once we told Emily who it was, she was cool with getting a picture with him! Her first Santa picture ever! (Usually, she won't go within 15 ft of any Santa.) Christian loves Santa no matter what but he did like it that Santa knew his name :-).

So, it's been a big week, but we sure enjoyed watching Emily show us everything she's been learning. Good stuff, bring on the holidays!

Emily's Birthday: Part Two

So for the second part of Emily's birthday celebration, we went downtown to the Hilton hotel for an evening of swimming, presents, more pizza, and lots' more fun! My sister, Erin, works there and was able to hook us up with a super-suite with lots' of VIP privleges at a super-sweet price (which Grandma Karen treated us to)--thank you sooo much, Erin and Mom! The rooms we stayed in (my mom and grandma also stayed the night) were apparently the same ones that Paul McCartney stayed in when he was in Omaha a few years back! (We felt super special, indeed!)

Here are a few highlights from the evening....

Opening gifts...

Swimming!!

Birthday songs and cake

A quick pose with Auntie Erin before going swimming

Soooo tired out the next morning!!!

It was SUCH a fun night! Thank you to all of our family for helping to make Emily's 5th birthday so special!!

Finally Five! Emily's Birthday: Part One

This week we celebrated Emily's 5th birthday! We had some big-time fun too (So much fun, in fact, that I have to do it in two posts!). Read on to check out Part One!

Instead of a big "friend-party" this year, Emily opted to take one good friend out for a night of excitement at the Amazing Pizza Machine on Tuesday, and then continue the celebration with a family party on Friday--more on that in Birthday: Part Deux. (Note to self: Must do this idea more often; sooooo nice not to have to put together a big party when you're 8 months pregnant!)

Anyhow, back to the fun timers. At the APM:

We rode the craziest rides (that the kiddos were tall enough for, that is)

We played a plethora of games


We ate large amounts of pizza

And we basically exhausted ourselves running around and playing!

I will post Part Deux once I get some cool swimming pictures from my brother's camera! What a way to turn FIVE! Happy Birthday, Emily!

Thanksgiving (weekend) 2009

We've had a great Thanksgiving weekend! We are fortunate enough to live very close to family and went over to my mom's for dinner. Aside from the fantastic food that we got to eat...and take some home (I love leftovers this time of year!), Emily and Christian enjoyed playing with the train set that comes out around the Holidays.

It's also been a fun weekend for some activities! Friday morning, Cubby had to work and so I took the kids swimming at the Y. (No pictures...I was actually brave enough to pour myself into a swimsuit and do a little swimming myself! Soooo worth it--the water does wonders to relieve a heavy belly!) Friday afternoon Cubby came home. After some serious puzzle-ing time with Emily, the weather was gorgeous and we headed out to Walnut Creek for some playtime.

This morning, once again, the weather was beautiful and so we headed over to check out the big trains down by the Lauritzen Gardens. Emily and Christian enjoyed checking out all aspects of the giant engines that mark the entrance into Nebraska from Iowa.

Playing peek-a-boo in some old wheels on display

Emily treated us to a slide-whistle tap number--"Jingle Bells"

Christian checked out the underside of the train..."Cool" was the general consensus.

It was indeed a weekend to be thankful for--great family, great food, and great weather!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Craft Day

Here is what we made Thursday afternoon. It was really nice to have an afternoon where we didn't have to be running around and the kids enjoyed making these fun little crafts. (We would've been more festive and made turkeys, but, I didn't have any brown paint.) Oh well. Emily still would've wanted it blue and Christian would have asked for green. Emily gave hers to her teacher, Ms. Karin. So sweet. Have a good weekend, everyone!

A First and A Second

This is Emily's first brownie. Ever. (She's never wanted to try one before.) She liked it!

This is Christian's second brownie. Of the night. This kid loves anything chocolate.

I'm Thankful For....

A wonderful husband who always does his best to make me as comfortable as possible while I'm pregnant! Thank you, honey, for all that you do for me. I love you!

Emilina Ballerina

Today was Visitor's Day at Emily's dance. She has really been working hard and has really improved! It was soooo cute. They have learned two little dances (which teach the basics of ballet): Tondue the Tulip and Porte-bras the Spider. The little girls all sang the songs as they did their dances. The second one goes through 8 arm positions and I was so impressed that Emily knew them all and did both dances so well. Emily's naturally athletic, but dancing has been so good for her coordination and really challenges her and teaches her some grace too. Keep it up, Emily! You are dah-ling!

Girls Night--SYTYCD Live!

In the Hilton lobby, before the show

Tuesday night my mom treated my sister, Erin, and I to a fantastic show! The tour of TV show, "So You Think You Can Dance" came to the Qwest Center. Now, seeing these dancers live is so different from just seeing them on TV. They are INCREDIBLE. They make the dances they do look effortless and they are all in such incredible shape that while they're dancing, nothing moves (or jiggles :-) ). They are solid muscle. When one of the dancers, Brandon, did his solo in (what I can only describe as) black spandex boxer briefs, you pretty much had to scrape everyone's jaws off of the floor; especially my mom's! Ha, ha! Their muscles will be a good image to keep in my head when I start running again after the baby is born!

Us, in front of the stage--just five rows from our seats!


Here is a disco routine from Brandon and Jeanette--sooo good!

We had great seats and it was so fun to be out doing something with the girls! (And when I say "the girls" I mean that to include not only Erin and my mom--there were mostly all girls in the audience! Ha!) The teens a couple of rows in front of us were hilarious as well. They were so giddy and star-struck over Kayla (their favorite dancer) and just about keeled over when she waved at them. They were, like I said, hilarious. Good stuff. Good night. Thanks so much, Mom!!!