Christmas #1

Lauren is so excited!!

Grandma and Grandpa time:

Opening teddy bears from Grandpa in Texas

Lauren got a play kitchen for Christmas:

It's pictures like this that take my breath away. Every once in a while, I see a picture of Lauren where she looks so much older than she is. I feel like I get a glimpse of what she will look like in another year or two. Or maybe I just don't want to believe that she is this old already. Or maybe it's because she always seems to have a phone (real or pretend) up to her ear.

Sick Day

My girls are sick. One with a fever and one with a runny nose and cough. Wow - it's tough with two sick at once. Lauren is in bed with a fever of 102.5. She was at her grandma and grandpa's visiting for the day, when I got a call around noon. Lauren just woke up from a nap and wants mama and to go home. Ok...now that NEVER happens. So I knew she was sick. Brought her home and she layed on the couch for a little while watching Dora. Then she wanted to sleep in the play room. I finally got her to her bed then had to hold Claire who was snotty, coughing, and spitting up. Ah...it'll be fun to look back on this later. Much later.

SANTA!

I think this is the last year I will be able to get away with not going to the Mall of America for a visit with Santa. This was taken at the Mom's Group Christmas party. Obviously...Lauren was NOT having any of it. At least this year I didn't have to sit on his lap. We got a picture with just Claire (thanks Suzanne!) and then with the group. Oh...how Lauren cried. What the pictures don't show is how afterward, Lauren got to talk to him and give him a high-five. She was pretty impressed with him and kept watching him as she made her ornament and ate her cookie. Now she keeps talking about Santa. (Notice that Santa is the same in each of the pictures. You can call him Santa Ed.)









December 2008

December 2007

December 2006

Claire is 4 months!

Four months old - She's such a big girl. I can't believe how strong she is. She loves to stand. Just about to start on solid foods. Lauren is so great with her. So loving. Claire sleeps well at night. Only up once or twice. Not so much during the day. She spits up so often that it interferes with her napping. She wants to be held all the time, and I think I'm sending my chiropractor's kids to college.

I found a friend!

Ok...so Claire is just starting to wake up from her 6 1/2 minute nap, and I think I have just enough time to change a lightbulb in the kitchen. I grab our last extra floodlight bulb, climb like a monkey onto the kitchen counter and reach for the bulb. Now, we've only lived here for about a year so I'm curious about how much dust has gathered on top of the cabinets. I peek over the top, and what do I see? This little guy. First I thought he was a St. Joseph statue for selling the house, but after closer inspection, he looks like a carpenter. Maybe a saint of carpentry...wait, wouldn't that be Jesus? Hmmm. Well, either way it certainly brightened up my day. Edit: Andy just told me St. Joseph is the saint of carpentry. Good to know.

By the way - I had just enough time to get the lightbulb changed. Claire is now asleep on my shoulder. Again.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

First snow! Okay..not exactly first snow, but the first that has stuck. We gave Lauren a big red shovel. A kind of pre-Christmas gift. She worked really well with only one arm. Only about an inch, but plenty to shovel. She was so excited to wear her new snow boots! Gotta love consignment shops. After she gets her splint off next week, she'll get to wear her whole snowsuit...not just the pants.