Rewind

Well, I missed a few pictures from our whirlwind trip over Christmas. So, here is what you missed!

All these pictures are from 12/22/09. Just goes to show you how incredibly busy we are when we make the trek home to Rochester. Although the events are different, we always pack in the fun when we are home visiting! We have so many special people to visit and see.


It snowed the night before and before Grandpa could drop Grandma off at work, he needed to shovel at least part of the driveway. William was NOT going to miss out on this opportunity! So, we bundled him up in his jammies with his boots, mittens, hat and sent him out to help Grandpa.
William isn't the most helpful shoveler - John (who was out with him) reported that both he and Grandpa tried to show him how to correctly shovel. William wasn't having any of it. He shoveled a little here, a little there and then decided his shovel wasn't working correctly.

So he found this one in the garage and went back to work, this time shoveling snow out of the drifts and back onto the driveway.


The boys came inside and we got everyone ready...just in time for Amelia to nap. It seems like this is the way things go lately, we hurry, hurry, hurry to get ready for it to be time for Amelia's morning nap. After a nap, we went to visit Grandma Kim at the hospital. She likes to have some fun visitors and we like to meet her friends. We didn't take any pictures there this time.After the hospital, we went to the store where Grandpa works to say hi. William was excited Grandpa had a guitar (ukelele) just his size! He did NOT want to give this up!
Amelia preferred a fancy guitar. We also played a fun piano, drums and talked with Grandpa's work friends. I was pretty sure we were going to have to pull William out of there kicking and screaming. Or with a new guitar in hand.


Then it was lunch time! So, back to Grandma and Grandpa's house. After lunch is a rest/nap time for some of us. A much needed time after going and going and going!

After rest time, it is time to go and visit Grandpa Heidt. Grandpa is always up for one of William's favorite past times - reading!

Amelia's silly face - she cracks me up!
It's crunch time! Mama has craftiness to finish! Here I'm working on Amelia's doll quilt made out of old sheets from when I was little. This quilt is important and special because it is the first time I've ever put the binding on a quilt correctly despite being taught a LOT of different times. Finally!
Amelia show the dolly who is boss! She loves babies, but she is NOT gentle!
She is also a fan of trucks - here Grandpa helps her push the fire truck to Daddy and William on the other side of the room.


The rest of the day we ate dinner, got ready for bed, played more with Grandma Kim and Grandpa Kevin and put kids down. And then, we probably played a game until way past our bedtimes. :) Very good times all around. Busy, but very good.

Ahhhh....home

We're finally home again after being away for about two weeks. John and I both adore having big, noisy, family filled Christmas holidays. However, it is always nice to sleep in your own bed :)

We rounded out the holiday by having the very last Christmas ever until December 2010 at our house. We decided it was time to institute our own family Christmas this year and leave most of our presents to each other and the kids at home. It always is nice to look forward to just one more celebration on that last long leg of driving home. Plus, the car was filled to the brim with all the generous gifts from our family and friends.

Christmas stockings, again
Amelia got a LOT of cute clothes!
She is going to be very well dressed this summer!
And....we finally broke down and got William a few trains of his own to play with. They are an expensive habit!
And Santa brought William some race car underwear! Maybe this will inspire him to hop back on the wagon? I can hope!

New Year's Eve

Happy New Year!

We had a lovely New Year's Eve with the Gaeke's who hosted us for our 2nd Annual New Year's Eve get together. We played games, had some fun drinks, and visited. It was casual, quiet, and perfect in every way. A perfect start to 2010!

A look back at 2009:
How we rang in the new year 2009! William and Cana party it up! December 31st, 2008
In January, William turned the dreaded TWO
In February, John got his pins out of his finger.
I turned 30 YEARS old (*GASP*)!
In March, we welcomed Amelia Ann
And became a family of four
In April, we brought Amelia home from the hospital.
And celebrated her first Easter.
In May, our generous church congregation threw us a beautiful baby shower
May also was the first time we brought Amelia home to meet family and friends. We also baptized Amelia during this trip at the church when John and I met, were married and where we baptized William.
In June, John turned 30 years old
We celebrated Father's Day in Rochester before driving to Grand Forks.
Amelia also made her first trip to Grand Forks at the end of June
In July, we dressed our kids in matching outfits and took them to a parade. In the rain.
We also said good-bye to a beautiful baby boy. I cannot tell you how deeply this event has touched our family, more than I've shared here.
William participated in Vacation Bible School for the first time - God bless this wonderful, energetic preschool VBS teacher. She made this an amazing experience for William.
In August, we took swimming lessons
Played in the sprinkler
And took Amelia out on her very first hike
In September, Amelia started eating solid foods.
We attended the St Louis balloon glow
And Amelia turned 6 months old - which was celebrated with half of a cake.
In October, we played in a pile of pumpkins.
William started preschool a few days a week
And celebrated Amelia's first Halloween.
In November, we celebrated Thanksgiving with the Heidts
And hung out a lot with the McGarry's

I also continued to enjoy dressing my children alike.In December, we caught snowflakes in our mouthswatched Amelia experience snow for the first time
Dressed up as animals for the Christmas PlaySat on Santa's lap waaaaaaaay too many times
And celebrated Amelia's first Christmas with family.
And a lot of snow.
And a lot of outfits. Because I love holiday outfits.


2009 was a wonderful year (overall) for our family! May 2010 bring joy as well!