Happy 8

Years! John and I have been married for 8 years today! We'll be going out to dinner and then spending the night sleeping away in a hotel after we put the kids to bed. Where we intend to sleep all night and wake up when we're not tired anymore. No alarms, no crying children. Just sleep. Delicious. A big THANK YOU to grandma and grandpa for watching the kids and letting us play hooky for the night!

Back to Rochester

Although it was a little rough going, the highways were finally opened up this morning and we made the trek back to Rochester. What might be the most astonishing fact is that we made the 7 hour trip with only one stop. A miracle with two kiddos. One of which prefers to nurse than drink for a cup and one whom is technically potty training (Potty training suffered enormous setbacks when on the way to GF, William was sitting on an automatic flush toilet when it flushed. Loudly.).

Anyhow, one of the big motivators to leave the fun of a Grand Forks Christmas is the promise of a Rochester Christmas. Our car is always so full of people, luggage, cold weather gear, and other necessary items it doesn't make a lot of sense to haul all the Rochester gifts with to ND. We just wait and open them when we get home. So, we rolled into Rochester around 4pm in time to start a third Christmas dinner acookin' (Christmas Calzones, yum!). While we were waiting for the dough to rise, we found that Santa had visited us in Rochester also!

Amelia finding a special kitty in her stocking (also note: candy cane pants!)

William: SOCKS! I LOVE SOCKS!

Daddy: SOCKS! I LOVE SOCKS!

Santa also brought Amelia some Puffs and a pink sippy cup (also note: candy cane pants!)

Then we all moved to the kitchen to create our calzones. William ate his entire calzone. A whole HUGE (1/4 sized) calzone. Amazing!

After dinner, Kaye and Scott joined us to open gifts. They weren't excited about having their picture taken because they had been snowmobiling most of the afternoon/evening and were concerned about their appearance.

Mike loves CDs.

Mike also loves toilet paper.

William checking out my new kitchen tongs. (notice my music playing Santa socks. Next year I will entertain you with the twelve days of my Christmas sock collection)

Amelia crashed right after dinner. It had been a long day. I'm never sure what to do in these situations. My family was together to celebrate Christmas, a special occasion. Clearly, Amelia needed to go to bed. I was torn. Keep her up? Put her to bed? To bed she went and then the question: Open her gifts while everyone is together? Or open them later when she is awake? Gah. There is no winning in this situation. We opted for later, right or wrong.

All Snowed in

Well, the plan was for us to get up in the morning and check the road conditions and with the intention of leaving the frozen North Dakota today. But....the weather was not cooperating at all. All the interstates in North Dakota are closed today and the plows have been pulled (as they were yesterday as well. It didn't matter to us yesterday though because we weren't trying to get anywhere). It is really saying something when they close the interstates in North Dakota. And by closed, I mean closed from Canada to SD borders and MN to Montana. I've been trying to find a news link to this story, but I haven't been able to find anything worth linking to. Grandma Kim and Grandpa Kevin spent the better part of today snowed it at Nona and Budd's house. Grandpa Kevin has made several attempts to get their van out of the unplowed area with no success - a situation that does not sit well with him. Their subdivision still hasn't been plowed and there is a lot of snow out there. And still snowing (although lightly). The main problem today is the strong winds creating white out conditions with near zero visibility. The powdery snow doesn't stay anywhere. We've shoveled a lot and I think the novelty might be wearing off. And thank goodness we packed boots and mittens for everyone.

While we got to spend some quality family time today we weren't able to see the rest of the family staying just a few blocks away. The roads just aren't allowing for it today at this point. We were joking about trying to get in a bonus run to Paradiso today, but when we called, they were closed.

Here is Uncle Mike attempting to shovel the front walk. He is sure wishing he packed winter boots instead only bringing dress shoes. Dress shoes don't do much to keep your feet dry! Please note: John was shoveling the front sidewalk or something. Rest assured he is working as well.

While this isn't close to the most snow I've ever seen at my Grandparent's house, it is the most I've ever seen fall at one time.

William in front of an impressive drift.
Brr!Amelia is safe and warm inside with Auntie Megan (through the window)

John and William were very excited about the snow removal in Grand Forks. These people do not play around! (I'll admit, I was excited too.) Here is a big machine plowing the alley ways.

A better view of the alley plowing machine.

This is no ordinary snow plow! It does the whole street in one pass! Amazing!

Wow! Everytime one would drive by, one of us would run for the camera.

Inside, it was a little hard to not get cabin fever. Amelia was very entertained by this bell ornament from the tree. She would shake it and then hold it to the side of her head saying "Ehhh?!"

William and Uncle Mike played a lot of cars and had some serious discussions about sharing (note: all the cars are on the couch in the right hand corner of this picture).

Megan was inspired to make a fort/barn/house/garage with William in the basement. After some time, it became clear the fort was lacking in decor and they came upstairs to make some art for the walls.

Uncle Mike made an outstanding duck. Isn't he talented?

Late afternoon, the roads cleared up and the snow quit (almost). We were able to make our way back to Grandma Nona and Grandpa Budd's house to visit. William helped Great Grandma Nona decorate some cookies. Grandma reported he ate more than he decorated.

The drift in the parking lot

The door to get in the house when we first arrived. We couldn't get anywhere near enough to even ring a doorbell. We had to call from the driveway so they could open their garage and let us in.

Shoveled out, for now

We enjoyed a yummy pizza party with all the grandmas and grandpas that evening. I love it when all the families are able to be together in one place - even though they aren't all related it makes for a very cozy evening.

A WHITE Christmas!

Not surprisingly, William was the first person up on Christmas Day (Amelia had been up several times through the night, but I'm not counting that). John and William went into the living room and had the following conversation (roughly):

J: Do you know what today is? It is a very special day!
W: .....It is my BIRTHDAY!
J: ???? No! It is Christmas today! Today is going to be a fun day with everyone here.
W: No. It is not Christmas anymore - Christmas is all done. It my BIRTHDAY! Mama says first it Grandpa Tom's Birthday, then Christmas, then it is MY BIRTHDAY! We will have cake.
J: Sorry, buddy. It is still Christmas. Not your birthday.
Quick subject change occurs.

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Wellllll, overnight it kept snowing and snowing and snowing. Luckily, we were stationed at the McGarry's house - which is where all the fun was happening.

We went out early to get a handle on the shoveling. Being it was a holiday, we weren't sure if the shoveling service was going to clear the driveway for us today. (PS A HUGE thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for allowing us to park in the garage. We did not have to dig out the car - that would have been a LOT of work!)

A little work gets a big reward! GranGerry makes yummy carmel rolls (one of my FAVORITE foods. Ever.) for breakfast on Christmas morning. No wonder my pants don't fit. Shortly after we were finishing with our feeding frenzy, Grandpa Kevin and Grandma Kim rolled in to the freshly shoveled driveway.

While people were getting ready, William and Grandma read a book to the waiting crowd. A book about trucks, of course.

Amelia and daddy opening her warm, fuzzy jammies! So cute!

William opening his warm, fuzzy jammies - WAIT THERE IS A CAR ON THESE JAMMIES. It was a lot of work to keep him dressed and out of the jammies. Have I mentioned we like cars?

William got some BIG kid pencils! He was so excited to have his own pencils!

I'm not sure he is even breathing in this picture. He just sat and looked and looked. He finally looked up at me to whisper "cars!!!".

Sticking to the plan, Amelia was with John and William was supposed to sit with me. However, that didn't work out so well because he 1)wasn't interested in sitting with me 2) Wanted to show John each and every item he opened 3) wanted to help everyone else open their presents 4) Didn't want to sit still. Period. So, there was no enjoyment of the holiday with a kid upon my lap. Suddenly it became clear that I needed my baby girl on my lap and John happily turned her over.

SOCKS! We love getting socks! Daddy is being a great example (no, really!) about how to be excited about socks!

Amelia got a gloworm. She was fascinated!

And happy!

My goodness she loves this gloworm. She hugs it, kisses it, tries to crawl around with and and wipes her nose on it. Definitely a hit!
After some more eating and a little napping by a few of us, we went over to see if Santa had come to town (during this time it is still snowing, snowing, snowing) at the Wennersten house. On the way over, we got VERY stuck in the entrance to the subdivision my grandparents live it and required both pushing and shovels.*

Amelia got a stocking that matches the rest of our family from my Great Aunt Bonnie. It is BEAUTIFUL and we are so thankful for her hard work!

Amelia got a new bib!

William was thrilled to be opening MORE presents!

HURRAY! SOCKS! We knew there was a strong possibility of him getting socks and so we were working hard to play up the excitement of receiving socks. Although we really do get excited about receiving socks. Really.**Amelia showing her new trick!** Anything that shakes, rings, jingles or beeps is considered a phone in her book and she holds it to her ear. Like it is a phone. And the she says "Eeeeh?" and looks at you expectantly. Even if she hears beeping or ringing, she'll put the palm of her hand on the side of her face and loudly "Eeeeh?".***

*I like to point out that I pushed a baby out of my body in just about the amount of time it took to get the van unstuck. John likes to point out this comparison isn't very Christmas-sy and is borderline appropriate.

**Please note totally adorable/cute/amazing Christmas outfits! I have zero pictures of them together on Christmas Day.

***Also note: Amelia started running a fever on 12/24 and was still not right on 12/25. Amelia also had not slept through the night since we left Missouri. I thought this was related to the teething situation, but in hindsight it appears it may have been a stomach virus in conjunction with the teething. Poor kid, poor mama. If either one of us looks "off" in any of the pictures, you will clearly see why.

Merry Christmas Wennersten Style

tooth #6 lower right (incisor?) 12/24

We arrived in Grand Forks just ahead of some bad weather on 12/23. The initial predictions had the area of North Dakota we were visiting slated for 1-3 inches of snow over Christmas. A manageable amount. Who doesn't like a white Christmas? However, by the time we arrived, the predictions had changed and we were under a winter weather advisory and weatherpeople were predicting a lot of snow. A lot of snow for even North Dakota standards. This prediction didn't phase us too much because in the thirty years I've been alive, I've never missed a North Dakota Christmas due to weather (I have due to our wedding, John's family Christmas and my mom's work schedule). Just like we've never NOT made it TO North Dakota, we've never not made it home either. Until this year! A few pictures from 12/23.

Reading books with Great Grandma Nona

Amelia is a fan of measuring cups. Or anything that you can bang on a table.

I'm not sure why her hat is still on? Because it is cute with her fleece overalls? (Thanks Charlotte!)

This boy will stop just about everything to sit down with a book being read to him. He loves, LOVES to read books. Now it's Great Grandpa Budd's turn to read.

Amelia at Paradiso La Capana. This is hands down our favorite Mexican restaurant. I'm sure that it is totally authentic being its close proximity to the Mexican border (not). Whatever. It's good. We love it. And this is Amelia's first time eating at La Capana (chips).

This is an occasion for a picture! I've been eating at this restaurant since I was a baby. And here I am (although an unflattering shot) at La Capana with MY baby!

William eating his dinner - he loves LOVES the chips and sauce here! I'm so proud he eats salsa because he doesn't eat much else in the way of vegetables.

William and daddy. Luckily, John is a fan of Paradiso also :) We even sometimes get several burritos to go, freeze them and take them home in our cooler. They aren't nearly as good, but still pretty tasty.

It was just starting to snow lightly in the evening on the 23rd. Not enough to be a big deal, but enough we went out to shovel in the morning of the 24th. Especially with the weather predictions of more snow. Here are the pictures from the 24th.

We don't get much snow in St Louis (watch, this will be a record year now). We don't really even have a snow shovel. So, William was super excited about getting out an playing in the snow. This was a powdery snow, so there wasn't going to be any snowballs or snowmen, which was very sad. However, William was content to just help "shovel". More like take the snow off of the neatly shoveled drifts and put it back on the sidewalk.
John shoveling a past from the garage to the house.
Uncle Mike, William and Mama shovel the sidewalks around Grangerry and Grandpa Tom's house.
Me and Mike's version of American Gothic, subzero.
William's first snow angel. I have some video of this, but I'm going to have to upload it later when I can get to it.Amelia enjoyed watching everything from her cozy snowsuit. Apologies for the runny nose.

After all that hard work, we went inside for some hot chocolate and a birthday donut in honor of Grandpa Tom's birthday 12/20.

William was a fan of both the donuts and the hot chocolate. And the candles/singing.

Mike was just...Mike.

Amelia wearing her Christmas-y pajamas with her favorite tree ornament. A jingle bell. She would shake it, hold it to her ear, and say "Ehhh?". Every single time.

The kids in their daytime Christmas outfits+hats. I am a Christmas nerd. William hat a "tough cookie" shirt with a Christmas cookie on the front and Mia is wearing her red striped shirt, red pants and green Christmas socks. Very festive.

Although trying to get a picture to satisfy my nerdiness is nearly impossible.

Auntie Megan (and Uncle Mike) was a huge help to us over Christmas. She was up early-ish and always willing to hold a baby, wipe a nose (or behind), or help us out in any way. She was playing "Airplane" with William in which she would put him up on the bottom of her feet so he would "fly" up in the air. This game lasted a long time until William decided it was Megan's turn to be the airplane. Above, you'll note is Megan's airplane.

Over at the Wennersten's house, things were going on high getting ready for the Christmas celebration. Historically (with the exception of the 3 occasions), we celebrate Christmas eve in the evening with my mom's family and Christmas Day with my dad's family. Here is my mom buttering up the lefse she made with Aunt Kaye.

William waits for dinner playing a "polka dot game" (hand held Yahtzee) wearing his cute Christmas sweater.

Again with reading a book with Great Grandpa Budd.

My parents all dressed up for Christmas

Megan frosting Christmas cookies in the kitchen.

Mama getting Mia all dressed up in her finery.

Apparently with two small children that may or may not eat, I was too busy consuming meatballs to take any other pictures as was John. I've decided you can tell we have small children based on out etiquette and small talk. There isn't any. It is every wo/man for her/himself until one of the small children becomes A Problem which is when the discussion begins about whose turn it is to remove them from the table. Away from your plate of food. Public Apology: I truly apologize if you were sitting next to us at any dinner recently. There isn't any excuse except we're HUNGRY.

Anyway, here is Amelia eating Christmas dinner and sharing it with you!

Kaye couldn't come because of Scott's work schedule, so we had to call and wish her a Merry Christmas.

NOTE: Next year take a family picture while we are waiting for dinner. The kids are more patient, the outfits are clean and there is less whining.

All I wanted was a picture of the two kids by the fireplace with their stockings in their Christmas outfits. Easy right? HAHAHAHAHHA. Here are four of the best attempts:

Honestly, this is the best family picture of the bunch.

My parents/siblings

A funny picture of Willam and Megan

My family

My grandparents and their grandchildren (+ William)

Grandma Nona and Grandpa Budd with their two kids

Finally time for PRESENTS! John opened with a fish faced Amelia and I helped William. William opened one present, fell in love with his new truck and disappeared for a long time. So, no pictures of William opening presents.

And then. Then it was so late and was past time for our kids to go to bed. So, we packed up for the night while the rest of the family went to church for the candlelight service. A very special day, our girl's first Christmas.