Christmas in Missouri

So....I was honestly expecting a pretty awful experience driving down to Missouri. Our trip back from Missouri to Wisconsin last time was not fun and I was definitely not looking forward to this day. I tried to think ahead and be super prepared and though I'm sure it didn't really make the difference....the trip down was good! The kids both immediately fell asleep and we cruised on to Iowa City, such a fun drive that we used to make all the time:) The rest of the trip went well, Collin didn't cry until about Jefferson City, which is less than an hour out. I climbed in the back and was able to keep him entertained, he was clearly just bored, no wonder!

We just unpacked and ate and relaxed that night, Ron was on call and Laurie was arriving the next morning. Monday was busy with everyone arriving! We don't get to see Laurie often and it had been since March! Kate was super excited too and we spent about 15 minutes waiting by the windows for them to arrive:)

Collin exploring Gma and Gpa's:)

Having fun!

Waiting for Aunt Laurie...

After some playing, we got ready for the neighborhood cocktail hour hosted at Ron and Bobbi's. There was lots of great food, catching up and a puzzle:) Kate has been to enough of these that she is no longer shy but trying to pull the women away to play! Possibly, the highlight of Monday was listening to Laurie, Dave and Kate lobby to open gifts that night:) I obviously like to open as well, but I like to watch them squirm more:) As it should be, Kate was allowed to open one (that she could sleep with that night) and the rest of us had to wait. 

Tuesday was Christmas! We opened our stockings while Collin slept - funny, Kate was able to help with that:) We debated when to shower, actually that debate happened every day - don't you love vacations?! After properly showering and making some cookies, we convened by the tree - new location. It was fun to have it downstairs this year, near the fireplace. Kate was supposed to be the elf but was kind of distracted at times:) So I tried to help out. I still love handing out gifts, honestly - I really, really love it. It is so fun to give gifts! I love the moment right before someone opens and I hope they are going to love it...what a geek, I know. My children will be begging Gma to let them hand out gifts and I'll be elbowing them out of the way, so I can do it...okay, I'll work on that.

Kate slept in a tent upstairs so Laurie could have her room back:)
She loved it!

Another sweet Kate & Gpa moment while opening stockings:)

Making spritz cookies before we open gifts - I only ate 3/4 of what they made.
Seriously.

I love Christmas, always have appreciated it and all the traditions that go along with it. I treasure my childhood memories. Everything from frosting cookies at Gma Rosendahl's when we had a snow day and had to stay home from school, to bundling up to go sledding (anyone else have their parents and grandparents put bread sacks over their socks? No? Just us?) shopping in Decorah, switching parents and trying to hide all the gifts from one another in the same car, running around and playing like crazy with all my cousins in the basement at Gma and Gpa's, I could go on and on. 

However. It truly rivals those memories to be able to give them to your own children. Dave and I are an enthusiastic kind of couple:) As a younger couple (ugh, that is fun to write:), we loved getting together at Christmas, but oh my goodness...to watch your kids open gifts, play with the toys together, light up when talking about Santa...yup. I think this might be better. 

Well, who knew we just needed to put some presents in front of Collin to get him to crawl!

This little guy had fun cruising around

Aww, love this. They were so good.

Giant Chew Toy Elmo!! JK - but that is everything these days for Collin

The gift giving was wonderful and we still had much of the day to play with everything:) Bobbi was super smart and had made ahead a bunch of meals, so we had some yummy white chicken chili, played some bags and the gals (Bobbi, Laurie and I) worked on one of the two puzzles we completed during the week.

It was in the 60s at the beginning of the week!

Grandma and Kate playing with a new toy

Wednesday brought some shopping (Dave and I were able to go without the kids - hallelujah! what a treat:) we did some damage at Marshall's with Laurie and then hit Target, but needed to get back to go to church. We got the kiddos dressed up (oh my gosh...precious) and went to Ron and Bobbi's church's Wednesday Advent service. The kids behaved, the songs were good, the sermon was awesome - what a joy. Dave and I really try to keep Kate aware of what we are celebrating and why we have Christmas and all the other traditions (Santa, stockings, etc) She's pretty intelligent and on top of us talking about it, she goes to a parochial preschool....so,she is keeping Jesus as the reason for the season:) I had...kind of made a big deal about dressing up because I wanted to get some amazing photos of everyone, so I'll chalk it up to sleep deprivation brain that as soon as we returned home, I jumped into pajamas and Dave and I got Collin into pjs and ready for bed. He hadn't slept yet and we were so focused on getting him down. I came out to the living room and saw everyone still dressed up. Crap! Collin had refused to go down, and we didn't put him back into his sweater:( But I threw my sweater over my pajama pants and took some pics. We never got a whole family pic during the week! Good grief!

Thursday brought more shopping for Dave and I and then we took Kate to her very first movie in the movie theater! We had thought about it in Decorah after Thanksgiving, but the day was just too full and it got bumped. But we made it to the 4 p.m. show of Frozen with Aunt Laurie as well. So much fun for all of us! We were, literally, the only ones that went to that showing and we got all the snacks and enjoyed the movie. (I had no idea how nordic it was!! And the message was good. Love it.) Bonus? It was just starting to snow as we made our way to the van in the parking lot. Yeah.

Friday, Dave and I snuck out to shop (once again) very specifically for a new watch for him. It had snowed and the roads were just terrible by Missouri standards:) Not Wisconsin standards. We braved the trace of snow (kidding, a little more than a trace) and got him a new watch. Then, when back home, we all enjoyed watching Dave and Laurie playing Just Dance and some sports game on Ron's playstation...priceless and I have videos for bribery at a future date.....Kate also did a kids dance version which was cute and I foresee a LOT of this in the coming years - awesome! (Ahem - I also did a little bit....archery and bowling, just barely besting my hubby:) 

Friday night, we were invited down to Rich and Robin's house (friends that are like Dave's aunt and uncle) for a neighborhood shindig..these people are so generous, fun and make really good food; a second family for the Lenninger's, they are a big part of everyone's lives. They deep-fried a turkey, Bobbi brought ham rolls and potatoes, that was just the beginning of the food. We had signature cocktails, food, Kate did some little puzzles, we ate and then to everyone's delight, Robin sat down to play piano while we all sang Christmas songs!! Kate sat right next to her and just soaked it all up. Collin cried at first (Dave singing was too loud?) he enjoyed the rest of it and tried to join in at times:) It was very sweet, felt nostalgic and was a wonderful way to really get in the Christmas spirit. 

This time, she didn't touch the piano. Just listened and sang!

We left the next morning and due to good packing ahead of time, we hit the road at a decent hour, 10:30-11 a.m.? The kids did well again, I think Kate fell asleep before we turned off their street:) We grabbed some lunch in Jefferson City (first city) and we got Kate some food, though she was sleeping. When she kind of stirred, I gave her some food. She was excited for it, but fell back asleep while holding it! Our children never do this, it was so cute. We had some challenging diaper changes, some fussing but we made it back just fine! Much earlier than I had prepared for, so that was spectacular. What a trip!

I don't have all our pictures sorted and uploaded yet, check out our December album soon for everything...

Thanksgiving

Hey there, well - how do I even begin? We are just back from a ten day road trip, holiday hopping through the Midwest. Honestly, honestly...I'm going to try and be brief.

Dave was on call the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, so we didn't get to leave until Thursday morning. I tried to get us all packed up and ready to leave at 7 a.m. when he was officially "off" but of course, you can't get everything packed because you need it to get ready in the morning (or kids need to sleep at night). Dave had to run to the hospital in the morning and despite all the loose ends, we were on the road at 8:30 a.m! And yes, we were impressed with ourselves:)

The kids did great and after dropping Abby off at a kennel near Decorah, we showed up to Mom and Dad's on a bright and beautiful Thanksgiving morning. Mom had it all under control and we were the first to arrive, so we just relaxed and tried not to scare them with how much we were hauling from the van into the house. 

Trying to get a family picture - thank you Mom:)
ps - I'm ready to throw my glasses in the lake, stupid glare - argh!

There were 25 people at the meal and it was wonderful to see everyone, I am pretty distracted with the kiddos and don't get to really sit and visit as much as I'd like, but that is just part of the deal right now! The food was traditional, good and I had two big plates - the most I've eaten at Thanksgiving in years;) 

Dave totally took this picture, he is famous for cutting heads off!

On Friday, we had a busy day planned. We got up early to go and get a tree, whoops - three trees (two for Mom and Dad and one for Andrew)!  - from Johnson's near Decorah. It was sunny and cold, Mom made sure we all had roughly seven layers on and we headed out, prepared to spend hours searching for the perfect trees. 

Heading out...

At least we know who is in charge

It was pretty gorgeous down there...

Kate was in-it to win-it from the start. She was running ahead and telling us to check out certain trees...so cute:) She had endless energy, which was good. We bundled Collin up and took turns carrying him which worked just fine. It didn't take too long and we found some lovely trees - what a joy (for the guys) to carry the smaller trees this year! 

Conference

Hey! A family pic!

Kate wouldn't leave Gpa's side at the end, she has also requested some camouflage
 so she and Gpa can hide and we won't see them:)

Okay, it was a little cold - what a trooper

Kate insisted on carrying some boughs that Gma wanted, so cute!

Collin helping the guys ascertain the trunk of the tree...

Time to go!

Dave and I and the kids peeled off to Decorah on the way home, we grabbed some things at the Oneota Coop and picked up some Mabe's pizza for lunch - a pretty perfect morning if you ask me! We ate pizza, watched the Hawkeyes win and decorated for Christmas at Mom and Dads - a pretty perfect afternoon:) Then we had to clean ourselves up a bit:) and head over to Kylie's house for a big get-together with the Huinker/Kruse clan! We made a fashionably late (I hope:) appearance and of course, Kate starting running and playing hard the second we arrived. Mom and I bided our time to hold new, little baby Grady. We ate, we talked, it was awesome. Kate was a sweaty mess when people started to leave. We had just a few tears as Mom and Dad took the kids to go home and go to bed, I hadn't really explained the plan to her, but with a little distraction she was fine. Dave and I were SO looking forward to a night out with adults and especially with this bunch (Amanda, Brian, Beth, Chris, Andrew & Kylie)  but I was very nervous about the kids not behaving or getting down for bed. Our children are notorious for not taking a bottle and not sleeping - great combo, huh? 

Decorating the loft tree

Mom decorating the porch tree:)

We met up at Brian and Amanda's house and played some games and chatted, it was wonderful with the exception of missing Tony and Tara. I know they are happy that we got together, but obviously it would be complete if they were there. Definitely going to be some epic fun in the future...:) 

When we arrived back at Mom and Dads - at a total reasonable hour, I might add, 11:30 p.m.? (we are old) the word on the street was the kids did great! Yeah!! I was thrilled. Collin was a peach, Kate got some cuddle time and watched part of Elf, sounds like a great night with the Gma and Gpa. 

Saturday brought some rest and relaxation, finished decorating, some time outside, started (and finished!) a 1,000 piece puzzle, and then at the end of the night, Mom and Dave flexed their music muscles and we had some piano/trumpet songs with singing. Ummm..Christmas tunes. Mostly. Kate contributed by playing a little piano with Gma and singing. Her own songs..usually something to do with Cinderella or Santa, her own tune, own lyrics and definitely her own volume. It is a tribute to Mom that she could play with that 4 year old distraction! It was awesome and I look forward to more family music in the future! 

Sunday, we packed up and tried to head out at a decent time. There wasn't much that we left at Mom and Dads, so the van was once again...quite full. We timed it perfectly, Collin was sleepy but not TOO sleepy and the day was bright and sunny. What a truly great Thanksgiving!! And now....Lake Ozark, Missouri or bust!

Man on a Mission

So we bought Collin a walker for the house. He LOVES to be up on his feet and it is killing my back to keep holding him up and walk him around (on top of being up with him in the night:) He couldn't move too fast at first. But then another 24 hours went by. He was trying to chase Kate. Another 24 hours. He is pulling the towels off the cupboards in the kitchen, magazines off the end tables. He is so proud of himself, the look of mischief and glee is too much! Another 24 hours, he disappears and is found in our bathroom. He rammed right into Kate as she was trying to get past him - totally taking her out. Another 24 hours, he pulls the wood grid-thing off the big slider window, breaking it and knocking down a box, spilling the contents across the floor. He goes into our bedroom and moves my boots...he is currently in the laundry room and I'd better go check on him....this is getting interesting!

Mmmm..Mommy's sweater...

Here is a link to video of him in the walker...
http://youtu.be/zqm3Nt_rqss

Staycation

One of the amazing things about Dave's job up here is that he gets a crazy amount of time off. Total bonus, something we really appreciate and one of the reasons we came up here! We don't exactly get to decide when he gets that time off, though, something that is generally fine with us. It has been a little weird in the last year or so with the personnel issues they had, but basically, we are back to a rolling schedule of a week off every 4/5 weeks. Anyway, we forgot about it and all of sudden we were faced with a week off last week! Gotta love surprises like that:) We had no plans and that was just fine, there is always about a week's worth of house stuff to do, right?! 

Words can't describe how much I loved her in this:)

Happy boy!

"Mom, Mom, take our picture!!!" everyday...")

Much of the week, we were dealing with the fussiest baby we have probably ever had! Poor Collin was SO sick. Super fussy, spiking a fever, screaming and not sleeping. And here is where Dave and I win the worst parent awards...we didn't take him in to the doc. I know! He was drooling and chewing on everything (beware - he will try and bite your shoulder and he has sharp teeth:) he had a cough but wasn't doing anything with his ears. He wouldn't breastfeed very much (oh my God, I hate writing this out in black and white...) but we don't usually run to the doc at every fever, etc. He then seemed a little better and we had Kate's 4 year well-check on Monday, so we waited until then. 

Yes, that is a new (and her first) Barbie in her hand, she wanted to take her outside -
Barbie only fell into the leaves once:)

Chasing Mommy, she was the monster trying to scare me

Biking back to the house...

Our brilliant plan to rake the leaves into a pile at the bottom of the slide! I went down it too:)

Collin supervising from his swing...

Video of us in the backyard -  http://youtu.be/UZPEApS5fPU

Dave and I just alternated playing with the kids and tackling our to-do lists, we did get a lot accomplished! Yeah! We also went down to the Dells with some friends and ate at Buffalo Phils (food delivered by trains - Kate loves it). We also had dental appointments for the whole family - woo hoo.  :) It was Kate's first time and she did great. Was fine until the chair went backwards, then got scared. Collin chilled in the car seat while Daddy and Kate checked on me (in another room) and then she laid down on Daddy's lap and did fine the rest of the time. Highlights were getting a pencil and "blue sparkly toothpaste!!" She asked if she could go back next week.  

On Monday, I had to take both kiddos to Kate's doctor appointment. That morning I got a call that she couldn't get her immunizations because their fridge had failed. We went anyway, Kate has traditionally been...awful at the doctor. Won't stand on the scale, won't open her mouth, won't do anything. Oh - AND her doctor is one of our best friends of up here. She knows him and loves him! We had been working on being a big girl so I decided to go anyway and do the physical. Collin was a trooper, I took him out of the carseat and he just played on the floor, tried to eat my shoelaces. Kate was bouncing off the walls, but was perfect with Laurie, the nurse. Did everything right away - yay! Laurie and I both forgot to have her take off her shoes so her weight and height are a little inflated but she was 90% for height and 50% for weight - same as Collin! She's super healthy, developing fine. We all knew this. I had to take her (and Collin) back the next day to get the immunizations. She was cool while we waited, was talking about how the mist (flu mist) was to keep her healthy...I actually thought it wouldn't be that bad! 

Getting her blood pressure checked...

Silly me. We went back to the room, she was holding Laurie's hand. Got quiet and sat on my lap and did fine with the nasal spray. I hadn't been sure where she would need to get her shots (was hoping shoulder as that is where Kate was expecting it) but of course, it had to be her thighs:(  She would not do it. She was almost hiding behind the furniture in the room. I didn't know what to do. Laurie was good but then finally said that I'll have to hold her. So we got her up on the table, and I was hugging/holding her and then I had to lay her down. It was awful!!! She screamed and wouldn't stop crying. Laurie gave her some fruit snacks and I had a little dum dum sucker for her. Laurie stayed until all her tears were dry and we left. She was fine by the time we got out front - distracted by pushing the handicap button thing for the doors. She said her leg was sore later that night, but obviously she is fine now. Collin is due for his round of shots next week...

When we got home from dance last night, she let me take a picture of her in her new tutu...so I ran with it and did a mini photo shoot (about 50 photos on the camera:) Dave laughed when he got home. I told him that I had to go to the bathroom so bad after running around town with both kids for a couple hours, but was going to run with it if she was cooperating! When you are pregnant, you keep going to the bathroom and once the baby is here you don't have time to go anymore. Gotta love it!

New tutu from Samantha!

Trying to convince me to eat her snack in her dance outfit. Sorry sweetie...

Oh, I forgot to mention...so as I was chatting with Dr. Ryan about really important things like if Dave is hunting this year and when we are going out for pierogis again...:) He checked Collin's ears since I said he had been so fussy last week. Ear infection. Both ears. Yup. Felt pretty awesome right about then. He prescribed antibiotics and asked me again when his last fever was....ugh. So, Collin is currently taking amoxicillin (silly me, I mean he is currently spitting amoxicillin out on Dave and I) and we get his ears rechecked next week, coincidentally on his nine month "bday." So, I'll have a nice little recap of his stats next week! He is doing much better now:) Sleeping a bit better (by his standards, not most babies:) and is much happier. Here's hoping for a week in the Lenninger household where none of us are sick!!!....yeah, I'm not holding my breath:) 

Peace! 

Catching Up!

Whoa! It's been way too long since I last posted! So much has happened in the last few weeks, as always. I'll have to be brief and catch up to November!

We put in a new kitchen back splash! It was kind of on the fly, my parents were able to come up and we put in a new back splash in the kitchen and the laundry room. Dave and I generally agree on plenty of decisions like this, we have the same taste, but we ended up wanting two different tiles for this project. We compromised in doing the second option (my first choice) in the laundry room:) The worst part of this project was running around Madison with Collin trying to get enough of the tile - not fun. I was skeptical of the tile at first, I have a hard time picturing things sometimes! Of course, Dave was right, I love the tile. It took another week or so before Dave could get the under-cabinet lighting up and it looks SO good. I love the lighting more than I thought I would too:) We had some of the tile that I wanted (a thin glass tile) and so we just needed a couple sheets to do the small laundry room, so we did it. I need a photo.... 

Love it!

We hosted the Swoboda's/Peterson's again recently!! My best girl friends/sisters from college:) we have been "family" for 13 years now and I cannot spend enough time with them.  I am so thrilled that we continue to make the effort to spend time together. It is admittedly harder now with five kiddos between the three families! Friday night, Peterson's were up for attending a Harvest Party that was being held at the church that does Kate's preschool. The kids dressed up and played games, won prizes, ate, it was a lot of fun and was indoors:) The highlight for me was maybe trying to the get the group picture with them in their costumes...what were we thinking?! 

I have been a little nervous since the last two boys were born (2 months apart) about our available space in the house, but honestly - it was fine! We had enough space and the kids played great together. We were able to catch up, play with and hold each other's kids, and celebrate Kate (4) and Aniyah's (2) upcoming birthdays! I tried to take lots of pictures, we should do more video, though, given the difficulty of getting group pictures and to capture their little conversations and interactions. Too cute. The ages of the kids are Kate (almost 4), Waylon (3), Aniyah (almost 2), Collin (8 months) and Lawson (6 months). :)  Fun times!! Our night with everyone there was rough, all the kids were up at some point...tired parents the next day! We also had a little sickness roll through...after cupcakes for the birthdays, Waylon felt sick and ended up throwing up and Dave later that day:(  Waylon was a trooper (Dave too:) and we continued to have a great weekend.

Kate and Waylon playing outside

The little boys:)

The crew!

These two are too funny...

After spending the beginning of the week thoroughly cleaning and sanitizing the house:) we were gearing up for Kate's birthday (Oct. 30) and Halloween! Kate was definitely more aware of the holiday and trick or treating...she would go around the house and say "trick or treating!" with her bag:) It took me awhile to convince her it is just "trick or treat." 

For Kate's birthday, I was prepared to make her pancakes for breakfast, but she refused and just wanted an apple. They were allowed to dress up at school and were celebrating Halloween/Harvest for two days..I let her dress up as a princess on her birthday and we brought treats - chocolate covered strawberries with sprinkles! I picked her up and we had to go straight to dance class, she wore a new tutu that we had bought for her (ordered from Sam Aceto - a friend of T&T that we met at the wedding!) She handed out treats to her friends there and then we went home. Unfortunately, Dave was on call and was getting stuck at the hospital. We were maybe going to take her out to a restaurant, but since he was still working, we just went home. Just a normal supper and no dessert - I figured there were enough sweets between the weekend and Halloween....We watched a movie and waited to see if Daddy would make it home...turns out he wasn't going to make it and he said to let her open gifts. So, Collin and I were there for her:) I recorded it so he could watch later. She was thrilled with her gifts and was super sweet. We waited up a bit, but ended up going to bed before Daddy got home:( He did go up and give her a kiss later, but I don't think she realized it. Some of her gifts this year: tutu, lots of books, flashlight, two puppets, some slippers, a Boo doll and book (Monsters, Inc) and a superhero costume:)

Her new tutu!

SuperKate!

On Halloween, she headed off to school with her fire chief costume. She was very happy when I dropped her off, I went home and was going about our day when I got a call from the school (first time ever) and her teacher said she wasn't feeling well, was crying...:( Of course, Collin was sleeping, but I got some things together, woke Collin up and went to get her. When I got there, she was in the bathroom after having gotten sick. Her teacher was so sweet, Kate was crying and covered in....sick. Poor baby!!! We had to gather up all her things (of course, there was her fireman costume, candy and treats, her bag, coat, etc. and then her sleeping bag and pillow which were also covered...)  Goodness. Mrs. Homan came out to the car with me and helped me get everything settled. We came home, took a bath, and she went right to sleep. Dave did make it home at a decent time that day and she cuddled with Daddy when she woke up. She got sick one more time after trying to drink some Gatorade :( but after a few more hours laying low, she finally started to perk up. Asking for food. Getting loud again. That is always a good sign! 

We were supposed to go to a friends house and trick or treat, but we obviously stayed home. Kate didn't really realize it and was fine. Dave and I felt terrible as our friend had gone ALL out and done a total themed dinner and made extra food. But what can you do?! I had been talking about how great Kate's immune system was, when the rest of the house got a horrible cold/flu, she escaped, she really doesn't get sick at all! I totally jinxed it:(

After waiting a bit to see if she was truly better and the rest of us weren't going to be sick, we made a quick trip down to  Burr Oak to get in some time harvesting corn with Andy and celebrate Kate's birthday with Mom and Dad and Andrew and Kylie. It was cloudy and rainy when we left Saturday afternoon, but in Burr Oak it was gorgeous! So awesome to be out in the fields at sunset. Dave and the kids rode with Uncle Andy, while Mom, Dad and I took some pictures. I was joking about what Andy thought of all the terrible paparazzi:) We went back to Mom and Dads, Facetimed with T&T in Japan! had supper and eventually let Kate open her gifts (princess dolls, puzzles, sketch book, pen, tennis Barbie that she named Kylie, fleece, movie) It was awesome, she loved the gifts and we learned a valuable lesson. Don't have your 4 year old open gifts late at night and then tell her she needs to go to bed and can't play with anything she just opened! Oops. 

Awesome family pic:)

Pretty

Hehehe...:)

Who's having more fun??? :)

We stuck around on Sunday to relax and so Dave and I could go out on a date (gasp! what is that?!) We went down to Old Armory BBQ and then to the Tap Room for drinks. Better planning would warrant a non-Sunday night date so more places would be open:) But it was so fun and refreshing! Collin was pretty good, but a stinker at the end. Though he has been for us too, he has another cold and is endlessly teething...blah. We are seriously talking about crying it out again too, I am getting less and less sleep, how can it be going in that direction?! I can't do it!

Fun in the leaves!

Our cuties

Our four year old!

It's exhausting being cute:)

Dave is off this week and we are enjoying just being home, catching up on house stuff, shopping for Christmas!! and cuddling up. Maybe we'll have our first fire of the season in the fireplace! Maybe I'll get outside for a walk by myself! Maybe I'll take a nap!! I'm so excited.