The fallout...

Well Christmas has officially come and gone and the two giant boxes - filled with other boxes, plastic casing & shredded wrapping - are the evidence that Grace & Kellan were on the "NICE" list, Santa got the letter that Grace wrote at daycare and that our two little kiddos are very loved by their family - mommy, daddy, auntie/uncles, grand & great-grandparents and some very special friends who we lump into the family category!

Surprise, surprise Grace made out with the most loot...and when asked she will tell you that she got her bouncy ball, duckie and of course...she got her guitar!!!! She also has a "computer" that she got that she can type on while mommy is "doing homework" on my laptop (like right now!). She also got some great clothes - dress-up and regular - a new dolly, Barbie Jeep, Polly Pockets...the list goes on...

Kellan got a few things too - some rattles, clothes and a couple books, but most of us figured that this year...well, he won't be missing much!

On Christmas Eve Grace & I made special cookies cookies for Santa...Grace did a fabulous job decorating but it was hard because she wanted to lick the spoon after every cookie! :-) After we finally coaxed her to bed (she thought maybe if she stayed up as long as possible she might see Santa) then we had to stay up trying to frantically wrap the presents that we had procrastinated on.

Both kiddos were up by 530am so it was a very short night, but worth it in the end! They both had a great Christmas, we had a simple ham dinner with the grandparents & Uncle Sam and then to bed early...phew!

I got a special present...not for Christmas, but something I've been waiting on for almost 2 years...my extra kitchen cabinets!! Gma/Gpa DeMeerleer got here today and are going to help us get them hung so I will have them before the new year....YEAH!!

Hope all of you had a very Merry Christmas and we wish you love, peace and happiness!

the snow is here...and Christmas will be soon too!

Well, the procrastination that Christmas is coming is officially over. We got our tree (a blue spruce which discourages both small children and small dogs from messing with it) and a week after putting it up, actually got decorations on it. A few days later I got the decorations up and that has helping get us all in the spirit of the season. I think the lack of sleep has kept either Chuck or myself from having enough energy to really get going this year!

Chuck also got most of the outside lights up (enough to appease the neighbors & Christmas-light committee!) and Colton is once again transformed into a Christmas light/decoration mecca complete with color coded streets, Candy Cane Lane, a lighted nativity in the park, and a few other lighted scenes around town (okay the 12 streets that make up our little farming town).

I also managed to get Christmas cards in the mail and presents hidden away for the big day, so for me the big deadlines have been met!

Grace has been getting very excited for Santa's visit this year...she REALLY gets it! She even got to write a letter to Santa at daycare and was VERY thorough! She told Santa what she wanted and then explained to him how to find our house:

"...there is a Huge Gray pickup out front and we have a new deck in the back. My little dog Apollo might be out barking, but don't be afraid. He won't bite, just lick."

Kellan is still too little, but does love looking at the lights on the Christmas tree.

I have started my new job within the CVM and it is definitely keeping me on my toes with so much new stuff to learn, but is rewarding everytime the students stop by since I work directly with them now (no more travel!). Chuck is plugging away at the furniture store - they have been getting ready for Christmas sales and snow-clearing.

Speaking of which...last night we got about 5-6 inches, so yes, winter is here on the Palouse! And since Liz & Dustin are visiting, they are getting to see what they were both missing and moving back to! :-)

Here's a couple pictures, more to come soon!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Happy Pilgrim's & Indian's Day!

3 months old...

Kellan hit the 3 month mark on the 20th, a day after dad hit the 31 year mark. A week before he starting rolling over...a week earlier than Gracie started, so if he keeps on this schedule there will be no worries that he'll be able to keep up with his big sister or our busy life!
He's also been going to the daycare with big sister for half-a-day while I've been getting back into the swing of things at work and he seems to be doing well and really enjoys watching the bigger kids run around (& they've been doing good giving him space - thanks in large part to a protective older sister who won't let them very close!).
As I sit here...it is snowing like crazy out. The big, fat snowflakes that kids love to catch in their mouths and Gracie is asking to do just that! Guess this post is going to get cut short...later!

New pictures

Well the time has come...I head back to work on Monday. Thankfully it will only be part-time until December, but I'm just in disbelief that the time is already here. Guess that's what happens when part of leave gets eaten up with a swine-flu little girl, then a thrown out back...and that was the worst because there was so much I wanted to do around the house while on leave and, well I couldn't do any of it laying on the couch unable to move. Oh well...it's still be fabulous time with our little guy and thankfully I won't have to be away from him too much each day.

Other than that...nothing new for us --- well I guess the only new thing is that Chuck and his dad (thank you, thank you Mark!!!) were able to get the deck done...all but the rails and that can wait until the spring. It looks great and it going to be fantastic come next summer...well, if we're ever home & not rafting! ;-)

So, here's a few new pix, but check out more in the picture shows on the right. Grace in her CrAzY straw glasses.

Just some pithy outfits Kellan got! :-)

Like father, like son....Chuck used to suck the same two fingers when he was a little boy!

Happy Halloween!!

So halloween officially hit our house complete with a baby dinosaur, pretty witch and clown dog. I didn't get out most of my decorations, so felt a little bad about that, but Grace was still jacked up about getting to go trick-or-treating! She even practiced her "song" -- Trick or Treat, give us something good to eat, if you don't we'll pull down your underwear! (Her version) all week. She also got to have a halloween party at daycare, complete with costumes, but instead of a pretty witch, she went as a ballerina (that morning she did NOT want to be a witch and we weren't going to fight it).

(And no, she hadn't had any candy yet!)

(Thrilled to be in his costume...)
(Even more thrilled to be in a costume...)

(This is what thrilled REALLY looks like!)

Coo-ing Kellan

So our little man is really making eye contact, response-smiling and giggling and doing lots of cooing. Here's a few pix...they really capture how happy of a baby he is!

Kellan -- 2 months

So October 20th marks 2 months for Kellan. He has his doctor appointment a day early, so here's the stats:
Height: 23.8 inches (81%!!), Weight: 12.6 pounds (68%), Head Circ: 16 inches (65%)

All signs point to great growth...definitely ahead of the curve in all areas and WAY ahead of where his sister (teeny, tiny Miss Skinny-minny) was at this time.

Other updates with Kellan -- last Tuesday he started making direct eye-contact and smiling back at Chuck, Grace and myself. It makes my heart melt everytime he does it...and sort of giggles...SO adorable!! He also loves the Einstein mat and the mobile that hangs over his crib. He spent a full half-hour cooing and "punching" at it one day!

Grace is keeping busy (as can be seen in the recently posted videos) and is getting little tastes of what life will be like with baby brother at daycare because a couple times I have taken Kellan in with me when I've picked her up and she gets SO protective of him & won't let the other kids near him and once even tried to stop Dyan (our daycare lady) from holding him. She also got to spend a fun "sleep-over" with Grammy Barb. They met up with Uncle Sam and went to a Cougar volleyball game - and from the report I got...it was a big hit for the first half of the matches, then it was lights out for Grace!

Other family updates -- I had my first epidural steroid shot 2 weeks ago and Gramma carol came to stay with us for about a week since my back was still pretty messed up and to give me a chance to stay down and let my back absorb the medicine and start to heal (without having to wrangle 2 little ones all the time). So far it seems to be working well...my back has been feeling somewhat better and I have the second shot tomorrow, so am hopeful that will tip the healing process to my favor and make all this back nonesense go away. I'm also doing PT and in combination, hopefully I'll be as good as new...that's the hope anyway.
While Carol was here Aunt Callie, Uncle Brian and Caleb came down and visited and Grace had a ton of fun playing with Caleb. Whether they were running, dancing or bouncing on the bed (one of those "where did they go?" moments and then cue the "No more monkeys bouncing on the bed" & giggling from the guest room) the two cousins were having a blast hanging out!
Chuck and I went deer hunting this weekend & both of us got a buck, so we have meat for the freezer...and since I drew one of the new double-deer tags, I can still go out and nab a doe.
I think that's about it for now...but more is sure to come!

New Grace dance videos

So I did upload one short video (below) but uploaded a few other bigger (ok, HUGE) files via YouTube. You can see them if you check out the video bar on the right. Enjoy...and since she does this almost daily, you can believe that we do!!

Grace -- Don't Stop Believin'

Ever since Grace heard/saw this song on "Glee" she is always asking for it and singing it!