Christmas in NJ

Here are a few pictures of our time in New Jersey with Rob's family... the highlight was definitely watching Nicholas get super excited over EVERY gift and immediately try to open and play with each one. He was able to understand and anticipate Santa's visit and the toys he would bring, which was cute and new from last year.

The "grabber" we got him ended up being very entertaining to him. (You too can have a grabber for only $5.99!) He used it for the rest of the day - handing out presents, tearing off wrapping paper from his gifts... and Rachel said that later in the week his blankie fell down the side of his bed in the night and he said to her "Mom, my blankie fell - get it with the grabber!". SO cute.

Nicholas is into mimicking anything his parents do, including cooking - so he got a kitchen set from Santa this year and we got him a pretend pizza kit, which he served to us while we opened presents. :)

Baby James, getting bigger and bigger! He watches everything Nicholas does, and is very entertained by him. Next Christmas our baby will be this age almost exactly!

Gingerbread (Graham Cracker) House

In December we went to a Gingerbread House Making Christmas Party with friends, and won first place for our creation! It was the first time Rob had made one, and I think he did a pretty great job with the chimney and nerds lining the house.

Saying Goodbye

The PT is history... I had a little moment of sadness in the parking lot when we left my car for the last time, but it was short lived (and pregnancy-hormone induced, I'm sure). This car just wasn't safe and reliable enough for the baby that's coming. We actually got rid of it about a month ago... I'm way behind on posting!

It's a BOY!

We found out recently that our little growing baby is a boy! Most of you already know... so here are a few pictures from that week! Sorry, this is the best I can do for now as far as getting the ultrasound picture on our blog... his head is on the left, he's looking up, and his body is on the right.

I made sugar cookies in the shapes of airplanes and stars, and frosted them green and blue and took them in to work to share the news. I think we still have at least a dozen left - I thought a double batch would be a good idea, until I started rolling all the cookies out... not a great estimate.

20 weeks pregnant in this picture - and really starting to show!

And finally, the fabric mom helped me pick out for the nursery. We (and I use that term loosely - mainly SHE!) will be making the crib skirt, bumper, and window valance. The striped fabric is for the skirt and valance, the black polka-dot fabric is for the trim on the crib skirt and the outside of the crib bumper, and the brown fuzzy fabric is for the inside of the crib bumper. Hopefuly this project (and the company) will help keep me occupied and busy during the soon-to-come long winter months!

Pier Weekend at the Lake House - Fall 2007

What a sad weekend - taking the pier out of the lake! But it was fun, the chili lunch was good, and the weather was kind although a little cold. It only took the guys about 2 hours to get the pier completely out of the lake. The trees had just started to change their colors, which made for great pictures!

Last moments in tact...

Grandma Edie and Grandpa Bob, getting ready to be great-grandparents!

See you all next spring at the lake house!

What happened to Halloween?

I have been looking forward to living in my own house and handing out my own halloween candy for YEARS... and I thought that this year in our new house, with the very kid-friendly neighborhood we live in, we would have trick-or-treaters coming to our doorstep in DROVES. For pete's sake, we live right behind the elementary school. So I bought enough candy to fill the 2 deepest bowls I own, ordered pizza, and waited...

And the doorbell rang MAYBE 5 times all night.

By the time the last little boy came to the doorstep (hardly dressed up, might I add), I was just worried about the 10 pounds of candy I still had left, and told him to take as much as he wanted. The little cutie said to me, "this is why I go at the end of the night - everyone gives you way more candy!" Smart kid.

Well at least Noah and Taite stopped by to say hi, and that was definitely the highlight of the evening! Look at their adorable costumes...

Go Badgers!

The weekend before Halloween we went to Wisconsin to spend the day with the Larson's and Bellito's, and had a great time at the Badger game together...