2009 Family Christmas Photo

This is as good as you get with three small boys. At least Nathan has a fun smile...

We are working on editing our Christmas letter in order to post it (tomorrow?). But, it's new year's eve and I'm having a bit of champagne. It's been a while since I haven't been pregnant on new year's eve!

Happy New Year, everyone! May your year be filled with fun and laughter. May you grow in wisdom. And may you know the peace that surpasses all understanding.

Pics of Matthew

I love this t-shirt!

This is what happens when you have a toddler who doesn't like to put away his crayons:

Another food coma:

Pics of Nathan

This was the leaf pile in front of Mark's parents' house when we were back in WI meeting the movers. All you have to do is get your leaves to your curb and the city comes by and sucks them up (think very large vacuum cleaner). Mark's parents live in the woods and they have a crazy amount of leaves to deal with.
This was Nathan's preschool Christmas program. He was actually doing what he was supposed to do in this one. After this song was over, Nathan proceded to announce, "My tummy is VERY hungry."
This was taken as they were leaving the stage, right after he remarked, "I'm glad it's snack time now." We do feed the child. I promise.
I had to include this photo. He's wearing Mark's glasses from high school. Scary!

Matthew's first steps

Sorry... no video. But Matthew did take his first unassisted steps yesterday. I figured I should blog about it because I have no idea where to find his baby book. Ha! As if I'd remember to write it in there anyway. And as long as I'm writing about a milestone, I should probably document that he has six teeth (3 on top, 3 on bottom), with two more about to pop through.

About the walking thing... honestly, I'm amazed that he's able to get all 24 pounds of himself moving in an intentional direction. His nickname of Brutus will definitely stick. Not only is he pulling Micah down (is it so wrong that I just want Micah to turn around and give him a firm push?), he's also picking on Nathan. He was pulling on Nathan's sweatshirt while Nathan was trying to watch a movie tonight. Nathan was awfully patient with him. He's such a great big brother.

Here are some other photos just for fun. Check out Micah's bottom teeth. He's been smiling with an underbite lately... so cute!

2009 Christmas letter

I bet the title caught your attention. You were wondering, "How does she have time to write the Christmas letter when she hasn't updated the blog for almost a month?" The answer: I don't.

The title of this post should have been, "Do YOU have time to write my 2009 Christmas letter for me?" And if you did have time, what would you write? I'd pay you for your time.

But I did order the cards. They're addressed. Also enclosed are Matthew's birth announcements (yes, he was born in February) and our change-of-address cards. I need to print return address labels and they'll hit the mail (along with extremely tardy thank-you notes). Here's a preview:

All joking aside, I'll work on the letter and will post it as a link in the top right (above the 2008 Christmas letter, which, by the way, is a great summary of 2008 for those of you who don't know us that well).

We're attempting to get settled in our house here in MN. The search for Christmas CD's has not been successful, though Mark has worked diligently through piles of boxes in the basement. The important things are done, though. A gate has been installed at the base of the steps as Matthew thinks stairs are a pretty fun adventure. Speaking of whom, he's cruising the furniture and will most likely be walking before his first birthday. (hey, look, I'm writing good text for the Christmas letter just by doing a blog posting).

Micah has had a lot of doctor's appointments since we've been here (nothing for an illness, thankfully, just getting to know his new specialists). We've decided to take him to private speech/feeding therapy and we're thrilled with his new SLP (Speech and Language Pathologist). Please pray that the appeal with our insurance company will be successful or this will be quite an expensive month.

Nathan has had some issues with behavior since we moved here, but he seems to be doing better. He informed me a week or so ago that he doesn't like his new school and he wants to go back to Wisconsin to school. I think that was his way of saying that he misses his friends and Grammie and Pop.

We're planning to head back to Wisconsin for Christmas (and the Packer game on 12/27). Please pray that Mark's parents will feel better by then so they can handle our crazy crew. Otherwise, we might have to bring spaceheaters and air mattresses and set up camp at our former house (that has not sold and has been winterized).