Ellie finally gets outside

Today was a nice (by MN standards) day so I decided it was time to get Ellie out in the snow and she what she thought. And as with most things, she loved it! I put her in the baby sled so Lauren could pull her around and although she was strapped in, she managed to wiggle herself almost out - guess that is enough sledding for the day. After that, we (Ellie and I) just sat on the big snow pile and watched the big kids run and play. Occasionally Ryan or Lauren would stop by and say "hi" which was just enough to keep Ellie smiling and entertained. About 20 minutes into the fun, Ellie's checks were getting pretty red so I took her inside and left her with Trav while Ryan, Lauren and myself enjoyed the snow a little longer. We finished off our afternoon with hot cocoas and cartoons - not too shabby.

Christmas 2010, Part 2

So "Christmas, Part 2" started around 1:00pm on Christmas Day. This is when we packed up the kids and headed south to Grandma and Grandpa Quast's house. By the time we arrived, the rest of the crew was already there so the party was in full swing. And it wasn't long after our arrival that another special guest stopped in for a visit - check it out.

Apparently Ellie isn't a fan of the guy in the big red suit! Once Santa left, we sat down to open more presents (two days of presents has to be every kid's dream!). The kids once again walked away with some great gifts - Barbies, games, legos, clothes, you name it, they got it! The rest of the day was spent eating (a common thread for Christmas Part 1 and 2!), chatting, and playing games. Here is a picture of Grandma and Grandpa dancing to the "Monster Mash" on the Just Dance 2 game - those are some sweet moves guys!And here are some more pictures of the kids opening gifts and just hanging out.

Christmas 2010

Christmas was done in two parts this year. First up . . . we hosted the Loken side of the family on Christmas Eve. Mom, Dad, Aaron, Ann and Colton all came over for the day/night for food, fun, and more food - literally, we ate all the time! The afternoon started with appetizers (just the beginning of the food), then we all sat down to open presents - yeah! Everyone made out with some good stuff including a few new Wii games that we played for the next couple of hours. After that we sat down to eat again (by this time I was 3 pounds heavier than I was at the start of the day). Once we finished the meal, we headed back downstairs, and to our surprise, Santa had stopped by! He must have snuck in while we were all busy stuffing our faces - that man has great timing! The kids were excited of course, but when Ryan took one look at the huge present in front of the tree and realized it was Lauren's and not his, he was a little upset. He couldn't figure out why Lauren got the big present and not him, but luckily the thought was a fleeting one and the minute he saw his presents, he was good to go. The highlight of the present opening though was definitely the "Barbie Dream House" Santa brought for Lauren. I'm not sure who was more excited for the big moment, me, or Lauren. She has been talking about getting a Barbie Dream House pretty much everyday for the past few months so I was expecting lots of screaming and jumping when she saw it. But, to my surprise, she pulled off the paper and said matter of factly, "oh, my Barbie Dream House." Really Lauren? Where is the, "oh my gosh I love it!", or the wild screams of excitement because you just got the present of your dreams? None of that here. Apparently the dream house was just given. After all, Lauren had been really good (according to her) in the days leading up to Christmas so I guess it was a sure thing in her book. Regardless of her reaction, she did love it, and has played with it every free minute she has had in the past few days. Ryan also loved his new gifts, especially the Leapster he got - maybe a little too much. When he has that thing in his hands, his ears apparently don't work. He gets so focused on the game that it literally takes me almost standing right in front of him before he realizes I'm talking to him. I'm sensing that Ryan might take after his Daddy in this game playing stuff, and let me tell you, that is not a good thing! Trav could play any random video game for hours - I refuse to let Ryan have the same addiction. That means he better get things under control on his own, or Momma is going to have to step in and set some limits (luckily I can do that with my 5 year old son - too bad I can't do the same with my 32 year husband!). After all the presents were opened, we took some time to Skype with Auntie and Uncle Mike out in California. It was fun to be able to share some of the holiday fun with them even though they weren't able to be here. Luckily their wedding is in less than two weeks though so we'll all see each other soon!

All in all it was a great start to our Christmas festivities. After a good night of sleep and a delicious breakfast the following morning, everyone packed up and headed home. But instead of kicking back and relaxing, Trav and I also packed up and headed out for, "Christmas, Part 2" with the Quast side of the family (details in the next post).

SNOW

It seems like all we've done lately is sit by the window and watch it snow - literally everyday! Once the snow finally quits falling, the kids and Trav usually take care of the shoveling while Ellie and I stay inside where it is warm. But because these past few days have been warm (relatively speaking), I've mustered up the energy to get Lauren outside during the mornings while Ryan is at school (and Ellie is napping) to have some "snow fun." We've climbed mountains (they are mountains to Lauren at least), ran around the cul-de-sac having imaginary sled dog races (she's is the rider, I'm the sled dog), and even built ourselves a nice little snow fort. Lauren has been loving it and it gives me a nice workout so I can't complain either. Here are a couple of snow filled pictures of the kids and Trav hard at work, and some of Lauren having fun.

And here are a few of the girls playing in the basement while Ryan is at school.

Christmas program

Ryan had his school Christmas program on Friday, and boy was he excited! He has been practicing his songs at home for the past couple of weeks and has reminded Trav and I (and pretty much everyone else he has talked to lately) that this Friday was the big day, and that they were all invited to watch him. Well, as it turns out, he had a pretty good following. Two grandmas, one grandpa, two parents and two sisters - not a bad turn out for his first school program (and thanks again to the grandparents for taking time out of their busy days to watch - he loved it). Once we all got ready, we headed out to watch the boy do his thing. Here are a couple of clips from the big event (for some reason the videos are off center - not sure why, but you can still see him so I guess that works).

After the great program, Ryan invited us to join him and his classmates for juice and cookies in the school cafeteria. Here is the singer with some of his followers.

Once everyone was good and full, we headed off to Ryan's classroom so he could show everyone pretty much everything in the room . . . the floor mat that he sits on, the board that they use for "writers workshop", his table, his locker, you name it, we saw it! He loved having all the attention focused on him - go figure! Anyway, it was a great day. Ryan did a super job and we were all so proud of him. Can't wait for many more programs in the years to come!

Christmas card 2010

Here is our Christmas card for 2010. Merry Christmas everyone!!! Hope it is a good one.

Love, Travis, Angie, Ryan, Lauren and Ellie

Daddy is away, time to play

Trav had a quick business trip to Texas today so the kids and I decided to have some fun of our own while he was gone. Since it was freezing (for like the 100th straight day), we had to have all of our fun inside. We made a huge tent, played cars, and just goofed around. To end the fun for the night, the kids decided to have a sleepover in Lauren's room (I like them all close while Trav is away so this worked out perfect). They each got out their sleeping bags and stuffed animals and hit the floor - not exactly my idea of fun, but they love it! Here are a couple of quick pics from the day. You'll notice Ellie is missing in all of them. She is teething right now which translates to lots of sleep in her world - her crib is her best friend at the moment!

Lauren's 3 year well child

Lauren had her 3 year well child exam today and as usual, she was a real trooper! She did a great job of listening and following directions while she had her weight, height, ears, and eyes checked. Her vision is good, her hearing is good, and she is indeed growing like a weed. Here are her stats: weight: 38 lbs; 95%, height: 41 inches; >97%, BMI: 15.8 (normal range). This means she has put on 6 pounds, added 3 1/2 inches to her height, and stayed just about the same for her BMI (15.9 at 2 year) in the past year. At least I know I'm not crazy now when I say she outgrows everything so fast - 3 1/2 inches makes a big difference when you are shopping for kids pants! In comparison to where Ryan was at this age, she takes the lead in both the height and weight categories (they didn't do BMI for him back then). He was 34 pounds, 40 inches - she has a good 4 pounds and 1 inch on him - not bad for the "little sister." After all the routine stuff was done, it was finally time for her shot (she only needed one this time). And in true Lauren fashion, she stayed braved, didn't scream, and just turned her head and a cried a little once the nurse left. She did ask me for a hug and told me she doesn't like doctors anymore, but once she got her sticker, all was good in her world - such a tough little girl!

What we've been up to lately . . .

It has been a while since my last post so there are a few things to catch up on. First, and most exciting is that Lauren is no longer wearing pull-ups for naps or bedtime - yay!!! I started letting her go without one during naps early in the week, and by the end of the week, she wasn't wearing one to bed either. And the best news . . . she hasn't had any accidents. We officially have just one kid in diapers and her days are already numbered (we'll probably start potty training her after the holidays - I wish!). Speaking of Ellie, she has also had a big achievement this past week - her bottom two teeth have finally cut through and we can see little white nubs ready for eating. All she wanted for Christmas was her two front teeth - check that off Santa's list! Ryan has been staying busy with school and his upcoming Christmas concert. He has been practicing his songs and his poem and even made a Christmas chain to count down the days until the big show this Friday - we can hardly wait! Other than those exciting things, we haven't been doing much, just trying to stay warm in this frigid weather. We did venture down the street last night to a neighborhood Christmas party. I'm glad the party was just down the road though otherwise I'm pretty sure we wouldn't have made in through the 21 inches of snow that fell over the past couple of days. That is all the news for now. Lauren has her 3 year well child tomorrow so it'll be exciting to see how much she has grown in the last year. I'm guessing it is a lot based on the fact that she seems to outgrow everything I buy her these days! Here are some recent pictures to enjoy.

Pull my finger

The other day after nap Lauren is standing in the kitchen by me when she tenses up, looks at me and says, "I got to toot, pull my finger." Such a cute little girl we have! Now, I'm pretty sure I haven't uttered those words in a good 15-20 years so I'm guessing maybe Daddy and Grandpa are the culprits here. Let's hope it was just a passing thought and we won't here it again from the little lady!

Killing time

The kids and I had some time to kill the other night so I pulled out the camera and started taking pictures. I'm hoping this will be one of the last times I use this camera - my new one is on the way - I can hardly wait! Ellie was quite festive this night - complete with the "Happy Holiday" jammies and the "My 1st Christmas" hat - so much spirit for such a young little girl.

3 men and their babies

I had to take this picture this past weekend. Brent and Katie and their three kids came to meet Colton for the first time while we were all home for Thanksgiving. The three guys all happened to be sitting in a row on the couch so I suggested we throw in the babes and get a picture of the newest additions (L>R, Brent and Weston, Aaron and Colton, Trav and Ellie). And here is a picture of Ellie and Weston getting reacquainted. They were holding hands while Ellie shared her knowledge of what life was going to be like for Weston in the coming months - she is two and a half months older after all!

Lauren is 3!!!

Our (1st) baby girl is officially 3 - crazy! Lauren's birthday celebration, or should I say celebrations, were done in 3 different parts. First up, a celebration with the Quast side of the family on Thanksgiving day (what a deal, Thanksgiving and a birthday all in one day!). That was followed up with a celebration with the Loken side of the family on Friday, and finally a celebration with just us on her actual birthday, Sunday. She got lots of presents (Barbies, babies, and clothes - every girl's dream) and lots of love from everyone. The past three years with Lauren have been interesting to say the least. She was stubborn from day one (came out breech), and is just as stubborn today. The girl knows what she wants, and she'll do just about anything to get her way (a challenging trait for us now, but I'm hoping that means she'll grow to be a strong, independent woman who can handle herself in the future). We've enjoyed every minute of her smile and crazy personality and look forward to watching our little girl grow and change over the years! We love you Lauren!