The Big 4!

One...


Two...


Three...

(At 3, Jack covered his ears and said that he didn't like when we sang Happy Birthday to You)


Four...

(At 4, Jack was able to tell us that he wanted us to sing quietly, which we did and he was very happy with no covering of the ears!)



Jack celebrated his 4th birthday on December 27th. Hard to believe that it was already four years ago that Jack made his Daddy and I a family of three, though I can hardly remember a time before him. We celebrated all day on the 27th at Papa and Gramma's


including,
Jack mixing his own birthday cake after he picked it out at the store!




Last night Papa Stu and Gramma Sally came with presents for Jack, and today we had a tour of the fire station led by the fire chief. Our friends Dave, Ryan and Kyleigh joined us. Jack has been talking about his "firestation birthday" since September and was shaking with excitement as we pulled into the parking lot!



We finished the day with cupcakes and McDonalds (Jack's restaurant of choice)
I'd say that we successfully celebrated #4!

Oh Jack, you continue to amaze me with your smarts and your sensitivity. You have really learned what you like and don't like this year, (some call this headstrong!) though I am so glad that you can tell us what it is that makes you happy, because in the end that is all we want for you-to be happy! You will always be my "best Jack," my blond, blue eyed handsome boy. We love you so much big guy, and are thankful for each day that we get to spend watching you grow! Love.

The Weather Outside is Frightful.....

Christmas has come and gone(hard to believe)and was sure one to remember! It was definately The Year of the Transformer, Jack loves them and Scott and I are up to our ears in "changing them in" 1000 times a day :)

Santa, in all his busyness, came to our house a night early just so we could spend all Christmas Eve day opening, playing, and snuggling in our jammies! Which is exactly what we did.

The boys were very excited once they finally woke up. The look in their eyes when they first spotted the Christmas tree and presents is priceless!


(and apparently Santa thought we needed more chaos, and brought toy guns!)


Quinn said "wow" everytime he ripped a chunk of paper off. For the second year in a row he was impressed by the boxes, and his favorite presents are the ones that Jack likes the best!




Jack was so fun this year, he has had a list going since September, and I think that Santa, grandpa's, grandma's, aunts, and uncles pretty much covered it!



This year he knew all about leaving cookies and milk. He even left a special key on the door for Santa to use since we don't have a fireplace :)

Later that day we headed to Papa Stu and Gramma Sally's. The big guy himself actually made an appearance here,

passing out toys to the grandkids and even one for Scott! He must have been a good boy...






Unfortunately the Christmas Blizzard '09 didn't know about our travel plans to Holstein on Christmas day, and brought lots and lots of snow to Papa Wayne's.

The only thing that made is worse is the fact that it only snowed an inch here, and it was 34degrees and sunny. We kept looking out the window and wondering how it could be so bad just 3 hours away (but it definitely was!) I was SO bummed(Scott would tell you that that is a BIG understatement!) Though soon enough the day passed and we were getting ready to take off on the 26th.

We made it and the festivities were just as good a day late! Uncle Steve, Uncle Scott and Aunt Ashley all made it and we had a great time, opening,



laughing,


playing,


and of course eating.
Unfortunately, (well fortunately for us!) Steve could not make it to Sioux Falls to catch his flight, so we all went to the Blue Eagle to catch up with many great friends.


We also were able to see my Grandma and Grandpa on Sunday, they thought that the boys had grown SO much!

What a great Cristmas had by all. We, of course, need an addition for all of the Christmas loot, and Jack is already adding things to next year's Christmas list...didn't know there were any toys left to own!
Merry Christmas everyone!

Dashing Through the Snow

We visited Heritage Farms yesterday for some holiday cheer. Papa Stu and Grandma Sally treated us and we had a great time. Jack LOVED the animals, even climbing into the pen with the sheep, goats, and piglets.





Quinn, on the other hand, was even scared of the kittens! Jack rode a mini horse


and then we were off through the countryside in a horse drawn sled



to a little log cabin (or as Jack called it "the gingerbread house") where we ate cinnamon rolls and apples,



sang songs, and the kids sat on Santa's lap.




Jack loved throwing the "biggest snowballs ever"




while Quinn ate his fill of probably dirty snow.



Jack has been busy playing the Wii,



he is obsessed and is getting pretty good. Beats me most of the time, I never said I had much hand-eye coordination!

Quinn has been taking care of his "baby" He wants me to wrap the baby, and then he feeds him and pats him to sleep.




Pretty sweet.

Speaking of babies, Jack has been very interested in everything baby. Wondering when it will be born, if its a boy or girl (his vote is for boy named Charles) and what the baby is doing inside of me. He often wakes in the morning and says "I dreamt that your baby was wiggling around and I could hear it!" Both boys also think its hilarious to put a ball under their shirts and say they are Mommy. Sometimes Mommy doesn't think this is so funny since I am not even showing yet...

We are looking forward to a great week with lots of Chistmas fun!

Santa, Snow and Stats

The boys sat on the 1st of many Santa's laps for the season on Saturday.




Santa was at Wartburg, and both boys loved him. Jack told me before we went that he was going to tell Santa "I will tell my Mommy when I have to go potty" "My ear hurts" and "I want a transformer" When he actually got to his lap he just asked for a "spiderman thrower-outer thing" Afterwards I said "Buddy I thought you wanted Transformers?" He said "yeah I want those too, but I really want a Spiderman thrower-outer thing!" Now if I can just figure out what that is we'll be good!


Jack and Quinn also played in the snow, and loved it!



They will be so excited if we get the 6-10in that is predicted!

And today Quinn had his 18mon/2yr checkup. I apparently can't seem to get around to getting him an appt for each milestone...(Seriously, baby 3 may be in trouble!)
He weighs 26.6lbs and is 34in tall/long. This is 47% and 59% respectively. Where did this small child come from? I am not used to having them under the 90%! I then received a talking to about the bottle issue, darn nipple addictions anyway! He then had 5 shots-poor, poor baby!


He seems to have recovered nicely, having a great time with his toothbrush and snowboots! (We do actually have pants for this child, in case you were wondering!)