*2011* HIghlights

So many wonderful and unexpected things happened to us this past year! I thought I would recap just to remind myself...

Jan 6th - 22wk appt. Cervix is SHORT! I was put on bed rest with another appt scheduled a week later.     Miss my sister's bridal shower.

Jan 11th - Follow up appt and cervix is shorter yet! Left doctor's office and was immediately admitted to labor and delivery for monitoring; which resulted in cerclage placement.

Jan 25th - I turn 30.

Jan 31st - HUGE snow storm. Craig is home from work.


Feb 12th - Little sister's wedding.


Feb 13 - Protests at the Capital over union power.

Feb 28th - First Baby Shower

March 17th - First NST appt (non-stress test for babies) 32wks pregnant.

March 24th - Doctor appt and Nurse Practitioner says I can keep my cerclage til 36wks!

March 25th - 3 a.m. water breaks, 20 hrs later Drew and Kelsey are here! Almost made it to 34 wks.


April 11th - Babies come home after 16 days in the NICU

June 20th - My first day of work after being off for 6 months!

(it's so hard to believe they were that tiny, oh my heart's melting)

June 30th - D & K sleep thru the night :)

July 23-24 - Our first weekend away from the kids to celebrate a friend's wedding.

August 27th - Our 6 yr anniversary

August 28th - Baptism

September 24th - Brother's wedding


October - eh, nothing really

November - some small milestones; teeth, crawling, "dadada"

December - more of the same, mastering their "infant" months!

We wish you all a fabulous New Year - filled with good health (especially for our favorite 3.5 year old little man), and more happiness than last year. God Bless Us, Everyone!

And a Happy New Year

Well, we all made it through one of the busiest Christmases yet! The food was delicious and a little off "the beaten path" for my family, but I LOVED it! We saw LOTS of family we haven't visited with in a couple months. Of course most of them were excited to see the kids; how much they've grown and what "new" things they've learned.

We all received such generous, thoughtful gifts from our loving family! One of my favorite gifts actually came as a secret from an extended family member and I can't wait share it....just not today;)

There are SO many pictures from the last 3 days, buckle in and enjoy the show!

Crawling thru the kitchen Christmas Eve morning



Her first doll




Opening gifts at Great-Grandma Luchsinger's on Christmas Eve afternoon




Opening gifts at Grandpa Bob's Christmas Eve





Grandpa Bob and Kelsey checking out the tree





Late Christmas Eve with cousin Sheena - Drew using her finger as a teething toy




Christmas morning!!





Great-grandma Zuehlke and Drew looking at his ornament





A rocking grasshopper!





Day after Christmas at Grandma Linda's house



Kelsey playing with Uncle Matt's hat



Drew (chewing on his thumb) with Grandma Linda



I Love Those J-I-N-G-L-E BELLS!

We all received the sweetest gifts from our nanny yesterday - totally thoughtful and original. She made the kids fleece tie-blankets in non-traditional colors/patterns, which I love! And she created a beautiful framed monogram with pics of the us and kids in the background.

We are getting set to head north to see all of the family for the holidays. I think we will be hitting 6 houses in 3 days. It will be a change for us to not stay "up" or "out" until the wee hours on Christmas Eve. But it is SO nice for everyone to sleep in their own beds and start fresh the next morning.

Naughty or Nice

So the kids had their first Christmas this past weekend. The first 2 hours and 45 min of the drive there was quiet. Then they realized they had been sitting in a car seat for too long AND it was time to eat again. I crawled into the back seat between them and gave them their yogurt and we made it to Aunt Cher and Uncle Dale's house. And then the fun began! We had SUCH a great time, lots of visiting, tasty food, yummy beverages, super gifts. I'll let the abundance of pictures tell the rest of the story. The drive home was not so happy but who wants to leave all the fun??



Santa Drew




Oldest cousin Braden




Cousin Ella and Drew watching TV







Kelsey having fun with her cousins



Opening the first gifts



Look! No kids!




Opening our Zoo pass from Grandma and Grandpa B




Grandpa B and Drew



Auntie Cher and Kelsey



A new toy!




Craig playing this CRAZY "mind flex" game with his niece and nephew, where you move the ball with your brain waves! Kid's toys are so different from when I was young.




Winding down from the busy day

 We can't wait to celebrate all the other Christmases with the rest of our family!

9 Days til Christmas

Where's the SNOW?? I'm really jonesing for a white Christmas and to throw the kids out in a snow bank all bundled up:) "They" say there will be *some* snow for the holidays but we'll see!

Kelsey is moving around the house in all her crawling glory. Drew continues to roll to wherever he wants to go but he gets there fast! The kids don't purposefully go to the tree but when they are close to it they become enthralled with the gifts. Sometimes they are kicking the presents or they grab the handle on the gift bag. Kelsey is putting EVERYTHING in her mouth, so sorry if anyone gets a gift from us with a wet spot:)

The babies survived their first cold - thankfully only having to suffer with snotty noses and coughs. And then the rest of the house "caught" the cold. Then Craig came home from school Wednesday and said a large amount of kids were out sick from his class - lo and behold he woke up Thursday feeling icky and by the end of the day he was feeling down right awful! So I am in mama bear mode, trying to keep the babies from getting another cold so soon.

Great Uncle Bobby

Steve Jobs prodigy



It wasn't me!



Holiday-who-be-whaty

Drew, always a little behind his sister, has finally gotten his first tooth. I think it was Saturday morning we were all sitting in bed and Drew had finished his bottle and moved on to gnawing on Craig's finger. That's when we noticed it had pushed thru and now he's a drooling fool!

We had to get some Christmas shopping done this weekend because we are celebrating with Craig's family one week early. So this week we will be in full swing wrapping, packing, and cooking for Saturday's festivities in Wausau. It will be the longest the kids have been in a car so we'll see how they do cooped up for 3 hours (or more likely if they *last* the full 3 hrs)! It also will be the kids first experience with with "Christmas". I don't expect them to get very much out of it except watching their cousins and flying wrapping paper.