The non-baby stuff

While we are certainly having fun with Anna - the rest of us are doing awesome things too! 

The boys were pumped to help decorate for Christmas! 

Jimmy wanted to try out Daddy's bike in the basement. 

I got to help carve prime rib and pork tenderloin at the hospital Christmas party - we probably served over 100lbs of meat in an hour! 

Patrick and James made candy houses at school 

So proud and so ready to eat the whole thing! 

We got a night out with Anne and Dusty for my birthday! 

Isaac and his buddies rocked their Christmas program :) 

They are getting so big! 

And the craziest thing of all was Jimmy wanting to pull out his very loose tooth! 

He and Patrick worked very hard and patiently to tie a string around it (without knocking it out!) so they could use a remote control car to yank it out. 

When that didn't work, we moved to the ol' slam the door option --- 

worked like a charm! 

I was surprised at the number of people that stated "people actually do that?!?" 

You hear about it all the time, but I guess we were the first people to follow through on it? 

Honestly it took longer to tie the string... 

Check out that smile! 

Anna baby cutie pie

So its been a few months and Anna is obviously here to stay but we are all settling into our new normal. She is a happy smiley baby that eats and sleeps like a champ and pretty much goes with the flow. I figure she knows she has to be good or she might get left behind and miss something cool.

I went back to work and Anna started daycare on December 3rd -- we survived, obviously, but was thrilled to come home to have snuggle time that night. 

She is now my commuter/ carpool buddy and since she is right across the street, I do get to visit when I can during the day! 

Did I mention she likes football? 

Finally get a little pudgy! 

This hat though!?!? --- you would not believe the compliments and ooohs and aaahs she gets everywhere we go, every day! 

and this adorable sweater from Terry --- so stinking cute! 

We are working on tummy time - though fitting it in before she is fed so she doesn't puke up what she was just fed and timing it so she isn't cranky cause she is hungry --- it doesn't last long! 

Just starting the bumbo - really we just tried it for our Christmas card... 

The boys are still so completely in love --- 

"Anna baby" " Anna sweetie" "Hi cutie pie" 

it goes on and on... 

 She is not stingy with smiles and seems to be partial to toys that are elephants and foxes! 

She often falls asleep in her chair in the middle of the kitchen and eithe has her hands folded or back behind here head - maxin' her relaxin'. 

Even in crazy outfits - she is super cute! 

Jimmy was helping with tummy time and sharing the ipad! 

First time in the baby carrier facing forward! 

Tummy time is getting better and better! 

Look at those smiles! 

Posh baby at the park! 

Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend - still one of my favorite holidays - 4 days to be thankful for family and friends, food and football! 

We kicked off the holiday weekend with our annual Beer Buffet - who wants to cook the night before Thanksgiving?!? We had a blast connecting with friends and framily with more than 91 people at the party by the time it was over! 

Lisa and I were trying to entice some of the neighbor girls to swap out with their hubbies once the kids were in bed... sadly it didn't work! 

These dudes were happy to pose for some beer photos too. 

We got this amazing double barrel bin from Lisa Bell when they moved and while it is used for many things - its best use is for beer buffet! 

This was what was left at the end of the night --- I told everyone they needed to either stay until their share was drunk - or bring less beer next year... This wasn't even all of it - we sent people home with build your own 6-packs --- I think we had beer until Christmas! 

Side note: I could have drank most of that beer after we "found" Isaac - missing for nearly 45 minutes while playing hide and seek --- #hewon #grayhairsarecoming 

A huge thank you again to everyone that was still there and helped look for him... :) 

Super thankful for these nuggets! 

Thanksgiving morning --- apple pie and bacon for breakfast --- I think this will be a new tradition - start and end the day with pie! 

We spent Thursday in Mt. Horeb with the Ellestads -- all of the girls are pretty taken with Anna! 

Claire would hold her all day if we let her :) 

Typical uncle antics --- the little kids were wrestling him until he called UNCLE! 

An Parker did his best to get Grandma as a baby shark! 

Friday we went to the cottage for Thanksgiving part two! 

Holiday ornament craft project 

Anna was all about the football games - all of the color and movement - she loves it! 

Snuggling Grammy on the couch after dinner 

Not a ton of photos - guess we all just had too much fun to pose for much - which is okay in my book! 

Florida Part 3

We drove to the Gulf for the remainder of the vacation to enjoy some fun in the sun and show the boys the ocean for the first time! 

 

We rented an awesome house in Largo - close enough to be at the beach in minutes. 

Not everyone loves the endless sand and salt water (me!) - so having the pool at the house was perfect! 

The boys always grow up so much when they are with any of their big cousins - 

Jimmy was working on swimming the length of the pool! 

All of the boys were loving the water and the huge water balloons! 

They also loved the little lizards - something the ladies were not too thrilled about! 

Buppa caught one and trapped it with some dishes to let the boys take a closer look. 

When it was released, it dashed right across my foot and leg - yuck! 

Family photo while Anna was sleeping! 

Grammy helped make sure Anna was adorable in her beach clothes and protective sun wear! 

Snuggling with Daddy poolside. 

We got a great spot on the beach in Clearwater all 3 days - easy parking, beautiful sand, dolphin sightings, and close to the life guard stand! 

The boys loved the sand and would have played for hours if we let them. 

The first day they were so covered in sand, it took us ages to get it all out. I believe the car had more sand in it after this trip than all of our trips when Lisa and I were kids combined! 

The kids also loved the ocean - jumping and riding waves and playing catch on the shore

Anna was a trooper - the tent was perfect - cool naps on the seaside! 

Family photo! 

Still need to work on these - but now that she is sturdier - it is getting easier! 

Family photo on the beach. 

Pinacoldas for breakfast! 

We left the beach Monday morning to drive back to Wisconsin. 

The boys were awesome - and enjoyed their mini super wings in the back seat. 

We also found a Walmart in Georgia that had Incredibles 2 - so between those two things and endless snacks - they were good! 

Anna did pretty great too - sleeping or chilling for about 4 hour stretches. 

Every time we stopped she would eat and stretch just like the rest of us :) 

Thankfully we made it home in good time --- just minus one tooth!