Funny

Too funny not to share. To see the whole video check out http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/bCqpOTteURJK4HIN8h5o

Our Christmas- pictures!!

We all had a great Christmas despite a bit of a stomach bug that the kids shared. My mom and Tom came up Monday afternoon and stayed with us until early Saturday morning. They braved white out conditions and snow packed roads to come see the kids. But I think being there to see the kids reactions when they woke up Christmas morning made it worth it. Ryan was so excited to see his "big Buzz Lightyear" that he ran down the stairs saying "I'm so excited!" It was great!
Shaylee was also pretty happy when she saw her pink pony that she has asked for two years in a row. Claire was quietly taking it all in and excited to play with everything.
I think Shaylee was most excited about the letter Santa left her and the small mess he left on the fireplace. We woke up and there was ashes on the fireplace with a big boot print stepping out of the fireplace. We taped the letter on the fridge and she has made me read it over and over. Shaylee's letter to Santa. She even knew how to spell most of the words on her own. Maybe next year she will use lowercase letters and spaces. :)
Later Ryan pulled one of the sleds that the kids got into the kitchen and convinced Shaylee to pull him around. Then he put Claire and every toy they could find in it and pulled them around for a while. (My Dad said he was doing some training for his days of professional rugby in Russia.) This is Ryan trying to open his presents with his new pirate sword that my Uncle Tim got for him. Long story but funny picture.
We had Christopher's family (minus Sean,Rebecca, and Anne who were in ABQ visiting her family) and Tanya over for Christmas dinner. Tom and Mom spent the morning preparing us a wonderful prime rib dinner. Mom made some twice baked potatoes and brought a lot of fudge and cookies and Marie made some pie and homemade candy. I think I gained five pounds Christmas day alone.
But with the new Wii that Tanya (so very, very generously) gave the entire O family for Christmas, I have been working a little of it off. I have always been against video games and rolled my eyes when Christopher has gotten addicted to a game but I admit that the Wii is awesome. I love playing the Wii Fit and all the balance games. The kids enjoy it too and I have convinced them that they have to do the running game (where you run in place) at least once a day.
Now if I can keep my hands away from all the fudge, peanut butter balls, and cookies that were left at our house I might be able to keep from gaining 30 pounds of holiday weight.The girls showing off their new matching pjs. Claire was trying to smile.

Luke's appointment

Luke had his two month check up on the 16th and everything looks great.
He weighted in at 9 lbs 12 oz!! He was born at 6 lbs. 3 oz., left the hospital at 6lbs. 5 oz. (I think) and in the 42 days since he left the hospital, he gained 3 lbs 7 oz. or 48 oz. So he is gaining over an ounce a day. Very impressive!
Everything else looks great. The doctor says he may only be a week behind developmentally- going off his birth date. Not bad considering he was 5 weeks early.

Luke is 2 months old!

I know it's not really a big milestone but after everything that he went through; we are celebrating. He is doing great. He is now almost consistently holding up his head and has now started smiling. Small things but the fact that he is doing them on schedule with his birth date and not his due date means a lot.
The little stinker kept smiling at everyone except for me. He would stop smiling when I would walk over and when I would try to get him to smile, he would refuse. At one point, he refused to even make eye contact with me. Sunday was the first day I finally got a smile and it melted my heart.
He has an appointment this aftertnoon and we will find out his weight. I will update afterwards.Here's a picture of Luke smiling. Now he will smile at me, but only if he can stick out his tongue at the same time. :)

Snow Cave Pictures

Here's the pictures of the snow cave and snowman that Christopher made with the kids.

Shaylee was the only one who wasn't afraid to be inside of it.
The kids together.

Shaylee, Mad Snowman, and Ryan. Shaylee said the snowman was frowning because he was cold. Love the face!

Snow!

We finally got the first good snow of the year. Over 8 inches!!

Of course, we could not just watch the snow fall from inside; we just had to go out and play! It was Claire's first time playing in the snow but she took to it like a true Coloradoan. She was walking around and falling down in the snow that was up to her waist.

Shaylee, Ryan, and I tried to make a snowman but the snow was so light and fluffy that it would not pack down. Great for skiing but bad for building a snowman. We were forced to get creative and made a snow turtle instead. Luke was not impressed with the snow, especially when we tried to teach him how to make a snow angel. I'm just kidding, of course, he was inside enjoying the snow from the warmth of the house.

This afternoon, Christopher started making a snow cave in the backyard. It was too dark by the time the kids woke up from their naps to play in it today but hopefully by tomorrow the snow will harden so they can all have fun. We knew there was a reason he took those avalanche and backcountry travel classes, but we never would have guess that the next time he would use those skills would be in his backyard with his children.

Watch the slideshow!

I added lots of pictures to the slideshow, so sit back and enjoy. To see any larger, just click on it and it will take you to the album.
There are several of the kids making funny faces. We are keeping these to show at their graduation parties. :)

Getting ready for Christmas

I put the kids in their Christmas clothes to take a few pictures.

Not Christmas card worthy, but they will do for now. I will try again later when I have Christopher there to help me get them to smile. At the same time.

Today

I signed Ryan up for a little class called Dora's Explorers. It's a preschool type class that reads books about Dora and learns a tiny bit of Spanish, too. He had been sad because he wanted to go to Shaylee's class and now that he is (mostly) pottytrained, he was ready for his own class. I thought, " Hey, it will be two full hours with only two kids. I will be able to get lots of stuff done!" Hahaha! We got everyone ready this morning, loaded into the car and all four carseats. Then we drove to Shaylee's class and unloaded four kids. Back to car and load three kids. Now drive all the way across town to Ryan's class. Unload three kids and walk Ryan into class. Back to car and load two kids. Drive home. Awh! Nice and quiet for an hour. Then pick up Ryan at 11:25, drive all the way across town to pick up Shaylee at 11:40. Home in time to make lunch!
Well, at least they enjoyed class. I know, this is just foreshadowing to when Shaylee has dance, Ryan has football, Claire has choir and gymnastics, and Luke has soccer. Won't it be fun!