Norah is 23 Months Old!

Oh my, where has the time gone, in just one month, our little Miss will be 2!  Norah is still in the "I DO DO IT!!"stage very much.  And that's exactly how she says it too. :)  She wants to do everything herself, and if you try to help her first, she quickly reminds you that she needs to do it herself!  She also wants to be doing everything Kyler is doing or playing.  Norah has discovered that if Kyler has something, she needs either the same thing, or something very similar to it.  We discovered this month that Norah can count to 13.  Well, she didn't start at one though, but one night at dinner, Kyler counted to 5 and then Norah took off from there and did 6 through 13.  I'm sure we will soon hear her go from 1-13. :)  We are working on colors, but she isn't very good with those yet.  Norah loved celebrating Christmas and everything that went with it.  She loved opening presents and knew exactly what to do.  She loved looking at all the Christmas lights and would yell "Cissmas lights!!" whenever we were driving around town and she saw some on a house.  She was very sad when we took our tree down and kept asking, "tree go?".  And then we would try to explain that it was time to take it down and we put it outside in the front yard so daddy can take it to the transfer station. :)  Here are some pictures of Norah at 23 months!

23 Months Old!

One of Norah's many faces :)

Snow bunny :)

Playing with her orange

Hanging with Kyler

Ready to head out into the snow!

Checking out the new shovels Daddy bought :)

Playing trains with Kyler!

Kyler jumped in bed with Norah one morning and I ran to grab the camera :)

 

Snow Day!!

We had our first real snow fall on the Thursday before Christmas.  Schools were closed for Thursday and Friday, and I think we had close to 10" of snow.  With Christmas, and then it being so cold out, we weren't able to get out and play in the snow until after the first of the year.  Well, actually we went out the Thursday it snowed, but it was soooo windy out, that the kids and I huddled on the South side of the house (to try and block the North wind) for about a half hour and then they, and I, had had enough and we went back inside. :)  Anyways, after the firs of the year, it warmed up a little bit, so we got all bundled up and headed outside for some fun in the snow!

Norah working on shoveling

Kyler loved to shovel

Norah trying to walk in the snow...

And she's down :)

But she LOVED the sled!!

Kyler playing

Making a snow angel

Hanging out in the snow!

We made a loop around our yard with the sled.  I would pull them on the only sled we have, one of those little toddler ones. :)  Both kids absolutely loved it.  A couple years ago, I tried to get Kyler to ride the sled, (maybe it was last year), and he didn't really want to, or he would ride for a few seconds and then want off and was done.  But this year both kids wanted to go again and again.  We didn't make it to a sledding hill to go down, but I have a feeling that this will be something we will do in the future!

Christmas #4 & #5!

We celebrated Christmas with Erik's immediate family the Friday after Christmas, the 28th.  We headed over there in the morning about 10:00.  As soon as everyone got there we started opening presents.  We let the little kids go first, since they were the most excited about everything. :)  After the kids were done opening the "adults" got their turn.  As soon as presents were over, we enjoyed a yummy lunch together that Erik's mom had prepared.  After lunch the kids played for just a little bit, and then we packed up and headed back home for naps!  Here are some pictures of Christmas with Erik's immediate family.

Norah and Mommy!

Erik putting batteries in Kyler's new remote control train :)

Norah sporting her new outfit from Grandma and Grandpa!

Norah opening a present

Kyler and Daddy building with his new Lincoln Logs

Grandma Deb with her grand kids

We had our final Christmas celebration on Saturday the 29th.  We headed to Dows to celebrate Christmas with Erik's mom's side of the family.  A few days prior to the 29th, Erik found out that a friend from elementary school's dad passed away and the funeral was going to be Saturday morning.  So, Erik and Craig stayed and went to the funeral, and the kids and I picked up Deb, Leah, and David and headed to Dows.  Erik and Craig would join us later.  We got to Dows about noon and enjoyed a wonderful lunch of ham, potatoes, corn, bread, and fruit.  After lunch the kids played for a while and hung out.  Erik and Craig arrived, and so Kyler and Norah were excited to see Daddy again. :)  The kids then took a nap for a little bit, while the "adults" played some BINGO.  Instead of all of the adults exchanging presents, we bring a $10 gift card to a place of our choice and then another gift worth about $5.  You can only win one gift card, and then you can win as many other "$5" gifts as are available.  But we usually go through until everyone wins, so one person doesn't end up with like 20 things and someone else ends up with nothing.  :)  After BINGO, Kyler and Norah opened their presents (the other kids had already opened up their presents while Kyler and Norah were sleeping).  After presents, the kids played a little while, and then we got out a few leftovers to eat for dinner.  After a small dinner, we loaded up and headed back home.  Here's a picture of Kyler and Norah playing in Dows:

Kyler wore this hat the whole time we were there and has a tape measure in his pocket that Erik won playing BINGO.  Norah is wearing Erik's cousin's daughter's clothes because she had too big of piece of kringla in her mouth and gagged herself and threw up all over herself. :)

We had a great time celebrating Christmas with our families this year.  We were so blessed by their generosity and enjoyed spending time with everyone.  We hope you and your family had a wonderful Christmas as well!  

Christmas Day 2012

Christmas Day Erik and I actually woke up before the kids.  It was a little before 8:00 and I figured we needed to get up and get going so we could make it to all the places we needed to go that day. :)  Erik and I got up, and then went in to get the kids up shortly after 8:00.  The kids came down and right away saw the presents under the tree.  Kyler found his stocking after we reminded him to look for his name, and not Norah's. :)  The kids opened their stockings first.  We had to encourage them to keep going, as they wanted to stop and play with each thing they opened. :)  After stockings the kids opened the rest of their presents.  I love picking out things for Kyler and Norah, and was so excited to see them open their presents.  Erik and I also exchanged a couple of gifts, but we really don't get a lot of things for each other.  We let the kids play with their toys for a few minutes and then it was off to get dressed, eat breakfast and pack up the car to head to Christmas #2!  Here are some pictures from our Christmas as a family of four!

Norah checking out her stocking

Kyler looking at a present from his stocking

Still opening :)

Norah opening

Norah checking out her Loving Family "Grandpa" :)

Kyler lining up his Cars guys :)

Norah modeling her new backpack 

Kyler opening his Duplo set

Enjoying their new things! :)

As soon as we got everything loaded up, we headed over to Ashley's parent's house to have Christmas #2 with her parents and brother.  Both kids were really in the "opening" groove by now, and were ready to open more presents!  We were trying to have the kids help pass out the presents, and Norah was just going to start opening whatever we handed to her. :)  We had to remind her to help pass out and then we would open. :)  We had a wonderful time opening presents with my family, and then enjoyed a yummy "brunch" of waffles, bacon, and oranges.  After brunch, which was really lunch, :)  we put the kids down for some naps.  Norah took a great nap, while I'm pretty sure Kyler didn't sleep at all, but at least he laid down for a while. :)  While the kids napped, I made a salad to take to Christmas #3, and most everyone else got ready for the day and then took a quick nap as well.....somehow I missed out on the napping.... :)  Here are some pictures from Christmas #2. :)

Organized chaos :)

Trying to get organized

Wanting some chocolate!

Handing out presents

Grandpa helping Norah

Checking out her baby's new spoon :)

Kyler opening

Showing off his new Duplo set

Feeding her baby

John Deere tractor filled with farm toys :)

My dad with the shoe shine box Erik made him

Norah with her new Christmas baby

Miss Norah!

Kyler with his new trains all lined up!

My mom with the photo book I made her of the summer at the lake

Opening cards on the couch :)

After we got everyone up from their naps, (we had to wake up Norah because she was out cold!), we loaded up the car again and headed North to Denver to have Christmas with my Mom's side of the family.  This celebration included about 24 people ranging in ages from 1 to 70+ and included 3 generations. :)  When we arrived, the youngest generation (Kyler and Norah's) opened presents.  The rest of us had decided we weren't going to exchange gifts this year.  Once again Kyler and Norah were truly blessed by the generosity of others and opened some more fun presents.  After the kids were done opening presents, we enjoyed a wonderful Christmas meal of ham, potatoes, bread, salad, and just about anything you could ever want to eat. :)  After we were all stuffed to the brim, we cleaned up dinner, and then kids played, board games came out, and we just hung out and chatted.  About 8:00, we got out some desserts and enjoyed some more yummy food before we packed up and headed back home.  Here are some pictures from our Christmas #3!

Cousins Ryan and Andrew waiting their turn

Kyler and Norah ready to open presents again

The other side of the room :)

Ryan and Andrew opening a present

Norah with her backpack she got to put her baby in :)

Modeling her backpack :)

Wrestling match :)

Uncle Ben helping Norah with her new airplane!

We had a wonderful Christmas Day.  It is becoming so much fun to watch Kyler and Norah celebrate Christmas as they get older and understand what is going on.  We were definitely blessed by all of the wonderful things that our children received as gifts and are so grateful for the family we were able to share the day with.  We hope you and your family had a wonderful Christmas Day too!!