Santa Claus

The weekend before Christmas we took the kids to see Santa... We had been talking about it and Sadie was very excited. When we were waiting in line, she saw him and yelled "Santa!" When it was her turn, she was a bit more hesitant. She wasn't scared, but a bit reserved (unusual for her!) She wouldn't talk to him, but was very interested in his red & green rice crispy treats! We tried to get her to say "Merry Christmas"--she had been practicing. She waited until we were down the stairs and a good ways a way before yelling back to him! (This Santa was very patient and wanted to make sure we were pleased with our pictures!)

Some pictures of the kids in their matching Christmas shirts...

2008 Christmas Pictures

After failed attempts at scheduling a family photo shoot, here was my "photo shoot" with the kids! The one of Sadie sticking her belly out is so typical of her!

Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree...

At some point in our lives, we would like to go to a tree farm and pick out our Christmas tree... as for now, with Sadie not knowing any different, we drive a couple blocks down the street to a nursery that stocks a very large selection of Christmas trees (much faster and easier!) We went a week and a half ago to pick out our tree (it was probably less than half an hour from the time we left our house to the time we got back!)

The day after we got our tree Marc had all 4 wisdom teeth pulled. He wasn't feeling the best on Monday & Tuesday. Wednesday we went to see Fireproof and Friday night we had a small group Christmas party. In the midst of our business we didn't get our tree decorated... Sadie and I managed to put some lights on the tree on last Thursday and we finally put up ornaments yesterday while Marc was at work. Sadie loved helping decorate the tree (more than I thought she would! She pulled every ornament out of the box and brought it over to me. She was fascinated with the process. She was also very excited to show Marc when he got home. We saved some of Marc's ornaments for him to put up. (Sadie's favorite was a train ornament that she carried around all day!)
Sadie & Daddy with "the one!"

Kinnick snuggled in the sling (thanks Jennifer!)

Sadie was pretty impressed that the tree rode on top of our car!

She was also pretty interested in the snow!

This is one of her ornaments... (FYI--she picked this outfit out herself--a purple barbie "princess" nightgown with her pink puffy vest!)

Taking a break with Kinnick. Sadie would periodically take ornaments and lay them by Kinnick--she must have thought he was being left out.

No tree topper this year--our tree was too tall! Marc had to cut the very top off. (Our house has 12-foot ceilings, but right in front of the window where we put the tree, it's only 10 feet.)

Sibling Love

Sadie constantly wants to hold her brother. She's doing really good with him--only the occasional attempt to whack him while I'm holding him... We are all getting into a routine (although we won't be able to sleep in any more when I go back to work!) I've had both kids by myself for several days now and we're doing well... We've even taken a few trips out of the house--I'm slowly figuring it out!

Here are some recent pictures of our two beautiful children:

"Bedtime Prayers"

"Morning Snuggles" The first thing Sadie asks for when she wakes up in the morning is her brother!

I ordered this dress for Sadie and it came in the mail yesterday. She carried it around all day yesterday and insisted on wearing it today! When I was taking the above pictures of the kids, Sadie pressed Kinnick's face against her chest and said "Eat Kinnick!" (We were wondering how long that would take... I'm just glad she didn't feel the need to lift her dress up!)

Lazy Days

Kinnick's enjoying a swing ride.

Daddy playing video games with his two favorite helpers (one is a bit more enthusiastic than the other!)

Sadie's helping me decorate the mini-tree.

Well, I can honestly say that I haven't been outside (except occasionally to let Wrigley go to the bathroom...) since Wednesday noon! And with the weather we're having--I'm not too disappointed. We've just been hanging out... Sadie and I did pedicures, baked cookies and she even helped me put up some Christmas decorations!

Much To Be Thankful For...

I mentioned in a previous post that it was my heart's desire to be home on Thanksgiving holding my baby... Of course I would have taken him at a later time, but I was so grateful to come home on Thanksgiving and be with my family! Of course going from one to two children isn't exactly an easy transition--there's a lot to figure out. However, I feel that I have so much to be thankful for each day! I love watching Sadie's excitement each time she wakes up and runs to find her baby brother. It's so precious to watch her hold him, snuggle him, pat him, and kiss him. Marc pointed out yesterday that she imitates what I do. It's so neat to see the "little mother" in her even at such a young age. At times I feel like it's a lot of work to keep up with both of them and I don't know how I'm going to manage when Marc goes back to work, but I couldn't be happier... I'm really loving my life right now!

Here are some pictures from the last few days:

Sadie gives Kinnick so many kisses every day!

On Thanksgiving night we had a "special treat" of eating in front of the T.V. We watched Fred Claus and had popcorn & snacks.

This is one of Sadie's favorite spots in the kitchen. We concluded that we need to get a childproof lock for the fridge when Sadie came walking into the living room with a pitcher 2/3rds full of ice tea!

Babies sleeping... nothing more precious!

Our Big Hawkeye and our little one!

Kinnick's 1st Sunday at church.

Kinnick & Sadie w/ their IL cousins--Jadyn & Jaren.

More sleeping pics--I can hardly remember when Sadie used to sleep like this!

Sadie having some snuggle time with Daddy.

Kinnick's 1st bath at home. (He mostly screamed!)

Last night Marc made hot chocolate for all of us. Sadie is obsessed with marshmallows right now, so she thought it was great fun to put them in her drink--she was a BIG fan!

Sadie & Kinnick's 1st ride in the double stroller. We went to the mall today for pictures and then visited Marc's work. I was nervous that Sadie would bother him, but she did really well!

Our Adventure

I have been wanting to write more about our experience ever since we got home from the hospital... (For those of you who don't want to read it all--skip to the pictures.) Now that I've had some more time to reflect, I'm glad that I didn't write this post sooner. With Sadie's birth I was able to immediately embrace my experience--I even remember telling Marc (right after it happened) that I knew without a doubt that I wanted to experience this again. This time around it took me several days to develop these positive feelings. I told Marc yesterday that I'm up for the challenge again. (Not for awhile however!)

One comment that I heard many times as I was pregnant is that "No two pregnancies are the same." I really understand that now! I was very prepared to have Kinnick early (2 weeks-like Sadie) and that certainly didn't happen. With Sadie it was just time to go to the hospital, there was no waiting, wondering, or second guessing. With Kinnick I thought so many times "Maybe tonight..." and then the morning would come. Even on the day of his birth I debated until the last minute if I should go to work or not. I kept thinking that if I stayed home he wouldn't come. I am however, very glad I did stay home! The morning of his birth was so nice--Marc and I let Sadie sleep in and after we dropped her off at the sitter's we went out for breakfast. Next we went grocery shopping and ran errands. We couldn't remember the last time we ran errands without Sadie and didn't feel rushed! When we finally got home I took Wrigley for a long walk (something else I hadn't done for a while). Marc made lunch for us and we sat down to watch TV. I finally decided it was time to go to the hospital but I wanted to finish cleaning first. I mopped the kitchen and Marc vacumed and mopped the wood floors.

My friend Liz works at the hospital and she was there waiting when Marc and I arrived. The nurses were expecting me b/c I had talked to my Dr. on the phone earlier in the day--they already had a birthing room ready for us! Although it seemed MUCH longer, it was only 3 1/2 hours of time at the hospital before Kinnick was born. This labor was much more intense then Sadie's. My favorite part was sitting in the whirlpool bath (I was looking forward to this before we even got to the hospital!) I layed there in my swimsuit sipping gatoraid through a straw--I told Marc "I'm pretending I'm on the beach..."

After the whirlpool, I bounced on a ball and Marc and I played war (we never finished our game, but my Dr. told Marc he was not allowed to win.) I remember at one point looking up at Marc and saying "We'll get to hear him cry soon..." That thought helped get me through the rest! When it was time to push, I really didn't think I could do it, I just kept telling myself it was almost over. Next of course--the best part of all, holding him in my arms--when I made it to that point I knew that nothing else mattered. Kinnick had arrived, he was perfect--the only thing missing was big sister. She got to come meet him for a few minutes that night. Tuesday, November 25th, 2008 is a day that I will always treasure!

Now for the pictures... We're off to the hospital!

Kinnick's debut--he came out screaming!

Marc cutting the cord...

Getting weighed & measured (an hour later!)

Sadie's 1st kiss!

After his bath (late Tuesday night)--I love his chubby cheeks in this pic!

Wednesday afternoon--Sadie comes for a visit. We got her a little baby doll stroller and she pushed up & down the hallway many times!

The nurses had fun doing his hair!

Our precious baby boy.

Mommy's little guy.