January 2008 moments

I have not done a very good job of keeping up to date with my blogging. It seems there is never enough time and/or energy to stay on top of things lately. Hence the middle of February posting about Christmas. Pathetic! January was quite a busy month and it went by in a flash. Hopefully if I can format this post correctly it will all make some sense. If not...just enjoy the pictures!


Emmet entertaining himself while Ada was so sick.


Ada came down with pneumonia/RSV and a double ear infection. The poor girl was so incredibly ill, it was rather frightening. There was a point in time we thought she may have needed to be hospitalized but she responded well to the antibiotics and the Nebulizer. Pops (Doug) gave me a shirt that he had shrunk, which Ada found to be such a comfort...she calls it "Pop's shirt" and loves to snuggle with it. Emmet luckily only came down with a bad cold..."only",ha. It was a rough several weeks. During this time Emmet developed a lump on his clavical/back of his shoulder. The doctor did an x-ray and was concerned with what she saw - it stumped her. So we were referred for a sedated MRI, which was no fun at all but Emmet was an incredibly brave little boy. What we've been told is that it's a Cystic Vascular Lesion. We have been referred to a pediatric surgeon for a consult, although it has decreased in size significantly now so I'm anxious to see what he says. It was quite a scary time.


Ada, Mommy and the Nebulizer. Such a trooper.


Such a big girl doing it all by herself!


Boom botty, boom botty, goin' potty! (A little diddy created a LONG time ago by Peggy and Mickey, reincarnated for some potty training fun)

Arenz Christmas

We had such a great time at Kraig and Kay's for our annual Arenz Christmas celebration. With everyone's families growing and changing and on the move we don't get to see eachother very often so this was quite a special day. Thanks to Great Aunt Karen for the pictures!


Emmet playing ball with Great Uncle Brian


Opening presents from "Santa"


Ada really enjoyed getting a back rub from 2nd cousin Jennifer


Emmet was totally in his element "futzing" around with Great Uncle Kraig and his train set.

What a great day!

Christmas Morning

Christmas morning was spent just the four of us. What a special morning. They really enjoyed finding and opening their presents this year. The stockings were a hit too!

Christmas 2007 cont.

Julie, Greg and Gina looking at a calendar made by Nana.


Ada pushing their new stroller with twin babies from Nana.


Emmet wearing all of his new gear and pushing the stroller while Grandpa and Julie look on.


Ada & Nana

More pictures.

Christmas 2007 continued

Mommy & Emmet


Greg and Gina...not on Christmas Eve but I thought I'd throw it in anyway.


Emmet helping Nana set-up the Nativity.


Emmet passing out gifts.


Emmet and Ada received the coolest shirts from Greg and Gina. They both say "Wonder twin powers, activate" on the front and their names on the back. This is Emmet's.

There are too many pictures to share and they won't all fit in one entry. These are all from Christmas Eve.

Christmas 2007

On the 23rd we celebrated Christmas with aunt Jodie, cousin Cantrel and Grandma Barb. Aunt Jodie brought a TON of delicious food for us all to eat. Ada wasn't feeling well and Emmet wasn't quite himself either but it was still nice to spend time together as a family. We don't see each other often enough. Neither Roger or I took any pictures (crabby babies), which is a bummer because I don't have any to share here then.

On Christmas Eve we were lucky enough to have a house full of guests to celebrate with again. Greg and Gina came in from Colorado. Nana and Pops came over and so did Grandpa (Bumpa) and Julie. Ada was still a little under the weather and wasn't quite herself. It was so so so nice to see Greg and Gina (they stayed with us for their stay here in Wisconsin). Emmet and Ada thoroughly enjoyed having them live upstairs. Gina went running nearly every morning and Ada and Emmet are convinced that anyone who goes running by is Gina now. They both still ask for "Geg" and Gina periodically.

We were all so spoiled with gifts and love. Ada and Emmet really enjoyed opening their presents this year. Emmet took it upon himself to pass out the gifts, which was absolutely adorable. At times they would say "wow" or "whoa" when they opened a present. It was truly precious to watch them enjoy all that Christmas has to offer; Santa, Christmas trees and ornaments, gifts, family time, music etc. It's quite special to have the opportunity to see Christmas through the eyes of your own child. Something special indeed.

Thanksgiving...I'm trying to catch up!

Patrick


Sam


Ada blowing on a car whistle


Emmet playing with Nana's train


Barb

We had a terrific Thanksgiving this year. It was so long ago though (I really should post more often) that I barely remember it! We spent the day at Nana and Pop's house with Great Aunt Barb, and our 2nd cousins (not sure if that's correct, it may actually be 1st cousins once removed) Patrick and Sam. The food was delicious and Ada and Emmet enjoyed being at Nana's having fun with family.

Sorry

I promise I will update soon. Busy, busy, busy!

For now here's a little picture to tide you all over!

Ring Around the Rosie

Holding Hands

Dancing with Daddy

Ada sings

I had to share this video of Ada singing. This was taken the day Nana came to make cookies. Ada is singing along with Nana, and of course the dog needed to chime in as well. These are the moments I cherish!

Halloween

Not that I had expected anything different but Halloween was quite a challenge. The first strike against the evening was just that - it's evening, crabby time. Second strike against us - bringing them home from daycare to shove some food in their faces and a quick clothing change and out the door again, which is completely out of our routine. They enjoyed going down to our neighbor's house for some "haunted hot dogs" and a quick visit. We decided to walk around the block and look at pumpkins and costumes rather than doing the real trick-or-treat thing. They were not going to eat the candy! So, Ada just wanted to run all over and Emmet became obsessed with wanting to go in the road and then didn't want to be held but didn't want to walk either. We managed to make it home where they both had a mega meltdown because they didn't want to come inside. Meltdown mode was extinguished with a Laurie Berkner video, snacks and snuggles. The fun really began when people came to trick-or-treat. Emmet knows how to open our doors now so he really enjoyed greeting the kids...so did Ada. Their little faces would light up and Emmet would wave and giggle and Ada would say "hi". So, the night ended okay but left me thinking we should have just stayed in! I'm sure next year will be different...or maybe we'll just enjoying handing out candy rather than going to get it! Here are some pics documenting the evening.

Cookies with Nana

We really are so incredibly lucky to be able to spend so much quality time with Nana. The weekend before Halloween Nana came over armed with cookie dough and the toppings and we had some fun! Nana and I figured that Emmet and Ada would show some curiosity and have fun with it for a short time but we were pleasantly surprised by two toddlers who were completely engrossed in the art of cookie making. They both really enjoyed rolling out the dough and using the cookie cutter to make shapes. Emmet's sweet tooth came out with a vengeance eating the cookie dough as well. Such a fun day that we'll remember forever!

Cookies continued

Once again, I cannot decide on just a few pictures to share, so here are some more!

The Pumpkin Patch

I feel like I've accomplished a "right of passage" of some sort. With Nana and Pops in tow we ventured out to Eugster's Farm for their Fall Festival. While not sure exactly what to expect the adventure was quite a success. Ada and Emmet had a blast...and so did we. From tractor/wagon rides to the great pumpkin search and the petting farm, what more could we ask for?

The Pumpkin Patch continued

There are just too many great pictures (thanks Pops!) to not share them all!