New Beginnings

The latest post in my Aunt Rae's new blog. Beautiful. Wish I could have written it myself. Looking forward to following it in the new year.

Here We Come A Caroling

We took the kids caroling tonight - what a blast! Thanks, Kristine, for coming up with the idea. And thanks, Jessica, for hosting and getting us the Santa hook-up! We definitely need to make this a yearly tradition. Maybe we'll learn a few more songs next time...or at least learn all of the (correct) words to "Away In A Manger". Thanks, ladies!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Preschool Pics

I didn't order any of the big guy's preschool pics because we had them taken a month earlier at Portrait Innovations. However, I just had to scan them before returning them to share with you all. Copyright, schmopyright. I particularly love the "Smiling While Pretending to Talk on My Cell Phone" shot.

All About the Big Guy

Our big guy turned 4 this past Sunday. We started the celebration on Friday morning with a short party at his preschool, at which he wore a birthday crown, picked out Oreos as his snack of choice and got to bring home "Ducky" the bear (the classroom mascot). Grandma & Papa Marlow came that night, and the next day we celebrated his birthday at Rising Stars gym with his non-preschool friends (weird way to put it). The kids (and adults) played for an hour followed by cupcakes, presents and pirate paraphernalia. After the party, we were joined at our home by Grandma & Grandpa Frerichs, Grandma & Grandpa Marlow, Aunt Kari, Shannon, Brennan and Oma & Opa Frerichs. Hayden opened some presents in front of the tree, but we made him wear his pirate hat so that it didn't seem too much like Christmas. On Sunday, his actual birthday, Troy and I snuck away to church while my parents watched the boys...only to realize once we got there that we didn't say "happy birthday" to him on his actual birthday! We had both forgotten.

All of that being said, we had a great time...and I'm pretty sure Hayden did, too. It was great seeing family & friends and realizing how blessed we truly are. Happy (late) birthday, big guy! We love you more than you'll ever know and are so unbelievably proud of the little guy you've already become.

I'm going to post pics from the festivities sometime this week. I haven't had a chance to sit down at the computer long enough to post them. Pals who took photos - I'd love to get copies. My camera is officially a piece of poop! For now, here is a group pic from the party. We didn't get all the kids in the shot, and definitely didn't get them all smiling at the camera at the same time, but at least the birthday boy is looking at me in this shot!

Santasaurus

An (almost) 4-year-old's version of Santa, his sleigh and a reindeer.

The Posts That Might Have Been

A friend emailed the other day, concerned that something might be wrong. As I'm usually fairly good with frequent posts, my lack of time in the blogosphere had her worried (thanks for thinking of me Jill :)

All is well, but it made me realize that I haven't posted much lately...mainly due to this hectic time of year and the combination of curiosity and mobility on behalf of my one year old.

But I suppose the truth is that I have been blogging -or at least writing- in my head. I've come up with all sorts of things to write about while lying in bed at night or traveling in our sweet minivan to see family. I just haven't sat down to put those thoughts on the screen. So today, I'm dedicating a post to all of those posts that could have been...

Potential Post Titles:

My Insane Fear of Swine Flu
See also: My Insane Fear of Bird Flu; My Insane Fear of West Nile Virus; My Insane Fear of Lime Disease

Little Guy's First Steps
Time to hit the Stride Rite outlet.

A Resolution Retrospective
A look back at the goals I set for 2009 and a fresh list for 2010 that digs a bit deeper.

Embracing Pale (to compliment last year's short-lived Embracing Brunette)
When a Caribbean vacation or the tanning bed aren't an option, I must learn to love my kabuki face and lilly white legs. Also thought of posting pictures of my favorite pale beauties: Rose from Titanic; Mona Lisa; etc...

Oh Hip Bones, Where Art Though?
An introspective look at a year long weight loss journey and a sudden, recent holiday-induced disappearance of my hip bones.

Oh For A Thousand Stupid Things I've Done
So many times I've started to post about the silly things I've done in my life and how grateful I am to now be so flippin' mature (notice the sarcasm). In all seriousness, how grateful I am to have a wonderful husband, children and family and friends.

I'm sure there are many more posts that I've mentally written, and hopefully I'll hit on a few of these in the weeks to come - especially the resolutions post.

I hope everyone is staying healthy and enjoying the holiday season. As for our house, we've been a crazy bunch of sickos the past couple of weeks, but it hasn't stopped us from getting into the Christmas spirit!

Until next time...