Finally! January 2011

Tummy Time

Brooke doing her exercises.

Brooke & Austin having a pool party at Canad Inns.

Daddy gearing up for a messy diaper change.

Trying out my new clubs.

Brooke & her buddies at Auntie Katie & Uncle Ryan's pizza party (Brooke, Catherine, Brody & Austin)

Sisters playing together in the jungle tunnel.

First caught smiles on camera.

Kylie Ann - 8 weeks

Brooke & Grandma Wendy

When left to her own devices, this is what Brooke does. Thankfully it was washable.

Kylie & Mommy

And, finally, I'm getting up to date in all of my blog updates. You'd think that by being on maternity leave for 10 weeks that I'd be better at this by now. No such luck. So, here I am. Three days before going back to work. It's a little bitter sweet. Bitter because I've really been enjoying my bonding time with Kylie and the days that I keep Brooke home from daycare, just because. But sweet none-the-less because I really need to get back to a routine of doing something more than watching daytime TV.

Kylie is now 9 weeks old. She just had her 2 month appointment today. She weighs 11 pounds 7.5 ounces and is 23 inches long. She's a tiny tot compared to her sister. (60th percentile for weight and 70th percentile for height. Her sister was consistently in the 95th to 97th percentiles for height and weight.)

During the last 6 weeks of this maternity leave, I've been doing a workout program called Insanity. Boy oh boy has it kicked my butt. It's been the hardest and sweatiest workout I've ever done. But, I can definitely tell the difference. Not only do I have more energy, but I also see the difference in all of my measurements. While I've only lost five pounds, I've lost 10 inches over my entire body (yay!). I've got about month of working out left. My hope is that once it starts getting nicer out, I'll be able to take Cody on runs rather than just walks.

It's soon Justin's birthday and then we'll also be traveling to Minneapolis to visit friends and also to celebrate Justin's Grandpa Tony's 90th birthday. We'll be there three days, but I know the time will go fast since we have so many people to see.

Until next time!

Christmas 2010

Our beautiful Christmas tree.

Justin enjoying a Merry Mimosa Christmas.

Kylie Ann & Uncle Ryan

Justin & Great Grandma Anne

Brooke & Grandpa Kenny on Christmas Day

Brooke enjoying her new kitchen and nursery set.

Brooke & Uncle Terry

Christmas 2010 was great. Like Thanksgiving, we hosted at our house. But, this time, no turkey fiasco. There was a prime rib fiasco, but more on that later.

As with tradition we celebrated on Christmas eve with the Hechts. This year was extra special because Grandma & Grandpa (or should I say Great Grandma & Great Grandpa) Anne & Tony Raub were there. Of course Brooke was elated when she saw all the presents. She was so excited, in fact, that she not only opened all of her presents, but she also opened up about 75% of the other presents in the room. We just about lost one of Kylie's presents, too, as Brooke was tearing through everything. Justin and his mom had to go through all the garbage to find it. Needless to say, she had a great time. My parents and brother came into town that evening and came over to the Hechts for a visit before we all headed home to wait for Santa to come the next morning. :-)

Bright and early on Christmas Day, Brooke woke up. (I shouldn't put all the blame on her, though. I was already awake.) Brooke opened hers and Kylie's Santa gifts while the rest of us enjoyed coffee and/or mimosas. The morning was so relaxing. After a few hours, we started opening the rest of the gifts. Everyone was completely spoiled. Brooke got a new kitchen (and a new baby nursery the day before from the Andersons). Kylie got lots of great gifts, too, including a Winnie the Pooh Hunny Bear blanket from Uncle Terry and a My First Christmas blanket from the Andersons. And, they both got savings bonds from Grandma Wendy & Grandpa Kenny. Before I forget, Brooke also got a washer & dryer and ironing board from Grandma Patti & Papa Mike. She loves them.

That afternoon and evening we played a lot of pinochle. My brother, Terry, also learned to play and did a great job. In the midst of everything, we popped the prime rib in the oven and had plans to eat by 7:30ish. Well, I didn't do the math completely right and the prime rib wasn't ready to eat until after 9 p.m. Even though it was late, it was still delicious.

We are so blessed to have so much family to help us celebrate the holidays.

Turning 30

That's right. I'm 30. It's okay, saying it is starting to grow on me. It just means I'm another year closer to retirement. Ha! Ya right!

My birthday was over Thanksgiving weekend. And, after enduring our turkey fiasco, I took it easy and celebrated with my family.

The next weekend, Justin took me out to Sanders where we had dinner with friends and later went to Crosstown. It wasn't a late night, but I got to spend time with all of my favorite friends.

Dinner at Sanders 1907

The Girls at Crosstown.

Me and my honey

Me & Tori (looks like a scarf party!)

Thanksgiving 2010

Since Kylie was just born, we decided not to travel to Minot for Thanksgiving and instead host it at our house this year. How hard can preparing a delicious Thanksgiving dinner be? HA! Let me tell you what, even though I was being very minimalistic, things still went awry.

Rather than spend all day tending to a turkey in the oven, we decided to deep fry it. Well, if you ever decide to do this, read the turkey packaging before purchasing. We ended up buying a precooked turkey. It wouldn't have been a big deal, but I didn't take it out of the fridge until about 40 minutes from the time everything else was going to be done (deep frying an uncooked turkey takes about 30 minutes). So, the pies were cooked, the potatoes mashed, and the green beans just about ready. And there we were. Standing in the kitchen staring at a pre-cooked turkey. While I can laugh about it now, I thought it was a complete DISASTER (yes, I cried). Justin, my dad and Terry decided that they still give frying a try. What else could go wrong, right? An additional lesson was learned that night. A pre-cooked turkey only takes 10 minutes to cook. Also note: the part that gets put in the oil first (on a pre-cooked turkey) gets done long before the back part even enters the turkey. Needless to say, the dinner turned out and everything was delicious. Thank goodness I made apple

pie (from scratch) to make up for everything else.

Even a pre-cooked turkey will fry in a deep fryer!