Christmas Eve, Part 1

Merry Christmas Eve! I guess right now it is actually Christmas, but that's only because we're up so late. The tradition with Mom, Ron, Robynn & Dustin for Christmas is to go to Christmas Eve service and then open gifts late at night. So we started opening gifts around 10:00 tonight. Chloe and Isaac managed to stay up late enough to get through the gifts before heading to bed around 11:00. Poor kids! But I know it's just a few years of them being little until they're old enough to think it's fun to stay up so late.

So here are some pictures before church.

Chloe was so proud to have her pink bear have a matching dress for church. She got dressed so nicely. I'm pretty sure these dresses are going to be put to good use--for a long time!

Christmas Eve, 2009

Next blog, pictures from after church while we were waiting for Robynn and Dustin.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Christmas Eve, Part 2

My handsome reindeer:)

Cheese!!

Waiting for Santa
(nevermind the fire...)


Ron, Elaine, Dustin, Chloe (her tights were too itchy after church!), Megan, Royce, Isaac

Funny Faces! We take this picture every year. We are always so goofy that this picture is always a tradition. We really need to compile them and see how little we've matured! Fun fun fun.

Chloe & Little Greg

Today we had lunch with Chloe's friend Little Greg (His dad is Greg, therefore he is Little Greg in most cases. When dad's away we skip the Little part.). Greg (4 1/2) is Robynn and Dustin's neighbor and we've referenced him before at Broncos watch parties. He's such a sweet little boy and Chloe just adores him (and I'm pretty sure that is mutual!). So today we had lunch at our usual location of McDonald's so the kids could swap Christmas presents. Chloe saved her Broncos shirt for about 4 days just to wear for Greg. They had a good time just as they always do so I snapped some pictures.

We told the kids to sit down for pics and Isaac secluded himself but was just as proud as could be:)

Playin' it cool.

Gettin' friendly.

Total BFFs.

Giving Isaac some love too!

Chloe got Little Greg the Toy Story version of Yahtzee! and Little Greg got Chloe a very cool princess tiara & wand along with finger nail polish. I quote Chloe in saying "It's the best present EVER!" Gee....could the fact that it came from her little crush have anything to do with that?!?!? I did not get a picture of Greg's little sister Jaylen--she had to watch all the fun from the high chair. Soon enough she'll be out there running around too!

Cute kids

I caught the kids in pretty good moods the other night after baths so I snapped some pictures of them. I LOVE Christmas pajamas! The brighter the better!

Don't worry...there are plenty of presents that have made their way under the tree!

Two goofballs. The sign says, "Dear Santa: Leave Presents- Take My Brother"

Merry Christmas!

Snow pictures

Last week we had over a foot of snow. Chloe loved it, loved it, loved it. She usually gets frustrated if she falls during playing, etc. but she couldn't get enough of making snow angels, standing in the deepest drifts, and sledding. The sledding pictures from the farm are all on Grandpa's camera but maybe we'll get them posted over Christmas.

Isaac was sniffly with a runny nose for a few days so he didn't get to play much. He didn't have the desire like Chloe did though so it was okay. We stayed inside and drank hot cocoa and he ate the marshmallows:)

Ready to go!

Chloe has outgrown her pink snow pants so these were the ones that came with Isaac's coat. They were plenty big for her. But...that meant when Isaac went in the snow he had to wear the pink ones. Poor kid!

Chloe swimming in the snow.

The snow was so powdery it wouldn't pack at all. Chloe wanted a snowman really badly so they did the best they could. I think the carrot and two lava rocks are still on my porch....

Early December

Sorry it's been an extra week since I've blogged, time is just going by too quickly! We had a WONDERFUL trip to KC last weekend. We arrived at Brian & Courtney's Thursday night and as we were driving past my old work, past our old house, on to our friends' house we said to ourselves, "Everything is so FAR!". Gosh, seems like my old commute that was a breeze just was forever away. It just took so long to get everywhere in KC. We are definitely spoiled now with easy driving and any rush hour that Hays has only lasts from 5:00 - 5:10. But, traffic aside, we loved visiting everybody. Friday was a busy day, we woke up & had breakfast with Courtney & Emma then the kids and I headed out. We visited Wanda, the lady that was the kids' caregiver while we lived in PV. Wanda was so happy to see the kids and they were happy to see her and the other kids. All the kids have grown so much, it was great seeing them. Then we headed to Royce's office and my office to say our hello's. Have I mentioned it was great seeing everyone?!? We went to lunch with the girls from my office and then the kids were ready for naps. After naps we hustled to get family pictures taken and then get back to PV for our 4th Annual White Elephant Christmas Party. The group of friends all started working together in the fall of 2004 and we started the party the year following. Most of the group have moved onto different jobs but the friendships are there to stay. What a fun group!

Saturday we all went out to breakfast then visited our former neighbor, Don. Don saw my kids grow up from the time we brought them home. He was there to greet us each time with a thoughtful gift. As soon as the kids could stand, they would stand at the door and wave at Don across the street in his front door. Don is 86 I believe and captured our hearts the moment we met him. Such a dear friend to us and we were glad to visit him and let our kids play in his back yard a little. He has 2 bridges in his back yard so the kids could circle for hours I think. I believe Don was the hardest part about leaving Kansas City.

Sunday we just got up and going. We picked up our TV we had ordered (Yay!) and then headed to my friend Jessica's. She and Kaylin were home and we had a nice visit. It wouldn't ever matter if it were 2 hours or 2 days, we could talk forever! Kaylin was born almost exactly a year after Isaac, February 12th, so Jessica enjoys seeing the mischief Isaac gets himself into because she knows Kaylin will be doing that before long. Kaylin was walking! She was just so happy and just strolled from place to place. What a sweetheart she is.

Here are some pictures from our stay at Brian & Courtney's. The kids had so much fun playing. Chloe remembers Emma (17 mos) from the time she was a little baby so I think Chloe enjoys seeing her advance as well. Chloe and Emma had the same PJ's so we had to get pictures of them. But Isaac and Emma had a little communication between them that was pretty cute. One evening they were playing "bye bye" together. They would each grab a play bag and tell me "bye bye!" and walk to the other room together. When they'd arrive in the other room they'd GIGGLE like you wouldn't believe. They really felt like big stuff! Then they'd arrive back in the room I was in and they would be so proud. This cycle repeated a few times and they had so much fun. Then they went "Bye bye" to the kitchen and I didn't hear anymore noise. All mother's know that when it's quiet is when something is wrong! So I went into the kitchen to find both kids putting the dog food into the dog's water. Lovely. Little stinkers!

Thanks to everyone we visited while we were in KC! We had so much fun and will be making another trip this spring!

Great weekend

Wow...this whole 'living close to family' thing is so easy! We had such a great Thanksgiving. 2 minute drive to Robynn's for Turkey-day lunch, then 30 minute drive to WaKeeney for the Purinton dinner. No packing, better yet--no unpacking, it was so darn easy! It's exactly what Royce and I had hoped for in moving back west.
That being said, this coming weekend we are off to KC for our first visits! We miss everyone there so much and can't wait to see them all. Friday Royce has his company Christmas luncheon so I will get to see my former co-workers for lunch. Then Friday night we have our annual White Elephant Christmas party with friends we've had since we moved to KC in 2004. We are really looking forward to seeing everyone. I'll take the kids by their former daycare and we also want to spend some quality time with our neighbor Don. Don was very much a family member to us while we were in KC and I'm excited for the kids to see him and to get to play on his bridge again. We miss him dearly! Most importantly, I'm looking forward to seeing my friend Jessica. We moved at a rough time in Jessica's life and I can't wait to hug her and catch up a bit. She has the most beautiful daughter Kaylin and I can't wait to see the smile that doesn't quit. And if her husband is around, well, then the kids will have another 'kid' to play with because he's so great with them. He is, after all, the one that taught Chloe to blow her straw wrappers!
Okay, enough rambling. I'll have new pictures to post when we get back from KC. It's DECEMBER. Wow.

Nothing new

Just wanted to say hello to everyone. Nothing new going on here so the blog isn't full of any new pictures.
Chloe is anticipating Christmas. She has 2 lists by the fireplace for Santa to get. I'm not sure what all she wants, there is mainly just some random letters, a few C's, some E's, and the number 4 shows up every now and again. I guess there is an A and H also. If anyone can make sense of it then let me know. Her new phrase is, "That's a lot of work". I asked her to take her jacket and her shoes to her room the other day and she said, "That's a lot of work". Another thing she likes doing now is folding and putting her laundry away. GREAT! But yesterday I saved her laundry in her room for her; I had already folded it she just needed to put it away. And she said, "I don't want to do that, that's a lot of work!". Tell me about it.
Isaac says Owwww and Ouchie for everything he doesn't want to do. So I could be reading him his favorite book and when we're done and putting it away he'll say "Ooowwwwwwwiiiieee!" like it hurts him. We could be putting shoes on to go outside and if it takes too long he'll say "Ouchie!" I know thing's aren't hurting him, it's just his response to everything now.
That's about all going on here. Hope all is well with everyone!

Opening Weekend

Our annual "holiday" was this weekend, opening weekend for pheasant hunting. Royce was at his family farm south of Collyer. His friend Cameron came out from Kansas City for the hunt so Cam's wife Megan was with the kids and I. We had such a nice time. We went to Ransom on Saturday to the Pfannenstiel farm where there were a lot of cousins and had a great time. All hunters were happy with their success; Royce's report is that they got a record number of birds for opening day.

Here are some pictures of the kids.

Isaac and Papa. Isaac was happy to hold the birds.

Chloe was a little more hesitant. She wanted to hold one just because the other kids held one. Then she found rubber gloves and wore them the rest of the time outside.

Chloe and Brooklyn. Brooklyn is my cousin's daughter and was our flower girl. Chloe was googly-eyed over her from the start and Brooklyn was so sweet to play with Chloe.

Here are some of the great-grandkids of Grandma Pfannenstiel. Left to Right:

Chloe, Braeden, Bryce (grandson from Ransom), Isaac, Max, Kaleigh, and Madeline in front. Max, Braeden, and twins Kaleigh and Madeline are my cousin's kids from Colorado. Max was our ring-bearer. They are all getting too big!!

Fall pictures

Chloe loved playing in the fall leaves. She helped build a big pile and was quick to bury herself. Isaac couldn't have cared less.

Chloe did however "hide" from Isaac. He knew perfectly well that she was in the leaves but when we said, "Where's Chloe" he was on a mission to find her. Even though he knew exactly where she was, he started sweeping with his hands through the leaves--starting at the wrong end. So little sweep by little sweep he found her. So funny.

He's saying "There she is!"

Sweet faces.

Sleeping boy

These are some pictures of Isaac sleeping. I swear, this boy is so funny. Tonight I caught him getting in the Christmas spirit using his blankie as a Santa beard.

And Royce caught this moment a few weeks ago. It was about 6:00 one morning and Royce passed by Isaac's door and this is what he found. Isaac even startled after the picture and re-adjusted to get comfortable in this position again. He's so funny.

Costume Pictures

Here are some pictures from Halloween. Chloe was a Bumble Bee. She wore my very first dance costume and was so proud. She looked so cute and was very sparkly!

Isaac was a UPS Man. He was so darn cute. The cutest delivery man I've ever seen! He was funny trick-or-treating. He only focused on one piece of candy at a time. If he still had one in his hand he didn't take more. Just one at a time. It was cute.

These two pictures were taken at my Grandma Donna's house. The Great Grandparents enjoyed the kids early as they were out of town on Halloween. It was fun going over there and the kids enjoyed all the treats.

Halloween Week

Okay, my computer is back and I'm glad it's back in time for Halloween. The kids have their first party tonight at the library. I won't tell you what their costumes are yet...we'll wait until I have pictures of them:) Here are some pictures of the kids over the last few weeks when I fell behind. We went to the pumpkin patch and had a great time. (Sorry if they don't show up right...I haven't downloaded my regular photo software where I usually make them smaller files.)

Grandma Sandy and Aunt Robynn joined us! Chloe was allowed to buy an orange soda at the pumpkin patch. She took VERY good care of it and held it more than she drank it.

Computer is down

Well, my computer is currently at the repair shop because I was hit with "The Blue Screen of Death" as the I.T. guys put it. Nothing we did wrong, or even a virus, but just something that happened as result of a corrupted file somewhere. So that stinks. I'm able to get on Royce's computer for the basics, but no fun stuff like blogging or downloading pictures. So, I'm at Robynn's typing to let you all know why I've been without updates lately.

We are all surviving the last few days of cold hoping for a nice weekend. The kids sure do get stir crazy and so do I. We hit story time when we can at the library which is a lot of fun.

So, I'll update you all when I'm back online with my own computer. Stay warm and stay healthy!

"Every party has a pooper"

In this case, no party--just a pooper.

Nice work, Isaac

This is what Isaac thinks of all the dance talk.

I've had two pictures back-to-back of him doing this. Seriously, kid.

More dance

I just love watching Chloe do dance positions. Today they twirled in circles and practiced the arabesque. You're supposed to point opposite arm/leg but Chloe didn't understand that concept. So instead of right arm & left leg pointed, she'd do the arm & leg on the right. So cute. She was trying so hard and finally got it. But instead of a slight toe point and leg lift she'd hike her little leg up as high as she could. We always say, "Keep trying!" and she did.

You can see how high she was kicking (if you look at her foot under her arm pit). I just love it.

Almost...just keep trying!

Yeah! Left arm and right leg!!!!

On tip-toes twirling in a circle.

Ta-daa!

What a day

This day was unlike any we have had lately. Our kids were awful! What has happened? Clearly the rainy weather keeping us inside all day was not a good thing. Isaac cried and drooled and dripped from his nose all day long. Yep, I dosed him up before bed. Poor baby has popped 3 teeth since we have been in Hays. The last 4 or 5 days have been okay for him but not today. And today he decided to take up hitting. He's only hit once or twice before but today a quick slap followed all of his requests. He follows it up with the cutest apology but come on!?!?! And Miss Chloe. That little girl has been so good lately she has gotten a lot of treats and snacks because I haven't had a reason to do differently. She's been awesome, she dresses herself, combs her hair, eats great and then puts her PJ's on without being asked after dinner. Today was a reality check. She was a yeller and screamer today. I don't know how many times she was in time out and things got pretty ugly at dinner time. She didn't want anything I offered but she finally ASKED for Ramen noodles. We never have those and I happened to picked some up at the store which is what prompted her to ask for them. So I made them and she didn't want them, of course. She ended up in her room 2 or 3 times before I practically force feed her just so I could win the argument. I won. She ate her bowl of noodles and took a drink between each bite just to let me know how much she hated them. I still won.

Royce and I looked at each other several times and asked if tonight was worse than when all four of us had the flu in January. I'm really not sure which was worse. My mom came and bailed us out of the flu predicament in January so I think tonight was worse.

Anyone want to babysit???

Tiny Tot Tu-Tus

Today was Chloe's first day of class. It is perfect that this class is working out for us because Chloe really needed some play time with other kids, girls especially. She did so well and the class was great. It's only a 5-session class but that's okay. It is exactly what she needs right now.

Yep, that's my girl. Jamming out, showin' her moves and her panties.

A good dancer always knows where the camera is:)