Merry Christmas (part 2)!

After a day of recovery, and assembly of gifts, we headed to Owatonna on Saturday to celebrate Christmas with the Fullerton's. It was an all day event, that included a stop in Medford to meet the newest member of the Renchin household, Brooklyn. Brooklyn is adorable, and Jenna kept insisting that she have either her bottle or pacifier, which ever she was able to reach. Then it was off to Owatonna....

We spent the afternoon hanging out, and began opening presents once the kids woke up from their naps. Andrew had a hard time waiting for his turn, but started to get the hang of it towards the end. Once he opened the scooter, he was pretty much pre-occupied with that :) Jenna was more interested in seeing what she could reach on the table (IE cookies), but did open a few of her presents.

Ready to go:

Why open new stuff, when I like the old stuff:

WOW - A SCOOTER!

Bruce has this week off of work, so he started to paint Jenna's room today.....so far it's been primed. We tapped everything tonight after the kids went to bed so he's hoping to finish painting tomorrow. Andrew insisted the Jenna sleeps in his room tonight, so let hope that they both sleep well! We hope that everyone had a great Christmas - we did :)

Merry Christmas!

Christmas morning the kids came down stairs to discover that Santa had visited. Andrew was ecstatic when he found the computer that Santa left, and Jenna loved the doll accessories (stroller, pack-n-play, etc.) that he left for her. Andrew wanted to open all his presents right away, while Jenna wanted to play with everything she opened.

Look I fit! (or from Sadie's standpoint - what are you doing!):

After a morning of opening presents at home, and after naps, we headed down to Faribault to celebrate Christmas with my family. Jenna enjoyed eating Uncle Nick's popcorn, and Andrew enjoyed testing out as many toys as we would let him open.

The boys playing their guitars:

Christmas Eve

This year we spent Christmas Eve in Hudson, which is something we hadn't done yet. It was the 1st time that we were able to attend the Christmas service at our church, which we enjoyed (although we were amazed at the # of people they could pack in!). After church we headed home and had lasagna for supper. We let the kids pick 1 present to open before heading to bed.

Andrew with his 'mote' control dump truck.

Why we don't let Jenna dress herself:

A visit with Santa

While eating out at Perkins on Saturday night we had a surprise....Santa showed up! He stopped by our table and said hi to the kids, and let us know he'd be in the backroom in case the kids would like to sit on his lap. Andrew was very, very excited and couldn't wait to go and talk to him. Jenna just kept staring at him, and was really unsure about him.


Here's the picture of Andrew with Santa:

It was VERY exciting for Andrew, and Santa gave him a matchbox car out of his Santa sack, which he shows everyone. Jenna wanted nothing to do with Santa so we didn't force her to sit on his lap. When Bruce went to take a step towards him I thought she was going to crawl up on the ceiling - definitely not ready for a Santa visit. She did wave to him, but that was it.

Friday night we decorated cookies with the neighbors. The kids had a blast, and amazingly it didn't appear to be too big of a mess. There were 18 kids that were decorating cookies, so we weren't sure how it was going to go. It was really nice of Kelley & Brian to host the decorating event for the 2nd year in a row.

Other than the Santa visit, Saturday was the 1st night that the kids had a babysitter that wasn't family. We had one of the big sisters of one of their daycare friends come and watch them so we could go to a Christmas party. It went really well (we were a little nervous), so I'm sure we'll be calling her again.

The kids and I made cookies on Sunday, while Bruce went to the Vikings game with our neighbor, Brian. Jenna figured out how to undo the cap of the sprinkles...she then proceeded to dump the entire bottle of sprinkles out on the table and shove them into her mouth by the handful. Andrew just stared at her and told her that she was being naughty and that if she kept it up Santa wasn't going to bring her presents.

That's it for now...We wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!

SNOW!

Bruce had the kids outside playing on Saturday since it was so nice out (40°F). So here's a picture of the snowman they built:

They also went sledding, which both kids loved. Apparently the faster the better for Andrew. He even wiped out pretty good, and still decided to go down the hill again. I missed out on the snowman building and sledding, but I'm sure I'll join them next time. I was out with friends on Grand Avenue. An evening of shopping, dinner, and dessert with the ladies was a lot of fun.

Sunday we went to the Bongers family Holiday Open house. It was nice to see everyone since we don't usually get together anymore. During the open house is when the cold front moved in, and wow - what a change! When we arrived it was warm (upper 30's), and when it left I think it was in the low 20's and dropping, and we were only there for a few hours!


The cold & snow has made for some long commutes this week, but at least Bruce and I are together so we can talk while we are sitting in traffic. It sounds like we're due for more snow tonight, and this weekend. That will make the kids happy...now if only it would be warm enough for them to go out and play in it :)


One of the vendors that Bruce works with handed out giant snowflakes this year...here are the kids with them:

Andrew kept taking his and throwing it up in the air saying "look it's snowing". I'm just glad that snowflakes don't actually get that big!

Guest for a night

We had a little furry friend stay with us last night.....an 11 week old kitten. One of the gals I work with is really active with animal rescues, and someone had contacted her concerning an 11 week old kitten they found in the Hudson area. So she asked if he could stay with us for the night, and then if I could bring him to work with me. Of course we said yes, I couldn't stand the thought of a little kitty out in the cold, so we had a little visitor last night.

Both kids fell in love with him instantly, and we had to explain more than once that kitty, or Weezer as Bruce called him, was only staying for a night, then he was going to work with mommy so Lulu could find him a new home. He was a very mellow little guy that seemed to take to the kids and Sadie right away. Sadie didn't seem to mind him, and even allowed him to cuddle up against her (it was pretty cute). Here are a few pics:

So if anyone wants a cute little cat, he's up for adoption. They'll help out with the vet bill to have him fixed, and get him vaccinated. Isn't he cute?

A busy week...

Last week was my 1st week at Medtronic. Everything went really well. The kids didn't seem to mind going to daycare earlier than they were used to, and Bruce and I even car pooled on Friday. I think I'm going to really like working there.
Friday (12/5) marked two very different anniversaries for us. The 1st being the anniversary of my Grandma Bongers passing. I wish she would have been able to meet the kids. I know she would have gotten a kick out of them, but I'm sure she's up in heaven watching and laughing.
The 2nd anniversary is that 3 years ago this past Friday (12/5) Andrew had his surgery. It is amazing at how much has changed since then. Lately he's turned into a little musician....he's constantly singing, playing his drums, xylophone, or pretending to play the guitar. This morning he was singing 'We Wish You a Merry Christmas', only his last line went "We wish you a merry Christmas & a happy new EAR" - Bruce and I couldn't help but start laughing. He also sings Bingo a lot, but in his version it's "E-I-N-G-O". This past summer he'd claim it wasn't Bingo, but Mingo, so at least we're making progress! One last little Andrew saying....for those of you that read this that knew my Grandpa Bongers, you'll laugh at this....when Andrew wants the lights turned on he'll say "can you shut the lights on?"....yes, a little bit of Grandpa is alive and well in my little blond haired blue eyed boy.
Jenna's been having fun with the Christmas tree. The ornaments are constantly showing up in other parts of house since she loves to take them off the tree and carry them around. Her other favorite trick is to walk by the tree and take a swing at any ornaments that look like balls. So far we haven't lost any ornaments, but just to be safe we've moved all of the special/breakable ornaments higher up on the tree.
Now I'm off to wrap presents, before the kids wake up from their naps :)

It's been a while....

I realized that I haven't posted anything in a while, so here goes....

We've had a busy month as far as November was concerned. We enjoyed the Thanksgiving weekend. We visited both sets of grandparents on Thanksgiving, so it was a busy day. The night before Andrew wanted to put the tree up, so we did (just the tree & lights, no ornaments). Then Friday we hit Old Navy for some of their fantastic deals before the kids and I headed to play group. Craig & Nicole stayed with us on Friday night, and then Bruce brought them to the airport on Saturday morning....lucky ducks are sitting on a beach in Mexico. We can't wait to hear about their trip when we pick them up on Saturday. Although it does make us want to head somewhere warm this winter, so we'll see if we decide to travel somewhere.

Andrew spent some time playing outside today in the snow. It wasn't much, but he sure enjoyed it. Andrew, Will & Aaron (the neighbor boys) had fun shoveling the snow on the driveway (and part of the yard) into a fort. Unfortunately they built their fort/igloo on the driveway, so we had to shovel it away this evening.

Here are a few pics of the kids decorating....

A few others from this month:

(Andrew & his robot) (Jenna our stacking queen)

Happy Birthday Sadie!

Sadie Dog turns 6 today. We hope that she will be around for many more years. She's great with the kids, and we just don't know what we'd do without her (although the house would be a bit quieter). We made cupcakes in honor of her birthday and will be having them tonight. Sadie will even get to have one (we didn't frost it).

Here's a picture of Sadie right after we got her:

Here she is this summer:

SNOW!

I thought I'd share a video from Friday. Andrew was very excited when we opened the curtains and it was snowing, Jenna just seemed interested in finding out why he was all excited, so we went out to play in the snow for bit. It didn't stick around for very long, but the kids enjoyed it while it was here. I'm sure it won't be too much longer before it'll be here to stay!

Trick or Treat

Here are a few pics from Halloween.

Our little kiss:

Andrew showing us how he can fly:

Hanging out with the Schultz's:

The Parade

We had our neighborhood Trick-or-Treating parade this past weekend on Saturday. It was a lot of fun, and thankfully the weather was good. The Ihrke's were here for a visit.....I think they'd agree that we have an unusual but fun neighborhood. The adults enjoyed the big people treats that were passed out along the route (beer or coffee w/ bailey's), and the kids each came home with a fair amount of candy. Jenna even got into the trick-or-treating - it only took a few house for her to realize that they were giving her candy, and then she was all about making sure they noticed her :)

Here are a few pictures from this weekend:

Getting ready to go:

During the parade:

Super Andrew:

The gang:

Pumpkins!

The kids and I picked up some pumpkins at the farmers market, so we carved them up last week.....it was a bit of an adventure. We went with very simple designs this year - there were too many 'helpers' to do anything too elaborate!

Jenna loves markers so she spent a lot of time coloring the newspaper on the floor, and herself. Andrew wanted to draw faces on the pumpkins, and help cut out the faces.

16 Months Old!

Miss Jenna turned 16 months old on the 21st. She welcomed the occasion by cutting a tooth...yuck! Here's a few recent pics of her.

Insisting on wearing shoes w/ her jammies:

You can't catch me!:

Helping Mom make cookies:

Peek-a-boo! (she's trying to do a somersault):

And last but not least, here she is in pig tails (kinda of):

Concert on the couch

We've been privileged to have a nightly concert. Andrew is lead vocals, with Jenna doing back-up vocals, and dancing.

Sorry, the video is a little dark.

Sadie's eating problem....

Sadie's eating problem, or should I say Jenna's feeding problem! Thought I'd post a video of what Jenna decided to do with her Cheerios's on Tuesday.....

Fun, Fun, Fun

We had a great weekend, which was a good end to a not so great week ;) On Saturday we went to Heather & Ryan's for their Chili Feed/birthday combo party. It was a lot of fun. The kids were in heaven with all the activities, dogs, and other kids. When we arrived Jenna walked right up to Walter (1st birthday boy) and gave him a kiss. It was really cute. Andrew was in awe over the tractor, tire swing, and trees he could climb (with a little help from Dad). The kids both liked painting pumpkins, and Andrew is still talking about how if you hit the pinata candy comes out of it. Jenna even convinced Tammy to pull her around in the wagon.

Here are a few pics from Saturday:

On Sunday the kids and I dropped Bruce off at Craig's (they had a guys day), and continued on to LaCrosse. We had a lot of fun hanging out with Christy, Alex, and Becca. Nicole stopped by for a bit too. It was great to visit with her. We ended up at McDonald's for supper....they had a huge play structure for the kids, and arcade games (free) for the parents - way cool. By the time we left the kids were tuckered out, so it was a quite ride home.

Today the kids and I went to MOA with Nikki and the girls. It was Diego day, so the kids were able to meet him. Andrew thought he was neat, but Jenna didn't really want anything to do with the giant cartoon like creature that kept trying to interact with her.


After the meet and greet with Diego, we all headed over to LegoLand to play for bit. The kids had fun, and were asleep by the time I drove out of the parking ramp!

Our peanut & a bee sting

Jenna had her 15 month well child check this morning. Andrew came with - just to make sure she was OK (he's such a good big brother). They had her step on the adult scale this time instead of using the baby scale. Andrew showed her what to do, and she stepped on it with no issues. It looks pretty funny to see someone her size on the scale. She weighed in at 20.6 pounds (15th % tile), and is 30 inches in length (50th % tile). She's a bit of a peanut. She was given 2 shots, which didn't go over very well, but other than the shots, and having her head measure, she didn't cry at all.

I found a 4-wheeler on Craig's list this week that's Jenna size too. She loves it! Now she trys to follow Andrew around on hers, versus trying to ride his.

Here's a pic of her on her new toy:

Now for the bee sting.....Andrew, Jenna and I were having push-ups for an afternoon snack today. The bees apparently wanted push-ups for snacks too, because they kept landing on us, or the ice cream. Andrew went to wipe his hand, and at the same time a bee landed on his shirt....which caused him to be stung on his finger. After tears, Benadryl, a band-aid, and some ice, he was doing better. Bruce and I were thankful he didn't have a reaction.

1st dentist visit

Andrew went to the dentist for the 1st time today. He did awesome! I had brought him with me last week so he could see what they do, so today he had 'his turn'. The hygienist said that on their 1st visit their goal is to count their teeth, and not have them cry - he did way better than that ;) He let her count his teeth, floss his teeth, and clean them. Yea! I think that the cartoons they had on the TV helped a bit ;)

Here are some pictures from this morning:

Showing off his pearly whites after they were cleaned

His prizes (the bracelets) and new toothbrush (Lightening McQueen)

Here's a pic of Jenna, who as of Sunday, is 15 months old. Where does the time go? She likes to do everything Andrew does, which is why she's swinging on a 'big kid' swing......