More Christmas :)

Christmas Eve day and evening we spent time with Mike’s family.  Dad R cooked up some delicious prime rib.  We were thankful he could be with us this year (last year he had the flu), but we missed Greg, Max, and Nora.  Mike and I really enjoy that we have the two extremes for family, the “big” family with 7 siblings and the “small” family with 2 siblings.  It’s really fun to be able to enjoy the benefits of each.  Here are a few pictures:

These 4 were dressed up.  Kate was the “princess” – Elisabeth was “Princess Kate’s maid” – Silas “The Horse” and I’m not sure who Hope was. :) 
      
Every year the grandkids act out the story of Christ’s birth – We had two rounds this year, Kate was Mary the first time and an angel the second.  Seth was “Jesus” and did a great job. :)
   
Singing Christmas Carols     

 
Lincoln got a fireman outfit

Kate and Lincoln got a giant book of Curious George stories and U. Phil soon had quite the crowd listening to the stories.


A family shot before church on Christmas morning


A few snapshots from our family Christmas
 

The 26th we were with my family.  It was fun to be together and a bonus that it was not snowing and the boys got to stay all day!  Hooray!

Look closely at the middle picture, Tessa is struggling to open the gift from Dad that is in a plastic cup and wrapped in newspaper and duct tape.
  
Mom found a whole bunch of GeoTrax stuff for Lincoln on a garage sale, he has hardly stopped playing with it since he got it.  Creighton LOVES to watch football.  He is sitting in one of the new chairs the kids received as gifts watching the game.  I shake my head.
 
After gifts Kate and I went outside and played in the snow.  Check out my lovely snow attire, mostly borrowed from my parents assortment of leftover clothing. :)
 
Creighton is THRILLED to be hanging out with Kate. :)

Christmas Round 1

Kate and Lincoln looking at books together. 

 

We had round 1 of our Christmas gatherings last weekend.  We started with Christmas with Mike’s Grandma, Lydia.  It was at the Community Center Room, near the Eureka Nursing Home where she lives.  She got all the great grandchildren a stocking of goodies.  I think I heard someone say there are 23 great grandchildren, with two more expected in the spring of 2011.

 

Creighton, Lincoln, and Kate with their stockings.

   

Our niece, Nora, with her Mom.  Could she be any cuter?


Next we went to my Grandpa and Grandma Kaiser’s Christmas.  I didn’t take many pictures at all and the two I took are awful, I must have left the camera on a weird setting. 

 

 

Lastly, Sunday we headed to the Red Rock Bar and Grill in Morton to celebrate Christmas.  Dad and Mom rented a small room and the gym for the evening. 

 

Today Kate and I finished up (or started and finished maybe is more accurate) our Christmas wrapping.  If you get one wrapped by her, well, it’s the thought that counts, not the presentation, right?  :)  She also arranged the gifts under the tree.  What a helper, ahem. :)
 

Sneak Peek–Derek and Meaghan

Saturday was a first for me.  My cousin Derek and his fiancée, now wife, took a crazy leap of faith and asked me to photograph their wedding.  Saturday morning, about two hours before pictures were supposed to start I got REALLY nervous.  Every good idea I had in my head for pictures was outside and well…it was raining.  Indoor photography is just hard (for me).  But, I improvised and had the WONDERFUL help of my AWESOME sister-in-law, Tessa, and I think we have a few keepers from the day.  Thank you, Derek and Meaghan, for giving me a chance to take your pictures.  It was an honor to spend the day with you and I look forward to many more opportunities at all the future Kaiser gatherings. 

Christmas Trees, Mice, and More

The day after Thanksgiving we went to Dad and Mom’s and got a Christmas tree.  The kids enjoyed helping decorate it.

Note that most of the ornaments are at the bottom of the tree in clumps – I try to sneak a few up higher whenever Kate and Lincoln aren’t looking. =)


Every night when Mike gets home from work the kids say “Throw me, Daddy.”  I finally captured it one evening. 


Picture of the kids and I on my birthday


Mice – well, we were at my parents for Thanksgiving.  The adults were sitting around the table and Kate and Lincoln were downstairs playing.  I was holding Creighton.  After awhile Kate came upstairs with a toy skillet, which she does at home all the time when she is pretending to make dinner.  Anyway, she says, “Look Mom.”  I look, expecting to see some pretend eggs or something and it’s a mouse in her skillet.  I may have screamed or squealed, I certainly jumped.  Kate exclaimed, “Mom doesn’t like mice. But Mom, it’s not real, it’s not real, Mom.”  In my mind I was trying to process if that was true or not, Grandma does have a pretend mouse.  About that time, Kate emphatically says, “No, Mom, it’s not real” and shoves the skillet up in my face and then drops the mouse on the floor.  I jumped back and said, “Yes, Kate, it is real…somebody get it.”  At the point, Kate did look a little nervous that she had been playing with a real (dead) mouse.  I will not think about how long she had been playing with it or what all she touched after she picked it up.  Almost daily, Kate says, “Hey Mom, remember when I scared you with that mouse?” and then she giggles hysterically. =)

November Birthdays

We had our almost monthly birthday celebration with the Rassi fam this past weekend.  Birthdays this month (and early Dec) were Silas, Elisabeth, Grace, Mom R, and myself.  I didn’t take many pictures, but here are a few.

 

 

I probably sound like a broken record, but Creighton is so much fun right now.  He smiles and smiles and is so happy.  Mike and I can’t remember if our first two were this happy or if he seems exceptionally happy because his reflux is getting less severe, but we’ll take it, either way. 



Do you see Creighton?


OH, there he is.  He is playing with “Sweet Darling, Jesus, and Tim.”  I have no idea which baby goes with which name, but oh how I’d love to know how Kate came up with these names. :)

Couple of Kate stories to share today.  The other day, we were visiting Mike at work.  One of his co-workers asked Kate, “Did you get your curls from your Mom or your Dad?”  She looked at me a second as if she was wondering why they would ask that and then she said, “Well, actually, I got them from the spray bottle.”  If you wonder if Lincoln is listening to your every word or not, a few nights later at supper he said, “Well, atshly (actually), I no want peas….”

Anyway, the second story.  Kate was talking to Mike and she asked him, “Dad, what do you want to be when you grow up?” Mike said, “Well, how old do I have to be to be grown up?”  Kate said, “I don’t know.”  Mike, “Well, who do you know that is grown up?”  Kate, “Grams and Popsy, they are grown up, what do you want to be when you are grown up like them?” Mike, “Kate, I guess I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up like Grams and Popsy.” (For anyone who doesn’t know, Grams and Popsy are my Grandpa and Grandma Kaiser).