Christmas Morning

Here are a few cute pictures from Christmas morning.

It really felt like our family was complete this year. I got Kaia a stocking (hers has an angel, Brett's has a reindeer) and a baby's first Christmas ornament and rounded out the tree with her own "Kaia" ornament (Steve, Brett and I all have our own name ornament).

The kids had a great time opening gifts. Brett really got into it this year, and was surprised to see the empty glass of milk and empty plate that Santa left after he ate his cookies. Kaia seemed to engage in the baby toys we gave her and she seems to love her new giant Cheer Bear (even though it is like 5 times bigger than she currently is).

As usual, cuteness to follow.... (and yes, that is a new giant cheetah for Brett :))

Christmas At The Zoo

Wednesday night we did Christmas at The Zoo. We went last year when it was a little nicer. This year December has just been brutally cold, and it was down to crunch time so we just went even thought it was freezing. We didn't stay very long, but were there long enough for the kiddos to enjoy the lights and take in the special Christmas dolphin show. I think they both at least enjoyed themselves as much as they could. I was mainly worried about Kaia staying warm enough...I don't have tiny mittens for her, so I was holding her hands in my gloved hands the entire time. Please check out the adorable knitted cap with ears that my friend Mandy made for Kaia.

Anyway, cuteness to follow....

Where I Am

I have come to the realization that I tend to write meatier more thought-out posts when I am pregnant than when I'm not. Part of it is due to the sheer exhaustion of having little babies and my brain not working....being barely able to get cute pics of the kiddos up. But I think that when I am pregnant, I just want to vent.

Anyway, no, in case you were wondering, I am NOT pregnant (and don't have future plans to be), but I've been reflecting on where I am in my life lately.

I have changed. A lot. Pre-kiddo Carrie was always worried about my job and not liking it, and wondering where my career would lead. I was also super focused on being skinny and put alot of my self worth on whether I could squeeze into my size 2 jeans or not. Now, I am 30 pounds heavier, and while I would really like to take the weight off (oh yes, I REALLY would), I am not devistated by it, and I don't base my worth of a person on a number on the scale.

I also don't worry so much about career. I never seemed to find a job I was truly happy with after college. I'd see my friends (and my husband) find their niches, and I just never fit into the work world. Now, I am working part time at a flexible well paying job, but my job isn't anywhere near the focus of my life that it used to be. I know this will sound odd, but instead of being jealous of "so and so from my past" being a doctor or a lawyer or the head of their own company, I am actually happy for those people and their success, and grateful to know so many from my past in so many different professions. It actually comes in handy...when I'm on Facebook and I need advice from someone with certain expertise, I have someone to turn to!

And the most interesting change in my outlook is how kids have rocked my whole world. I used to be TERRIFIED of having kids. I thought it would be the end of my life if I ever got pregnant. I thought it would wreck my body (it did). I thought it would drain us financially (it does). I thought it would take away our freedom to go out whenever we want (oh, yes, definitely). But you know what? I don't really mind all that much! Because in so many ways, I haven't felt like I've truly lived until I had my kiddos within the past 3 years. Now instead of worrying about my makeup and what I am wearing to go out on a Friday night, I am at home in sweats holding a 3 month old baby who may or may not have covered me in spit-up, but has a glowing smile on her face. Instead of counting every calorie, I am sharing cookies with a silly 2 year old who loves his mommy. It's not glamorous, but man is it fulfilling.

And, yes, being a mom is also the HARDEST job I've ever had. It's especially tough when I have a tantrum throwing 2 year old and a baby who still isn't sleeping through the night. Most of the time the two of them ride in the car together, they feed off of each other and scream and cry for the entire ride. And when I am sick (as I am today), I don't get a day off to just lay in bed. No, I still have 2 little ones who depend on me. But don't the most challenging tasks reap the greatest rewards? I have never loved two beings in my entire life as much as I love my little kiddos. And, I look forward to seeing them grow and have families of their own. I think back on my initial feelings of life ending if we had kids, and now I feel just the opposite. Now I can't imagine my life without them.

Anyway, deep thought for today...now back to my regularly scheduled mommy-brain :).

Some cute photos from our Christmas card shoot

I took like 90, so here are just a few shots that may have or may not have made the card...just ignore the red eye on the unedited versions.

It was definitely a challenge to get both kiddos to stay still and smile...neither did it at the same time. Oh, and Kaia spit up on both dresses we put her in...I managed to salvage this one for a few shots.

Our 2010 Christmas Card

With Love Blue Christmas 5x7 folded card

Shop Shutterfly.com for elegant Christmas photo cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

Love At First Sight

My friend Tina beat me to the post! :).

If you read my blog, you will recall that my BFF Tina was pregnant at the same time as me and we had our babies exactly two weeks apart (she had an adorable son - Luke). This was the first time we had gotten together since having our second children, and we were excited to see each other and introduce our new arrivals! Steve, Brett, Kaia and myself went up to Chi-town over the weekend, and here are some adorable pictures of our kiddos.

Tina, did an awesome job of explaining everything, so I recommend on clicking on her post in my blogroll (Cute Times 4) to read more...

As I have mentioned before, since Tina had a boy, we are going to marry off our kiddos one day :). Follow are Kaia and Luke's first time meeting

A little shy at first....

But they soon warmed up, as Kaia played with Luke's little ear...

And, all four of our kiddos, Luke, big brother Evan, big brother Brett and Kaia

Also to note...Brett and Evan are becoming quite good buddies...it gets more and more fun to get our ever growing group together each time :).

Blueing Up

What was meant to be a pictorial blog about Kaia and her cute giraffe hat took a different turn when I noticed just HOW BLUE her eyes looked in these most recent pictures of her. I've noticed the change happening gradually, but man, it really is obvious now. Looks like she'll have her mommy's eyes! How funny...I thought both of my kiddos would have their daddy's deep brown eyes. Shows what I know!!!

Wordless Wednesday

Christmas Cards

Yes, I'll admit I am selling my soul a bit. But it's for a GOOD CAUSE! Shutterfly is going to help our family, with 50 free holiday cards: Bloggers get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly http://bit.ly/sfly2010 (and you can't beat that!), just for writing a blog about them. So, I will start our by saying that we used Shutterfly for Miss K's birth announcements (and they were beautiful), and I've used them in the past to create collages of BMan, which I've given as presents. And, I've also ordered a hardback photo book from them.

As far as their Christmas offerings go, you can order holiday cards:
photo holiday cards to http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery
And they are good quality..I am looking forward to picking mine out :).

Quality wall calendars:
Wall calendar to http://www.shutterfly.com/calendars/wall-calendars
A great way to share pics of your family.

Photo Mugs:
photo mugs to http://www.shutterfly.com/photo-gifts/photo-mugs
I got a cute one for Steve last year of Bman for him to have at his office.

Anyway, I can't wait to take some adorable pics of Bman and Miss K and create a fun holiday card. I'm sure it will be a bit more challenging to get 2 kiddos to pose for the camera this year, but I'm up for the challenge :).

2 months old and 2 1/2 years old!!!

On Monday (yes, the day after baptism and trick or treating), Kaia had her 2 month and Brett had his 2 1/2 year well child visit.

It's so interesting to see how my children are growing...especially how they are growing so DIFFERENTLY.

Every day, I'm more and more convinced that Brett is a mini Steve and Kaia is a mini me.

First, B man:
26 lbs. (9% - however he'd been sick, so I wonder if his weight was down)

38 inches (86%)

And. now, Kaia:
10 lbs. 13.6 oz (53%)

22 1/2 inches (56%)

And her head was in the 38%

So, Brett is still on the path to long and skinny, and Kaia is on the path to average...sounds like they are taking after dad and mom, respectively :).

Of course, teddy bear chair pic...and cheetahs even made their debut this time! Made for quite a crowded picture! :)

Trick Or Treat!

So, finally, Sunday night after Kaia's baptism, and the party and all, it was time to Trick or Treat.

Remember, Brett is still not 100%, after being in the ER Friday night. But, still I couldn't deny him trick or treating. Last year he wanted nothing to do with it, and this year he was finally interested and excited.

We went through the neighborhood adjoining ours, since the houses are a bit bigger and are more full of families (our neighborhood is quiet by contrast as the houses are smaller and full of empty nesters). Good choice, as it was HOPPING. Brett was a super trooper and about halfway through got the whole "Trick or Treat" and "thank you" thing down at each house. He loved it and now has a ridiculous amount of candy.

Kaia, meanwhile, was content to be held or chill in her pumpkin seat in the stroller. She didn't trick or treat this year, but she sure made an adorable pea pod!

Cuteness to follow...

Kaia's Baptism

Kaia had her baptism on Sunday. It was the third weekend we had tried for to get it scheduled. Nothing seemed to go right on getting this date on the books. But somehow we pulled it off! The ceremony went well (after Kaia got her pacifier while we were up at the baptismal font), and the party at my parent's house after it was all over was really nice. In retrospect, it was probably a good date for her to get baptized, even though it was Halloween (which was not the ideal date I had wanted), because for Lutherans, that is Reformation Day, and this year Reformation Sunday fell on the actual Reformation Day (which just happens to be Halloween, go figure!).

And, yes, Brett was sick, and a trooper through it all... and I had managed to get Brett's illness too, but I made it through the day as well!

Note: Kaia's gown is made from my mother's wedding gown...kind of cool...before Kaia wore it, my niece Paige wore it for her baptism. Brett's gown that he wore for his baptism is a gown that's been in Steve's family for ages, so I was glad that since we have 2 kiddos, we were able to incorporate both traditions. Also, Kaia was able to wear my own baptismal shoes and ring...it was so neat to be able to incorporate MY old things this time too :).

Zoo Boo

We had a very adventurous Friday night!

After work I picked the kids up from my parents house to go to Zoo Boo. Brett was feeling not so great, but we went anyway. After all, I'd promised him that he'd get to be a puppy and go to the zoo... and he'd been looking forward to wearing his costume for a week, so we went.

The kiddos had a good time. We got there about an hour before they closed, as we picked Steve up from work and just spent a little time there...they were out of trick or treat bags, but Brett still was able to pick up some candy from the stations and got the gist of it all.

Then when we got home, I could def. tell Brett was feeling BAD. In fact, he climbed 3 stairs and was out of breath. We scooped him up and took him to the emergency room. We finally made our way home after midnight with a nebulizer and Brett spent the weekend using it. More posts to come on our super busy weekend, and Brett was a super trooper through it all!

But here are pics of the kids enjoying Zoo Boo... Brett was a puppydog and Kaia was a peapod (or sweet pea!).

Brett Loves His Little Sister

I am so thankful that Brett is such a great big brother to Kaia. He is always asking about her and wanting to play with her and saying that he loves her. The only problem I have is that he is not aware of himself in space right now, so he often comes close to kicking her or whacking her with his arm without even realizing what he's doing (and that's while I'm holding her!). But, as long as I can watch them together like a hawk, they really do get on very well together.

Here are a few pics of Brett loving Kaia as she plays in her play gym.

Fall Fun

Brett and his cousin Derek had fun at my parents house last week or so jumping in the leaf piles. I tried to capture the good times with my camera. It really was much cuter to watch in person :).

Yo Gabba Gabba Live!

About a week and a half ago, we took the kiddos to go see Yo Gabba Gabba Live! My awesome friend, Nicole, who works for Live Nation hooked us up with some pretty killer tickets...so we didn't have to pay, and Brett (and Kaia) got to see their first show.

I don't think Brett "got it" until they took the stage...he was thinking we were going to watch the t.v. show. But when they took the stage, it was another "mind blowing" moment for Brett, and it was so cute to see the wheels turning in his head as he process what was going on.

Best part of the show was that they actually brought Biz Markie on tour with them! (For watchers of Yo Gabba Gabba, you will know that he does "Biz's beat of the day" each show). But for our generation, you may remember Biz Markie as the hilarious singer of "Oh baby, you, you got what I need....but you say he's just a friend".

Anyway, the kiddos had fun, and we still have the balloon from the show.

(Kaia's first smile caught on camera!)