Christmas 2015

Christmas came as went as fast as can be, which always seems to be the case. It feels like we just had Thanksgiving. We were blessed again this year with a healthy family and Santa was good to the kids. We spent Christmas Eve with Kyle's family at his mom's, Christmas morning at our house, Christmas Day at my mom's, the extended Montgomery Christmas on Saturday, and our niece's 9th birthday on Sunday afternoon. Needless to say, we didn't get out of our pajamas yesterday. The kids had so much fun playing with all their new toys as we had a blizzard outside.

Christmas Eve- Reese (5) Mekenna (9) Preston (3)

The kids with the dogs, Izzy and Maizy

 Christmas morning at our house- the first time ever! 

Santa brought Shopkins! She has been asking since September. And yes, she has a tattoo on her head!

 Christmas Day at my mom's- sporting his John Deere hat Santa brought

 Montgomery Christmas- all the great grandchildren

4 generations

This week is low key. Rest and relax. Clean out old toys and make room for new. The kids have been having a lot of fun with new toys- arts and crafts and legos have been the big hit. Hope you all had a safe and happy holiday!

December

If you notice my last post from November 23, we had 8-10 inches of snow. And that's it. My kids so badly want a white Christmas and to go make a snowman, but it's not looking good. I'm okay with that, but a light dusting on Christmas would be just perfect :)
We have been super busy in December, so I'm going to update with pictures. Back track to Thanksgiving- we had a wonderful weekend. Thanksgiving day at Kyle's grandma's house, and then we headed to Indy on Friday to see our old neighbors and friends. It was great catching up with them, and weird at the same time- it feels like we JUST moved- even though it had been 3 months. I do muss our old house and friends, more than I thought I would. It takes a while to feel like the new house is our new "home."
This is Thanksgiving Day- 22 weeks. I'm now 25 weeks and feeling great.

Visiting friends in Indy:

Preston, Avery, Reese, Kensley, and Maddy

The Monday after Thanksgiving my mom came up to help make Christmas cookies with the kids and I. Reese LOVED it. She spent all 5 hours in the kitchen with us. She is my little creative spirit who loves art and baking/decorating. As you can see below, the cabinets (which used to be oak) were in the process of being finished. Some doors weren't hung yet, but they are complete now! The granite gets installed next Thursday, as well as a new sink and new faucet. I can't wait!

Cookie making made this guy tired. He couldn't even make it into his bed.

The first week of December, Reese had her holiday program at school. She did great! Each class K-4 did three songs. It was a fun night and both sets of grandparents came too- added bonus of living close! 

The first weekend of December, I took my mom to the Madison Symphony Orchestra's Christmas Concert in Madison and the Overture Center. It was GREAT! We ate downtown before the show, and had a really good time together chatting and catching up with no kids around :)

The first weekend in December we also went to get a Christmas tree. Our realtor's company that we bought our house from had an annual holiday party. Santa, treats, and horses for the kids to ride. Preston lasted about 2 seconds on his horse, but Reese rode the whole lap around the barn.

Reese also had her school Holiday Luncheon the second Friday in December. It was SO fun. The service members of the community (firefighters, police officers, etc) served the food to the families and they decorated the gym to look like a winter wonderland. Reese really like having us come and eat with her. We then got to visit in her classroom for a bit too. For art class, each child made an elf that was hung up in the gym- here's Reese with hers.

A random Sunday before church picture...

Here's a good laugh. Reese was told about 6 times to clean up her toys. After not listening, I may have raised my voice to her :) This is the note she gave me after she cleaned up finally...

"Mom is mad on Sunday the 12th"

LOL- one for the baby book!

Christmas is FAST approaching. I am done shopping and wrapping and just made my last batch of cookies- had to make sure we had enough for Santa. The kids are excited to be spending Christmas morning at our house this year. We've always traveled and now it's so nice to be closer to home. We will do Kyle's family on Christmas Eve, come home, and then do my family Christmas day after presents here. Both kids are really excited this year- making it fun for us too! I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday!!

Baby It's Cold Outside

The first snowfall has hit. The kids were more than excited when it began to snow on Friday night. By the time they woke up Saturday, 8-10 inches had fallen, and they were begging to get outside. Much to my dismay, I bundled up and ventured out with them for about 30 minutes. Reese could not wait to make a snow angel, so she jumped right in. Preston enjoyed shoveling the whole time :)

I had my 20 week appointment last week, and baby looks very healthy! Kyle was in Paris, so I got to Facetime him during the ultrasound so he was able to see it. Technology is awesome! Here's a picture, which Reese told me it looks like a grandpa. Better than a baby animal like last time- lol. The baby has Preston's nose and lips exactly- leading people to guess a boy. I guess we will see!

This past weekend the kids got to have a sleepover at Kyle's moms, while Kyle and I enjoyed a night out with friends. On Sunday, my mom picked them up and we met them in Freeport for the Mistletoe Walk. Santa visited the library, their was carriage rides around downtown, and all of the shops were open with cookies and apple cider. It was fun! The kids really enjoyed going in all the antique stores and looking around.

Big news! Reese lost her first tooth on Friday. She lost it on the bus on the way to school. She was so excited to show me when I picked her up after school Friday. The tooth fairy visited and left 50 cents. She was thrilled.

Here are some pics from our Mistletoe walk adventure. 

Crafts at the library...

Carriage rides around downtown.

Reese asked for Shopkins and a new dog. A real one. Santa explained its really hard for him to bring new dogs because they don't make the sleigh ride very well. Its too cold and he cant stop to give them potty breaks because he is too busy that night. THANK YOU SANTA!!!! You saved me. 

Preston would barely get near him without me. Even then he wasn't a big fan :) He asked for a digger and a tractor, not surprised! 

When in Rome....

Or Paris. Despite the recent tragedy in Paris, Kyle has to fly there today for work. I was really hoping the meeting would be cancelled, but it wasn't. So, he flies out this afternoon and comes back Wednesday night. All air travel has resumed to normal, but he can't imagine how the security is going to be. It will be insane taking at least 2 times longer than normal (not what he wanted to hear.) So, prayers these next few days for him so safe travels and safety while he is over there.

This past week he was in Indianapolis from Monday until Thursday night. The kids and I kept busy with school and gymnastics on Tuesdays and Thursdays for Reese.

Yesterday we went and got the counter top, sink, and faucet ordered for the kitchen. Our cabinets are probably 1/4 to 1/2 of the way complete. The lady who is painting hopes to be totally done by the end of the week. We also bought all the pulls for the cabinets and my dad is going to drill the holes for those tomorrow. It's all coming together and should be all done by Christmas!

I am 20 weeks today!!! Halfway DONE! I have my appointment for the 20 week ultrasound on Tuesday (so Kyle will miss) but we are not finding out the gender, so it's not quite as big of a deal as it would be if we were to find out. People have been asking me about cravings this pregnancy. I never remember really have true cravings with either of the kids, but this one for sure has some distinct cravings. Back in September, I could eat at least 4 honey crisp apples a day. I would eat them as a meal. I also crave orange juice every morning. I am eating pickles (typical, I know) but I dont really enjoy dill pickles on a regular basis, so it's different for sure. I also crave a good salad with grilled chicken on it for lunch. I have eaten one every day for the past couple months. At least its healthy! I don't crave sweet or chocolate, but if given the chance to eat it, I won't turn it down :) That's about it for me now.

Hope you all enjoy a good week- AND GO BEARS! :) (They play Kyle's team, the RAMS today.)

Life Update

Well those past 3 weeks flew by since my last post. I am now almost 19 weeks along and feeling pretty good. I have days of nausea that come and go, but overall, I can't complain. My back is feeling so much better, and I haven't been to the chiropractor in 2 weeks, so that's a plus too. Here's a bit of what we have been up to!
-My sister and her kids came to visit the third weekend in October. Reese had her last soccer game that Saturday morning, so we did that and then headed to Madison to go to the zoo. After rest time, we then went bowling- the kids had fun! Here are a few pics from their visit.

The weekend after their visit, Reese had a 3 day weekend, so we packed up and went on a mini vacation to Door County. The trees were gorgeous! We had fun hiking on Friday and exploring the outdoors. The kids did SO great hiking for almost 2 hours in Peninsula State Park. Saturday it decided to rain- so we took a road trip to the tip of the Peninsula, and watched the cars load on the ferry to go across to Washington Island. That afternoon we went bowling. We loved shopping and exploring the towns too- Egg Harbor and Fish Creek are probably our favorite. Here are a few pics from our weekend. 

Probably the highlight of their trip- I think we swam 4 times in 3 days at the hotel :)

 Hiking in Peninsula State Park

Reese and I had a date afternoon and shopped in Egg Harbor

Pooped after a long day, a movie and popcorn- and the closest they have probably ever sat together without fighting!

Halloween! Wow, that approached really fast. Reese was a unicorn (she has requested now two years in a row) and Preston was a ninja turtle, well, he was supposed to be. Friday night we had a Halloween party at Preston's preschool and the kids had fun. Preston had no problem dressing up. Halloween afternoon we got Preston up from a nap to get ready and head to Monroe to meet our in-laws and nieces. After he woke up, he wanted NOTHING to do with is costume. Fighting and screaming so I gave up. At least I got him to wear the hat. They had fun trick or treating- and I have fun rummaging through their candy :) Sunday was Kyle's 37th birthday, so we had his parents up for the day. 

His mom made a cake that he had when we he was little 

We have been in the process of updating our house and making it our "own." So far my dad has painted the kids bedrooms, as well as my bedroom and bathroom. He also installed a new ceiling fan in our room, and Kyle and his Dad completed our barn wood headboard. I also found a dresser to re-finish with chalk paint and just got that all put together as well. Here are the before and after photos.

Finished! 3 coats of paint, 2 coats of top coat, and new pulls.

Think that's it for now. We begin our kitchen update on Monday. We are painting our oak cabinets, getting new counter tops, a new sink, and putting pulls on the cabinets. I'll be excited when it's done!

18 1/2 weeks. People keep asking if we are finding out gender at 20 weeks. the answer is No. We found out with Reese and Preston, and with this being the last baby, we want it to be a surprise. So we will have to wait until April to find out :)