Update

Well, its been a while so I thought I should probably get in a quick update on the kiddos! Grace starts her dance team practice this Saturday and is really excited about it. She wasn't even too bummed when she learned she would have to miss a b-day party because of it!! A ice skating party none the less! So, I will keep you posted!

Owen has just been a doll the last week or so. He loves playing with his car garage and kitchen set and will play for a good hour by himself without any fuss! His language skills are exploding and he is starting to put two and two together. Aaron said he came up to him the other night with his snack cup saying "more", then later went to the fridge with his milk cup saying "more". This afternoon when I went to lay him down for his nap I noticed he had taken his shoes and set them in front of his dresser to put them away, we keep them in his top dresser drawer! He loves to put things away, lets hope it sticks! He is getting the hang of saying please and thank you. Just the other day I gave him some snacks and when I walked away he says, "ank u", in this little boy voice, TOO CUTE. He really enjoys helping Grace get dressed into her snow clothes before school in the morning getting out her boots, gloves and hat for her. Those two have such a wonderful way with one another. Grace is so nurturing and loving and will sit down and play with him for hours. Owen eats it up and constantly wants to be by her. Poor Grace can't get a break sometimes. She will go in her room to read and Owen will go up to the gate on her door and rattle and bang on it to get her attention. What a wonderful gift these children are to me, I am treasuring every moment!!

Congrats Grace!!

Well, we've had a big decision to make over the last week. Grace was recently invited to join the competition dance troupe for her dance school. Why a big decision you may ask? Well, first there is the cost then the commitment. I know that Grace really enjoys her dance classes but she is still a little young to know if it is something that she is serious about and will continue to stick with. After receiving the appropriate information and finding out all details about this journey it started to sound like something we could slowly work ourselves into this year. I guess they start them out on a trial team for the first year which means she will start practice soon to compete in March at the Showstoppers competition in Madison. They will only do one competition for this year to get the feel for it. She will also perform the same dance for the recital in the spring. The cost was considerably less expensive this year since there is only one competition. However, if she decides to stick with it the commitment and expenses get bigger. I am glad we can try it out to get a taste of what is in store. I decided to go to her dance classes the other night and stay to watch the whole 1 1/2 hours that she does Tap, ballet and Jazz to see how she is doing and if she takes it seriously. I have to say I was quite impressed. She really gets into what she is doing and puts 100% into every class. Might I also add that she certainly does seem to have the talent there also. She was right in time to her tap music and instruction and seemed to be building some poise in ballet with nice turnout with her feet during her ballet positions which is uncommon at this young of age. Seeing her in class I know now she is in her element. That gives me the confidence and eagerness to bring this opportunity to the table for her. I know it will be quite a bit of money to put out if she decides to stick with it but as long as she shows the commitment and eagerness to put forth the effort its worth every bit! She will have to understand that there may be some compromise and decisions to make with all of this, so this will really test how committed she truly is. I think if she is serious about dance that this will be great for her to get the chance to use her talent a little more than just once a year in a recital and will establish a goal for her to attain. I am looking forward to her having something out there to excel at and work hard for. So... let the competition begin!!!

ER visit

Well, there is a first time for everything I suppose. Last night ended up being our first visit to the ER with a child. Who, you ask? Well, of course the boy in the family. Aaron reassured me it won't be the last! Anyway, Owen decided to crawl from his crib last night and ended up breaking his arm. Not a bad break but enough that we noticed he was favoring it and cried when he tried to pick things up with it. That is what prompted us to take him in. Of course when we got there he was playing around, lifting it and grabbing things. After 2 hrs. they took us in for Xrays and we saw the doctor who put a brace on and bandaged it up. He was such a brave little man and only cried when they had to position it for the Xray. We got home about 12:30 pm, Jeremy and his girlfriend Maria were in town visiting and stayed home with Grace while we took him in. When we got home Owen teased them by swinging his club arm and hitting them with it, SO hilarious. I think he was trying to tell us not to worry and that he was ok by giving us all a good laugh.
The next step is to follow up with an Orthopedist on Monday to see weather he will just get a brace or a cast. That may be a hard visit for me because we are assuming they will have to set it, ahhgg. I will keep you posted!

Christmas 2008

What a fun time of year! We had a great holiday with Owen and Grace at the most fun ages ever! Owen really got excited to rip the paper off the presents this year and I even found him under the tree a couple of times the day before trying to unwrap some gifts, one of them being his!! As you know our Christmas was a little spread out this year, which really makes it more fun and relaxing I think. We celebrated with Adam and Amy in Penn. over Thanksgiving. Then the weekend before Christmas Kay and Mike came to our house and we celebrated on that Saturday. Owen got a Little People car garage that was a huge hit. Grandpa couldn't get it together fast enough! Owen helped by bringing him all of the parts which was adorable! Grace's big gift was a new MP3 player with a screen. We had a really wonderful day with them. The next day we headed to Monroe for the Bystry Christmas once again in awful weather.
On Christmas Eve Day Bill and Marilee came up to celebrate and stayed 2 nights with us. We enjoyed our favorite Roast Beef and ghardinera pizza and opened gifts with them that evening. Grace received new bedding for her new bed and Owen got Elmo Live that talks and sings. He didn't know what to think of it at first but after a while warmed up to it. He would just sit motionless and stare at it, not knowing what to think. I can only imagine what thoughts were going through his little brain! Aaron and I received a huge beautiful wall clock which just happened to be the same gift Aaron had bought for me that I picked out. Bill and Marilee won, I love it!!! In the morning G. Marilee said her and Grace woke up at 3am and had a hard time falling back asleep. Grace did not get up to get us till 7:32! Owen woke not to long after. Our big Santa gift was the Wii for the whole family. Grace was so excited! Grace also received some books and HSMusical dishes and Owen Cars dishes and books. From us Grace got a 84 pc. Barbie furniture set that I got a screaming deal on the day after Thanksgiving along with Barbie car and HSM Barbie. Owen got a Little People Eddie's boulder work site and some new Nerf balls. Dad got Guitar Hero Aerosmith. I returned my clock for Dance Dance revolution for the Wii. We had a fun day spending half of it in our Jammie's and the other half in sweats, playing wii and just hanging out in the coziness of our home. Doesn't get much better than that!
Friday morning we headed out to my parents for the weekend. We spent Friday afternoon and evening with my Mom enjoying snacks, opening gifts and a little Wii.
Grace's big gifts from my Mom were a digital camera and a moon chair for her room. Owen got a kitchen that we still have to put together, the one in the pic was my Mom's! We had a great evening hanging out!!
The next day we hunkered down with my Dad and Holly and actually opened gifts in the morning thanks to Holly! Usually we are tortured to wait until the evening, ha! Holly is getting Grace tickets to High School Musical at the Fireside in Ft. Atkinson. Grace asks every day when we are going! Owen got a race track that once again he couldn't wait for to be put together! We enjoyed another night of pizza but this time it was Holly's homemade pizza that was outstanding!! Helen, Holly's mom joined us for dinner and we had a really nice evening. Later on that night we played the Wii. My Dad and Holly got a kick out of it and we were laughing so hard while battling each other in boxing!! What a hoot!!
Anyways, it was a really nice and relaxing holiday with a lot of quality time spent with our parents, which is always priceless!