More babies one the way

On Saturday, I travel up to Oconto, Wisconsin (just north of Green Bay) for a baby shower for my friend's Clint and Elyce. They are due January 30 and we are so excited for them and cannot wait to meet their daughter Ellyson! Here are some pictures from the party!

Here are Elyce & Clint opening up gifts! Clint is wearing his "Daddy Tool Belt", which incluses a bib that says "Tax Deduction"...perfect for Clint who is an accountant!

I also got a chance to visit with my friend Marisa & her baby Evelyn at the shower! I can't believe that only 6 months ago she was born!

We also want to wish Congratulations to our friends Deborah & Sam, who had their new baby girl Isabelle (aka Ellie) on Dec. 18. We are so excited for them and look forward to meeting her in April (when they will next come back to Wisconsin!)

Together for the holidays

After the shower on Saturday, I made my way to Milwaukee for a Christmas party with my aunts & uncles on the Wargolet side (my mom's family). Thanks for hosting such a great family get-together, Susie!

Lots of cousins...and a nephew too! Hide & Seek under the kitchen table seemed to be the funnest game! Here are (counter-clockwise from the top/left): my cousin Deanne, my cousin Megan, my cousin Dylan, Ian (who got a small cut on his cheek earlier in the week), and my aunt's friend's daughter.

Here is my mom with my Cousin Megan & Cousin Deanna...

As is typical at our family parties, the ladies are talking in the kitchen and the men are in the living room!

Christmas Fun!

Jeremy and I were in Oshkosh for Christmas. It was even more fun than years past, since Ian is now old enough to understand the concept of "presents"! Here are some pictures from Christmas Eve (there were too many good ones to choose from!).

There were lots of presents and the boys were happy to be surrounded by them!

Even the big gifts didn't deter Ian!

Here is a rare "quiet moment" on Christmas Eve! Ian let Grandma & Grandpa read the book they got him!

Ian even let Connor have some gifts too (although a few of Connors gifts have since been "taken over" by Ian!)

The prize-winning moment of the night was Ian's reaction to his new Kitchen from Grandma & Grandpa!

And then it was time for bed...especially with Santa coming in the morning!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

UPDATE - Decorating Contest

To update those who have been wondering, the winner of our Apartment Decorating Contest was announced on Friday night, and....

WE WON!

It turns out that we beat everyone in our apartment complex and in the apartment complex next door! We were very excited to hear the news and win some money off of our rent! Thanks for all of the support!

At long last!

The presents are wrapped and the cookies are baked and yes FINALLY the gingerbread house is done! I can finally sit back and enjoy the holiday...and there are 4 whole days to enjoy!

This year I decided to make a Gingerbread house from scratch--something that I have never done before. With a little help from the internet, I found a recipe and some helpful hints. Although it was never a difficult undertaking for me, it certainly was time consuming, as it needs to be done in multiple steps.

Here is my finished product...not too bad for my first ever gingerbread house! I am already looking forward to next years house!

This is the front of it. My favorite things are the little lamp post made out of a candy cane stick, gum drop and hersey's kiss and the welcome mat that is made out of an Andes Candy.

The back side was a bit time consuming during the dough phase, as I had to cut out all of the individual windows on the french doors. In the end, it was definitely worth it!

The roof is entirely round chocolate cookies. And there are even icicles hanging off the roof!

To finish it off, the snow is made out of coconut.

Let the judging begin!

Here are pictures of our final Outdoor display at night. My Mom was kind enough to lend me her Elf and "Santa Stop Here" sign to add to the display. I also added the tree in between the windows. It makes quite the difference. In person, the lights are a much bigger presence. If you have a chance...drive by and let us know what you think! We are very happy with the display, and hope that that judges are as excited. :) Judging is 4-6pm Thursday night. I'll keep you all posted on the outcome!

Here is a close up of just the patio area......And the area outside our bedroom windows.

It's the Holiday Season...

So Whoop-di-doo, and Dickory-Dock!

We've had quite the Holiday filled-weekend this weekend! I am about ready for a rest!

On Friday Night, Jeremy and I headed over to Milwaukee for our annual visit to Candy Cane Lane! We also took a trip into Downtown Milwaukee, which looked like it was out of a movie! Amongst the many street decorations and light covered trees, we found a cute park with ice skaters! What a fun surprise!

On Saturday, I worked on frosting my cut-out cookies...and a bit of Jeremy too!

Sunday we headed up to Oshkosh to bake cookies with my sister Kim, her husband Gary, and their sons Ian & Connor. Ian was old enough to help out this year...and then he decided that he needed to eat lots of his work!

Here is Ian in his apron helping make cookies.

Here is Connor after lunch...he has a smile that will win ladies hearts someday!

Here are the brothers posing for a picture! What sweethearts!

Our ever growing circle of friends

On Monday, Dec. 10, our friends Jaymi & Becky had a little girl!

Reese came three weeks early, and is a very welcome Christmas Gift!

One Tuesday, Jeremy & I ventured out in the snow to meet Reese for the first time. She was so sweet as both of us got to hold her. Jeremy's face may answer any questions you all have about how soon we'll want to have kids after April! :) (Just kidding!)

Congratulations Jaymi & Becky! We are so excited for your family!

Holiday in lights (and snow)

As most of you know, I am a HUGE fan of christmas lights. Jeremy & I have already determined that we will likely be known as the "Griswalds" someday when we have a house. Here are my lights from this year. This year, our apartment complex is having a decorating contest, so it makes it even more fun to decorate outside. I have a couple of "last minute add-ons" that I plan to add next week (before the judging). I'll update the pictures then.

Here is our apartment at night from the street.

The daytime view must look just as good as night time!

Here are my 12in. candy canes after one of our many snowstorms this december. We've officially gotten 22 inches of snow this Month. Just yesterday, I upgraded to the 3ft. candy canes after getting tired of burying these little ones out!

Christmas Spirit

On Saturday, while the storm was just hitting Madison, Jeremy and I rang the bell for the Salvation Army and passed out candy canes at our neighborhood Walgreens. We had such a great time, and it really makes us feel good to do something so little that brings so much back to others. Even just giving away candy canes brings a smile to so many faces...one little girl had our favorite reaction, "Yum, yum!" :) We also got to meet a little girl (about 10 years old) who really had the Christmas Spirit of helping others. Her mom told us how she had just received $10 from the tooth fairy and took that $10 and spent it buying a bag of groceries for a local food pantry. What a wonderful thing for a little girl to do! Her mom was so proud (as she should be). The holiday season is a great time to remember that there are people out there in need. While out and about, don't forget to give some of your extra change (even pennies add up!) to the Salvation Army bell ringers. And, maybe in your busy schedules, you can find some time to help out by ringing the bell for a couple of hours. There are so many empty stands, and hopefully we can help to keep them full. I'm already looking forward to ringing again in 2 weeks with Jeni! Have a wonderful Holiday Season!