Big Boy!

Well our baby boy is not a baby anymore...he pees standing up! Holy cow! He has one proud daddy here who was able to teach him :) Boys will be boys. Mom constantly reminds him to lift the seat and aim toward the water...I predict some fun cleaning days ahead ;) We are so thankful to have Graham with us for a whole two weeks. Nothing like being a family unit again. We were able to go to Sean's first Music Program tonight. It was really cute, even though he wasn't totally into it. I am going to blame it on his "no nap" today. He has started to sing along to songs in the car and wants me to turn it up louder! It is soooo cute!

I am also praying for a friend who had to send her husband off to Iraq this past weekend. May he return to you quickly and safely.

Happy Monday Night...only two more work days left! Yahoo!

Sean and Friends...

Sean and Santa

Sean and Leo
Tyler and Dylan
Tyler, Braeden, Sean, and Leo waiting for their turns with Santa!

It doesn't get much better than this! Hanging with his cousins and friends, waiting for Santa, and he even brough them early presents! Sean got the Monster Trucks he has been wanting so bad. Santa always knows:)

Playing in the Snow

I broke out my old snow pants on Tuesday night to spend a little quality time with Sean outside. He had a blast! He dove into the snow, rolled around in it, threw it, jumped into it, and so on. He didn't want to come in! "I'm warm, Mommy! It's nice outside!" As my toes and fingers were numb :) To be a kid again!

Winter Wonderland!

We just got back from spending a wonderful weekend away in Duluth. It truly is our home away from home. Graham had the tree up when we arrived on Friday night, so we were ready to decorate on Saturday morning. Gotta love how Sean loves to put all the ornaments on the same branch:)

On Saturday night, we met some friends at this awesome holiday light display. It was incredible! It was a town made out of Christmas lights with Santa and his reindeer, Mrs. Clause, and Frosty all hanging around, too! They gave out free hot chocolate, cookies, and marshmallows to roast! We had a blast even though it was only 8 degrees out! Sean loved wearing his boots and snow pants, and his cheeks were very rosy by the end of the night! It was such a magical night! I loved seeing the holiday spirit! Love this time of year:)

Check out our pictures to the side, as well. Happy Holidays!

Disney Show

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving break together as a family and enjoyed lots of great food and company. Thanksgiving was different for us this year, since Amy and her family drove to visit Alli for the holiday. That left my parents, Molly and Nick, and us for a smaller version. My mom got the flu and contained herself to her room for the day, so I did the cooking. Everything tasted great, but we sure missed having our usual big to do. The quiet was just too quiet, and the simple touches my mom does cannot be fabricated.

I had a great time shopping with Mandy early on Friday. We loved the deals, the coffee, and the people watching. It was awesome to have some "girl time" together all the while getting things checked off our list. Thanks, Mandy!

We were also able to have a great time down in Bricelyn with Graham's side on Saturday. Sean had a blast playing with his cousins, probably drove them nuts:) The adults loved the eating, visiting, and game playing. Who knew "Apples to Apples" could be so much fun?! It was great having Ginger home for the week, so we were able to spend some good quality time with her, too.

On Sunday, we took Sean to "Disney Live!" What a magical time for him! He was able to see most of his favorite characters from his favorite shows. He sang and danced. He loved the "treat" his dad got for him; cotton candy that came with a hat and lemonade for the low price of $20. I took some pictures, but he had a hard time taking his eyes away from the stage. He didn't want to miss a thing! We are so glad that we were able to do this together. :)

Great Teacher Moment...

It happened on my last day of conferences, and it was the second to last student on my schedule. Our Phy. Ed. teacher mentioned to me that this student needed gym shoes, and she went on to tell me that someone made a donation of shoes to our school. She was wondering if he would be interested in choosing a pair. Well, at the end of conferences I mentioned that fact that he didn't have any, and dad just looks down and says that he'll work on that. I, then, piped in about this donation we received and how we would like his son to go to the gym to pick out a pair. The dad answered, with tears running down his cheeks, that would be great and my student couldn't wait to get to the gym.

It was a time that reminded me of why I love my job.

Of course, I couldn't help but tear up along with him. It was an awesome moment. I get to work with amazing people.

Santa!

What a fun weekend we had! First it started off picking up Graham in Faribault. He was able to hitch a ride with some buddies, 4 to be exact, as they headed to Iowa for the weekend. I think it would have been a funny sight to see, 5 guys in a little car...Graham being one of them in the back seat :)

Since we were over there, we headed over to some friends' house for a pizza dinner. I volunteered to bring the salad, which was made easy for me by my local Olive Garden! Did you know that you could get a "party salad" with all the fixings, a bottle of dressing, and a dozen bread sticks for under $17! I thought it was a great deal. Thanks to Mandy for the idea. We had a great visit.

Saturday was a fun and busy day. We got up and ready, and were heading out the door by 8:45 for pictures with Santa! We met my sister and her kids at Drummers and all piled into her van to watch a movie while we waited. Amy and I would rather get there early and be first in line, than fight the crowd and have to keep happy kids for who knows how long:) It all worked as planned. We were first in line! Here is how our Santa visit went:

1. Santa parked his white PT Cruiser right next to Amy's van for all the kids to see him as he got out!
2. He parked so close to the Handicap sign, it was bending over :)
3. As soon as Sean walked in the door, he started yelling Santa's name. Santa waved and smiled at him, and he continued doing it until it was picture time. Sean was so excited!
4. Emma put on the brakes as soon as she saw him and wanted nothing to do with him.
5. So, Sean went first. He walked up to Santa and told him what he wanted before climbing up onto his lap. He wants big trucks, of course.
6. We got some great pictures of Sean smiling and talking with him.
7. Next, we did a cousins picture. Amy was in the first shot pushing, coaxing, carrying Emma to her spot. Charlie was screaming, and Sean and Braeden were having a blast.
8. The lady was able to get some fun shots of all the moods. We can't wait to get them home and hung up! We will have many memories and stories to tell.
9. Emma came around when it was just her family shot, and was even caught smiling:)
10. Charlie's crocodile tears melted our hearts and as soon his mommy was able to hold him, they instantly stopped.

Look for the pictures to come! We, parents, had a blast watching all of this commotion. Love this time of year!

We spent the rest of the day at home hanging out with my mom, my aunt, and cousin. We enjoyed visiting and watching all the kids playing. I even was able to talk Graham into hanging some Christmas lights outside. He and I laughed so hard at what we call our "Griswold" lighting job, but had fun turning them on for Sean last night.

Now, Graham has left for Duluth in his car. We are excited to see him mid week for this long holiday weekend. Our time together is so valuable. A second is never wasted.