Christmas 2010

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas filled with the light of Christ and the ones you love.

In preparations for Christmas this year we got family pictures taken for our Christmas cards. (It only took 9 year to get one too) My Grandma also came up from Tennessee to spend Christmas with us.

Christmas Eve we went to the annual home away from home Christmas party. This is when the families of our ward that don't have family close by get together for dinner. This year we got to go to the Goates home. We had a great time and are super sad that they will be moving away in a few weeks time. A big thank you to the Goates family for having us over, we sure are going to miss you guys!

A little later that evening (after Damian got home from work) we had a Polish dinner prepared by Damian's mother. The tradition is to have 12 dishes with no meat. You are suppose to sample a little of each dish. I'm not so brave when it comes to new foods and I stuck to the non Polish food. Matt and Grandma on the other hand got brave a tried most of it. Taevin even tried some new things but ended up getting sick from it and throw up, poor kid. Thank you Babcia (Grandma) and Dziadek (Grandpa) for dinner.

After setting out the milk & cookies for Santa and carrots for the reindeer we headed off to bed. Christmas morning the kids slept in and had to be woke up so that we had time to open presents before Damian had to leave for work. Santa left lots of fun stuff and Grandma Great made the kids some beautiful outfits.

Here are the kids Sunday morning in their matching outfits. Thanks Grandma Great! They look so cute!

After seeing what Santa left it was time to tackle all the presents under the tree and boy were we spoiled this year. Thanks to all the family and friends who gave us gifts this year!

This was Taevin's first Christmas, he didn't really get the concept of ripping the paper but sure enjoyed it once it was off.

Aniela asked Santa for a unicorn this year and was very excited to have gotten one. (don't mind the huge bruise on her head, her and the wall had a small disagreement, looks like the wall won)

Here's Areya showing off her gift from Grandma and Grandpa Deja. They gave the kids some money and let them pick out their own gifts this year. She got a VReader.

We had a great Christmas spending time together watching the kids enjoy their Christmas gifts. We even got to Skype with my parents and one of my brothers back home in Utah. We love you all and really missed you this holiday season!

Getting ready for Christmas

To get in the Christmas mood this year we did a few projects.

First we made these cute snowmen out of cotton balls, fabric and chocolate chips.

Next we made snow globes out of baby food jars.

And then the traditional ginger bread house. This year we made 2

Not only were they fun easy projects but they were also a great way to keep the girls busy on Sunday afternoons.

Utah trip 2010

Just a few pictures from our trip.

They had the same outfits so we made them twins.

Beau is 3 months and Taevin is 6 months in this picture.

We did a photo shoot at home with Tj, Shaylee and Beau, my parents and the kids.

Here are a few pictures from that. Areya and Aniela in the outfits my mom got them.

Thanksgiving 2010

The kids and I got to spend Thanksgiving in Utah with my parents, 2 of my brothers and their families and 2 of my cousins and their families. We had dinner in a cabin at Hill Air Force Base and then played games. It was so much fun getting together with all of them. Damian and Matt both had to work so they stayed in Illinois.

Saturday evening we went up to Morgan to have dinner with the cousins on my dad's side. It was so fun seeing all of them. It has been such a long time since I saw them last. I can't believe how big all their kids are getting. The girls had so much fun playing with their cousins.

I am so thankful for the time I got to spend with my family.

I am thankful for my husband and children.

I am thankful for the gospel of Jesus Christ and to have it in my life.

I am thankful for all the many wonderful blessing we have in our lives.

Sleep

I love watching my girls sleep. Not only do I enjoy the peace and quite but I love to see where they will end up at the end of the night.

Here are a few examples:

She fell asleep while doing her breathing treatment.

I think I have one of her sleeping while sitting at the counter and one of her under the bed/desk.

Taevin 6 months

Taevin is 6 months. Can you believe it?

He is now 12 lbs 4 oz which is not on the growth chart but he is slowly getting there.

He has started eating baby food and loves it!!

Halloween 2010

Here are some pictures from our Halloween fun this year.

We carved pumpkins with Uncle Matt and also some friends from church.

Some of our fun Halloween decorations.

Yummy Halloween cookies that we made.

My little Sweet Pea

Queen Areya and Pirate Aniela

How cute are they!!!!

Daddy's little monster.

We decided not to go trick or treating because it fell on Sunday instead we did trunk or treat at the church on Saturday. It was a lot of fun and the girls got more then enough candy.

Girls dance performance

Areya and Aniela took dance last spring and had their performance while I was at the hospital with Taevin so I wasn't able to go, but while looking through some pictures my in-laws took I found these so I thought I would post them.

This the girls with their teacher Miss Cathy. They loved having her for a teacher and miss her and dance class so much. We are so sad that she and her family moved away.

Just a quick update on life

I know I haven't posted for awhile but man we have been busy. Let's see Aniela started preschool, my friend Sara came to visit, doctor's appointments for Taevin and my brother Matt moved in.

Aniela's first day of preschool

Ready for round 2

We are doing home preschool with some friends from church. There are 6 kids and we take turns teaching 2 days a week for 2 hours. I had the first week which went great. We decided to have one of the mom's help out and man am I glad, there's no way we could all 6 little monkeys alone. With potty breaks and each one finishing projects at different times. Lots of craziness but also lots of fun.

Sara and I at the Blackhawks game

They lost in the last 25 seconds of the game

My really good friend Sara came for a visit , it was so much fun to have her here. We met at Lagoon just over 10 years ago. She is one of those friends that you can just pick up where you left off the last time you saw/talked each other. While she was here we went to Navy Pier (kid free) and went for a ride on one of the ships. After that we had lunch and headed home so I could make it to cub scouts. The next day we went (again kid free) to the Willis Tower, (formally known as the Sears Tower) had some lunch and then to the Blackhawks game. They lost in the last 25 seconds of the game but it was still fun.

They next few days we just hung out at home, played with the kids and caught up. It was so nice having an adult conversation with a girl. Don't get me wrong I love talking to my hubby but he's not much of a talker so I was in heaven staying up late with Sara and just talking. On Friday she had to go home, sad, but was 5 minutes late getting there to check in and they told her that they had already sold her seat. So not cool but it gave us one more night together so I wasn't to upset about it. (I guess I might have been if I were Sara since she had to pay the $150 to change flights) Thank you so much Sara for coming to visit me! I had so much fun! I love and miss you!

Taevin & Areya

Taevin had an appointment with the GI doctor this month. His reflux is so much better, he still has his days but i'll take it. She was a little concerned because he only gained 10 oz in a month. At his appointment he was only 11 lbs 12 oz so she has us fortifying his breast milk with formula. She also want us to talk to the endocrinologist to make sure there is not some other issue.

We also saw the people at the 22q 11.2 (DiGeorge) clinic this past month. I thought that this would have been a really important appointment but it ended up being a waste of a drive to Chicago, our time and money. They did the routine check (height, weight, listen to the heart and lungs) checked to see if all his medications were the same as they had listed then told us that we are doing and seeing every one we should be. Asked if we had any question and then sent us on our way. So pointless!!!

We continue to have the developmental and speech therapists come twice a month. Taevin is a bit delayed on meeting his mile stones but that is to be expected with the DiGeorge and his late start. He can roll from his back to his side and his side to his tummy. He reaches out to grab things and can hold on to them. He still has to be fully supported to sit and gets tired very quickly. He has started pushing up a little on his arms while on his tummy but does not get them fully extended. We tried spoon feeding but he still isn't ready for it.

We were able to get his RSV shot approved and he will be getting it once a month for the next six months. Next month we see the Neonatologist and follow up with the Endocrinologist. That's all we could squeeze in before we leave to Utah. When we get back well have to see the pediatrician.

The girls with Uncle Matt

Areya with Matt's dog Champ

My older brother Matt and his dog Champ moved in with us this past week. He has been having a bit of a hard time and needed a new start. It has been so nice having him here. I am so glad to finally have some family close.

Damain's mother went back to Poland this week. She has been here since May helping us with the kids. The girls still go down there every day looking for them, they are really going to miss her. The other nice part about having her here is that the girls have both picked up some Polish, to bad I can't say the same for me.

Next month the kids and I are going to Utah for Thanksgiving. We will be there for 10 days. I am so looking forward to this trip.

Beau Golden Voss

Ok I am a little behind on posting this (only by 6 weeks) but better late then never.

My younger brother Tj and his wife Shaylee welcomed their first child into their family on Aug 20, 2010.

Beau Golden Voss

6 lbs 10 oz

19 inches long

Congratulations to both of you! You're going to make great parents. I can't wait until November when I finally get to meet him.