Anniversary #3!

We celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary this year by going back to Maplelag (a cross country ski resort). We had a blast. Thanks to all the family who helped out with the kids. Steph and Keven came with to celebrate their anniversary as well. We got married about a week apart. They were celebrating their 11th anniversary. We got tons of skiing in, and it seemed like we did much more than last year. I felt pretty good and don't think I slowed the group down too much. I ended up taking some naps, but all in all the trip was still worth it. We enjoyed classic skiing and the beauty of Maplelag. We did do a hard workout at 6:00 am skating, but once that was "out of the way" we just enjoyed the outdoors and skied at a recreational pace. It was a blast.

Here we are at the top of "the Toot". we have our poles crossed because it is a very steep hill that we did not go on. We ended up back tracking and going around the hill. I guess I have so much more to worry about than just myself, so I decided not to take the risk of getting hurt. The boys did the hill and said it wasn't bad, but I just had to be careful.

There is nothing better than being in the woods, getting exercise and breathing fresh air with the man you love. Seriously, I could not ask for a better husband. I can't wait for the next 3 years and then the next 3 years and then the next 3 years....(you get it, right?).

Brooks was happy to see us, but not too happy. He really likes being at his Auntie Linda's house and also got some quality time with his Oma and Opa. He did think he was pretty cool with his daddy's hat on. What a sweet smile.

Brooks has been really into coloring and writing lately. Here he is doing the crossword with his daddy. I am surprised he is using his right hand, because we are convinced he is a lefty. I guess time will tell.

New Year's!

I realize that the New Year has come and gone, but between feeling sick and exhausted all the time, this was the first chance I have had to update the blog. We spent New Year's this year at the lake. We got lots of skiing, running, hiking, resting and relaxing accomplished. On New Year's morning, we decided to bring the kids out to the island in the middle of the lake. Brooks doesn't really like snow yet, so he wasn't as excited as I thought he would be. Anyhow, we ended up needing to sit with Brooks in the sled most of the time. We all took turns pulling and ended up carrying Brooks back to the cabin eventually.

Here is Steph pulling Brooks and Greg. She works out all the time and lifts heavy weights, so this wasn't even hard for her!

Greg is such a good sport and daddy.

Kennedy and Maggie were in their snowshoes and wanted a turn at pulling Brooks. It didn't last long, because Brooks couldn't stay in the sled without someone holding him. It made for a cute picture though.

When we got back inside, Brooks was ready for a nap. I love his red cheeks and tired eyes. He was so happy to be warm, have his pacifier, and his baa-baa (blanket). No, we still have not broken him of these items yet. Maybe before the next baby comes? I hope so!

Room for one more?

We are so happy to announce that next Christmas our photo will include one more blessing from God. In July, we are expecting a sibling for Brooks! Although this last 9 weeks have been rough with sickness and fatigue, we know this journey is worth it. We can't wait to meet our newest addition this summer! We will keep everyone posted as soon as we find out if Brooks will have a sister or a brother! (By the way, we both think it is a brother...we'll see!)

Skipping the Christmas Recap!

I have made the executive decision this year to skip the Christmas recap. I am so far behind in pictures (downloading, editing, sharing...) that I will just tell all of my blogging friends that we had a great Christmas that was busy and full of quality family time! Brooks was overly spoiled and loved opening presents for himself and everyone else. He didn't really bother with what was in the present, he just wanted to move onto ripping the paper off the next present. We had a great holiday season filled with lots of JOY!

Brooks put his new helmet on and was ready for a spin on his new bike!

I would have to say he is a pretty happy kid!

I came home from the gym one morning to find these two funny guys. I hope they will recover from all of the "ouchies" that they had. Brooks wore his most of the day and ended up with a little rash on his cheeks! Oops!

Such a cool dude.

Where is Brooks?

Brooks' kitchen is finally put together! Yeah! We were still shorted one piece, which was the piece to the back of the oven. Of course, Brooks figured that out in a hurry. Look closely and you might be able to spy him!

How can we not laugh? We (I) are so frustrated with the Company Store and their lack of service, BUT at the same time having no back on the oven has given us plenty of smiles and laughs.

Brooks loves rice. Can you tell? If you enlarge the picture you will really see what I mean!

This is Brooks' new facial expression. He is infatuated with his lips and can be found with this expression on his face much of every day. I don't really know what he is trying to do. I think he just likes the feel of his lips.

Christmas Photos!

We had Auntie Bean come over this week to take some pictures for our Christmas card. We had some done professionally, but none of them turned out very good. Auntie Bean is just about as good as a professional, so we were thankful she took time with us. These pictures below are NOT our Christmas card, that will remain a surprise. These are some really cute ones though.

Brooks loves to "rocky-rocky" on his horse. The other day no one was paying attention to him, so he decided to stand up on the back of the horse. I told him he was going to fall and hurt himself. He did fall, but not much pain (I don't think).

Brooks is obsessed with these animals on our porch as I mentioned before. Here he is kissing the Polar Bear.

Brooks got a whole bunch of snow in his face and didn't like that very much. I hate to take pictures of him crying, but it is just so cute.

I just love him so much.

Trans-Siberian Orchestra

Greg took me to a concert in St. Paul on Sunday! It was a perfect day. The music was fantastic, the light show was amazing and the musicians were incredible! I can't say enough good things about this band. I suggest everyone go to itunes and download Trans-Siberian Orchestra music for Christmas. I can't wait until next year. It was awesome.

This picture was all we got because they didn't allow cameras in the show. This was in a pretty little park on our way back to the car after the show. Ahhhh.....I love my husband.

Maggie Jo's Day!

Yesterday was Maggie Jo's 4th birthday! It really seems like yesterday that Greg and I were at the hospital welcoming her into our lives. Maggie is a very special girl. We call her our very own "Fancy Nancy"! She loves pretty and beautiful things and is 100% girl. Rumor has it that Maggie changed her outfit 3 or 4 times yesterday for her party.

Maggie's party was a tea party. We were all told to dress up very fancy for the party. (You can see, Maggie decided not to wear her fancy dress!). So, the whole family put on formals from events past and celebrated with miniature sandwiches and hot tea. We had a great time celebrating this special little girl.

Here is Mags and her mama. The dress Steph has on was from our wedding!

Opa showed up in a full tux in honor of Maggie! He looked very handsome.

Oma dressed up as some sort of Siberian princess...she forgot her pretty tiara at the office, so we had to do some improv. She looked so beautiful according to Maggie.

Kennedy (nice smile) was a ballerina princess and I was a beautiful princess from the 80's. I had some very big hair and a turquoise dress. Maggie thought we looked perfect.

We love you Maggie! Happy Birthday, Sweetheart.

6th Folder--6th Picture

Don't kill me, Steph! I was tagged by a fellow blogger! The task is to go to your sixth folder in your pictures on your computer and pick the sixth picture and describe it. This was it. I suppose it was in July because my pictures are organized by month backwards. That would make sense.

Here is the description: Steph showed up at my house on a Thursday night. We were going to tennis lessons at Northland. We decided to ride our bikes to the lesson (that's why I have my HELMET ON!). Steph asked me right before the picture "Heather, why do you have your stupid helmet on?" I obviously kept it on for some reason. I actually have a couple of these pictures that look pretty similar because I am sure we had to proof the picture before we were satisfied with the final outcome. I don't know if this was a proof or the one we liked.

Anyways, we had a lot of fun biking to the lesson. Steph did fall off her bike on the Lakewalk though. She wasn't even going forward, really. She just had her feet clipped in her bike, was almost completely stopped, and fell over. I was laughing so hard I almost wet my pants and she might have wet her pants. I can't imagine how funny we looked all tipped over on the Lakewalk! It is so fun having sisters!

Christmas!

We started to decorate for Christmas this last week. Brooks loves the animals we put on our front porch. He has become mighty obsessed with them and has small temper tantrums when we won't take him outside in the freezing weather to look at them. Of course his Daddy gave in and took Brooks out to look at the polar bear. Notice the matching outfits? That is what I came home to on Monday after work. Greg had taken Brooks shopping and got matching outfits. They were so cute. I love my men!

Greg had a great idea. He connected Brooks' water (juice, milk) to him by using our running belts. Brooks is super cute taking his sippy cup in and out of his holder. He stops, takes a sip, and puts the cup back in the holster.

Today we FINALLY got to see our cousins. We've had some illness in our household and have not hung out with them since last Friday! We really missed them and Brooks was overjoyed when they showed up this afternoon. Maggie and Brooks took a turn playing nice together. They don't always play nice. In fact, Maggie hits Brooks and Brooks hits Maggie. Maggie might not be doing anything and Brooks pulls her hair. Brooks might be minding his own business and Maggie pushes him. They are so funny. I know they love each other so much, but I think it is the ages of the two. Brooks really gets on Maggie's nerves when he "wrecks" her stuff. Brooks doesn't understand. Here they are though being buddies.

Opa took Brooks tonight for the entire evening! We needed to finish putting up our tree and decorating, so my dad was kind enough to take Brooks to dinner and shopping. Brooks came back a Minnesota Vikings fan, I guess! We don't follow sports in our household, but I sure think his little wind suit was adorable. Brooks loves his Opa to pieces.

We are going to Trans Siberian Orchestra this weekend! Yeah! We are so excited that Auntie Linda has volunteered to take Brooks overnight on Saturday and all day Sunday! It should be a great weekend to re-connect with my hubby and listen to some great Christmas music!