Merry Christmas!!!

We have had such a great Christmas this year, and so much to be thankful for and to look forward to in 2011! Here are some of the pics from our Christmas and the Sabelka Christmas.

Our Smiley Little Boy!

Here are some pics of Derek at 61/2 weeks.... he is such a happy baby, smiles all the time:)

Christmas Performance Just For Kix

Back In Action...A Wild Christmas so far!

I've been MIA for a few days.... long story that starts on Saturday. We had the Carolan family Christmas which I so look forward to every year. This year was no different. Lots of laughs and good times with family that we don't always see very often. The kids had a blast too, and got some nice gifts (thanks to great grandma and Great aunt Leann and uncle Mark). After that, we headed to Mom and Dad's for a bit, and the two older kids decided to stay over and have a sleepover with Keegan and Lexie. Derek was a bit over-stimulated from being held and spoiled much of the day so he was ready for some sleep.

On Sunday we headed back over to mom and dad's for our family Christmas. Again lots of food and fun.... and that's when things started to head south. On the drive home, Nolan got sick to his stomach. Later that day Eryn had her dance performance and I took her while Randy stayed home with the boys. Eryn did an AWESOME job at dance!! We are so proud of her!! Once we got home, both her and I were not feeling well, and well, it was all downhill from there. Monday me and all the kids were home sick. Yes, poor little Derek too! Randy took him into the dr on Monday just to get him checked out. Never have I had such a little baby get the stomach flu!! I took him back for a recheck on Tuesday and stayed home again with the boys. We are all feeling a little better each day, and little by little feeding Derek more and more. I think it's been the most difficult for Derek, because he is SO hungry (and weighing in at 11 lbs at the dr!) and we can only feed him a few ML at a time. The plus side to this is that he has had three nights now where he sleeps from 11 or 12 until 5 or 6, so we are both able to get some sleep. However Randy managed not to get this illness I don't know, but he is sure lucky! At last count, over 20 of the 40 Carolan's at Christmas got hit by the flu!!

Our Gingerbread family+ Five weeks old

Here is Derek's five week pic... isn't his face really filling out??? Should be for how much he is eating!!! He's a happy baby for the most part, but going down for the night is often times a struggle. I guess he takes after his brother and sister on that one!

On Thursday the kids and I made our gingerbread family. The kids had fun cutting out the cookies and decorating them.

A Visit From Santa

Last night the kids and I bundled up and headed to the library for a pajama party. They sang Christmas songs and read Christmas stories, and there was even a visit from Santa himself!! Nolan was hesitant to take his picture with him (can't you tell?), but it all turned out just fine. (Derek chose to take a nap rather than get his picture with Santa).

Christmas Baking

On Sunday we set up shop at mom's and did some massive marathon baking, all in about 3 1/2 hours. Everything from cutouts, to candy and meringues were made. I even had some little "elves" helping me (thanks Lexie, Eryn and Nolan!!)

Things don't go as planned sometimes...

Some days just don't go as planned... hence the morning today.... or should I say it started last night. Derek has been a pretty good sleeper, so when he was up every hour and a half during the night I should have known something was up. He wanted to be held more than usual too. This morning I decided to take his temp, and it was at about 100. As he is such a little tyke yet, I got worried and called the clinic, and they said to bring him in. So, I bundled up all the kids and away we went to Decorah first thing this morning. The good news is that they didn't think it was anything serious, possibly a virus. It always makes me nervous when infants get sick!!
I gave him some Tylenol this afternoon and he is sleeping better and longer. He is also GROWING LIKE A WEED! Randy and I were just talking about how much we guessed he weighs, and I thought he'd be 8 pounds and change, and Randy thought 9. Well, he weighed in today at a whopping 9 lbs 11 oz!! Time to kiss those newborn clothes goodbye!! Here's hoping for a better night tonight!

Let It Snow!

The kids were WAY excited when it started snowing yesterday. So, after school we rounded up the boots and snowpants and away they went outside! I watched them from the kitchen window, and they were very busy "pushing" snow with Nolan's "work" equipment (dozer, etc.) This morning they were again out bright and early (7:30) and again after lunch. We don't have our snow plowed yet, due to it being deer hunting season:) so I found the kids making the neighbor's pile all their own this afternoon. Needless to say, we have been through alot of hot chocolate today... and the entry way is a blizzard of snowpants, hats, gloves, and boots drying out for tomorrow's playtime!!

Return of the Allergies

Nolan's allergies had been under control this fall, and we were glad for that. He had such a terrible time with them in the spring that he had seen the specialist in LaCrosse. Once we brought that Christmas tree in the house on Sunday night, those allergies flared up again! We have always gotten a real tree and up until this year it hasn't been a problem. I guess we will need to look at some after Christmas deals for an artificial tree!! Until then, we will get Nolan back on his allergy meds!

4 weeks old

Can you believe that Derek is four weeks old today.... where does the time go? This boy is definitely growing, as his newborn clothes are starting to get a little snug.... they grow up so fast!

A Special Day Times Two!!

Today was Nolan's 4th Birthday, as well as the celebration of Derek's baptism. The day started off early with the baptism at morning mass. Then, the family all headed to our house to celebrate! Lots of food, fun and gifts! Nolan said it was his best birthday ever!! Thanks to everyone for the gifts for Nolan and Derek. Both boys took a nap this afternoon after all of the excitement.... now the older kids and Randy are off to get the Christmas tree!!

Growth Spurt

Even though this is our third child, they are all different, in many ways. Case in point, this past weekend. Derek wasn't happy no matter what we did, and we even had to resort to a car ride to settle him down.... oh the memories of doing this multiple times with Eryn and Nolan! Thanks to some quick internet research we learned that at three weeks babies go through a growth spurt.... whew!! I was beginning to worry that something else was wrong. So as the days have gone on, Derek continues to grow..... and grow.....it's amazing!! We will be ready for the next spurt, which they say is at 6 weeks.

Another Tooth Lost + 2 weeks old!!

Eryn lost yet another tooth last night!! This one she wasn't letting ANYONE touch to pull it out, and low and behold it came out when she was brushing her teeth before bed!! She lost her front teeth in August and the new teeth have yet to show!! I'm glad it's not sweet corn season anymore!!

Derek is officially 2 weeks old today! Amazing how much they change in such little time. He is filling out those newborn size clothes, and eating like a horse!! I guess he better if he wants to keep up with his older brother!! Now, if we could just get the sleeping pattern tweeked a little...

A Day of "Firsts"

Yesterday was a day of firsts for some in our family. It was Eryn's first ride in a limo! She earned this by selling items from the Chip Shoppe for school a couple of months ago. She rode from Ossian to Calmar with three of her classmates and enjoyed an ice cream treat. She really enjoyed it!

The other first was Derek's first dr appt. It was just a check up, but we are happy to report that he is doing wonderful!! He is gaining weight and is currently at 7 lb 13 oz; it won't be long and he will be out of those newborn clothes! It is so amazing how fast babies grow, literally right before your eyes!

Our New Addition...

As many of you know, we finally welcomed Derek Jordan to our family on Tuesday November 2, 2010 at 8:42 pm, weighing in at 7 lb 8 oz and 20 1/2 inches long. What a bundle of joy! We all anticipated his arrival for so long, we were so glad to finally meet him! Despite a whirlwind of events prior to Tuesday (including Randy getting pneunomia) things went well and we are now back at home. We are all adjusting to the "new" routine. Eryn and Nolan are a great big brother and big sister, and help out a lot. Either Derek is an easier baby, or we as parents are just getting the hang of this a little easier this time!

Halloween... all week long!!

It's been a constant Halloween celebration for the kids the entire week. Eryn had a Halloween party at dance on Monday, and another one at CCD on Wednesday. Thursday night I took both of the kids in their costumes to SW PTO's Halloween party. They both enjoyed dressing up and playing the different games. Eryn had her classroom Halloween party today, and on Sunday she has Luther PALS Halloween and then the traditional Trick or Treating.... needless to say that darn toothbrush will be getting and EXTRA workout this week as well!!!

The Spelling Whiz

I don't like to be one of those parents that brags about their kids, but we have been awfully proud of Eryn. Since school started, they have had spelling words every week, with a pretest on Monday and a final test on Friday. For every week, except the first, Eryn has gotten ALL of her words right! She is a great speller, and also likes to read... we have to ask her to put the books away at night so she can get to sleep!!

Big Belly!

I realized today that it has been a LOOONNNGGG time since I have posted! Where the time has gone I don't know, and as many of you know, the past two months have been somewhat of a blur for me.... anyway.... we got a new camera in preparation for our new addition.... and the kids had to try it out (and for some reason my head is always cut off!), so here are the only 2 belly shots you will see of me...I think I was 37 or 38 weeks.

Horses+ Birthday Celebration

Today Stacy invited us to her house to see the horses on the trail ride. We LOVE horses, and hope to get one someday, although Daddy doesn't really have the same feelings we do about these beautiful animals.... ok that is another story. Anyways, the weather was warm (too warm for this mama) and we enjoyed seeing all the horses.

We also celebrated Randy's parents birthdays, who are a week apart. Great food and of course, birthday cake!! What a great way to end the weekend!

Building a Train Track with Mom

Nolan is borrowing Grandma and Grandpa's train track and with my help today, we built a big train track in the living room. Lately, Nolan and I have spent alot more time together (and we are both loving it!) and despite the upset in our "regular" schedule he seems to be adjusting just fine... hopefully I can say the same in a month or so when we have yet another upset in the schedule:)

We have windows!!

The garage is coming along nicely, and recently Randy got more siding and windows up! It's looking great!!

How Time Flies.....

Eight years ago today I married my best friend... it amazes me just how fast time does fly... so much has changed since then... two kids, one on the way, our own house...with many additions.... and, well you can see by the pictures, we don't get any younger looking!! Happy Anniversary Randy!! Love you lots!!

Pumpkin Carving

I know I'm a little early with the pumpkin carving, but I wanted to make sure it gets done before our family schedule gets more hectic, if you know what I mean!! The kids were more than eager to get out there and get their pumpkins carved. I let them decide what they wanted carved into each of their pumpkins. Eryn was most original with "just a jack-o-lantern." Nolan looked through the book and decided he wanted a werewolf. Just for giggles sometime, ask him to say "werewolf" it is hilarious:) I decided the third pumpkin was mine and the baby's so, it needed to be Iowa Hawkeyes:)

Those of you that know me also know that I have ZERO creative and artistic talent, so this was quite a chore for me! I think it took me all of 2 hours to carve all three pumpkins. I knew they wouldn't be perfect, but we all had a good time getting our hands in the "guts" of the pumpkins and warding off the bees on the porch!! Keep in mind the kids were taking some of these pictures).