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!!