Go Pack Go!

Mark and I are rooting on our GB Packers from Denver... here's a few pics from the recent watch parties. This weekend we are doing it up right with Beers and Brats! Our Wisconsin cousins would be proud of us!

Ella's 1st ski trip

The day started like this:

And ended like this:

It was a success! We started off on a bad foot but Ella totally exceeded our expectations. She actually pleaded with us to take her on a lift! Who knew we had such a skier on our hands! We were so impressed! And she isn't even 3 years old yet! Wow.

Thanks Uncle Tom for joining us for such a momentous occasion!

Here's a few photos from our day...

(Head on over to my you tube page- link on the upper left of my blog- to see a couple of Ella's ski videos.)

Charlie = 6 months!

Charlie is 6 months old and sitting up all by himself. (Still a little bit wobbly so Mom has to stay close by!) He is growing so fast we can hardly believe it. Charlie is now eating pears, sweet potatoes and squash along with the rice cereal he started eating last month. He has also be starting to get up on his hands and knees so we know that crawling is coming next!

Our 6 month doctor visit went great and here are Charlie's new stats:

Weight- 18lbs 6oz (60%)

Height- 27.5in (85%)

Head- 17.875in (90%)

Charlie gained almost 3 pounds in the last 2 months and he is still measuring almost exactly the same as Ella at 6 months. Pretty crazy. We have TWO big kiddos on our hands! Ha!

Happy 40th Birthday Mark!

This past Friday, January 7th Mark celebrated his 40th birthday! Happy birthday to the best Dad and husband around! Congrats on 40 great years! Here's to 40 more... and a wonderful celebration trip in Mexico next month!

Christmas 2010

We wish you a Merry Christmas, we wish you a Merry Christmas, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!! Better late than never... right?

I don't exactly know how to describe our Christmas vacation other than to tell you that after returning from our trip, I vowed to never ever ever travel with my children again. I know I will be taking that statement back in a few months when the memories have faded and we begin to miss our families... but for now... that's all I have.

We arrived in sunny, warm Florida to find that it wasn't so sunny and warm and it was actually COLDER than Denver! What!? We enjoyed a couple nice days with the family and then it exploded into a sickness-filled, germ infested vacation. It all started after Ella & Mark went for a swim in the heated swimming pool on one of our few nice days in Florida. Ella woke up from nap with an awful cough and runny nose. What we thought was an allergic reaction to the sunscreen turned out to be croup. We had Ella in the ER that evening (Dec 23rd) for about 4 hours. The nurses and doctors were wonderful and so sweet to Ella in the emergency room, bringing her popsicles and stuffed animals to soothe her while she got a steroid shot and breathing treatment. Poor baby.

Luckily the croup improved quickly, but unfortunately turned into a nasty cold which Ella passed along to most of the rest of the family. We were back at the hospital on Dec 27th (this time in urgent care) with BOTH kids sick- Ella with a left ear infection and Charlie with a pink right ear and a nasty sore throat. Both kids were put on antibiotics and sent home. I SHOULD have had them check me out too as I was also feeling bad, but I went on to suffer for another 5 days before I finally took myself to the doctor (once we were home) to be diagnosed with a nasty sinus infection that I am finally starting to recover from.

We didn't get to enjoy enough time with the family... but the kids still had a wonderful Christmas topped off with a special visit from Santa AND celebrating Poppa's 70th birthday. Here are a few pics from our trip.

Breakfast with Santa

Did I mention how much I love Christmas!?!? Well, I do! And what a difference a year makes... we went to Breakfast with Santa again this year with our friends the Manthey's and it was SO MUCH FUN! Ella totally "got it" this year and happily hopped on Santa's lap to tell him what she wants for Christmas. It was totally A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E!

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

I just love love love the holidays. I am always itching to unpack all my Christmas stuff the minute I finish my turkey on Thanksgiving. I have to admit that I actually broke out the tree and the indoor decorations BEFORE Thanksgiving this year since were traveling over the holiday and I wanted to come home to a decorated house. But don't worry, I made Mark wait until after to put up the lights on the house. (Actually I had to BEG him to put up the lights just as soon as we got back, and sweet as he is... he did!)

Anyway- we've been busy busy busy this past month and Charlie is growing faster than I ever thought possible. I know it happened fast with Ella too, but it's hard to remember. All I know is that my little newborn isn't an infant anymore, he is a full fledged bouncing baby boy with his own little personality.

So here's a quick recap of the last month...

*Charlie can now roll in BOTH directions. He starting rolling from back to stomach on Nov 18th (4.5mos old).

*Ella "graduated" up a level in swim classes. We actually haven't moved to the new class yet because she is on the waiting list for the class that works with our schedule, but my girl's got the skills! Definitely her mother's child.

*We took a trip to Phoenix as a family to celebrate Thanksgiving at my sister's house. It was a wonderful trip and extra-special because my new niece (and Goddaughter) Caroline was baptized while we were there.

*As soon as we got back in town I got the kiddos into their new Xmas jammies. Aren't they adorable????

*Charlie is 5 MONTHS!!!

*This week we started Charlie on his 1st taste of solid foods- rice cereal (if you want to call that a solid- ha!).

*We celebrated St. Nick's Day (Dec 6th) with little treats left in the kids stockings.

*Charlie seems to be ready to start sitting on his own any day now. He can last about 30 seconds on his own without toppling over. It's pretty darn cute!!!

I hope everyone is having an amazing holiday season. We will be jetting off to warm and sunny Florida for Christmas with the Grandparents (both sets!!), Mark's Grandfather, my brother, and my Aunt Jenny (Charlie's Godmother) and her family.

Charlie is 4 months!

Wow how Charlie is changing and growing!! He is as noisy as ever and starting to be way more active. He grabs everything: his toes, toys, my hair... and even takes his pacifier out of his mouth. He hasn't yet mastered getting it back in on his own (except for 1 or 2 times out of pure luck) but he is working on it. We can't wait until he can do that on his own... and maybe he'll start holding the bottle on his own soon too!! :)

We went to the doctor today and here are Charlie's 4 month stats:

Weight- 15lbs 12oz (70%)

Height- 25.75in (75%)

Head- 17in (75%)

Our little man will be moving before too long, his head control is WAY better and he kicks and rolls and scoots all day long. We are still continuing the PT and chiropractic care for his torticollis, but he improves every day. As you can see from the pics, he can sit up against a pillow on his own. Soon he won't even need the pillow.

Ella continues to be an amazing big sister. She "helps" Mom with Charlie by popping the pacifier back in when ever he loses it, rocking him, making him laugh and playing with him. Ella and Charlie's favorite games to play together are "Pat-a-Cake" and "Ride A Horsey". I wish I could get it on video...

Happy Halloween from the Cupcake and the Puppy!

We were in Washington DC for Mark's Marathon on Halloween so we celebrated with the Bailey and Paul family. Here are a few pics of the kids in costume...

One of my favorite pictures of Ella with Ms. Jen! :)

Marine Corps Marathon 2010

This weekend Mark ran his 1st Marathon in Washington DC- the Marine Corps Marathon. He did an incredible job, running at a pace of UNDER 10min miles and finishing at 4:21:33. We are so proud of him!

Here are Dad's biggest fans:

And Mark's entire cheering squad:

Our little family:

Mark ran the race with our dear friend, Jennifer Veenedaal (who got at PR 4:22:10) and her husband Eli and daughter Gwyn watched the race with us.