January News......sorry for the delay!!!

Hello all! Sorry for the delay in posting......we hadn't realized that our throngs (ie. 4 or 5) people that follow us had missed the updates! We've been busy the past while.....I'll attempt to summarize.

Lauren, upon return from our Xmas marathon, was quite sick, and not getting better. After a few weeks of us not sleeping, we took her in for a check-up, to find that other than the ear infection, eye infection, bad sinus congestion, cough, and a new tooth coming in, she was doing great! So, a bit of penicillin, two days, and she was back to her 13 hour sleeps!!! Good times! She now also officially has two teeth, and is eating almost anything we put in front of her.

We finally got a chance to do some real tobogganing, and went out with our friends Scott, Kathleen, and Katherine. The handy part is that one hill in town is RIGHT beside the hospital, so in case of injury, we could just load up and walk to get help! Below are some pics......of Kate with anyone but Andrea and I, on her new toboggan. And for the Stock family, don't worry.....we didn't get rid of the "black ho"........we just added a new sled to the collection!

Scott & Katherine

Kathleen and Kate @ High Speed!!

Lauren @ Zero Speed (but warm!)

We also had some guests for a few days.....Poppa Russ and Grandma Lynne made their way up to FMM for a few days. We had the honor of celebrating Russ's 40th anniversary of his 29th birthday (that will be on the only math quiz today). Kate was very concerned that Poppa didn't have a toy for the top of his cake, so she dug up her Elmo car from her 2nd birthday and placed it on the corner! We had some great meals (started with a small birthday dinner consisting of steak, lamb chops, ribs, corn on the cob, and brie mashed potatoes), some great wine, and as a very special gift to Russ, I absolutely DESTROYED him playing crib. After his crushing defeat, Kate had woken up from her nap, and I asked her to take a document to Russ and give it to him. I had printed off the "how to play crib" sheet....needless to say, a few laughs were shared, with the promise of revenge!

Poppa, Kate, and the Elmo Birthday Cake

Lauren has also mastered the proper crawling technique now.....with a minor twist! When she crawls, she has her elbow's out, and looks like a bulldog coming at you. Check out the video to see what I mean!

While Lauren is now smiling a lot better, she still has the "goofy look" that is just great. She's wearing her "I'll have another glass of house white" t-thirt from Poppa Jim Boylan......great find!

And here is Kate enjoying a nice double espresso for breakfast......or at least a small glass of steamed milk/froth. She keeps asking "Daddy....when I grow can I drink coffee?" I tell her "Sure, but it will be a while", to which she responds "Oh boy!!!"


And just today, we got Kate out on her skates for the very first time. Andrea had taped a Calliou show in which he went skating, and as he kept falling, his parents kept saying it was very hard, and to keep at it. The timing was GREAT, as Kate was all over the skating, and kept saying "Calliou says it's hard and I have to keep trying". She did very well.....not able to skate on her own, but she can stand on her own, and with us holding onto her, she can keep her skates pointed in the right direction and somewhat balance. So, not too bad at all! Check out the video, which also shows off our excellent new sports facility - Macdonald Island (two skating rinks, pool, waterslide, library, play area, and some fields for that "girly sport" where people chase after a ball that is white with black spots and they kick the ball and when they hardly get hurt they fall down like they've been shot but are saved when someone runs out with a bucket and sponge......darn....just can't recall what that sport is called!).

Right before hitting the ice!!

That's all for now! We hope this post finds you all doing well, and enjoying the start of 2010.