Lais Family Christmas

December 23rd at 6:30p

We had Christmas dinner at my parents on 12/23.  It worked out really well for most of us; the holidays are super busy!! We had steak, baby red potatoes, salad and bread rolls for dinner.  It was really yummy food and lovely company! :D 

 My mom is introducing John to "Woody" our life-size nutcracker.

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Here are my parents, loving being Grandparents! :D



Ryan, Stephen, Sara, Papa Joe, Grandma Mitty, Kelli, Mark, Mike
















After dinner, it was time for the gift opening! In John's mind; Let the Games Begin!!!


The Christmas tree, with LOTS of presents!  :D 

(Side note:  The tree was cut down at a farm in WI on December 6th.  We drove out there on a COLD Sunday to cut it down.  Sara has lots of pictures, I need to get them and then I will blog about all the fun we had!) :D



Stephen and John



About to start opening gifts

 



Grandma Mitty with her TWO new electric can openers! :D

My mom told Kelli and I throughout the year (repeatedly!!) that all she wanted was an electric can opener.  Well, we both got her one! Haha .... bring on the cans!!! She is ready!! Enjoy mom!

The boys!  John (clearly) melting! ;D

Quick! Smile- Patrick family group shot!

We were blessed with many gifts from my family....  Teeth whitener, (a special) pen and pencil for Ryan at work, Tomas trains, Thomas movies, a DQ whistle, Origins body lotion and bath soap, Aveda hand lotion, a ferret toy (??!!!... Kelli! haha)  ;D  Christmas books, "workout clothes" for John and (my favorite) night lights for the boy's room with their baby pictures on them.  

(here is the link to the night lights...

http://lightaffection.com/)

Thank you everyone!!  Love you Lais'! <3 

Ryan (L) and Jinette, we missed you at the party.... BUT thank you for the WAY COOL books you made for the boys!!!  John loves to read all about "his wedding" haha  ...if he only knew! ;D

Happy 25th Ryan!

While Ryan is laying with John, reading Go Dog Go, and singing Mary Had a Little Lamb before John falls asleep.... I thought I would quick blog! :D


 Ryan isn't a big cake fan, but he is a fruit pie fan!  While Stephen took his morning nap, John and I made this pie for Ryan- it is mixed berry...raspberry, blackberry and blueberry. The best worst part is, I was keeping the birthday boy in mind while adding the ingredients- -I only used 1/2 the called for amount of sugar.  Tonight when Ryan took his first bite, he looked up at me and said, "Wow! That's tart!!"  ...OK, I tried... Sorry Ryan! :/

After dinner, we played ball!  John loves having the ball thrown at him, and Stephen thinks it is hilarious!  He laughs SO hard every time the ball is thrown. 

John, I love your smile here!!

John and Daddy taking a break!

Family story; Moo, Baa, La La La. 

Ryan, I hope you had a great birthday!  I asked you about your favorite birthday so far, you said, "our engagement" 4 years ago today! Love it!!
Your day in a nut shell:
5am headed to the gym, worked- first day on the job at 3M, came home to lasagna and berry pie, then family time and to bed! <3  Life at the Patrick's... JOY

Santa!!

We went to Mendakota with Steve and Jana for Ryan's birthday brunch on Sunday morning.  It was pretty surreal driving there.  The only people on the roads in St. Paul were trucks.  It was kind of fun driving around. hehe
Anyways... back to the important stuff!
We had a yummy brunch and then Santa was at Mendakota!  And WOW he was quite the Santa!!!  A parent's dream come true!  He was talking to the kids about sharing with their little brothers and sisters, helping set the table, and asking why they didn't make their bed that morning.  The kids were just mesmerized! :)  When it was John and Stephen's turn, I was quite surprised by their reactions...
John sat just fine, not scared or overly excited to be on Santa's lap.   His focus was the treat bags for after your visit with Santa- filled with chocolate treats.  John did sit there and listen to him talking. 
BUT Stephen was just enthralled with him! :)  He was so excited about the whole thing.  Santa sang him Jingle Bells after JR had already left and was hoping to be elbow deep in chocolate.  There was no Stranger Danger for SJ.  It was so sweet!
I loved bringing the boys to see Santa- aaahh parenthood, nothing is better!

John eating his custard martini  ....the life he lives! :D

Stephen wishing he was eating a custard martini....

Santa!!  2010

This pretty much sums it up! Love my boys, both are very predictable! :D

Santa singing Jingle Bells to SJ

JR loving his snowman cookie after seeing Santa.  John you have such a sweet smile!! 

I love you, my almost 2 year old!!!!

ECFE, "Pigs in a Blanket" and Snow Storm of 2010

Here is our little student! John enjoys school so much!  He plays hard, works hard and takes looong naps on Tuesdays! haha

He is making "twinkling stars and a shinning moon" at school.  Ryan got to come with to school today- he was home for the week.  It was nice for him to get to participate in all the day-to-day activities.  We love having daddy home!!

A couple weeks ago, I called Ryan at work to "warn" him about what dinner was going to be that night.  I like to have John help with preparing food in the kitchen- he loves it and it keeps him busy.  When he helps, it is important to make kid-friendly things, too.  So, I thought it would be fun and easy to make "pigs-in-a-blanket" but I knew this wasn't a meat and potatoes kind of meal... so I thought I should give Ryan a heads up.  Well, I was shocked at his reaction- He was THRILLED when I told him.  I was so confused when I hung up the phone....

Well, he practly came running inside from the garage- when he looked in the oven and the Lais version of PIAB were baking, a gray cloud came storming into our kitchen.  haha  Little did I know the Patrick version of PIAB are much different! 

Lais version: hot dogs wrapped in a Pillsbury crescent rolls baked served with ketchup.

Partick version: Breakfast sausages rolled in pancakes and covered with warm syrup.

OKAY! I get it.... what a let down!

So, this week (while Ryan was home) I made him Patrick PIAB for breakfast to redeem myself.  haha :D

The boys loved them! And Stephen watched closely!

Snow Storm 2010 (18inches?)

On Friday night we did some Christmas shopping and on the way home stopped at the grocery store to grab some OJ and eggs for breakfast in the AM.  Holy cow!  It was crazy in there- everyone was rushing around like the sky was falling!  I couldn't believe it-- I got a couple groceries while the boys waited in the car...for 45 minutes!! 

Well, the weather guys were right- it sure snowed! Saturday was fun- Ryan and I took turns shoveling,we shoveled 3 times so it wouldn't be more then 6-8 inches at a time.  It worked really well for us.  I took John outside with me.... he hated it!  haha it was really windy and the snow was taller then him.  I tried to help him make a snow angel, but it just brought tears.  Too much of a good thing... = bad! :'(

Setting up the Christmas tree & Great Grandparents lunch

On Wednesday, December 8th we had Great Grandma Evie, Great Grandma Jackie, Great Papa John and Nana Jana over for a Christmas lunch!
We set up our Christmas decorations that morning. (leaving it to the last minute.... that's me!) D:
Ryan picked up all our decorations at the apartment because they were still in storage from last year.  Then he went to my parents and picked up garlands some garlands that we got for decorations for our wedding (almost) 3 years ago!  John was just thrilled to have a Christmas tree-- even though he was looking at us like we were cracked while we set it up! haha  We had to edit some all but 3 of the ornaments from the tree!  We left all the glass/breakable ones in storage.  The tree was up for....wait for it.... 1 hour before it was tipped over and being dragged around the house.  We put the flower girl and ring bearer's garland from our wedding in John's room.  It is hanging on his window- he loves it because it has jingle bells on it-- the perfect garland for kids! :)
We still haven't got our lights up outside! YIKES- we really dropped the ball here...  we shall see if it gets done for 2010...

OOPS!  (HAHA) He didn't want to look up at us for our reactions.

(No, we weren't mad!!  Ryan and I were laughing- it was the first tip of the year, but not the last!) :D

Ryan and I: "John, what happened?!???"

John: "Bo Bo" (Broken) ...A picture is worth a thousand words!

*PRICELESS*

I did a terrible job of taking pictures at lunch! :/  And, John was not feeling the camera...

We had Carol Anderson's pasta salad, bread, apple slices and brownies for dessert.  Very casual!  John helped with the brownies- he did the red and green sprinkles. :)

And the gifts begin... these boys are so blessed- they have no idea how lucky spoiled they are!  GG Evie brought the boys money for their college funds, and Elmo book and Jingle bells for the door. Which John LOVES!  He carries them all around the house- They make such a cheerful sound, ahh the sound of Christmas.  And GG Jackie and GP John brought the boys frog stuffed animals in darling Christmas boxes.  John has been sleeping with both of the frogs- they are so soft and cuddly. 

Thank you Great Grandparents!!

Stephen is 6 months

Mr. Stephen is 6 months!!

Born June 3rd--  So, December 3rd means 6 months!  What a joy you have been!! Stephen, we are so lucky to have you as our newest member.  You have brought us pure happiness.  We love your smile, laughs, and absolute hardiness.
Stephen, you have just got your 2 bottom teeth- and, boy you love to use them! haha  You are figuring out how they work, the reaction you get when you "chomp down" and you are pretty proud of the power of your new teeth!
You love to do your tummy time, bath time and playing with your brother.  You are not yet crawling or doing a whole lot of "pushing up" on your arms, but are happily playing on the floor with toys.  You have a love for toys that is very special.  You really like to "play" with toys, some babies aren't very interested at 6 months, but you are!  :)
You are exclusively nursing, and not interested in solid foods.  We have given them to you -  but you don't seem excited/hungry/full....anything!  So, for the time being, we are just going to keep with nursing.  Fine by me!!  I love having all this time with you-  it is very special.
We took you for your 6 month well child- You are riding the perfect S curve!  Yahoo!   50% all the way!  You weight 17lbs 8.5oz, and are 27 inches long.  So, you have gained 11lbs, and grown 8 inches all in 6 months!!
We take you to ECFE on Tuesday mornings and Wednesday nights-  The teachers say you are a delight!  You love to interact with the other babies and kids and want to be in the middle of all the action!

Stephen with Great Grandma Evie

We had Christmas with the Great Grandparents on Ryan's side.  It was really fun!! 

We made a pasta salad, French bread, apple slices and COKE. (haha-Yep, I did host!)

It was very relaxed, the boys played, and we all got to hang out!  Thanks for coming!

Stephen with Nana Jana!

December 8, 2010

Hanging out on the couch, after our Great Grandparent's Christmas lunch!

 

Shows SJ's length- body shot!!

SJ in his 6 month picture- what a ham! <3

Oh Boy!! He's a Pick-Up MAN!!!

Well, we took Ryan's Acura to Lloyd's last week, and they told us that this winter we would need to put some money into replacing parts of the car that were getting old.... 

After weighing out our options, test driving quite a few trucks at different dealers, we ended up getting Ryan a Chevy Silverado! :D  Ryan, you have worked very hard these past couple years, enjoy your new truck!! XO

We actually met with your financial advisor/planner while Lloyd's looked at our truck to see if it was a good buy.  Makin' a list, Checkin' it TWICE!  Lloyd's gave us the thumbs up, and Gabe gave us the thumbs up, too!  He said we would still be able to retire on time! Woo Hoo! ;D

Lastly, this was just a super cute picture of Daddy and Stephen.  It is from last night (12/5)...

Ryan was looking up cars online and clearly SJ thought it was BoRiNg! haha

Coming home from AZ

This week I am working at Nativity.... Ok, so only 3 hours a day....  but! It has been hard with this going on at home-- (I very much cherish my time at home!!)

While we were in AZ, SJ seemed to be coming down with something.  He had a fever, was a little fussy and wasn't sleeping well.  I took him to the Dr. on Monday morning.  Yep! Double ear infection.  Stephen's first one-
The Dr. thought his lungs seemed "crackly" and he was maybe wheezing.  She did a Whooping cough test and told me to come back in 48 hours if he wasn't better.  We left with a Rx for Omnicef and I was pretty confident we were golden.
Well, I got home and started thinking about how long SJ has had a lingering cough, a low fever.... it has been over 3 weeks!!  EEk, I called the Dr and let her know this.  So, we went back today.
Well, 4 hours, a chest x-ray and lots of meds later.... my little boo is SICK.
He has whooping cough, pneumonia, a fever, double ear infection (which was looking much better today) and teething. 
Stephen is such a trooper!! He is now on Azithromycin and Albuterol (on top of the Omnicef).  :'(  Poor baby. 

SJ doing his Neb tonight before bed- BTW, how cool!? a Tootsie for the baby! Brilliant!!

Thanksgiving in Arizona!!!

We had such a great time!!!!!!!   ......We are Thankful!

On the Airplane at 7am..... Dad and I had pretty much pulled an all nighter... TIRED! :D

We did a great job getting through the airport with two little ones.  My dad dropped us off, we checked our one bag and car seats, used our stroller until we got to the gate.  We had some time to spare once trough security, so we made a pit stop at the Golden Arches-- "yum-yum" if you ask John.  (like father like son...)

The boys did an excellent job on the plane!! I went to the dollar store before we left and spent a small fortune on (trash) toys for John to play with.  Each toy lasted about 30 seconds.... good thing we had tons!  John started melting with 20 minutes until landing.  We rallied and pushed through! :)  Stephen, well, SJ you slept the whole time!! YAY!

After renting our car, we headed to the Phoenix Zoo for lunch and to meet up with our family!  Who came?

Nana Jana, Auntie Lauren, (Great) Aunt Julie, Cousin Chrissy (and her lovely kids) Christian, Isabelle, Katie, and Abby.  We had a great time looking at the animals!!  The weather was perfect for the zoo, about 60 and sunny- bliss!

Gotta love father-son bonding.  LOVE LOVE LOVE it! <3

The Patrick boys!!  Grandpa Steve, Ryan, John and Stephen

(John 23 months, Stephen days short of 6 months)

Ryan and John swimming in the hot tub- Nana Jana warmed it so it would be the perfect temp for John.  Thanks Nana!!!  ;D 

Momma and her crazy kids! It was so much fun to have all that family time- I wouldn't trade it for the world! 

John and Auntie Alana-  Alana flew in on Thanksgiving morning with Steve.  Just in the nick of time! ;)

Auntie Lauren at the zoo with Stephen.  So Happy!!

On Black Friday Ryan and I took the boys to the park.  They both had a lovely time-  John made friends with the other kids there.  They make sand castles, tried out all the slides, and chatted about life! hehe After the park, we went and had lunch at Grimaldi’s in Scottsdale.... Our new favorite!!!!

http://www.grimaldispizzeria.com/

Ryan and SJ at the park.  Watching John play with his new buddy, making "birthday cakes" in the sand.

At the Airport .... time to go home!  :'(  We had so much fun!!!! 

This is what it is ALL about--  John is giving Stephen a hug.  It is so sweet to see them together- John really loves SJ and Stephen loves JR. 

I really didn't take enough pictures!!  I have NONE of Thanksgiving....

Jana and Julie cooked an amazing meal: turkey, rosemary sauteed carrots, garlic mashed potatoes, Julie's famous stuffing, corn, and (to die for) sweet potatoes that Mac and Neil brought. 

Oooohh, how could I forget..... GRAVY!  Yummy!

It was a great meal, fun company and lots of laughs! We have so much to be thankful for- we are a blessed family. :)

On Saturday, the Beach family, cousin Lisa, Aunt Jackie and cousin Willie came over to the house to swim and hang out.  We had a homemade pizza lunch, the kids swam and the adults chatted.  It was wonderful to get to catch up with our AZ rellies! :D  We miss you here in MN!! XO

Thank you Steve and Jana for making it possible for us to come to AZ.  We had such a great time- it had been a loooong time since Ryan had been on vacation.  We loved it!

Some of Stephen's highlights:

He ROLLED OVER!!!  from back to front!  Yay! (Saturday, 11/27)

He also is cutting his bottom 2 front teeth.

John's new words:

Yellow

Blue

Alana

Neil

Please

Bubble

(and now I'm drawing a blank on others he said....oops)

I know I'm missing a lot..... I will update as I remember more.  My brain is fried tonight!



Ryan's BIG accomplishments !

Can I brag about Ryan!? ....being the proud wife that I am!! :D

Ryan is one determined, hard working, humble dad, husband and employee. 
I can't believe in the past (almost) 3 years all he has accomplished!
The past 7 months he diligently spent every chance he got studying for his CPA exams.  It was a long 5 weeks to wait to hear the news; he passed-  November 12th will always be a date Ryan remembers. :) 
And, Ryan was offered a job with 3M!  He is very excited to start the next chapter in his career life.  His first day will be December 13th-- can't come soon enough!  He will be doing the accountant work for the Display and Graphic division. 

I love you Ryan, you amaze me with all you have accomplished!  It makes it possible for me to be a SAHM- Thank you!

John and Stephen

First I will update you on our little rug-rats! :D

John has more new words!  Today at speech, he said "Bubble" (AAH!) 
And he has been saying:
HI

Bye-Bye

BEE-BEE  (Baby)
Bo-Bo (Broken/hurt)
ahhhhh, (more of a refreshing sound after drinking something, but it means he wants something to drink)
Num-Num (hungry/wants something to eat)
Pop
Choo-Choo (train)
Big (Chris his Speech Therapist says he can say it... I have yet to hear it...!)

John is crazy about Duplo-Lego blocks.  And, he is actually really good at them!  Ryan and I have been impressed at the towers, trains and things he makes, they are quite intricate.  He will sit and play with them for a looong time too! (15min) :)

When I go to get John in the AM, he always asks about "Bee-Bee" right away. And then goes running into SJ's room to find him.  Stephen is the apple of his eye-haha....for now at least!  (Wait until SJ is mobile and wants JR's toys!)  But, for now I am amazed at how sweet they are together.  John is very gentle with SJ, he kisses his forehead and helps me burp him too. 
One morning this week, I was doing laundry- so I was up and down the steps a lot, leaving them on the main floor playing toys.  Every time I came up from the basement, John had been "taking care of SJ" .... One time, SJ was doing tummy-time and has spit up a little on the carpet.  Well, JR to the rescue! He emptied out the entire cupboard of towels and rags.  Everyone last one was in the living room next to SJ and JR was "scrubbing" the spit-up. Might I add, JR was so proud of himself, he was even clapping for himself when I asked him what he was doing. 
4 loads later.... I had been talking to JR about how SJ was feeling a little "chilly-cold" and that I needed to find him a blanket. Well, when I came back from changing the laundry, SJ had a huge heap of hand towels on him.  Again, JR was very proud of himself, and SJ was, well ready for the laundry to be done. 
John really wants a stool for Christmas so he can climb much easier.  He now stacks things to stand on so he can get the "no-nos" off the counter.  ;D  Hopefully Santa won't be falling for his request.
John has a new sneaky smirk.  It is actually so cute!  He looks at us from the corner of his eye- what are we in for!?  He runs away from us when we tell him to come to us, he laughs when he is in trouble... eeek, I sure do love it though! :)
Ohhh, and John's favorite foods are the Pillsbury crescent rolls!

Stephen is getting his to bottom teeth!!!!  They are just about to break through! I am so sad that his drooly, gummy smile and red cheeks will be gone in a matter of no time.  It is heart breaking that these babies grow up so fast.  I have to admit though, teeth are giving me a lot of anxiety.... I am really hoping that his biting doesn't continue.  SJ bites me all the time, and I really want to nurse his until he is at least a year. Sigh, teeth.... 
Stephen has been getting solids too.  I wasn't sure if he was hungry or his teeth were hurting because he was grabbing at everything to get it in his mouth.  Really, I think it is a little of both. 
To date, Stephen has had:
Peas, potatoes, prunes, carrots, apples, pineapples and bananas.
He doesn't care for the rice cereal, but likes everything else I have offered.  I love kids that aren't picky eaters! I don't think I will have to worry about Stephen!
He has been doing tons-o-tummy-time.  He really likes to be in the middle of what John is doing.  This way he watches John's every move.  I have even caught him a couple times pushed up on straight arms! Yikes! I am not ready for crawling.  Stephen is a strong boy, a happy strong boy. 
Stephen is mostly sleeping through the night.  If we put him in his swing he will almost sleep until 5 am.  If he co-sleeps or sleeps in his crib (well, he doesn't sleep in his crib) he is up at least 4-5 times.  So, the swing wins!! He is following in John's foot steps....
Stephen is a very mellow baby.  He will just lay and watch, so long as people are paying attention to him.  As soon as I walk away, he screams.  My baby, spoiled?! Ya think??! :D

John blowing out my birthday candles.  My parents brought over these chocolate cupcakes- what a nice surprise!!  John loved blowing out the candles.... he thought he was the one blowing them out, but really Ryan was blowing from a distance.  What a proud little boy! :)

Stephen Joseph looking up to his Papa Joe! 

John playing hide-and-seek with Grandma Mitty.  So sweet! Grandma was hiding in the little tent.

Ryan and I took the boys to the Children's Museum on November 13th.  We strated out by splitting up- I took SJ to the Habitot Room, and Ryan took JR to the Earth Room.  It is so great to have one-on-one time!

This is John playing in the water area-it was a good thing we had a change of clothes!!  He was soaked!!

Stephen in the Habitot Room.  There were WAY too many kids there!!  We only lasted a little bit.

Mommy and John! XXOO

Lots to update about!

Check back!

I am so tired tonight, and SJ just can't seem to relax enough to sleep.  It looks like I will have to snuggle him up! :)  Good night all....  Big news to come! I keep meaning to update, but it just has not gotten done- sorry!

**Hint: Ryan has three new letters at the end of his name to smile about!!!! eeek!