Christmas Days

We had a very nice Christmas week. On Christmas Eve morning, the girls opened their stockings that had been filled with gifts from Santa. Then we drove up to my parent's house. All of the girls' cousins were there, so it was fun to see all of the kids. My parents & all three of my sisters were there as well. All of the kids managed to nap, and then we went to church together at 4:00. When we got home from church, we all assembled at my Mom & Dad's big dining room table and read the Christmas story. Then we had a delicious meal, prepared by my sister Rhonda. We made the older grandchildren sing a few Christmas songs before opening presents, which was a tradition when I was little. Olivia & Violet didn't have too much interest in tearing off the wrapping paper, but they sure liked to see what was inside. They received very nice gifts, and then it was off to bed at 8:00. The adults exchanged gifts at that time, and then we spent the rest of the evening just relaxing & hanging out together. We also spent Christmas Day at my parent's house. Santa had made a visit overnight, so all of the kids had a gift from Santa to open. Otherwise it was a very low-key and relaxing day, the girls didn't even get changed out of their pajamas.

On Friday morning, we headed over to the Suchy household. Jamie made venison sausage all day with his Dad, brother and nephew while the girls and I hung out in the house. The sausage turned out awesome, it is so tasty. We celebrated Christmas with the Suchy family on Saturday. We had a very delicious meal at noon, then the girls opened their gifts before taking a nap at 1:30. They received many wonderful gifts! We are lucky to have such generous families. After the girls went down for a nap, the adults opened gifts and then we played some games. It was a very enjoyable day.

We drove home Sunday morning. The girls were so used to being held & being constantly played with that we had our hands full. They expected the constant attention to continue. So I didn't get all of our unpacking done...oh well.

Hope you had a great Christmas!

Olivia & Violet, Thronson Christmas:

Entire Thronson Family:

Thronson Grandkids:
Evan (18 months), Olivia (1), Emma (3), Maya (5), Violet (1), Alex (2 1/2)

Family Picture, Suchy Christmas:

Olivia & Violet, Suchy Christmas: Santa Babies, Suchy Christmas:

Olivia & Violet with Grandpa & Grandma Suchy, and cousins Chelsey & Nicholas:

Long Days!

The last few days have been extremely long ones. Both girls have been very crabby since last Saturday. We have been pulling our hair out! Luckily my sister Terri & her husband Aaron have been around to help us out, and to give us a break when we need it. They have been visiting from Madison, WI and have been staying with us. It has been very nice to have them around. They brought their golden retriever Brinkley, who the girls love. They have been hugging and petting him pretty much nonstop.

We attempted to visit some friends of ours, Todd & Colleen, last Saturday. We brought the girls with and they were not cooperative. Todd & Colleen made a delicious meal, which we could barely enjoy because we were too busy trying to keep the girls from crying. They kept clinging to our legs at the dinner table. If Todd & Colleen were ever thinking about having kids, I think our girls certainly made them decide not to!! :) We did have a nice visit though, and we certainly appreciate their patience and hospitality.

Sunday was not much better. Yesterday we finally brought them into the doctor. Olivia was checked first. She had a little bit of fluid in her right ear, but otherwise was fine except for a cold. Violet ended up having a chest xray. Daddy went with her for the xray while Olivia & I waited in the treatment room. Daddy said they put Violet in an enclosed cylinder, and made her put her arms straight up in the air. Needless to say, she did not like it. There was some blockage on one side of her lungs, so she was diagnosed with possible pneumonia. Poor girl! She was put on an antibiotic. We're hoping their moods improve soon or we might go crazy. :) Poor Daddy has been staying home with them the last two days, while I have been at work. He is on vacation from work all week, and I don't think taking care of crabby children was what he had in mind for his time off. I certainly appreciate his efforts, I know it's not easy to stay home with crabby kids.

Unfortunately they are also getting over a case of pink eye. On Saturday, December 13, I baked Christmas cookies all day with Jamie's aunt Debbie, cousin Kari, cousin-in-law Nicole, and Nicole's mom Diane. We had a blast hanging out together. We shared a lot of laughs and we ended up with so many yummy cookies....what a great combination! When I got home in the late afternoon, Violet looked pretty rough so I took her to the doctor. Yep...pink eye. So we had to wrestle them with putting drops in their eyes three times a day, for almost a week. Fun!

It hasn't been all bad though. Olivia has been taking more steps on her own. She will go about 10 to 15 steps at a time now. Violet has shown a lot more interest in trying to walk. She will attempt to let go of a toy and walk to us, although she usually needs help with her balance.

We exchanged Christmas gifts on Sunday with the girls. They had more interest in playing with the wrapping paper than opening the gift. We gave them each a pink trike that they can use next summer. The girls got me some really beautiful earrings with their birthstone color in them, so I can think of the girls when I wear them. The girls got Daddy a wool coat (pretty boring - but he needed it)! We look forward to traveling to our parents tomorrow morning and spending Christmas with our families.

Merry Christmas!!

Crazy Weekend

We had an extremely busy weekend....but a fun one too! On Friday night, Jamie & I actually went out to supper with his teaching supervisor and wife. It was fun to have a night out. We went out to eat downtown, it took me 90 minutes to make the 10-mile drive...but other than that it was a pleasant evening. Jamie's Aunt Debbie & Uncle Al babysat the girls. Everything went well I guess, except Violet didn't want to go to sleep right away.

Saturday morning, we drove up north for the extended Suchy Family Christmas Party. Most of Jamie's aunts and uncles were there, but not many of Jamie's cousins made it. It was fun though, and nice to visit with everyone. Santa made an appearance with gifts for the kids. We thought our girls would cry for sure...but neither of them did. They both sat on Santa's lap and just stared at him.

Sunday morning, we stopped by Janell & Luke's new house since we hadn't been there yet. They have a very nice place and it is decorated so cute for the holidays. Then we headed to the extended Pomeranz Family Christmas Party (Jamie's Mom's side). Almost all aunts, uncles and cousins were there so it was fun to catch up. Santa made another appearance...boy, he sure makes the rounds! Again, the girls did not cry, but they didn't really smile either. Santa tried to tickle Olivia with his beard, which she did not like at all. Otherwise they were happy to go up to Santa and get their Christmas gifts, and they both actually got into ripping off the wrapping paper. Then we made the drive back home! We were very pooped out by the time we got home. The girls went to bed an hour early because they were extremely tired, which meant they were up early Monday morning. Ewww.

News we haven't posted yet...my sister Nikki & her husband Brian are expecting a child in June!! This will be their fourth. Congratulations!! We are excited for all of the family babies.

A few updates on the homefront...Olivia has been getting better at taking a few steps on her own, but she still crawls if she has to go more than a few feet. Violet has no interest in walking on her own yet. We have been working on some sign language with both of them. They both sign "all done" when they are finished eating, and last night Olivia signed "more" while she was eating. We'll see if they catch on to any others. Olivia's latest love has been looking at books. We have a farm book that she absolutely loves to look at. We have read it to her probably a hundred times, but she never gets tired of it. She'll sit on our lap while we read it, then when we get to the end and close the last page, she will grab it and hand it to you to read again.

Here are a few pictures from the weekend.

Violet & Olivia on Santa's lap with Jamie's cousin's twin boys, at the Suchy party:

Violet with Santa at the Pomeranz party:

Olivia with Santa at the Pomeranz party, right before he tickled her with his whiskers:

All of the kids at the Pomeranz party: