2006-12-31 Michelle's update

Hi Everyone,

I have a LOT of pictures this time. We've been doing a lot even though we have been stuck at home thanks to our third blizzard. I think this one tops the rest. Hans got Friday off of work, so that was nice. He's had three snow days so this Christmas holiday has seemed much longer then the one day he was supposed to get. We were able to get out to walmart yesterday, but they were out of eggs and milk so no baking for us. We did buy some oreos to tide us over:) Our neighborhood is a maze of tunnels. Katelyn and Ashley think it is the neatest thing ever. They giggle everytime we drive in them outside. I wonder if 3 blizzards in one year is normal? I know now to stock up on eggs and milk from walmart early. Anyway, it's been fun. Today is really sunny, but freezing so there is no sign of any pavement yet. The tunnels through the neighborhood are higher then the minivan. Quite exciting. Since we were stuck inside we finally organized the basement and cleaned it out down there. I moved most of the toys down there so that when friends come over they can destroy it down there rather then having two levels to clean up. It's nice. The girls will actually go down and play now that it smells and feels clean and not so dusty. It was a lot of work. We have bikes down there and such. It's fun.

Hans and I celebrated our 6th anniversary. It seems crazy we've been married for that long. I think it's amazing we are still mostly happily married considering all we've done in these 6 years. I am assuming life will settle down somewhat? We certainly can't keep this up! We've moved 4 times. I've been pregnant for 2 yrs and 3 months and nursing for exactly 2 years. We've been in school for 5 1/2 years and both graduated - Hans twice and me once. We've been blessed.

Justin turned 9 months old on the 21st. He's growing up too fast. I want him to stay small. No such luck. He is 19 pounds (he's lost weight since he was 6 months old) and 28 1/2 inches tall. He is just below the 50 % for both height and weight. Very average. He definately looks slimmer since he started crawling around so much. He is extremely fast and he's figured out stairs so we now have gates. He fell down them once, but luckily it was only 2 stairs. He likes to yell now. It makes him giggle to do it. Especially if someone yells back. He is on a fairly predictable sleep schedule. He is up for 3-4 hours, takes a 1-2 hr nap, is up for 3 more hours thens sleeps 2 hours, then is up 3-4 hours and goes to bed. He is still up twice a night. He is currently on antibiotics for ear infections in both ears and is getting his other top two teeth putting the total to 8 teeth. He won't eat baby food, on principle I think. I've fed him spaghetti and other things this week and he loves it. We've switched to just real food, minus dairy and eggs. I'll wait until he's 1. He still nurses most the time. I'm impressed if you are still reading all this about Justin. This is so I have it in writing for my journal:) Justin is such a cute boy. His eyes are still true blue, although the girls eyes were still blue at 9 months and theirs turned green later on. He is my blondest baby at this age. He can stand unsupported for a really long time now and takes steps between the furniture. It won't be too long. I hope it is awhile. I'm not ready for him to be walking. He loves to play the piano, type on the keyboard, and eat.

Ashley and Katelyn are well. Christmas was very exciting. Baby Alive for Ashley is SO much fun. She feeds her and changes her diapers very well. I ended up buying preemie diapers for her baby since they are cheaper and Ashley does such a great job. She does it all herself and feels independent. She even cleans up the dishes and wipes Justin's highchair down. Now we have an extra baby to feed at meal times, but it's been worth it. What a great buy. Katelyn loves her doll as well and I'm grateful her doll doesn't eat and poop. Katelyn now has three dolls that travel with us everywhere. Katelyn had a nightmare a few nights ago when she just started yelling in the middle night "I want sumping good!" over and over. Hans went to lay by her, but she fell back asleep. I wonder what she was dreaming about. Some other fun Katelyn sayings - "Mom, do you want the door shut or compromised?" or when she is wearing her dress up shoes, "Look! I have heels-up shoes like you mom." Very cute. I love watching them run around in their "ballet suits" and dance while they watch the barbie movies. They have been great with all the organizing of the basement. They love doing that stuff and finding more of their toys. They are cute.

Well, enjoy the pictures,

Love, Michelle