O' Christmas Tree

Last Saturday we headed out to Clear Lake to the Petersen Tree Farm to pick out our "Glur Family Christmas Tree" for 2010. We had a great time! We decided that this year we would get a tall, skinny tree and that we would try a fir tree instead of our usual Scotch Pine.

Here's the one we picked:

We ended up with a 11 foot tall Fraser Fir tree that looks absolutely gorgeous in our front formal living room. (More pictures to come later of the finished product!)

After getting the tree shaken, bailed, and tied down to the top of the Suburban, Landon decided that he wanted to go for a ride on the "tractor." They had a hayride going out into the tree fields so we did one loop around the farm.

Here's the Suburban with the massive tree tied to the top!

Backtracking just a bit... We spent Thanksgiving Day with the Hegle's at Lorie and Tim's house in Annandale. It was so fun to see all the kiddos playing together. It's a lot louder and more chaotic than it ever used to be, that's for sure! Addison had fun "playing" with my cousin Elin.

We got together after church with the Fouquette side of my family on Sunday. We went to Waterfront for lunch and watched the first half of the Vikes game with the Crazy Waterfront Vikings Fan Club.

We have sooooo much to be thankful for this year...

our two beautiful, healthy children whom we love dearly and cherish every day

our awesome house that we have finally furnished

our supportive families who have helped us out in numerous ways this year

our jobs that keep us busy and food on the table

our friends, near and far

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Landon's Message from Santa...

So cute! You've got to see the message Santa left for Landon!

http://www.portablenorthpole.tv/watch/guest/-gH91gi9Tpn9bJpHmCLerg

(You should have seen his eyes light up when Santa said his name...priceless!)

Addison's 4 Month Dr. Appt. and other misc...

Well, first off... my lawyer husband Darren made me remove the naked baby pictures. I told him that I'm just "a mom trying to show off some cute naked pictures of my babies." His response? "I've seen one too many lawyer shows where this happens and it gets turned into a child pornography case."

So, I have more cuteness to share...fully clothed!

I was doing some things in the kitchen the other day when I heard Addison cooing away and so I peeked down the railing and this is what I saw:

Landon absolutely LOVES his baby sister and she adores him back. I am enjoying this affection for each other while it lasts.

Last Saturday Landon and I baked some cookies together. He needed an apron just like Mommy, so we rigged one up. He was such a good little helper! The cookies turned out yummy and Landon even took some to daycare to share with his friends.

We got our first taste of snow last weekend as well. By the time Landon got all the gear on, he wasn't quite so thrilled about it. He did have fun playing outside with Daddy and helping shovel the driveway.


Addison had her 4 month doctor appointment with Dr. Fandel on Thursday. Here are her stats:

Height.....25 inches.....83rd percentile
Weight.....15 lbs. 3 oz......87th percentile
Head.....41 3/4 cm.....77th percentile

She is doing so well! Dr. Fandel continues to be super impressed by her social behaviors! She got two shots and one oral vaccine and only cried for a few seconds. What a little trooper! She gave us the okay to try solids whenever we are ready and of course I couldn't wait...so we tried the plain rice cereal last night for the first time.
She didn't quite know what to think and spit most of it back out. We'll keep trying once per day until she gets the hang of it.
She is also rolling over from her tummy to her back and is sooooo close to rolling from back to tummy. That darn arm just gets in the way! She is super talkative and loves loves loves to be held all the time still. She is such an affectionate baby and has a smile that could melt any heart. I am picturing her being our little socialite/cheerleader/prom queen/diva already!

A few side notes to share:

My team-teaching partner Carissa gave birth to her sweet little boy Cohen John on Tuesday morning. He is such a cute little pumpkin with perfect little features and lots of hair. He arrived ten days early and healthy as can be. I am super thrilled for her!

I survived this week of parent-teacher conferences! It gets to be a veryyyyyy long week with 32 conferences to squeeze in, but Carissa's sub (Nancy) and I made it through. I am looking forward to the short week and a wonderful Thanksgiving with family!

Darren is back in the swing of reffing again. He loves it and we really enjoy the extra cash with the holidays coming up. He is still enjoying his job and we are thankful every day that he is closer to home and appreciated for what he does.

Besides that, we are just gearing up for a busy couple of weekends with weddings and going to Fargo for Glur Family Christmas. I'm sure we'll have lots of pictures to share!

Take care!

Three Days of Halloween Fun!

We had quite the busy Halloween weekend...

Friday:

The kids had a Halloween party at Jenny's complete with games, costumes, and a lunch of "Mummy Meatloaf!" After work I picked them up and we headed straight to Annandale to my mom and dad's house. Addison got to stay home with Grandma Rita while I took Landon trick-or-treating to the Annandale businesses with Auntie Ashley, Uncle Loren, and Jackson aka Obie Wan Kenobi! It took Landon awhile to get the hang of trick-or-treating and to figure out why people were giving him candy. He was quite amusing! Stubborn as ever though, not wanting to hold my hand or be carried.

Saturday:

We met up with the Grossman's for lunch at BJ's Deli and then hit the streets of Buffalo for their business trick-or-treating. There were tons of people and Landon didn't quite get the hang of having to wait in line.

Sunday:

We started our day with pumpkin carving. Landon didn't quite know what to think of sticking his hand in the pumpkins. He would rather just watch! Daddy carved a MN Twins pumpkin and Mommy carved a skeleton head. For dinner we got a Papa Johns jack-o-lantern pizza and it was YUMMY! After dinner we got the kids in costume and did a little trick-or-treating in our neighborhood. We had 135 plus kids come to our door this year and handed out lots of candy while greeting all of our guests with the scary skeleton head that Darren's dad lent us for the night. It was quite the hit!

(I love love love this picture of the kiddos! Landon is sporting the pumpkin hat that was knit by one of my student's moms from last year and Addison is wearing a handmade hair bow made by my friend Mandi who has a shop called Lil Curl Bow-tique on etsy.com.)

I hope everyone had a great Halloween! Can't wait for next year! Holidays are so much more fun with kids to share them with.

Playmates Already

Landon is already being a great big brother and sharing his toys with his little sister!

Doesn't she look just thrilled to have a lap full of cars to play with?

Swimming Lessons for Landon

Landon has been taking Parent/Child swimming lessons through Buffalo Community Ed. He has been doing great! They have been just getting used to being in the water by playing games, singing songs, blowing bubbles, and playing with toys.

Darren has been going to class with Landon as I don't even own a one-piece swimsuit and I don't see myself going anywhere in public in a bikini anytime soon!

(The pool area is quite steamy and fogs up my camera lens rather quickly!)

Apple Jacks and other misc...

For anyone who has never been to Apple Jacks Orchard in Delano, you have got to go! What a fun place. Landon had a blast riding a pony, seeing roosters, goats, turkeys, and chickens. We also ate lots of yummy food (cider brats, pulled pork sandwich, apple dumpling a la mode, apple spice cupcake, and apple slush), rode the cow train, and had fun rolling down the hills by the river. They also had live music, pumpkins galore, and a corn maze that we'll save for next time. The only downside...everyone and their brother was there today due to the nice weather. What a beautiful day!

I just can't get enough of Addison's smiles lately! She is quite the flirt and loves to get my attention and coo at me. How C-U-T-E is she???

We had the privilege of watching Jackson for a few days while Loren and Ashley are in Jamaica on their honeymoon. This picture sums it up...

Addison on the left just hanging out with the boys.

Landon in the middle just adoring his big cousin Jackson.

And Jackson on the right being a big goof!

I just had to add this picture...

Addison is getting stronger by the day! She surprised me by holding her head up really high for a great picture!