A great time

Maira and I went cross country skiing last Sunday and we had a really fun time! It was a little cold at the start but it really was a beautiful day. The trails had just been groomed so the conditions were perfect. Brian also joined us and left us in the dust several times...boy, is he fast!
We were only able to get one picture before the battery died but oh well! Thanks for a fun day!

Christmas night

Ryan and Uncle Brian

Grandpa and Ann


Auntie Maira, Auntie Megan, and Paul

We had Christmas dinner at my dad's house where Paul got to play with Auntie Maira and Megan...I have to say he was pretty crabby and overstimulated from all the previous celebrations by this point but he did okay. We had a nice steak dinner and opened a few presents. Ryan took Paul home early and I stayed to play a fun dice game with the rest of the clan. It was a great ending to the Christmas celebrations!

Grandpa got Paul some play food and of course he had to point out that he was able to find "Healthy" play food...lots of the fake boxes/cans said organic and totally natural but yet the set included an eclair, french fries, and potato chips. Go figure!

Playing outside...finally!

Friday was finally a nice day and Ryan and I both took the day off from work to stay home with Paul. I'm so glad the temperatures cooperated because it feels like we haven't been outside to play for a LONG time! We bundled Paul up and took him for a sled ride which although it doesn't look like it in the pictures, he really did enjoy! It felt so good to get out of the house and enjoy some fresh air.

P.S. I did some major blogging tonight so keep scrolling down so you don't miss anything!!

Auntie Laura and Uncle Shane

Laura and Shane came from South Dakota for the holidays...we were so excited to see them! We hadn't seen them since June and also because Laura is expecting a baby in April! She looked great and we're so excited for them and can't wait til the new baby arrives. Here's a few pictures of the parents-to-be:

Christmas morning!

We decided to spend Christmas morning at our house because we didn't have to be anywhere until dinnertime. We had a really relaxing morning which was nice...Ryan made a great egg bake and we let Paul open a few small gifts that we had bought as well as a few items in his stocking. He still was enjoying the "gift thing" and he really liked the kitchen my sisters had sent!

It was really fun to watch Paul get so excited about his presents and I'm looking forward to many more years of fun!

Christmas Eve night

After enjoying all the appetizers (which were all so good!), we moved onto opening presents which Paul enjoyed as much as he did on his birthday! We all got such wonderful gifts...Ryan got a new shotgun and an air compressor while I got a couple pieces of great jewelry as well as a gift certificate to the new pilates/yoga center in town.

One funny moment was when Paul opened a John Deere digger which came in a box that advertised the other tractors/etc. that you could buy and he kept pointing at those other machines saying "open, open". As you can see in the picture with Bob, Paul looks more interested in the box than the actual digger! We had another really fun night with laughs and great gifts! Thanks everyone!

Christmas Eve day

We celebrated Christmas Eve at Bob and Diane's...I had to work most of the day but Ryan snapped these cute pictures during the day. Paul was able to play with Auntie Laura and Uncle Shane as well as Auntie Marissa. Shane took Paul for a sled ride while wearing his snowshoes but we didn't get a chance to snap any pictures of that fun activity!

Diane and crew always have a great assortment of appetizers at their house on Christmas Eve and this year was no exception. There were so many great choices and it's so hard to keep out of them! Diane has a large box filled with Christmas hats and Paul got a chance to try on a few...I was so glad Ryan took these pictures while I was gone because they turned out really cute!

Birthday Boy!

Last Tuesday we celebrated Paul's 2nd birthday at Bob and Diane's. Diane made a GREAT spaghetti dinner which everyone really loved...especially Paul! She also made a really cute truck cake which turned out awesome. Paul "helped" Diane frost the cake a few days before the party and really enjoyed the picture of the cake pattern. Auntie Laura made an organic yellow cake with chocolate frosting which was also a huge hit. Paul started out by tentatively putting his finger in the frosting and then shoved the whole piece in his mouth!

After dinner, I asked Paul if he was ready to open presents and he hopped off his chair to run to the pile of gifts and started ripping at the paper. It was really funny! He got great gifts from everyone and really enjoyed each one. We had such a nice party...Paul was in a great mood and all the adults enjoyed laughs and fun conversation. Thanks to everyone for such a super night!

More pictures from Grammy's visit

Visit from Grammy!

My mom and Lynne were planning to come for the entire weekend but the horrible weather cut the trip short which was a bummer but I was glad they made it home safely on Saturday night.
We still had a great visit despite the weather and the fact that Paul had thrown up everywhere at L&M just hours before they arrived. He was pretty crabby most of Friday night but was in pretty good spirits on Saturday.
He received such wonderful toys, books, and clothes...thank you! He LOVES the Caterpillar truck which moves forward/backward and makes cool noises. My mom also got him a neat table and chairs from IKEA which will be just perfect for him. I can already picture him sitting at it working away on puzzles or projects. Or maybe trying to climb on it???
My mom took really great pictures with her new camera which was so impressive so the few pictures I posted were ones she took. I will be posting more because the blog only let me post five. We're looking forward to the next visit when conditions are better! We still managed to have great time though!

Like father, like son

Ryan was chosen to be the godparent of a good friend's new baby and the baptism was yesterday. I had dressed Paul first in his new dress shirt and Ryan ran to the closet to get his matching shirt! I didn't realize Ryan had such a similar shirt...they looked pretty cute together!

Visits from family

We were able to have great visits with family and friends during Thanksgiving weekend. Molly and Bob came over for dinner and we had a fun visit. Paul wasn't really in the "socializing" mood but he did do a few dances for them and show off a few of his toys...he did go to bed early and the adults had a really nice visit!

Maira, Brian, and Brian's mom, Toni, came for a visit as well but unfortunately I didn't have my camera so I don't have any pictures. Paul was really into clomping around in other people's shoes which was pretty funny. We had a great time!

Finally, Mark, Tonja, and Anthony came over last Sunday for a short visit before they headed back to Becker. Paul is definitely in the beginning stages of learning how to share but they did pretty well together. Near the end of the visit, (after some toy squabbles), they were kind of playing "together" with Anthony marching around after Paul who was marching around in someone else's boots. Pretty cute! Looking forward to the next visit!