Big Snow!

We have been very fortunate in WI this winter, we have not had a huge snowfall. We keep seeing New Jersey and the New England area get hit with storm after storm. It brings back memories of the year I lived in New Jersey and we got so much ice once we could go ice skating in the streets. We were off of school for a week because of that storm.

That was until last week....it was our turn for a blizzard. Chicago got a ton and we got a good amount. I hope everyone enjoys the fun snow pictures of the boys enjoying the cool temps and the fun snow. Since the groundhog did not see his shadow, I sure hope spring is on its way.

2 Months and Counting

It is hard to believe that Drew is over 2 months. Our Chunky Monkey is growing like crazy and becoming more and more alert. We even started putting him in the exasaucer since his head control is so strong.

Shawn

As many of you have heard by now, Shawn had surgery the other day. He had his tonsils and adenoids removed as well as tubes put in his ears. The whole procedure was done in less than 40 minutes. He did great! He went back into the surgery smiling at the nurse and they said he did everything they needed him to do without getting upset. He was put under for the procedure. He was quite groggy when he woke up but once they got some pain meds on board he took a long nap in the day surgery recovery. He then woke excited to watch TV and even chose to watch a couple shows before going home.

It is now two days after the surgery and he continues to do great. We are not giving him pain meds that often and he doesn't appear to be in much pain. He has been trying not to talk to much, we are assuming it is very sore in his throat. Both Micah and I are noticing a change in his voice and he seems to be hearing much better!

My mom came down for the surgery to watch the other two boys while both Micah and I were with Shawn. Both Drew and Collin enjoyed having Grams around. She heads home tomorrow and Micah is off to work on Monday so hopefully it won't go downhill as it is back to just me with the boys during the day. Shawn has to drink a ton of fluids during the day and rest for the rest of the week. Hopefully he won't get sick of tv by the end of it, but who would get sick of watching tv.

Memories

Grandma and Granpa with Collin and Shawn in April 2009

Today I lost someone very close to me. My grandmother, Elizabeth Bacus. A Cubs fan, a mother, a christian, a grandmother, a genealogist, a great grandmother and so much more. She was truly a woman who will be missed by all of her family and all of her friends. She was someone I admired and loved greatly. I took a second this afternoon to write this to help me remember the joy she brought to our lives.

As the mourning process begins, several memories pop to my mind about her life that left an imprint on mine. Most of the memories are meaningless to others, but to me they are special moments I can cherish as she leaves us and goes on to a life in heaven.

One memory to share, that many of us grandchildren may share, is decorating cookies with Grandma. When I was very young (around 5) I remember going to Grandma's house and decorating cookies. Now, when I say decorating, Grandma had the works to do it; different colored frosting, sprinkles or anything else you can think of. I always think of this when we make decorated cookies at home. This past July, our family traveled to Florida to see my grandparents and enjoy the beach (something I am so glad we were able to do). Grandma had all the things for Collin and Shawn to decorate cookies for the Fourth of July (Micah and I also were able to decorate cookies as well). This may be a little thing that I hold on to about my grandmother but it is something that reminds me of the little things having the most meaning to us as we move forward in our lives without her.

Grandma, we love you and will all miss you.

July 2010

July 2010

Grandma and Shawn October 2006

Grandma and Collin February 2005

(This is one of my favorite pictures of Grandma - it was so funny at the moment I took it)

Christmas at Home

After spending a few days up at my parents, we headed home to see if Santa came! (Thanks Aunt Susie for the traveling over Christmas idea) Since we were gone Christmas morning the kids were excited to find that Santa came to our house while we were away. Both Collin and Shawn were so excited to walk into a tree surrounded by presents. They both loved opening up them all and playing with them.

This may be surprising, but the first thing they had opened and played with were play dough sets. Both Collin and Shawn love to play with play dough and with two new "sets" they had a blast while we unpacked the car.

Drew mostly slept through all of it. Later on he unwrapped his presents. His favorite was the Glow Worm.

First Christmas Celebration

We started off Christmas with spending time with my family up at my parents home. The boys had a blast playing with their cousins and eating LOTS OF FOOD! If you are a relative on my side you know that family functions tend to revolve around food and this one was no different. My mom out did herself with all the appetizers on Christmas Eve. The boys were most excited to have time playing with Brooke and Kyle. They love spending time with their cousins and we even made it sleeding on Christmas day with them. I have to say, Brooke (the youngest of the 4 who went sledding) stayed at her full strength the longest and smiled the most of any of them. So what if she couldn't reach the handles on the sled, it didn't stop her from saying "Push me" everytime she made it up the hill.

We also were fortunate enough to see Uncle Keith who lives out of the area. I tried to make him enjoy the baby stage of Drew so he fed Drew a bottle and held him when he was fussy. I couldn't get him to change his diaper, maybe next visit.

We all enjoyed our trip and had a great time seeing family.

A Very Busy Holiday

Here are a few group pictures, posts to come on all the different Xmas celebrations.

I thought we would have a nice quiet holiday, seeing families and relaxing. It was anything but relaxing as we got home yesturday afternoon and no one woke up until 7:30 this morning, we usually are up by 7.