Christmas 2013

There were many firsts on this Christmas 2013. We'll start off with the most important: Lincoln's first Christmas. 

He was dressed up in an adorable cream sweater with trim to match his sister's dresses. He slept through a lot of things, but sadly was overstimulated by the hub-bub of presents and a packed church later that evening. 

Thankfully we got in a quick family picture when he was still in a good mood. Our first family picture in front of a new tree location in this house. Ryan made a good point at the end of November that our tree should go in the family room by the fire place instead of the traditional location in the living room (that we rarely use anyway). It proved to be the PERFECT spot. We enjoyed that tree to the fullest! 

Shane met Lincoln for the first time and agreed that he is one. BIG. boy. 

Instead of traveling for Christmas this year, we made a family decision some time ago that it would be good to stay home. In previous years, we had to celebrate our own Christmas before the big day which meant Santa came early. You would think most kids would love that....well, not ours (and I'm actually finding this to be true with other kids too). Last year, with tears in her eyes, Regan asked if Santa could come ON Christmas day. We couldn't resist her pleas and decided to stay put. In doing so, both sets of grandparents picked a day and came up to celebrate with us.
So on Christmas eve, it was the Friederich side:   

Before bed on Christmas eve, the girls said "good bye" to our lovely Elf, Ellie. 

More tears. 

Poor Regan loves this elf. And in true Regan fashion, she whipped up some real tears and sobbed herself to sleep. It was wildly sad. 

The next morning, as the girls raced to the tree, they found oodles of presents, along with this note. 

Together we read Ellie's note. Regan started and after the first sentence, threw herself on the bed, covered her eyes and sobbed. Poor thing. She really loves Ellie. He ranks right up there with Santa. 

Nothing like some presents to make her feel happy again though! Ryan and I looked at the tree and agreed that Santa sure brought a lot of presents. 

The girls were over the moon excited. Gift after gift, they would scream and remind us that they had told Santa to buy ____ (fill in the blank). Regan scored big with a dog...don't worry, it's a toy. Zoomer the dog doesn't keep much of a charge, but it's learning tricks and is pretty fun. 

Sidney adores her baby monkey, another toy. She's named her Bananas and it has taken over all of Lincoln's baby gear. Currently Bananas is hanging out in his swing taking a nap. But soon she will wake up, need a diaper change, a bottle and want to play. She makes all sorts of noises too. 

Oh and there's a Doc McStuffins check up center, Barbie camper, Lite Brix and more. 

 Later on Christmas day, we were joined by my parents for Christmas dinner and more presents. Lincoln slept most of the day away while the girls opened his gifts. Regan was introduced to Christmas Story and learned that it replays over and over throughout the day so whatever she missed the first time, she was sure to see later (this happens to be one of my all time favorite movies). 

We have to agree, it was an incredibly Merry Christmas 2013. We are so thankful for health and happiness and feel blessed to have a new baby boy in our lives. 

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas! 

Reading with Regan

When Lincoln was born,  Regan's teacher and principal both commented (to her) how important it was to read to him. Regan has taken this job seriously as of late and enjoys this special time with Lincoln. This night, as she read to him, he just stared at her in awe. So very sweet :)  

Merry Christmas

Don't let the picture fool you, they aren't always this sweet to each other :) 

It's the holiday season

I haven't been too terribly excited about the holidays coming up; and it's only because it means that I'm one day closer to going back to work. And I'm going to miss my munchkins everyday!

However, last week we started some preparations, which included a little photo shoot with the Santa hat :) 

The girls and I made up a cute candy sleigh with a gift card attached for each of their teachers. I'm telling you, what did I do before Pinterest?! 

(Ryan has been saying the same thing lately...only his reasons are all food related. Wow, we LOVE Pinterest!)

And I decked out Lincoln in one of his Santa outfits. He wore the other one later in the week but peed all over it before I snapped a picture. Just another day in paradise!

Deep down, I join the girls in their excitement for the holiday season which surrounds us :) 

Lincoln professional pictures

When Lincoln was just 5 days old, we had his pictures taken by a wonderful photographer. (click the link to see her website). She is patient and amazing at photographing newborns! 

Enjoy....

And thanks to the talented Danielle for an adorable hat she custom made! (click the link to visit her Etsy shop). 

A little love

I think it's safe to say she loves her brother...

and I love that she is home with me so much right now so we can all love up on each other. 

LIncoln lately

Uncle Shane sent this size 6 month onsie to Lincoln at birth. Only fitting from Shane :) But who knew our 7 week old baby would be fit into 6 month clothing! It fits him perfectly, both in size and in the phrase. 

Lincoln is our amazing eater. He will feed whenever and wherever. Just give him food :) 

It's so strange to think he is the exact size, in height and weight, as Sidney was when she was 6 months old! Unreal. The difference is he is still only 7 weeks old, which means he is 15 lbs of flimsy head, frog legged, snuggly baby. We love every ounce. 

As for everything else....

He sleeps from ~10pm-5 or 6am and then goes back to sleep after eating. He continues to love his bath times which is great because lately, I'm bathing him close to everyday. Lincoln spits up 24 hours/day. And I mean 24 hours. Yes, in his sleep too. It is constant. Generally it doesn't bother him, which is good. And we are all too familiar with a spitting baby seeing as though both of the girls were also labeled "spitters". He also loves looking at lights, mostly those in lamps and on the ceiling, but also enjoys staring at light up toys which makes the girls really happy because they want to play toys with him. Ryan will tell you that Lincoln's favorite person is me, and I have to agree. Generally speaking, he will calm right down out of a crying fit if passed to me. Sadly, this has led Ryan, Regan and Sidney to some frustration. Unless he is over tired (he is known to fight falling asleep), the only time he really cries is when he is hungry or needing to burp (the latter has proven difficult for him most days). 

Overall, I tell people he is our "easy button" when it comes to comparing him to other babies. And after the first two difficult ones, I say we deserve it! 

Tour of lights

Every year we take in the Hollidazzle parade downtown. It's a magical experience for the girls and they fall in love with the lights and floats. Unfortunately, with a newborn in tow and the bitter cold this winter, we are opting out of this tradition for one year; and sadly rumor has it they aren't planning the parade for future years. I realize that one of us could take the girls, but it's just more fun to do things together. After all, that's what Christmas is all about. 

As a result, we found a new tradition at Lake Phalen. And last night, we all went "oohhh" and "ahhh" from the warmth of our car as we took in the amazing light display. 

It was like a reverse parade: we moved and the displays stayed in place. 

Each of us picked our favorite one and all 4 of us had a different one. The best part about it was that we could all be together, Lincoln too (although he slept thru it all). 

We may have found our new favorite holiday event in this light display :) 

Yeah for Christmas time! 

Christmas cookie

We enjoyed a little Christmas cookie decorating tonight. This activity is something the girls and I have done together for several years. Boy have the tables turned though and our girls are sure growing up. Instead of me rolling the dough, carefully pulling away the excess dough, and winding up frosting all but 2 of them myself; this year, they did all of the tasks themselves except cleaning up. And I'm guessing that is a job they will forever leave me :) 

Just look at them contemplating their next plan with the remaining dough...

The decorating by Regan follows her artistic ways. She takes her time, adds lots of color and never tires. 

This girl, on the other hand, adds some  a lot of color and then plops a little in her mouth. At the end she said to us "this one is for Lincoln....I'm going to eat it for him". 

What a thoughtful little girl :) 

The girls

It's been a long while since Logan and Leigha have been able to join us for our weekly dinners (something about having a newborn and not enough energy). So when I told Regan and Sidney that "THE" girls would be coming for dinner Thursday, they were over the moon excited! 

We are so lucky that they are both so good to our girls, snuggling up and enjoying their company. 

Regan Grade 2 Music Program

Regan had her 2nd grade music program this week titled "To Grandma's House" after the popular book Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon. What a sweet program it was and our little star had a speaking part, a singing solo as well as an instrument part. She was so excited in this weeks leading up to it, coming home to tell us all about music class and the extra practices. 

I'm telling ya, this girl has absolutely no problems being on stage. She is proud and fearless; hopefully those traits will take her far in life. Click HERE for a video of her singing (and a super silly song about 'grandpa's whiskers). 

While Sidney listened to each of the songs, pointing out all of Regan's friends on stage, this sweet guy slept in my lap the entire time. 

It was a great program and we are so proud of Regan! 

Sidney's music video

Our Sidney. 

Sometimes there are no words. And yesterday was one of them. 

We were playing Pretty Pretty Princess and suddenly, she put on all the jewelry and did this, yes, she is rapping: 

(pardon Lincoln in the background, he was trying to feed)

Meet and greet

Lincoln had a busy weekend of meet and greets. Unfortunately, Friday evening started out a little rough for the big guy. But first, he enjoyed a little play time on his Einstein mat :) 

As our Friday progressed, I noticed his left eye looking a little 'funky'. By 5:30 I knew I better get him to the doctor, which thankfully stayed open a little late for our appointment. Turns out he had an infection in his clogged tear duct. While at the doctor, they weighed him to get an accurate dosage of antibiotic eye drops. Wait for it.......he's 15 lbs!!!! And not quite 6 weeks old. 

Holy moly! The girls didn't even weigh that much at 4 months old! 

Shane told me I should get a face bra for his cheeks :) 

Although his eye was still blood shot, by Saturday, it was looking much better and his meet/greets could start. First off it was the three adorable Schwartz kids and Lincoln's Godmother, Kari. He slept for most of their visit and enjoyed some cuddles by each of them....

Lincoln and William

Lincoln and Natalie

Lincoln and Thomas

(Thomas is SOOO excited we have a boy!)

As Sunday rolled around, our visitors continued. The entire Ahlness family and their "fur" kids came to watch the Vikings game and enjoy a fun afternoon. Lincoln got passed around to everyone, and maybe spit up on a few of them too :) 

Regan got in some snuggles with her Godfather too, nestled into the corner of the couch. 

After the Ahlness family departed, we had an hour to turn the kitchen around and then enjoyed a fun pizza dinner with some good friends. 

Wow, it sure was a busy weekend but we are so glad to have such great friends and family. Thanks for venturing out on this cold weekend to come meet Lincoln! 

Holiday prep

We are gearing up for the holiday season around here. Our tree was decorated and manger set up, with a lot of help from our little elves. I was beyond happy to have their help this year and shockingly, there were no ornament causalities this year! With all German glass ornaments, we tend to lose at a least one every year, but not this year! 

(at least not yet).

Last night, the girls enjoyed decorating a gingerbread house. It was a team effort, for sure. 

Regan is clearly our artistic daughter. She made pattern after pattern on her side of the house, in a big of a perfectionist style. 

This was our 4th attempt at a picture because Regan kept closing her eyes....she was forcing them open on this take and I just had to post :) 

And today, we woke up to way too much snow for my liking. Thankfully, both girls are in love with the white stuff (today at least) and raced outside for some play time before we had to take Regan to school. 

Oh thank goodness for their laughter and smiles, because really, it makes it all that much easier on me. 

Happy Holiday Season!

A busy weekend

It was a busy weekend around here. Lincoln took his first bottle....(same contents, different method) and was a rock star. But really, we shouldn't expect anything else from him. It is food after all, and he has proven to be our stellar eater! 

Ryan was so happy to give that first bottle (trust me, it was a fight for him to win because we have two sweet little girls who really want a chance to feed him too) and even happier at how well he took to it. Note: the girls both didn't do well the first time and Ryan got very stressed out trying to feed them. 

Then the Vikings won and Lincoln had to show us his "touchdown" moves!

And lastly we continue to work on tummy time....not his favorite part of our day sadly. But he's trying! 

They say the darndest things...

I got this note when I picked up Sidney from preschool yesterday....

Apparently the teacher (Melissa) was reading a book about rhyming words. Sidney thought she would pipe in and inform the class what rhymes with the word "ditch". 

Awesome. 

Melissa told me she asked her twice what she had said, not believing what she had heard the first time. Sidney repeated herself as though she had said nothing wrong. Clearly she doesn't know what she said and was simply putting a new letter at the front.