Christmas 2015

As usual, we had a lot of Christmases but all were fun! The kids did much better being a whole year older! They were good and social! Yay! We headed to Nana and Papa's on Wednesday the 23rd to do our immediate family Christmas with Trav and Chelsie who traveled all the way from Texas! It was a blast and the kids got way more than they deserved! Lol! Then Thursday the 24th we headed to Grandma and Grandpa's for Christmas chaos with all the aunts and uncles! It was really fun and the kids did a great job interacting with everyone! Taylor was sweet to include the kids in her gift opening as well! Good fun and plenty of presents (again!) On Christmas Day, we opened presents as a family. Again, the kids got way too many presents. We even had to open presents in stages. I'm only now realizing kids want to play with their gifts as soon as they open them so we have to pause the actual opening to incorporate some playing. After our time at home, we headed back to Nana and Papa's for Christmas with Nana's family.  We had a great turn out and most of the family enjoyed the festivities! The weekend after Christmas we went to Super Nana and Papa's house for Christmas with Papa's extended family. Almost the whole family was together (except for 3 whose flight was cancelled due to bad weather!) Our Christmas was full and long but we all had a great time this year! (Except maybe Tyler who was required to lay around during Christmas break because he had a vasectomy days before Christmas! Ahhh...special Christmas memories!)

Avery is loving her some Christmas!

The Peterson clan

Excited for Christmas presents

Daddy (and Buddy) helping Owen open a present

Owen singing Christmas songs around the tree at Super Nana and Papa's

Avery singing...and playing around the tree too!

Winter Fun

 

The Frederiksens headed outside today.  The kids were really anxious to play in the snow and since we finally had some free time after the Christmas chaos, we decided to indulge them! They had a blast. We pulled them around the yard and over a very small drift/hill in the sled. Needless to say, they loved it! It melts your heart to hear them laugh and so deeply delight in the simple things! After awhile of pulling them around, we convinced them to play on the "park" in the backyard. They zoomed down the slide in their slick snow pants! That was fun too! After all the snow fun, we headed inside for some hot chocolate! Enjoyable afternoon together!

 

 

Snow buddies!

Big Eater

This boy was so proud when he finished his whole plate I just had to take his picture!!

It's December?

So...today is December 9th in Iowa and we were able to play outside and not freeze! (This is an ironic post based on my last post! Lol!) It was in the upper 50s and was beautiful! We loved playing outside because it's been too long!

He's so happy to be outside!

She's having more fun than she's letting on in this picture

The First Snow

God decided we here in Iowa shouldn't ease into winter but get pounded with a snow storm right out of the gate! Owen and Avery didn't complain a bit though! Owen was all about it! He could see it was snowing as soon as he woke up from nap and instantly ran to the window to see it! Then he kept asking questions like, "Is it gonna snow all day long?" "Why is it snowing right now?" "Can we play in the snow when Avery wakes up?" Because I'm the world's best mom (wink, wink) I dressed them up in all their snow gear and warm clothes and we headed out! They loved it! I kept packing snowballs for them to throw. (It was excellent snowball snow too!) We were only out for about a half an hour but it was enough to get cold so we enjoyed a nice mug of hot (more like warm for the kids) chocolate after we ditched all our wet gear! Bring on winter...the Frederiksens are ready!!

Aren't they just the cutest??

Owen's Battle Scar

Owen had a rite of passage last Wednesday. Let's start from the beginning...Owen and Avery were helping Tyler and I with the crazy amount of leaves in our yard, and as a reward we were letting them play in the huge pile of leaves on the trailer. Long story short, Owen fell and hit his head on the metal side rail of the trailer. Tyler grabbed him and knew instantly, based on the amount of blood, that we needed to head straight to the emergency room in Ames. He ran inside and grabbed a dish towel to hold on the cut. I had already loaded Avery into her car seat, so Tyler and Owen just hopped in the back and we were off. Tyler informed me as soon as we got in that he needed lots of AC in the back so I looked back at him and noticed he was looking quite pale! Oh boy! I called John and Linda to meet us at the ER so they could take Avery while we went back with Owen. It seemed to take forever to get to Ames but we finally made it.  Tyler told me later that Owen keep asking on the drive to Ames, "Did I hit the trailer really hard?" He didn't cry very long for very hard which is really surprising. He didn't cry much on the drive either. We met John and Linda down there and didn't have to wait long to get called back (thankfully!) The gash was done bleeding by the time we got to the ER. Owen was adamant about sitting on Daddy's lap and Tyler was very willing to oblige. There is a definite difference between family doctors and ER doctors! The doctor came in and after taking a short look at Owen's forehead just squeezed his skin, pulling the gash together and commenting that the cut should "Come together nicely!" Whoa! Owen was very brave through all of this and didn't even flinch. God has given Owen a very calm disposition and one that can handle trauma very well! He was a trooper trough the whole ordeal! Knowing Owen we decided not to have him sedated. The doctor was doubtful but respected our decision. They ended up "burrito-ing" Owen's body in a blanket but it wasn't necessary. The hardest part for Owen was getting taken off of Daddy's lap to be burritoed. But he quickly calmed down and got to lay down next to Daddy to get the stitches. (Which was good for both Owen and Daddy who didn't need nor want to watch Owen get stitches! Lol!) He ended up getting a couple (2 or 3 is my guess) internal stitches and 6 visible stitches! Owen was such a big boy! I think he impressed the doctor and nurse that worked on him and I know he impressed Tyler and I! He was so brave and we are so proud of him! The nurse that removed his stitches even said that if we take good care of the cut that we shouldn't even see it in a year! Crazy! Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers and well wishes! God had His hand in the whole thing and I can see many blessings in this scary situation!

Avery at 18-ish months

I can't believe how fast kids grow! Avery is almost 20 months already. She weighed 26 pounds at her 18 month checkup and was in the 80th percentile for height and weight. She's a big girl who is quickly gaining on her brother. (Owen has 14 months on her but only weighs 30 pounds!)  She seems to be as smart as her brother and maybe even catching  onto things faster because of him! (All of this from my very unbiased opinion!) Avery has started talking a lot! She can repeat almost anything you ask her to. In fact, we were in Fareway today and I found myself asking her to be a little more quiet! Lol! She also loves to sing. Her current favorites are "I Am Jesus' Little Lamb," "Good Morning, God," and "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star." I'm convinced kids can sing before they can talk!
Avery is completely opposite of Owen in most ways. For starters, she's a girl. She's stubborn. She's ornery. She's loud. She's independent. She's feisty. She entertains herself. She loves to eat meat and cheese but is becoming a fan of bread. She loves her baby. She has a smoker's laugh (it's hilarious!)
But Avery loves her brother! She finds him so funny and it often laughing at some silly thing he's doing! It is so amazing to see their bond growing. Although it was hard in the beginning, I'm glad Owen and Avery are so close in age. I think they will grow up being best friends. God has blessed Tyler and I with two great kiddos. We are so grateful everyday to be their parents and we pray God will continue to guide us in every way!

"Avery is so big!"

What a nut!

Avery...smile!