Merry Christmas to all!!!!!!!!!!

Christmas has been so much fun this year! Gwen was loving every minute and now so can you! Here are pictures and videos of our Christmas Eve at Grandmother's house and at our house! Stay tuned for another post of Christmas with the Tempels and the Caseys!

Gwen say Santa at Grandmother's house and was still a little nervous to say hi.

Santa was so nice and brought her a grocery cart! Gwen was excited, but after opening it she said to me, "Mommy it's a grocery cart. I asked Santa for a dollhouse." So innocent and so funny!

Gwen just loved her new Christmas dress!

She wanted to model it again later with the addition of a Santa hat! It really makes a statement don't you think?

Christmas morning at home was so much fun with Santa visiting and even bringing presents for Gwen all the way from Bubba and Gammy's house!

Santa brought Gwen her very own Polar Express Train that plays music and everything--an instant hit with Gwen and Daddy!

Gwen asked Santa for a dollhouse with a family for Christmas...did he deliver?

Here's the family!

Happy Birthday Baby Jesus!!!!!!

Santa wasn't the only one delivering presents this Christmas...Joey's goats were delivering babies too! This mama had twins! (they are a day old here)

Another goat had her kid on the 23rd. Gwen just loved checking them out and saying hello!

Christmas is coming!

Christmas is always such a fun time of year! We, along with some of the Tempels, adopted a family again this year. It is always so nice to come together to share with those who are not as fortunate as we are. On Sunday we had a small party to wrap everything and get it ready for delivery!

Our little elves! (from left: Jace, Gwen, Addy, Alayna, and Blake)

Gwen was really enjoying Christmas so far this year!

We did a little gift giving as well...Gwen loves play-dough!

Kelley sent Gwen a very cute Kitty hat--She loves it so much, we couldn't get her to take it off!

This year we have a new guest...Dory the elf! Gwen loves to find where she is hiding each morning and reporting all that she has done for the day!

We wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas!

Update on our Baby Boy: Doctor's appointment this morning went well. We are 28 weeks along and measuring well. I have gained 18 lbs. to date, but my doctor said that I am doing fine and not to worry about it. The big thing at this appointment was to find out that I passed my glucose test (hurray! I can keep eating all the Christmas cookies!) and I was given the okay to fly to Chicago on Monday! So far so good!

Happy Birthday Mommy!

"Happy Birthday to Mommy!!!!!"

Today was my birthday and Gwen helped me celebrate all day long! I was given a great birthday present at 5:30 am...school was canceled!!!!! I was able to go back to bed, hang out with Gwen all day, and not worry about being anywhere but in the house :-) Gwen and I baked a cake in the morning (due to Gwen's diet restriction of no dairy, we made an angel food cake with chocolate frosting--milk was the last ingredient on each so I figured we were probably safe), decorated it in the afternoon, as well as...

hang out at Gwen's new favorite spot...the vent. Just like you Gammy!

And, we even made jello jigglers! Gwen ate all the shapes except 4, which were left for Daddy. Next time, we will need to plan ahead and make more jello :-)

It was a great day of relaxing and playing, just how birthdays should be! Happy Birthday to Auntie Erin too; we hope it was a great one!

Santa message

Gwen received this email from Santa today and we wanted to share it, and her reaction to it, with you :-)

To view the video message, go to the address below:

www.portablenorthpole.tv/watch/EzrwLHnhG8zxeBZQn9DtXQ

Snow Day!!!!!

Over the weekend, mainly on Sunday, we got our first snow!!!!!! We have had flurries on and off, but nothing that stayed longer than a few hours. About 2 inches fell, but with a concern about ice underneath, school was canceled for Monday :-) Gwen and I thoroughly enjoyed the day together! We slept in until 7 am, watched some cartoons, played outside, made play-dough, ate lunch, napped, and then played some more!

"I think this is the Best Snow Angel Ever!"

Gwen and I attempted to build a snowman, but the snow just wasn't sticky enough

"Whoo Hoo!" Gwen was loving the snow!

After warming up with some hot chocolate, we made our own play-dough and made it smell like an apple pie!

Gwen made numerous cookies and had a blast playing!

Today we are on a 2 hour delay, but Gwen and I still enjoyed our relaxing morning together! Time to head to school!

It's Christmas Time!

The tree has been put up and we are definitely feeling the Christmas cheer in this house!!!!! Brad requested a belly shot next to the tree and even Gwen wanted to join in!!!!

Here is Baby Boy and I at 25 weeks and Gwen after a dinner of 10 fish sticks!!!!!

To update things on Baby Boy Tempel, he is doing well. I am feeling kicks like crazy, and Brad is able to feel them some. I have earned my appetite back and am taking advantage of all the yummy treats that are available during Christmas. He likes to move around most when I am trying to fall asleep at night, and stays pretty quiet most of the day. All in all, things are great!

Santa's girls

How did Gwen get in Santa's sack?

Gwen even said some funny things while decorating...believe it or not! She found a jellybean dispensing reindeer and started putting mini gummy bears in the back end. My response: "Gwen, please don't put gummy bears in the reindeer's butt." Gwen's response: "Oh, man!" Also when asked if her brother's name might be Zach or Wyatt today (2 of the many names we are considering at the moment), she replied, "Zacatt". How creative, but definitely not my first choice!

Tonight we went to visit Santa at his house here in Santa Claus, IN and Gwen didn't know what to think. She talked to him for awhile (we thankfully were the only one's visiting at the time) and told him what she wanted for Christmas.

She didn't want to talk the official picture alone, so we all got in the picture!

We are thankful for Bubba and Gammy's visits!

Bubba and Gammy came to visit us this weekend for some post Thanksgiving fun!!!! We had a great time and have lots of pictures/videos to show it! Enjoy!

Gammy assisted Gwen in fixing her horse...Great job ladies!

Gwen was showing off like crazy when Bubba and Gammy were here...Just a peak at her latest trick.

We took a walk to the park and hung out on the pirate ship/airplane (depending on what Gwen wants to play)

Her new favorite game is going "Super Higher"!

Bubba and Gwen worked on perfecting their memory skills on the iphone

Bubba took his medicine like a champ! Gwen's such a good doctor!

Gammy got the chance to ride an elephant at the circus with Gwen!!!!!

Bubba got to walk with Gwen as she rode a pony:-)

We had such a great time with you Bubba and Gammy! Gwen just couldn't take her eyes off the arena long enough to take a picture

Family fun!

Other news from today:

Gwen has yet another ear wax plug that we are trying to get rid of. The pediatrician tried to clean it out today, but wants the ENT to look at it tomorrow--hopefully it will be better soon! We also went to an allergist this afternoon to see if allergies could be the cause of all the ear issues...well, no conclusions yet, but some interesting finds! It turns out that Gwen has a bunch of allergies that we were completely unaware of! She is allergic to pollen, dust, mold, dogs (but surprisingly not cats like Brad and I), dairy, and meat (beef, chicken, and pork were all reactions, with pork being the worst)! For now the allergist told us to change her diet to a soy and vegetarian diet for the next month and then to slowly reintroduce meats one at a time and see if systems return. NEVER A DULL MOMENT!!!!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving! We have so much to be thankful for this year!

Just to name a few things:

-Our family! Brad is a great Dad and a wonderful friend, Me (I think Brad and Gwen would agree they can't live without me :-) ), Gwen makes it hard not to smile everyday, and now our newest member to be Baby Boy. We can't wait to meet him and are so glad he is doing well and growing strong

-All our giggles--some days it seems that we just can't stop!

-Working close to home so we can have more family time

-Our family and friends--we love you all so much and love it when we get to spend time together! Gwen is always talking about how much she loves you all!

-Cameras! We love that we can capture and share with everyone all the memories we are making. Where would we be without a camera--certainly not relying on my memory to pass stories along it the future!

-Online shopping--it makes it so much easier to be more productive and find the things your looking for!!!!! Plus it saves time, gas, and money! Who doesn't love that!

-For having food on the table at every meal, a warm bed to sleep in each night, and toys to entertain us each day!

We have soooooo much to be thankful for!!!!!!! We wish everyone a blessed and Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!

Gwen decided we needed some entertainment during dinner this week!

The performance continued with her version of "I Have You Two" from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang! Have we mentioned that she is completely into musicals now? She loves Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Annie, and Mama Mia!!!!!! She'll sing and dance the whole way through!!!!! I just have to decide which one to show her next ;-)

Gwen and Joey enjoyed time together getting into everything!

Whitney was able to give Gwen her first French Braid!

The shirt says it all "Everyone is Thankful for ME!

Auntie Ashley flew in for the holiday!

Gwen loving on Uncle Joey

So simple...once just a box...add a little imagination...

Welcome to Fort Gwenie!

The artists enjoying their masterpiece!

Mama Mia by Gwen

Waffles anyone?

The Belgium ravings have started and what this baby boy wants is....waffles! Not just any waffles, but waffles with strawberries and whipped cream! I'm not arguing because it is VERY tasty! Gwen has been a great help in the kitchen and has mastered the art of mixing up the perfect waffle batter :-)

"Add the mix, a little water, and whisk it well! My baby boy is hungry!"

"I'm also helping with the laundry! Mommy is loving it!"

More Halloween!!!!

Carolyn had a little extra time this week to take some pictures of Gwen...Enjoy!

"Aren't I the cutest!"

"Hocus Pocus!"

"OOOOO! I am so scary!!!"

"I'm going to put a spell on you!"

Gwen loves her kitties at Gram and Poppy's house. Here are Kitty and Jack.

Happy Halloween!!!!!!!

As usual, this weekend was packed with fun! Saturday Brad's cousin Andrea got married and Gwen got to practice her dance moves again...this time she actually wanted to dance with someone!

Blake showed Gwen how to dance with a partner that was her size. She really liked the twirling part :-)

This morning we got up early, went to church and then carved our pumpkins!!!!! We just kept having to postpone this activity. Gwen had a blast deciding what shapes to use, helping get the "goo" out, and then putting all the cutouts back in again. Who knew a pumpkin would be her favorite shape sorter?!?!

"I have to get the goo out! EWWWW!"

"Ta da! Isn't my pumpkin beautiful!!!!!"

"It's our pumpkin family!"

(Gwen's at left, Mommy's, and Daddy's)

Gwen was such a big girl this week and used the potty every time (for everything too!) and got a big pony as a prize! She is so excited and can't wait for her Uncle Joey to keep his promise to put a real pony in the new fence! (You really don't have to Joey!)

Next on today's agenda was a get together with the Tempels to make Turtle soup. It's always a nice time to spend with the family, and Gwen always loves time to play with her best friend Grace.

They really are inseparable at times!

"We're here to save you!"

"Or just to look really cute!"

The Fashionistas!

"Happy Halloween Daddy!"

"I'll drive Gracie, you can start the engine!"

After a good nap, Gwen got to do some much anticipated Trick-or-Treating!

"When I wave my wand you will be a pumpkin pie!"

"Trick or Treat!"

Happy Halloween to all our "Priends"! from the "Pink Pairy" (aka The Pink Fairy)