What else are we up to?

January  2013

With a new house, we have decided that it was also time to try a new dog.  I am still not over the absence of Pooka and Nimbus, however we all miss knowing when someone comes to the door before they knock.  Pooka was wonderful at alerting us that someone, or something, was in the driveway.

It just so happened that a co-worker of Joey's had a surprise litter of boxador puppies  (boxer and lab) and one of the light colored girls will be ours in March ;-)  We have named her Eleanor the Boxador and she will have a wonderful home outside our new house

Another new adventure... Wyatt attempted potty training.  We tried for the week and he isn't doing great.  He is understanding what he is supposed to do, but he just can't control when he goes.  So, we will try again later, but he loved his underwear!

Again sporting his underwear, but wanted to show everyone his sheep

I don't know what they will be when they grow up, but for now we are enjoying the constant goofiness we find when Gwen and Wyatt are together

Happy 2013!!!!

A new year means new adventures!  We have had many already.  After Celebrating Christmas with the Caseys in Chicago, we headed back to a land of snow!

Father and daughter bonding time!

Before checking on our house, we had a give ourselves a quick shave

Once at the house, we found that Joey did  A LOT of shoveling for us, and he even left Gwen a surprise in her room!

The house is coming along.  They have finished the roof and are working on putting on the shingles.  They also started framing out the dormers.

A day later...3 dormers won't fit, but we had special ordered 3 windows...solution-add one in the attic!

The next day....add windows and doors are in!!!!  Including the patio doors that turned out the be the wrong ones (which will be switched later to the correct ones).

It's missing a front porch, but the front looks beautiful!

Gwen is loving the new look!

January Should Be Renamed Silly-ary

January was so much fun, but went so fast!!!!!  To recap...

Thank you Auntie Erin and Uncle Don Don for the awesome princess tent---we have yet to take it down!

We have garage doors!

The wrong doors had been delivered and installed into the living room, but the correct doors have arrived and look beautiful!

What would we do without Poppy?

Wyatt has been loving pretending to be a dog!

Check out Wyatt's boots!

Yep-all boy!

Check out these fancy shoes!

The Casey Christmas Party!

 We had great Christmas Party with Casey cousins!  Kenneth and Lilly came over and everyone was ready for fun!

Now there are 4 Casey cousins!  From the left- Wyatt (21 months), Gwen (4 years),  Lilly (2 years), and Kenneth (9 months)

The boys having some music time together before dinner

Gwen couldn't have been more excited to finally get her own Cinderella and Prince Charming!  Lilly was equally as excited about her Ariel and Prince Eric Barbies! 

Wyatt thought that getting a backpack meant it was time to go to school.  He was a little disappointed that he would have to wait a few years!

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!~Kenneth 

The Casey Christmas Before Party

We beat the big winter storm that left our home covered in 5 inches of snow!  We made it without any problems and arrived to Chicago to no snow.  We had a week of activities and visits planned and we were ready!

We started with check ups at Bubba's office.  Wyatt had been practicing showing where his teeth are! 

Gwen was looking like a professional at the office

Gwen and Lilly made awesome Christmas trees that later would decorate the dinning room table!

Wyatt and the girls couldn't stop taking turns in Bubba's massage chair!  Someone was always in there with the giggles! 

Fulfilling a life long dream, and the highlight of Brad's visit was a trip to Medieval Times!  

Gwen was ready with her medieval costume!  She looked like  a real princess! 

Rapunzel even found Maximus!

All of us were so excited to see the show!  Go Red Knight!

Gwen felt so special getting a rose that was "sniffed" by the Red Knight!  She didn't realize that he was kissing them before he threw them!

This is the picture I received of our house while we were gone!!!!!!!  Remember the 5 inches of snow I mentioned...this is what happens when the roof isn't on yet.  Thank you Joey again for shoveling it out!

 Although it is cold, our kids still need some time to run around outside and play!  Check out those frog mittens!

Out for a walk to the park with Bubba and Buzz!  We all needed a little fresh air!

Run Wyatt!  Run Buzz!  Where's Gwen?  We had a great time running around in the tennis courts and then played with Gwen on the playground. 

Merry Christmas Morning!

Christmas morning was a great morning.  Gwen and Wyatt woke around 7 am (AMAZINGLY) and then they were patient enough to let us all get settled before opening presents!  That was a great gift!  

Still loving last night's gifts, Wyatt jumped at the opportunity to ride his tractor and Gwen grabbed her babies 

Wyatt was a pro at ripping open presents and playing with everything he could.

Gwen and Wyatt loved the stable and barn Santa brought them and did a great job sharing.

Once all presents were opened, breakfast was eaten, and bags were packed....we headed north to the Casey's to continue the Christmas party before the big snow was to come at home!

Merry Christmas Eve!

As we do every Christmas, our celebration began with Christmas Eve mass at 4 pm and then dinner at Grandmother's house.  We took some early naps and then got all dolled up and ready for our favorite night of the year.

Gwen glittered in gold this year 

Wyatt was warm and snugly in his sweater

Santa made his annual stop to Grandmother's after dinner.  Wyatt showed the classic signs of an aversion to the Big Guy!

Gwen has gotten over her fears of Santa and now wants to share all her wishes with him

After getting back to Gram's house, Joey, Ashley Beth, and Ty gave Gwen and Wyatt their presents---a  handmade balance beam and a tire swing!

Wyatt loved his tire swing!

Gram and Poppy surprised Wyatt with his own tractor!

Tractors, cars, and roads oh my!

Gwen loved the scooter that she received so she can play in our new basement and the driveway!

 I was most excited about the trusses that were finally put up on the house!  That was one of the best presents that we received Christmas Eve!

Christmas is coming!!!!

Let's go back a month now and see what we were doing before Christmas!

Wyatt really was excited to decorate the tree this year!  It is so cool how much more they become involved in 1 year!

Hey, look! It's a reindeer at our new house!

Gwen thought the tree needed more ornaments, so she worked hard to place them in just the right spots.

Every year we as a family get together to spread the Christmas spirit with others who are in need.  In year's past we have sponsored a family, but this year we wanted to do something a little different.  We went over the the Ronald McDonald House in Evansville and made lunch for the families staying there the Sunday before Christmas.  It was a really fun thing to do together and it made a great meal for the families. 

Brad, Gwen, and I were helping make the salad and the butter for the bread. 

Ty and Ashley Beth put the salad all together while Gram  made some yummy spaghetti

Gwen and Wyatt also helped entertain some little boys that were there.  They had a great time!

After a long day, nothing is better than cuddling up to a truck!