Where were you at 3:30am?

I was in bed sleeping. Sadie was in bed sleeping. Matt was in bed sleeping until he heard a loud "crash"--which I slept right through. He jumped up and said, "Did you hear that?" I was half-asleep still and didn't hear anything, so Matt went to check out what was going on. I guess his protector instinct kicked in because he was ready to meet whatever he may have found as he walked down our stairs. He went into the kitchen and saw the refridgerator door open and the container of my infamous buckeyes (see previous post) sitting on the floor.
So he walked upstairs and into Wyatt's room. Wyatt was laying in bed eating buckeyes---AT 3:30AM!!!!! Matt asked if he had anymore and he revealed an additional buckeye in his hand under the covers. Matt had a little talk with him and came back to bed. (The crash was the sound of Wyatt's bedroom door slamming shut...must be difficult to close a door quietly when your hands are full of buckeyes!) Of course, Matt and I couldn't get over this for like 1/2 and hour. Apparently he loves them so much that when he wakes up at night, it's the first thing on his mind. And it's not like he doesn't get any....he had two after dinner! What 2-year old figures this stuff out? I thought this came when he was like 4 or 5!
Matt said to me as we were trying to fall back asleep, "I hope this isn't a foreshadowing of things to come when he's about 17 years old!" Let's just pray that it isn't!

Rotary Lights

One of the great things about living in La Crosse is the Rotary Lights Display at Riverside park along the Mississippi River. You've never seen so many Christmas lights in one place. So last night we braved the cold weather (it was about 7 degrees when we headed out around 7pm) and bundled up. You can drive through part of the Rotary Lights and there is also a walking section, so we planned on doing both. But of course, with it being a saturday night, the line of cars was about a mile long---no exaggerating! We had anticipated this, so we got the kids in their pajamas and brought along a bag of popcorn.Wyatt was ready to go....pajamas, boots, coat, and santa hat. The outfit was just too much!

One of Wyatt's favorite things about the rotary lights is that he gets to "drive" with Daddy while we wait in line and go through the lights. Here they are...."driving" and eating popcorn.

This is just a small section of the lights. Of course, we had to take our picture in front of the helicopter, train, and fire engine......any 2-year old boys' dream!

I have to say that my favorite part about the Rotary Lights is the live nativity. They do this every weekend (thurs-sunday) and it's so moving. As you enter the park, you are greeted by a Centurion soldier taking a census (the reason Mary and Joseph were travelling to Bethlehem--Luke 2:1). The soldier greets your car and asks how many are in your vehicle, then shouts that number across the way to a scribe writing it down. Next, you see live sheep, donkeys (in picture above) and Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus in a stable with an angel above. As you keep driving, you come to a chorus of angels singing (Luke 2:13). And then you see the three wisemen with their gifts. It is so refreshing to see this display amidst all the other "Christmas stuff"--santa, reindeer, gifts, etc. Each year I see it, it is more and more moving to me and I'm really going to miss this when we move.

Staying warm out in the cold as we waited in line for hot chocolate.

Matt and the kids in Santa's sleigh.

We didn't last outside for very long, so I may take the kids back sometime this week to do the rest of the walking portion. The kids were exhausted by the time we got home, but it was well worth it.

Happy Birthday Matt!!!!!!!!!

Today is Matt's 30TH birthday!!!! And he made me promise that I wouldn't throw a surprise party or do anything to embarass him. (The hospital Christmas party is this evening and he wouldn't go with me unless I promised I wouldn't do anything there either!) I really didn't like having to promise this, but it's his birthday, so I obiliged! (Plus, I know he really wouldn't like a surprise party.) So instead, I'm just notifying everyone via our blog. I'm sure he'll hate this too, but hopefully he'll forget about it once he reads the rest of the blog.

30 Things I love about Matt (in no particular order, b/c each of them is what makes him who he is):

1. his faith

2. his cleanliness

3. his athleticism

4. how supportive he is of me

5. that he loves "chick flicks"

6. that he's a great provider for our family

7. his loyalty

8. his smile

9. his arms

10. his butt---nothing beats the hockey butt!

11. he still tells me i'm beautiful everyday

12.he still opens every door for me

13.he hates video games and doesn't get why people like them

14.he doesn't do "fantasy football, baseball, hockey" etc.

15. he loves spending time with his good guy friends

16. he puts his patient's needs first in his medical care

17. He's willing to fight for what he believes in

18. Is the only one in our family with green eyes--i'm hoping at least one of children will get them

19. his sense of humor

20. his sensitivity to other people's feelings (he's much more aware of how other people feel than I am, and I am so grateful for this)

21. how close he is to his dad, grandad, and grandpa

22. his desire for excellence in every area of his life

23. his love of everything "christmas"

24. he would rather dress up anyday than wear sweatpants

25. he puts our family first--always

26. he has made me a much better person---just ask my family!

27. believes that my job is the most important job in the world and tells me this often

28. tells me i'm a great cook (even though I don't think it's true! but it's so sweet)

29. he's constantly trying to improve himself in every area of life

30. he spends time every morning before work reading the Bible and praying

I love you babe! Have a great 30th.......I'll be there in a few years! :)

Buckeyes

These are the Buckeyes.....Matt and Wyatt's favorite Christmas cookie/candy. Both my mom and mother-in-law made these when Matt and I were kids and I've combined a bit of both recipes to make my own version. Matt even asked last week when I was going to be making these as, apparently, it doesn't really feel like Christmas until these are made. And since I have a cookie exchange to go to this week (and was asked by several people if I'd be bringing these), I spent much of yesterday in the kitchen making over 100 buckeyes. They were all done when Wyatt woke up from his nap yesterday and he was SO excited to have one. Of course, his eyes got HUGE when he opened the refridgerator and saw several cookie sheets full of them. We limited him to one after his nap and then of course, he and Matt had a few after dinner.
So that was yesterday.......This morning Sadie woke up first and I brought her into our room to feed her. Matt, Sadie and I were laying in our bed when we heard Wyatt's infamous steps as he got out of bed and went to open his door. But we didn't hear him open his door and several minutes had gone by. I looked at Matt and said, "Didn't you hear Wyatt get up?" To which Matt replied, "I thought so....maybe he's just playing in his room"....something he never does! Playing on his own is not one of his strengths......if there is anyone awake, you can bet Wyatt will be up as well. About a minute later, our door bursts open and Wyatt is holding a buckeye in his hand, "Can I have one Mommy?" he asks, with the biggest grin on his face. How could we say no?
We just looked at each other and smiled.....Wyatt has certainly figured out how to work the system! I guess a double batch of Buckeyes is only enough for my husband and a 2-year old......I fear in 10 years I may be making over 500 of them!!!!!!

SNOW.....finally!!!

One of my favorite things about this time of year is the snow. I can't get enough of it! We got lots this weekend and then on Tuesday is snowed all day and dropped another 2-4". Wyatt couldn't wait to play in it, so we headed out during Sadie's nap on Tuesday to do some shoveling and cleaning off the cars (I can't wait for a garage!). Nothing is better than having a white Christmas--let's just hope it stays cold so that it doesn't melt!

Once Sadie woke up, she joined us outside and loved going for rides in the little baby sled! I don't have snowpants or a snowsuit for her yet, so I bundled her up tight in a blanket. She was quite the trooper in such cold weather when you aren't moving around much.

We had to come inside for a hot cocoa break (and to warm up) and the kids were just cracking me up! Sadie, as you can see, was so smiley--as usual. But they were both playing so well together and it was so priceless to watch them interact.

You choose the subtitle for this picture.....the possibilities are endless!!

Back outside for more fun!

I took this picture of the kids and I but had to turn the camera upside-down to reach the button to take a picture (as you can tell by the date on the top left!) But the picture actually turned out pretty well.

Wyatt and his friends Jackson and Caleb....they had so much fun sledding and falling in the snow. And thanks to Matt's mom for Wyatt's great mittens--his hands were so warm and dry, as you can see by the sleeve on the mittens that go all the way up his arms. I wish I had had these when I was a kid! No more cold/wet hands!

We stayed out until it was too dark to see anymore and had to come inside. But it is supposed to be cold for awhile, so I'm sure we'll be back outside tomorrow!

Last chance

I am so behind on posts, but I am attempting to catch up. The kids and I took advantage of the warm weather (40 degrees) last week and went outside to play. And I'm sure glad we did since we are now burried in snow. But the kids loved being outside and being able to "ride bikes". This was the first time Sadie "rode" on this toy (one of the neighbors) and she loved it. She even figured out how to kick her legs and move. But of course, she was more enamored by Wyatt moving around!

This face is so precious! Her eyes were locked on Wyatt the entire time. I was standing right by her taking this picture and she didn't blink once! The kids had a great time and although sunset is now around 4:30pm, we were able to go out for just a little bit and enjoy the weather.