Catch up if you can

It has been awhile and so much has happened over the last several months. Starting with our very first trip to Disney World!!! The trip started out with our first airplane ride as a family of 5. It was Anna and Sydney's first airpalne ride and the first that Sam remembered. Everyone did fairly well, as we had a direct flight to Orlando, so about 2 hours in the air. Sydney was a bit squirmy and wanted to go back and forth between mommy and daddy, which were sitting front and back of each other. Once we touched down it was like a monsoon!!! Rain and wind was ridiculous, but guess what, the Mickey outdoor dinner show was still on. So we stopped at the townhouse (which was amazing!) and off we went to find the Wilderness Lodge. Little did we know that we would have to take a boat to where we needed to go. So we stood in the down pouring raining waiting for an open air boat to take us to the campground. Again walking in the rain to the pavillion. At this point, nobody really cared to see Mickey or Minnie, but it was already paid for and we were there. The kids were freezing, Anna hid under the table when a character came near, Syd danced to the music, and Sam complained of being cold and wet (even though he was the one jumping in large puddles and splashing the whole way there!) The next day it continued to rain so we went to downtown Disney and went shopping at the Disney Store. Everyone started to get a cold and congestion from being out in the rain and getting cold. The third day, we went to Magic Kingdom and had our Disney Princess breakfast in Cinderlla's castle!!! The girls dressed as Ariel (Anna) and Cinderella (Sydney) were very excited as we ate and each princess walked around to see them!!!! It truely was the best experience! Anna's eyes lit up when Ariel came into the room and Sydney loved Belle and Snow White! After breakfast, to the rides we went!!!! The kids had a very fun time! We tried to break the days up by going back to the townhouse in the afternoons for Sam and Anna to swim in the private pool while Sydney and (very pregnant mommy) rested and napped. We went to Epcot, Animal Kingdom, and MGM as we broke the days up. Sam loved the Star wars ride at MGM and he also really liked the pirates of carribbean ride at Magic Kingdom. Everyone loved the electric parade at magic kingdom and of course the fireworks at the castle!

Once, home we celebrated Sam's 6th birthday by having a sports birthday party at the rec. center with a bunch of 5 and 6 year old boys. Talk about crazy!!! We put them into teams and let them play relay sports games as well as free play games, football, hockey, basketball, and soccer. Halloween was very fun, Sam was a transformer, Anna was Ariel, of course, and Sydney was a monkey. Way too much candy between the 3 of them! They stayed out the entire 2 hours for trick or treat running from house to house. Of course we brought the stroller, which carried someone at all times before they got their second wind.

We traveled to North Pole to visit santa claus on the Polar Express. Everyone was excited to go on the train and to of course see santa and tell him what they wanted for Christmas! Mommy spilled hot chocolate all over her pants as we arrived at the North Pole, trying to put the lid on her Hot chocolate. The kids did not even noticed that mommy and daddy were trying to find paper towels or anything to clean off mommy since they were busy looking out the window at the elves at the north pole! Santa came aboard and Sydney went right to him! (a first for her!) Anna wanted nothing to do with Santa, and Sam of course had a list for him that he shyly told him. Sam wanted Star Wars Millieon falcon and Nintendo DS. Anna wanted Makeup, and sydney asked for cheese! She is a mini Greg if I ever saw one!!!!

Many fun events in december as we waited in anticipation of the birth of baby boy! We went to the Carlstrom santa party in which Santa came to visit with presents!!!! Breakfast with Santa at the Marriott Breakfast with Santa for employees, cutting down the christmas tree at Hozak's tree farm, baking cookies and decorating the hosue and tree, and cookies with santa at southminster!

Christmas came and went and three days later baby Andrew Joseph was born!!! Drew was born on 12/28/11 at 3:16am in the morning, our first baby that was born in the middle of the night. The kids came to meet him the very next morning and they were all very excited to see him!!! Sam held him constantly and wouldn't leave his side, Sydney wanted to play, and Anna would have rathered of looked out the window. That evening we had a birthday party for Drew complete with presents for the kids from the baby, Sam got a star wars ship, Anna and Sydney got princess purses with play jewlery in it. We also had cake and sang happy birthday to welcome our new member of the family!!!! Daddy had bought a balloon, but it flew away when he opened the van door. Everyone adjusted to Drew's homecoming very well, and even Annan wanted to hold him and talk to him. Sydney over time got more gentler and was no longer being rough iwth him or scrathcing or hitting his head.

We have been slowly over the past 2 weeks putting Sydney to sleep in Anna's room. If they are too loud and keeep getting out of bed after a long period of time, we usually put Sydney back in her crib. But Sydney really likes her bed and has been taking a nap in her big girl bed the last 2 weeks with no problem!!! Our hope is by summer, the girls will be all moved into their new room!!!