3 months old!

 Such a big boy, hanging out in the bumbo chair! 

 ohhhhh!  Hi!

 Wait...is that hockey I see?!

 Tate is a very happy, smiley baby.  Unlike his big sister, who scowls the minute you try to take her picture.  :)  Someday....

 The other guy in this picture is our neighbor, Max.  He came to play with us while his big sister and parents went to a movie. 

 This head thing is getting kinda heavy...



er, um December :)

 This girl loves her some baby brother!

Who could blame her though, with a baby brother like Tate! 

 Ellie and I made LOTS of treats this year for Christmas.  We made caramels, toffee, cookies, fudge, haystacks, and lots of other goodies...and then when it was time to travel, we forgot them all in the garage.  oops!

 Ellie and I were making sugar cookies for her Christmas party at daycare.  She loved putting frosting and sprinkles on.  I loved being in the kitchen with her; seeing how excited she was made me excited to bake as well!

 Ellie is a tricky little bird who does NOT like having her picture taken.  This is one of the ONLY pictures we have of her from Christmas.  It makes me a little sad, but I know that she'll outgrow this phase.

 "Kitty Up Grandpa!"

 Grandpa Pete is such a good sport!  He lets Ellie abuse him every time we see him!  :)

 Daddy and the Tate monster...check out his tootsies!  :)  rawr!

 Tate's 1st Christmas...again....not a lot of pictures of this poor guy either.  Our camera is not so much in a cooperating mood as of lately...we are currently in the market for a new one.  The battery dies after about 4 pictures.  Awesome when you have two small cutie pies hanging around.

 Not really enjoying the picture taking.  He got his Rudolph as a gift from his daycare Momma's.  He likes to suck on Rudolph's nose.  :) 

 The only non-crying, non-fussing picture for his 1st Christmas.  :)  Ellie wore this outfit for her 1st Christmas as well.  I don't think she filled it out quite as well as Mr. Tate though!

 All done!!!!!!

 Great Grandpa Rohde and Tate.  I love this picture.  We have one similar of Ellie and Great Grandpa too, even in the same chair! :)

We are very blessed to have gotten to attend 4 different Christmas celebrations this year.  Thankfully the weather wasn't too bad so we could make them all.  We loved getting to spend time with loved ones and share our littles with everyone. 

Ellie's gingerbread house

The night before the big storm hit, I made a Target run to get anything I thought we might need over the weekend.  I knew we'd be stuck in the house for awhile, so I grabbed a gingerbread house kit while I was there.  I was pretty excited to get to make this with Ellie, although I was convinced that she'd eat all the candy before it got put on the actual house.  She only had a handful of the candy and did a great job decorating. 

 Ellie with her finished product

 She put on all of the decorations, she just told me where to put the icing so she could stick it on.  She picked the window and door colors as well. 



Sleeping babies

I absolutely LOVE watching my children sleep.  I could honestly do it for hours.  I love how peaceful they seem.  I caught both Ellie and Tate snoozing the other day and just had to share how beautiful they both looked.  :)

 Ellie and Stevie taking a quick nap on the couch during the blizzard. 

 I love that she still has some of her baby cheeks yet. 

 Tate sleeping on Matt's chest. 

Smoosh smoosh!

The Christmas Tree

Ellie and I put the tree up on the weekend following Thanksgiving.  Matt had to work at Target, so it was up to Ellie, Tate, and I to get the job done.  Ellie was an excellent helper, pulling everything out of the tub and then making sure it was all over the first level of our house.  :)  We eventually got all the pieces on the tree.  She loves to plug it in and check out the lights (and shake all the presents under it). 

 Putting on the first ornament.

 Very excited to show off our pretty tree.  She was literally jumping with joy. 

Ta-Da!  

Ellie!

 Showing off her two towers of blocks.  She was so excited about these!

 Ellie has been a very busy girl; becoming a new big sister, going to preschool at Michelle's along with music class, going to gymnastics, and going outside to play in all the snow.  She's hit a pretty rebelious stage and just when Matt and I think we might have to ship her off, she goes and does the sweetest things.  We catch her giving Tate kisses on the forehead, or laying on the floor with Stevie cat, talking to him about her day.  She's growing up so quickly and we're trying to enjoy every minute of it, even the trying ones.  :)

 Smooshin' on Steve

 Have you seen a prouder big sister?

Love. Them. To. Pieces. :)

A Thanksgiving Guest :)

Our niece Krista came to spend a couple of days with us after Thanksgiving at my dad's.  Ellie was so excited to have someone to play with for a couple of days.  Krista was an awesome helper with Tate.  She really liked to hold him.  I snapped this picture right before she left us.  We were pretty sad to see her go and hope she can come play with us again soon!  

Thanksgiving 2010

We had a great Thanksgiving Day.  We got to spend it with lots of loved ones at Pete and Diane's house and at my Dad and Bonnie's house.  It's always such a nice time to get to visit with everyone; especially since we don't see many of Matt's cousins unless it's a Holiday. 

 Tate taking a snooze with Great Grandma McColley.

 Tate snuggling with Matt's Aunt Marcia.  The Haglund family were very excited to see both Tate and Ellie girl dressed in their Gopher gear.  :)

 Ellie and Grandma doing a puzzle together.  What actually was happening here was Ellie telling Grandma what to do.  It was hilarious!

 Ellie supervising Grandma Diane doing the Dora puzzle.  Ellie would point to a piece and then tell Diane where to put it. 

Denise and McKenna

 We also spent dinner with my Dad, Bonnie, Chad and his family, Denise and her family, and my step brother Scott.  Always a good time! 

My dad helping Ellie pick out some candy while Ellie's cousin Jordan braids her hair!