January 2013

Whew, with the holidays all behind us, we settled into January with the usual "hangover" feeling of a whirlwind of activity from the last 4 weeks.  Atypically, this January was a lot busier for us, as we filled our weekends with some very fun activities!

To pseudo-celebrate Evan's birthday, he and I spent an afternoon/evening away from Rochester and traveled to Chicago for some quality time.  Unfortunately Evan wasn't feeling well, but he managed to still treat me to a wonderful Italian dinner at a new restaurant (we love to indulge our "foodie" habit) and a Broadway show.  We had an amazing time and it was great to spend some one on one time together.

We also entered into a new realm of parenting and joined the other crazed-parents and over-excited children at the Disney on Ice show in Indianapolis.  I have no idea what propelled us into doing this, however, the day turned out to be a ton of fun for everyone.  Well, maybe not as much for Jane.  See, the older that Jane gets she seems to continue to exhibit traits resembling that of a full-fledge adult vs. 3 year old.  I hate to admit it, but she is definitely a "mini-me" in all things personality.  She likes things in certain order, has a memory like no one else, and is very literal in every sense of the word.  Things "are supposed to be this way" and she loves to follow the rule to the letter of the law.  The very first act brought out all sorts of characters, and you could see the skepticism beginning to form on her face.  Well, once The Little Mermaid scene unfolded, it was all over for Jane, who just kept insisting that the girl was NOT Ariel because, "Mommy, Ariel doesn't have legs and that girl has legs and that is not Ariel".  She sat, stonefaced, the entire rest of the show.  Minus when we indulged in various "treats" during intermission.

Luke, on the other hand, could not have been more exuberant.  He shouted the names of every.single.character the moment they came out and this went on for the entire show.  Luckily, everyone around us was amused by this and not annoyed.  It was priceless and adorable and worth the trip (and Jane's disappointment)!

Lastly, and certainly not least, we celebrated Luke's 2nd birthday.  We kept things low-key (see previous post on holiday festivities....) and treated Luke to wonderful Mickey Mouse themed birthday, complete with balloons and presents and of course treats!  More on Luke's birthday in another post....

A rare, but wonderful, date night

Very excited, pre-Ariel's arrival

Luke is still figuring out what "smile" means

Let's be honest, the real highlight of the day.  Daddy loves to indulge in treats.  (Sidenote:  Mommy may or may not have been the one who bought the dippin dots ice cream....terrible idea)

It was all over for Luke the moment the Toy Story gang came skating out.  The guests surrounding us didn't know what high-pitched, squeals really sounded like until that moment.  "REX!"  "HAMM!"  "WOOOODY"!

Luke loving on his Birthday Bear

Our less-than-thrilled 2 year old

Adores his Buzz Lightyear and Woody PJ's from Nana and GrandPaul

"Bay-woons" are Luke's favorite these days

Too much partying for this fella.  He.  Loves.  Music.

 

December 2013

As it traditionally happens, December was busy and fun-filled once again!  Between birthdays, holiday parties, Christmas and New Years, it's always a hustle and bustle of activity from the 1st to the 31st!

As previously posted, we took Jane to see Cinderella for her birthday the first weekend of December, and then enjoyed hosting my parents for a visit the second weekend, for Jane's actual birthday on the 8th.  That happened to also be Evan's Christmas party, which was a great time.  Evan has been at the bank almost 5 years and it's hard to believe all that he has accomplished and learned in that time.  He is currently in the midst of a leading a huge conversion project, and though he wouldn't admit it, he is doing a fantastic job despite putting in countless hours.  We are very thankful for the generosity of his employers and the opportunity to grow in his industry.

We also traveled down to Indianapolis for my work Christmas party, which also turned out fantastically!  Seeing as this was the first year I have been managing people, I was a bit nervous about planning and semi-hosting a fun event for all the guys on my team and their spouses, but everything went great!  We enjoyed a great dinner and time getting to know each other more!  

For the first time ever, both Evan and I took off the entire week between Christmas and New Years and we cannot believe what we have been missing!  It. Was. Awesome.  We got to sleep in (as much as possible with toddlers), relax, watch movies, play with the kids and in general just decompress.  We planned some fun things to do, including a day trip to Kokomo to take the kids to see Monsters, Inc in 3-D.  They absolutely loved it, and are very much into movies as much as their parents.  

New Years came around and Evan's birthday with it - we enjoyed a nice dinner out with friends and then played some games, both entirely impromtu, and both very fun!  

Bank Christmas Party - I feel like we look very 'presidential' in this picture.  We aren't.

Jane loves "working" with me.  She actually puts her hands on the correct keys on my keyboard.  I'm not sure if that's a good or a bad thing yet.

Both kids still LOOOVE reading.  Like, a lot.

Our cool cats getting ready for Monsters, Inc in 3-D. 

Happy 33rd Birthday Evan!  And Welcome 2013!

Four Christmases

The holidays have come and gone and I'm eager to share with you the wonderful Christmas season we enjoyed this year.  Although the title of this post is similar to a popular movie from years ago, we actually had the pleasure of enjoying many Christmas celebrations this year!  Despite being exhausted by the afternoon of the 26th, we feel so fortunate to have been able to spend the Christmas season with nearly all of our family (we missed you Arizona crew!)!

Our first Christmas celebration was at Aunt Jane's house on December 23rd.  This was a change to the usual tradition of a Scheper family party on the 24th, however the day turned out marvelously.  Nearly everyone was able to make it, and it was an awesome time.  Many thanks to Aunt Jane and "Herr-y Meier" for a great party.  

Luke and Grandma Scheper continue their special bond

Look how tall she looks (is)!!

All the Grandkids/Spouses + Great-Grandkids

The partying continued the following day where the Kubala kids (+spouses+grandkids) celebrated Christmas Eve together at mom and dad's.  It was also a great time, where we ate amazingly (as per usual), played our usual 5-stud -poker-game-with-cards-as-big-as-your-head, did our gift exchange and in general enjoyed the company of one another.  It has been quite a long time since we were all together and it was AWESOME!

The kids were obsessed with playing "poker" with the huge playing cards.  With a crazy dealer like that, who can blame them?!

Our amazing hostess

 

Whew!  After a fun-filled Christmas Eve, we woke up first thing on Christmas Day, packed up, and headed up to Rochester to Mimi and Papa's house for another Christmas celebration!  We arrived just in time for lunch (perfect timing!) and excited to be with our family.  The kids immediately napped and we also thought it was perfect timing for that too!  After naps, we opened presents and got to spend time visiting and enjoying being cooped up together as the weather started to take a turn for the worse.  We were able to play some games and eat again before deciding it was time to get our crew home!

The kids love these banks from Mimi and Papa, that help them Save, Give, and Spend.  Given her OCD, Jane organized all her coins by denomination and then placed them, randomly, in each tin.

Last, but certainly not least, the Gottschalk Family woke up on "Christmas" (the 26th) and stayed in our pajamas and enjoyed a fun Christmas with just the 4 of us.  I think we'd all admit we were pretty wiped after what seemed like a week of nonstop-on-the-go action and partying.  Evan and I actually took off work until January 2nd and we're both committed to doing that again - Jane kept commenting on how much she "loves Chwis-mas vay-tation" and we did too!

Jane really wanted a "pink guitar' for Christmas (no idea where that came from).  I think we may have missed the mark slightly on this one...

Luke totally confused by his matching red guitar.  We have put these in storage until they are a bit bigger.  Oops!

Jane's Birthday: A Month-Long Affair

We knew that celebrating Jane's 3rd birthday would be extra fun this year, but I don't think anyone anticipated the jam-packed celebrating and partying that went on!

First, because we had frequented previous "Broadway in Chicago" shows before, Evan had received some emails during the fall about upcoming shows, and noticed that "Cinderella" was playing during the first of December.  We thought it would be a perfect way to celebrate Jane's 3rd birthday, and BOY were we right!

We kept it a secret from her until the Friday we left - we picked her up from Mimi's house and she was donning a lovely pink princess (dress-up) dress that she insisted she wear to the fun trip.  Our plans were to get to Chicago by dinner time, hang out that evening and then go see the show at 11am the next morning.  We were slightly delayed in leaving Rochester, and didn't get to the hotel until about 7pm.  Jane sauntered around the hotel in her get-up (see below) and we immediately got to our room and told her about the indoor swimming pool and she just couldn't believe it!

There was a knock at the door and the roll-away bed we requested was wheeled into the room to the sound of the squeals from the 3-year old.  "My very own bed...aaaahhhh" she screamed as she literally ran up and gave it a hug!  We quickly put on our bathing suits and headed down to the pool.

Despite the frigid temperature, we all had a great time swimming around in the pool.  There was another young girl swimming with her father, and the dad looked at Jane and said, "Are you having a good time?" (because it was that obvious that she was) and Jane replied, out of nowhere, "Yes!  This is my family.  This is Evan (gesturing towards Evan) and this is Emma-wee (gesturing towards me) and I'm Dane."  All participants were stunned speechless as a.) we'd never heard her formally introduce herself or us and b) she called us by our first name, as she's never done that before.  In true Jane spirit, she completely took over the conversation.

After our evening swim, we hurried upstairs and ordered some special room service of ice cream and other snacks, which prompted more squeals as she "couldn't believe we are eating ice cream in bed!"  I suggested she not get used to it.  We turned on a movie and all slept soundly in preparation for the big show!

We arrived at the theater the next morning in plenty of time to check it out.  Jane was very excited and definitely enjoying the 1:1 attention from Mom & Dad.  As we sat in our seats, I asked Jane, who was waving her magic wand incessantly,  to look at the camera and smile.  She replies, "Hang on, Mommy" and proceeds to remove her lip gloss from her purse (a special birthday-girl present), apply aggressively, and then put back in her purse and then says, "Okay, mommy, I'm ready now".  Uh....did I mention she's 3?!

The show was absolutely adorable and a perfect hour-long program for tiny, impatient people.  As we walked out of the theater and climbed into a taxi to head back to the hotel, we instructed the taxi driver where we were going.  There was slight confusion as to where exactly our hotel was, then he stated, "I think that's on Rush" to which I confirmed, "Yes, it's the one on Rush".  Not to be outdone, out of nowhere, Mini-Me chimes in with "Yes, go to Rush".  Is anyone else slightly concerned that at a barely-three age she is dominating conversations and dictating directions?!

We arrived back at the hotel and waited for our car and bags to be brought to us.  As we headed out of the city and back to Rochester, Jane shouted from the back seat, "I LOVE Shih-Tago! Can we come here again?"  I'm very confident this will not be our only trip to the Windy City!

The travel-to-Chicago outfit; backpack, dress, boots, and lifevest and all!

Is a caption really even necessary?!

Checking out the bustling street below.  "A taxi!  A bus!  People walking, Mommy!"

Her VERY OWN BED!

All dolled up for the show.  She insisted on carrying her purse in clutch-fashion vs over the shoulder.

One very happy birthday girl.

I'm sure you're thinking that after such a jam-packed overnight in Chicago, that there would be no more partying for this 3-year old.  Well, think again.  We actually did celebrate in cake-and-ice-cream fashion on her actual birthday, Saturday December 8th with wonderful guests of Nana & GrandPaul and Mimi & Papa.  We kept it fairly low-key with an easy lunch and cupcakes, Jane's favorite, especially when she gets to decorate them herself with an entire jar of sprinkles...

Because Jane is blessed with many wonderful and generous granparents and aunts and uncles, we enjoyed watching her open many gifts and celebrate her true birthday with some of her favorite people!

This is the outfit she picked out for the day.  As you may imagine, there is very little reasoning that goes on with her, given her very strong will. I have mastered the art of picking your battles.  She is wearing black tights, a skirt, 2 shirts, her purple tutu and a polka dot vest that she had just removed.  And her Birthday Ribbon, of course.

Here she is showing the camera her new Disney bracelet from Aunt Lana and Uncle Kyle, complete with a Cinderella Glass Slipper! (She also proceeded to keep her arm in this fashion for a good portion of the day.  She thinks that a bracelet acts somewhat like a cast, rendering her arm immobile)

Very excited about the red shoes from Nana & GrandPaul

Our 3-year old

Blowing out the birthday candle.  Numerous attempts required. And please notice enough sprinkles to feed the Red Army.  I tried to brush off as many as I could, but hey, you only turn 3 once...

We love Grandparents and no party is complete without them!

An interesting family shot

As if 2 parties just weren't quite enough, Nana had planned a special "girls day out" over the Christmas holiday in celebration of Jane's birthday.  There is a special beadery shop that Nana visits often and had asked the owner about hosting a party there for Jane - we had Aunt Tatie, Aunt Sarah, Aunt Meagan, Grandma Scheper, Nana, and Mommy in attendance and it was a great time, and not just because of the mini-cherry cheesecakes Aunt Sarah brought! :)  We all got to make our very own necklaces and bracelets, then enjoyed a special lunch afterward.  The biggest shock of all was that Jane needed ZERO help in  making her bracelet.  Literally, she was able to pick up tiny little beads, manuever them into her hand, find the small hole and thread them through the thin wire with no assistance.  I was astonished; her dexterity, amongst many other things, still shocks me to this day.  Jane loved being the center of attention and I'm confident it will take all of January to remind her again that she is not an only child.  Nonetheless, it has been a wonderful month of celebrating such an amazing daughter - we are blessed beyond words!  Happy 3rd Birthday, Janie Bug!

Jane getting ready to school us all in the art of beadery.

Notice the concentration despite the cherry mini-cheesecake distraction

I love this picture (I think I say that a lot) - she hopped up on my leg to watch the lady put the clasp on the bracelet she made.  One Happy Girl.