Merry Christmas!

I was really excited about Christmas gifts this year. I loved opening presents up so much that I kept opening up gifts that weren't even mine (sorry everyone!). As I was opening every gift I would say repeatedly: "What is it? What is it?" It was so much fun. My parents also taught me about the true meaning of Christmas this year and I like telling people about Jesus' parents Mary and "Jofis."On Christmas Day we drove down to Iowa to see Grandma Ellen & Papa for a few days. We also got to meet my new cousin Liberty for the first time. She is a cutie!
Do you think they look alike? Norah is on the Left and Libby is on the right.

Christmas Eve

We spent Christmas Eve at Aunt Sara's house in Eden Prairie. It was so much fun to have the whole family together! Mom put Norah in a silly Christmas dress - she looked like Mrs. Claus!

I got a hockey helmet and skates for Christmas from Mom & Dad. Dad promised to teach me to skate this winter - I can't wait!

Norah Smiles

Norah just started smiling when she was about 4 1/2 weeks old. She's pretty cute, so I've decided that I need to act like a baby sometimes so Mom & Dad don't forget about me. Sometimes if no one is paying attention to me, I fake cry and start saying "I'm cwying, I'm cwying" in a super whiny voice. Mom tells me to act like a big boy, but she secretly thinks I'm cute when I do this. :-)

Christmas Fun!

It was so much fun getting ready for Christmas this year. Grandma Ellen stayed with us for a few days and we got to make Christmas cookies and meet Santa at a Pancake Breakfast!
When Santa asked what I wanted for Christmas I yelled "Rusty & Murdoch" (which are two Thomas trains)
On Christmas Eve Morning mom & I made a gingerbread house. I loved sticking the little candies all over the house. I'm becoming pretty creative, just like my Daddy.

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

What fun it was to shop for our Christmas tree together!

I got to put the star on the tree this year! (well sort of...Grandpa Morris had to help because my arms aren't quite long enough)
Anytime someone gets out a camera, I smile like this and say "Ham & Cheese!!" It's cute, but it doesn't make for the best pictures...

Thanksgiving

We had a fun Thanksgiving at Cousin Julia's house in Albertville.

Julia has this really neat kitchen that I love playing in when we visit.
Good times...

2 Weeks Old!

Here's Norah at 2 weeks old during her first photo shoot with Daddy. You can tell by this first picture that she didn't love it...And she was a little bored with it...
But we ended up with a few good pictures...

First Week Home

Norah's first week home went very well! We were greeted by this lovely welcome sign that Norah's grandparents made when we came home from the hospital on Saturday afternoon.
Norah's new best friend was born a little more than a week before she was and came over for a visit when we got home. (Norah is on the left & Sarah & Dave Wietecki's daughter Adelyn is on the right)
Grandma Judy came from Grafton, ND and stayed with us during Norah's first week at home. She was a huge help!! Thanks Grandma!
Norah has been a pretty good eater and sleeper so far. We feel very blessed to have this happy and easy going girl as the new addition to our family.

My Baby Sister Norah

My Baby Sister Norah Louise was born on Friday morning. I got to go to the hospital to meet her in the afternoon. My parents took her to the nursery before I came so I would feel like I was a part of bringing her into our family.

Here's Daddy pointing her out to me in the nursery.
Then I got to help push her bassinet back to Mommy's room. I'm such a big helper already!

She is so cute and little! Norah got me a new Thomas train because I'm her big brother, wasn't that nice?

I like to tell Mom and Dad the things I notice about Baby Norah, like: "She's little" or "Baby Norah's crying." I know I'm going to be a great big brother!

Happy Halloween!

I was a train engineer for Halloween this year! It was my first real time trick-or treating. We only went to a few neighbors houses, but I really liked saying "Trick or Treat" and seeing what treats went into my pumpkin bucket (which I named Peter). :-)

Apple Picking

Fall Fun

Andrew's 2nd Birthday Party

I got to celebrate my 2nd birthday a few weeks early! I had such a fun time. A lot of my family and friends were able to come to the party. Mom & Dad made the party "Thomas" themed because that is my favorite thing right now. I was so excited opening up my presents..I kept saying "open more Thomas's". Thanks everyone for all the nice presents!

Leech Lake Weekend

We just had another fun-filled weekend! We were able to use Great Aunt Arlyss's lake home on Leech Lake in Walker, MN. The Lake lived up to it's name this weekend because I got a leech between my toes! Dad says it was a baby leech, but Mom swears it was huge!
The Hanson & Wietecki families joined us for the weekend and we had lots of fun.

We had a dance party on the deck while groovin' to Eva's new Hanna Montana CD...
And we had some quality boy play time in the tub. If Baby Luke looks like he's freezing...he probably is...Daddy keeps the bath water very cold to keep me awake...sorry Lukey!

Since I wake up at the crack of dawn, my parents took me into downtown Walker both mornings we were in town so we wouldn't wake up the rest of the cabin. We went to 2 different coffee shops and got very friendly with the local Mama Duck & her ducklings. We even got to see Mama Duck fight off a weasel while protecting her babies. I guess it's not just my Mom that's protective, huh?

Heaven on Earth...Tractors at the Zoo!

The MN Zoo had a special Family Fun day out at the Zoo Farm. You'll never guess what was there...just about every John Deere tractor known to man! I am absolutely in love with every type of tractor right now, so it was a dream come true to get to sit on them! I love tractors so much that every time my parents as what I want to do I say: "Play tractors". If they ask me what I dreamed about last night I say "Dreamed about tractors". I've even been known to chase the cat around the house saying "Basil play tractors??" So needless to say, we had a super fun day at the zoo!

Oh yeah, and there were some animals there too... :-)