Ho! hO! Ho! MeRrY cHrIsTmAs!

Big boy moves!!

Our little peanut has some new big boy moves....he now sits up on his own for a few minutes before slowing falling to the side. It is so fun to see him grow and change!

Oh, such a cute sad face...

Nana loving Eli...

Peek-a-boo....

Strings and paper...a few of his favorite toys!

Just hanging out...

Grandpa loving Eli...

DiApEr HaTs and PaiNtiNg...

"These people we call children are intended by the pattern of the universe to play, to have time to simply be, to grow at their own pace, to have fun, to be loved and cherished, and to be free to enjoy and use their gift of imagination."

~Win and Bill SweetIntroducing...our little munchkin friends, Jacob (Jake, 5 yrs), Isabelle (Izzy, 4 yrs), and Andrew (Drew-man, 2 yrs). These are the wonderful children that I care for three days a week. I feel truly blessed to have found this amazing family who happened to be looking for a nanny part-time and are very accepting of Elias being with his mommy. (I've added their family blog to my list) Jake, Izzy and Drew are wonderful children who have become such an amazing addition to our lives. Elias loves to watch them play and they adore him to pieces. It continues to be an amazing journey to care for these little people we call children...

Packer Week

In honor of the Vikings vs. Packers game this weekend, I thought I would hack in to the blogsite again and post some of my most memorable moments of this great rivalry.

1) I remember when the Vikes absolutely spanked the Pack back in 1998 at Lambeau Field, when Randy Moss was a rookie.

2) I remember in 1999, I believe, when Brett Favre floated a pass directly to big time free agent acquisition, Chris Dishman, only to bounce off his chest and into the waiting arms of Antonio Freeman for a game winning touchdown.

3) I remember when Randy Moss "mooned" the drunken, angry, blaze-orange wearing Packer fans at Lambeau Field, in a playoff victory for the Vikes a few years ago.

4) I remember the Pack beating the Vikings the last five times the teams have played each other.

5) The most memorable moment I have came just recently, when I realized that my brother-in-law Phil has decided to mold his young son into a Packer backer. I was thinking about this realization today, wondering why someone would choose this path. I believe the decision can only be made out of pure love for his child. He is only trying to spare Liam from the pain and suffering that every Viking fan has had to endure in the past 50 years of their existance. Good job Phil... you are proving to me, and everybody else that you are a true family man! Myself... not the case. I have decided to take the alternate route, with the risk of exposing my son to years of disappointment and failure, in hopes that the Vikings can someday reach the promised land. Below are pictures of the cousins... Liam is decked out in his Brett Favre dinasaur jr. halloween costume, and Eli is showing his colors with his Adrian Peterson authentic replica mini-me dinasaur costume.

It also got me thinking... Maybe this will someday result in a good matchup of rookie sensations, in the year 2031 when the Green Bay Packers, led by strong safety Liam Berndt (rookie - Notre Dame) face the Minnesota Vikings led by left-handed QB Eli Ekern (rookie-Michigan) at the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac Metrodome in Minneapolis.

One can dream.......

Brett Favre

Adrian Peterson

tRiCk-Or-TrEaT

GRRRRrrrrrrr....scary purple dragon!!

Last weekend Elias went to his first pumpkin carving party as a pumpkin!

Momma and scary purple dragon!!

Our little pumpkin!

Goofy Monster!!

Our friends Amanda and Avery stopped by for some tricks and treats! Avery was a little farmer...so cute!

Our neighbor biked to work (8 mile commute) with Herman the skeleton on the back of his tandom!

Milestones....

This leaf is so great!!
Hmmmm...I wonder if I should eat it? (He sure tried!)
Where's Eli?
Such a big boy!!

On October 10th our little peanut turned 6 months old! We can hardly believe how much he's grown physically and developmentally in just 6 months. Our little peanut is not so little anymore as he reached 15 lbs a few weeks ago! This means he's quadrupled in size!! When Elias was first born, it was hard to imagine him at six months or even one month as we were taking it day by day trying to figure it all out. Now I have a hard time remembering him as a newborn and the days seem to fly by.

Elias has had some big milestones happen in the past few weeks. One being his ambition to move! He now rolls from back to stomach and stomach to back until he rolls to where he wants to be or until he reaches that toy in his sight! It is too cute and so fun to see him concentrate so intently! As I write this blog, he has managed to roll himself under the couch!!

He loves to study things, the latest being spoons and tags(and leaves)...he loves tags! Now I know why "taggies" where invented! He smiles and giggles at his familiar surroundings, especially when he sees Mikko and Marla and when Daddy comes home from work! He's in love with his Papa!! He also admires and has learned so much from his new friends...Jake, Izzy and Drew...the children I nanny for. I will introduce these wonderful children in my next blog as I have some cute pictures to share!!

Another huge and wonderful, maybe even miraculous milestone...Eli finally falls asleep in the car and is content for longer periods of time in his carseat! phew!! All I can say is PHEW!!

I know so many of you reading this can relate to these small (but so big!) milestones! It continues to amaze us how absorbant and aware these little creatures are and how quickly they change! We love all the updates on your little ones!!

Sending our love to you all...

Angie and Chris - Two Year Anniversary

October 7th... our 2nd anniversary! I cannot believe it's already been 2 years since Angie and I tied the knot. I feel so blessed to be married to such an amazing, beautiful and caring person such as Angie. All of our friends know what type of person she is, but I get to spend every day with her... how I got so lucky, I have no idea.

All right... sorry about all the mushy stuff.

Ang, please don't be mad at me, or embarrassed that I hacked into our blog and posted this... I just wanted to make sure you know I'm thinking about you. You are an amazing person, and a wonderful mommy to our son.

Happy Anniversary Ang... I LOVE YOU!

Love, Chris

It's that time of year...

Fall is here! The trees are beautiful, the air is cool and crisp and I have the desire to make soup. Yes indeed...it's that time of year! You know, time to start thinking about Christmas!!! I know, I know, it's only October...HAPPY OCTOBER!!...but seriously, Christmas is just around the corner and we should all be prepared. Don't be afraid to get out the music and start plotting and planning where to put your Christmas village(ours consists of a bar, church and coffee shop!). Oh, I'm just so excited for Christmas this year...well every year, but this year especially! With Elias in our lives, holidays have a deeper meaning. I'm so excited to share with him the holiday spirit...that magical feeling on Christmas morning! Our little boy will be almost 9 months at Christmas...how fun! How unbelievable that he will be 6 months in just a few days. He is definitely absorbing the world around him and changing daily! He is a little giggle monster and sometimes just a monster! :) We are in love with our little pumpkin! Here are some pictures of our little one and the beauty that surrounds us here in Northfield.

Weekend Adventures...

Here are a few pictures from the weekend! Thinking of you all and sending our love... Smiling at autie RaRa at the barn dance...
Eli in his new Peru hat from our friend Sarah who traveled to Peru last Spring...thank you Sarah!

Mikko giving kisses to his best buddy!!
Just chilling out in my new chair...the Bumbo!
Mikko giving more love...

Daddy and Eli on the giant swing at the barn party!!

Mr. Giggles

So, I've sat down at the computer about five times today to write a blog entry. My goal today was to write a longer than normal entry....as I have so much to share! The reality is, I am currently writing with one hand, Elias sleeping in the other. Will I get to share my deep thoughts today? NOPE! Tomorrow?? Probably not. One of these days I will get to it...just like I will get to those dishes and piles of laundry! :) Being able to hold my little peanut as he sleeps in my arms is so worth it...so much more important to me. This time with him, this moment, is now and will not be here forever! And the dishes, laundry and computer will! As a new mom, "patience" has a whole new meaning.

Speaking of treasuring the moment, we finally captured a glimpse of Elias having a giggle attack and we finally figured out how to download videos! It seems that every time we bring out the camera for one of those precious moments, Elias stops whatever he's doing because he is so intrigued by this amazing contraption with lights and buttons. Enjoy watching "Mr. Giggles"!!

Looking back....

Chris holding Elias in his first days of life...he was so little! And here they are now...Elias is about 4 months in this photo and pure chunk!



We love to look back at the first weeks of Elias' life and talk about the journey...the tears and laughter, the worries and joys, the growth as new parents and our complete amazement of our little boy! He was such a peanut...Here are some pictures comparing Elias in his early weeks of life to now!!

I remember my sisiter Sally and I getting so excited to put him in his new chair...we just giggled as he barely fit in one corner. Now look at him...he is almost too big!!
Cousin Liam and Elias a day after Liam was born. (Elias was about 5 weeks old) And here they are already having beers together!

Four Months Old...

Hello Everyone! I'm loving being a four month old!! I'm starting to really notice my environment. I love to watch Mikko and Marla (Mikko really enjoys licking my hands and face!), grab for fun things like my daddy's nose and laugh when mommy and daddy talk to me! I love to put things in my mouth...anything that's near really, but mostly my hands! Oh, and I LOVE to be outside and watch the leaves on the trees blow in the wind. I'm a curious little boy!

Is that my mommy talking to me? Oh yes, it is....hey mom!

Oh, that was soooo funny!!!!!!! We had a fun weekend with the Renney family and the Bartz family! Here's a picture of dad and I along with one of my girlfriends, Lydia with her daddy! She's so cute and fills her diaper just like me AND spits up like I do too! We have SO much in common...
And here is another one of my girlfriends, Brinnon with her mommy too!! I can't wait to walk and talk like Brinnon!! Even though she's older, I still have a huge crush! I think it's her eyes...