Tooth Fairy's First Visit

Dawson lost his first tooth last week. (Good thing, because the adult tooth was already half way in behind it!) The tooth fairy visited that night. What excitment that brings for a 5 year old!

Asleep waiting for the tooth fairy.

Presents From Dawson

This was the first year Dawson really got into giving Christmas presents. Here is what he gave to David and me. (I wish I would have taken a picture of the wrapping job he did on everything, but I forgot. It was great though!)

For Mommy: A holiday hug and two handmade ornaments.

For daddy: A car that we made two years ago, (that he found in the basement,)a boat made out of cupcake paper, and a dollar bill he earned doing chores.

They also got to pick out a gift at the store - so Dawson picked out P.J.'s for daddy, just like the ones he wears....and Jamie picked out a great new winter hat for daddy to wear in Minnesota:

Christmas #1 of the week

Here is Christmas celebration #1....we opened presents from each other, at our house, on Sunday morning. The fun is just beginning for the week!

Yes! A new bike! *because someone ran over the "gravel blaster" in our driveway =(

Oh, and here is Jamie playing on the computer earlier in the week, while she was sick. She would stay here for hours, if we would let her.

More Family Photos

As promised, here are some more pictures from the photographer that came to attempt portraits of David's family. Thanks Katie DeWinter, they are great! http://www.katiedewinter.com

Here are some of our favorites:

Merry Christmas 2009

For those of you that did not get our Christmas card this year, sorry - I either ran out of cards, or I don't have your address! So here is what you missed....

Merry Christmas 2009! From Us.

Jamisen Leigh - 4

Jamie has had an exciting year-
our once tiny baby is now four!
She is doing lots of fun new things:
Preschool, soccer, dance and more.

She is very bright, but a bit stubborn -
With a strong mind of her own.
After learning lots in school, three days a week,
She always has things to say when getting home.

Jamie loves to sing and she likes to dance
Or go outside with neighbor friends to play.
She is growing up into a really great girl
Who does something cute or funny everyday!

Dawson Neil - 5

Dawson is a big kid now...
He started kindergarten this year.
Riding on the bus each day,
Without a hint of fear.

He loves to learn and figure stuff out.
He is really very smart.
He says he likes to read and write,
But his favorite thing is art.

Soccer and baseball, ice skating and biking
Are things Dawson likes to do.
He probably thinks they are the best
Because David thinks so too.

D. J. d. j.

This has been a busy year for us -
A lot of work and school and play.
There is so much to do and a lot to remember,
We are often exhausted at the end of the day!

David just hit five years of work at Bosch
And is playing soccer in downtime for fun.
Janet is managing a sales team at IKEA
And joining kid's field trips when not on the run.

Jamaica, Mackinac Island, and Northern Michigan
Were a few places we vacationed in.
We also did a lot around town:
Tigers games, zoo trips and neighborhood walkin'

This poem is starting to lose some steam
And even lacks actual rhymes.
So it is time to say Merry Christmas to you,
And may your next year be the best of times!

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." Luke 2:14

Cookies & Art = Our Favorite Things

We spend A LOT of time at our dining room table, mostly doing art. When it is Christmas time, it turns into a place to do cookie art, which is way more fun!

Good thing it is an old, fixed up and painted table that we really don't care about - because it is pretty much destroyed after the years of kid abuse. I'm guessing our table has approximately 2 more years of abuse left before it is ready for the garbage.

As usual, Dawson was very meticulous with his cookie decorating and Jamie was a spaz.

No surprises there.

Here is a game for you....Guess who made which cookie. (and no adults made them.) Shouldn't be too hard to guess.

This is a pretty common sight at home. The majority of time is spent doing art / crafts at the table.

I just thought Jamie looked cute here.

We had some photos taken last week with David's family. It was a little chaotic, and crazy getting everyone to be happy in one place at the same time for a photographer - but she was VERY patient and got some great shots of each family and of everyone together. (Thanks Katie DeWinter!)

Here is a preview that is blog worthy (it kind of reminds me of a J.Crew catalog shot, but I guess that is a good thing). Sadly, none of the pictures will make it into our Christmas card this year - since I'm too much of a planner and already have those done, addressed and in the mail.

I'll post more pictures at a later date, since the ones of the kids will for sure be very cute.

Party with my IKEA team

I had a Department Christmas Party tonight with my team....here they are. They are all fabulous (especially for putting up with me as a boss)! We are missing a few people, but it was a great time - and good to be with eachother outside of that blue box.

What is a party with out way too much food, drinks and a swedish dala horse?

November Happenings

For some reason we have only a couple pictures from the whole month of November. It must have been a busy month!
Actually it was - there were a lot of kids Thanksgiving programs and field trips that I could post video of, but haven't gotten around to it yet.
For now, here are a few pictures from around Thanksgiving time....

Getting ready to leave for the one of the Thanksgiving feasts.


Hanging out with Lydia at Grandpa and Grandma O's.





This is Jamie's build-a-bear (cat) named Ally. She has joined the other many babies that Jamie drags around constantly and has to sleep with (Naby, Caroline the froggie, and hard baby.)

This is a hot air balloon and landing area that they made for Ally, Naby and Froggie. Why do we even buy toys I ask? Seriously boxes, tape and plastic bags seem to be what they play with, regardless of the expensive toys we have on hand.

New Found Skill

Dawson has a new found skill. Last week he picked up a hula hoop in a store and started doing it, without ever having tried it before. Don't know what the skill is useful for in life....but he's pretty good at it. (sorry about video quality - it is from my phone.)