Now we have 2 ponies.....

tails!!!

:)

And here's a flashback at our 1st pony

(Make sure you read below for our post today)

Happy Friday!!!!!

Grandparents Day

Yesterday was Grandparent's Day at school!  I remember so vividly Grandparent's Day at St. Huberts.  My grandparents always came, we went to church together, we showed them our school, and then they took us out to lunch!  So I was very excited that Abigail's school has Grandparent's Day.  Our girls are so lucky because both sets of grandparents live close and they get to see them both often!  So I decided instead of having all 4 grandparents, we'd invite one set this year (Wennerstroms) and one set next year (Muskovichs) and then the following year....dun, dun, dun....we'll have 2 kids at school here!

Nana went with Abigail and they had a great day! 

Making a cross together

Abigail, Luca, and their grandmas!  That's lots of Italian grandma in this picture!!!!!!

I hear this handprint square is part of a classroom quilt.  How cute?????

And what would grandparent's day be without lunch after?????

I had to work most of the day, so Abigail stayed with Nana (and Papa when he got home from work) and they did some "errands". Abigail LOVES the word "errands" and often tells me we need to go do them!

And not only lunch, but out for a fun dinner too!!!!  Augustino's!

I'm not sure who had a better day, Nana or Abigail!  I'd say it's a tie...I know they both had a great day together!  These sort of traditions make me so happy we found this schoool!!!!  (And I should mention Caitlin also had a GREAT day...she had a whole day alone with Mommy....we don't get those days often so we really enjoyed our day together.)

I also am behind on our weekend at Bass Lake.  We went up there last weekend (our last visit for a while...we don't go much in the winter) and had a nice relaxing weekend.  The weather on Saturday morning was perfect, so we were able to take advantage of the nice weather and have a campfire.

Caitlin exploring the lake...her 1st time "walking" at the cabin!  She can't wait for next summer!

Yard work

We appreciate these family moments so much!

Papa teaching Abigail how to make hot dogs on the fire.  (This is when the rain started...and continued the rest of the day.  Perfect day for a PUZZLE...which took Rob like 8 hours literally to do).

This weekend we are pretty busy, including Baby O'Connor's baby shower! 

My Oh My....Shutterfly!

The time is finally here...Time to pick the Xmas card picture!

All moms know what I'm talking about.  We take pictures all year long trying to get the "perfect picture for the Xmas card".  Every single picture taken on vacation is followed by an evaluation if I could use it for Xmas.  I pick outfits during the year that I think would be great for our Xmas card!  It's really an obsession!  I blame my parents....we grew up knowing our vacation would partly involve getting the perfect picture for our Xmas card!  And we always did!

Well, we did it!!!!!  The Wennerstrom family got the perfect Xmas card picture.  How did we know it was "the one"?  Well....simple....both kids were looking AND smiling!  Any mom of a 2 and 1 year old knows that getting both kids to look and smile is the complete battle!  And we did it!!!!  (There may be a little unwanted drool, but hey, that's life).  And then, it gets better.  We actually got a family shot of the 4 of us all looking.....that's called a BONUS!  So we have 2 pictures for our Xmas card. 

Now What?????

Shutterfly makes that simple!  I'm not sure what people did before Shutterfly, but we love going there for our Xmas cards!!!!  And this year is no exception.  This year Shutterfly is giving bloggers 50 free Xmas cards!  That's right, my first 50 Xmas cards will be free thanks to Shutterfly!!!  One more reason to love Shutterfly.

Okay, back to Shutterfly.  Every year the selection gets better and better.  Not to mention they are so afforable.  Last year I went to a photo studio and paid too much for pictures I didn't love and ended up with "okay" Xmas cards.  But this year I decided to save some time, money, and frustration, and do it myself!!!So, I have spent hours, and hours, and hours checking out Shutterfly (not that you need to, that's just my way.  I like to shop around...ALOT)  and I have narrowed it down to 3 cards:

I love all 3 and may use any of them.  The 2nd one is the "traditional" picture card and is much more affordable (we're talking like 32 cents per card), but even the 1st and 3rd cards are still affordable at a little over $1 per card!  We aren't one of those "write a letter about all that's happening" family...but we think our Xmas card is important.  It lets those who are special to us know we are thinking of them at this time of year!  It lets them know we care about them.  And of course, it's a chance to show off our adorable kids!  :)

Which ones did we choose????  You'll have to wait a few weeks to find out!!!!!!!

And in addition to our Xmas cards, Shutterfly makes shopping for gifts so easy!  Here are some of our favorite links:

Want to make your own Xmas card???  Go here

Did I mention we use Shutterfly for the traditional calendar??? The girls give their grandparents, aunts and uncles, and great-grandparents a calendar of pictures from that year!  It's a great gift that keeps on giving all year.  More information on calendars is here

Have someone who's hard to shop for????  Go here for personalized gifts that anyone is sure to love!

Are you a blogger????  Bloggers can get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly: http://bit.ly/sfly2010

God Bless Lucy

Last Sunday, Rob and I had the HUGE honor of becoming Godparents to our niece Lucy.  We know Lucy is surrounded by people who love and watch out for her...and we were so honored to be chosen as her Godparents.  Lucy looked beautiful...and was the best, most well-behaved baby at the HUGE baptism.  I wish someone would have got a picture of the chaos that happened on the alter..there were 11 babies and like 60 people on the alter because a couple babies had like 20 Godparents.  Plus, it was during a Bears game...more to come on that later! ;) 

Our BEAUTIFUL Goddaughter, Lucy Alexandra!  She looked like a little angel, and acted like one too!

Love Love LOVE

So proud and honored

Aunt Katie and Abigail

(Here's where the football comes in...check out the 2 grandpas in the background.  Yep, that's the grandpas checking the football scores during the baptism.  Ha Ha..busted on film.  But what you can't see are the Dad and Godfather, who were checking scores WHILE ON the alter....NO, you say, that would never happen...would it???  Well, if you can use the "camera phone" as a cover, then I guess it just might have.  ;)  Lucy, if you are ever reading this, you should know NONE of this happened during YOUR baptism...it happened during one of the 10 other ones...some which really were crazy HUGE.  You were born into BEARS families...it's a blessing, I promise).

The cousins at the party after

Lucy,

We LOVE you so much!  We promise to be there for you whenever you need us.  We will spend lots of time together and can't wait to watch you grow up!  God Bless you on your baptism.  We love you!

Love, Aunt Beth and Uncle Rob

*****************************************

I also wanted to post the last pictures from Caitlin's 1st bday.

The morning of her B-day...having a birthday breakfast together. (Check out Elmo's eyes...they make me laugh)

The Birthday girl getting ready to have some cake.  We were going to go out to celebrate her birthday, but I wasn't feeling well so we decided to stay in, order pizza, and just enjoy "family time".

Opening 1 of her birthday presents; a twilight ladybug for her room.

Her big birthday present:  her new chair!  It is really cute.  She loves it!!!  Don't believe me????

This is where you will now find her anytime of the day....so cute!

Our "best" attempt at a family picture!

The girls playing in Caitlin's birthday present...it was so cute how they drove it together.

Happy Birthday Caitlin Bug!  I think you had a wonderful birthday!  We love you!

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Caitlin had a GREAT 1st Birthday!!!  She was surrounded by family and friends...and felt so loved!  It was very funny because she knew the party was for her.  She loved being the center of attention...and made everyone around her laugh!  A lot of kids feel overwhelmed with all the attention, but not Caitlin...she thrived!!!!

Here are a few pictures from her 1st birthday party:

Happy Birthday, Caitlin!

Under the rainbow

Concentrating very hard at opening her presents

Riding in her new car

Opening Tickle Me Elmo is HARD work...but worth the reaction Caitlin has when she sees it

The rainbow cake (seperate post to come on how to make it)

Luke, Caitlin, and Rosie (they are all the same age and will all start kindergarten together...so neat since their mommies have been friends for over half their lives)

Caitlin and Grandma

Blowing out the candles

A picture with Uncle Joe...I couldn't find many of Abigail but had to show her new dress from Auntie MoMo and Uncle B from Madrid....she put it on and never wants to take it off

Caitlin had a great 1st birthday!!!!!!!  Thank you to all who were part of her special day!

Happy Birthday, Baby!

 Bug,

Today is the day....1 year old!  I can't believe it's been a year since we met you for the first time. I remember the doctor saying "It's a girl" and her handing you to me.  You looked right at me and even though it was the first time we met, I felt like I'd known you forever!  Daddy held you and was so proud...he never wanted to put you down and he never took his eyes off of you.  He would watch you sleep for hours!  When Abigail held you for the first time, you two instantly became the two closest people in each other's lives!  You bring so much joy to our lives and are the perfect piece to our family puzzle! 

You are surrounded by people who love you!  You and your sister are best friends.  You look up to her...and she takes care of you!  All of your grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousin LOVE you so much!!!!  And you have a mommy and daddy who love you  more than anything....and are so proud of you!

Your smile lights up a room.  I pray that one day you have a daughter who smiles at you the way you smile at us...it's a feeling that can't be explained!  Your smile makes everyone around you feel so loved and special!!!!!  We can see how happy you are through your smile!

Happy Birthday, Caitlin Bug!  You are such an amazing daughter!  You are our dream come true!  We love you!!!!!

Love,
Mommy, Daddy, Abigail, and Kramer 

Don't miss the "Year in Review" below!

A Year in Picures

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