Happy New Year!!

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas and is looking forward to a great new year! I know that we are! We spent Christmas at the lake with my parents and had a great time! As usual, Santa went a bit overboard with the presents!! The kids had so much fun and I think they got everything they wanted (and more)! Our good friends Heather and Doug were able to come to the lake to spend Christmas Day and the weekend with us. We took them to Gruene Hall and danced all day on Saturday. We also spent a lot of time playing games and laughing until our sides hurt! The girls kicked butt at each game we played and earned the title of Champions of the Universe. Kyle and Faith were with Faith's family for Christmas this year but were able to spend Sunday and Monday at the lake. Mabel is getting so big and is such a little doll. Max and Rhian just adore her. We rang in the New Year with great friends playing games and laughing a lot. We had a great night!! We are looking forward to 2010 and hope that this year everyone will stay healthy!!

Update

So I have been bad at keeping up with the blog since school started. So here is an update and I promise to try harder to update more frequently.

August - Rhian starts Kindergarten!! She LOVES it and has a fabulous teacher!! Max starts his second year of PPCD (Pre-School Programs for Children with Disabilities). He has a different teacher this year and though we REALLY miss Miss Greggory he is adjusting and doing really well.

September - We went to the lake for Labor Day and got to spend time with Kyle, Faith and Mabel. Max nicknamed Mabel, Meatball and it has stuck. She is a doll!! All four of us got the Swine Flu. It was the week from hell but we all made full recoveries and nobody ended up in the hospital.

October - School, school, school and Halloween. We took the kids to mom and dad's old house and camped out in Mr. Fred and Miss Linda's driveway. It was really fun!

November - I ran in the San Antonio 1/2 marathon. It was super hot and humid and my time was not as good as last year but at least I finished. Aaron got an Outstanding Achievement Award at work and we are so proud of him. Rhian had her Thanksgiving Feast and Play at school and it was so cute! We had a great Thanksgiving with Aaron's family.

So that's the jist of it...now for what you really want...pictures! :) Hope all is well with everyone!! Love ya'll!! :)

Pictures from North Dakota

The kids and I went to North Dakota at the beginning of August to visit family. We spent a fews days with as many relatives as we could and had a great time! The kids were AWESOME travelers so we hope to make more trips up north in the future. :)

Rhian Rae is 5 years and 1 week old!!

I didn't get to post on Rhian's birthday because it was my first day back to work so I'm just about a week late.

I am so very blessed to have Rhian as my daughter. She is the most loving child. She is so outgoing and creative and is constantly singing. Aaron and I love to hear the songs that she makes up. She wants to be just like Hannah Montana and knows every word to all of her songs. She amazes us daily with the things that she knows and the words that come out of her mouth. She is so smart. Rhian wins the heart of every person she meets. She is the light of of lives and always puts a smile on our faces. She is special beyond words.

Happy Birthday to my Big Boy!!

What an amazing journey the last 4 years have been. It is hard to believe that Max was once only 2lbs. He is such a great kid with so much fight and determination. The last 4 years with him have been incredible, we are so blessed to have such a wonderful son. He tests our patience constantly, but what 4 year old boy doesn't? I wouldn't have it any other way! He wants to do everything his big sister does, much to her dismay! He is a bundle of energy from the moment he opens his eyes in the morning until the moment he closes them at night. He loves Spiderman. He has the best smile I've ever seen and he wins the heart of every person he meets. He is one of the most lovable kids I've ever known. He tries harder than any kid I've ever known. He gives the best hugs and the sweetest kisses. Max is truly a miracle and I am so proud to be his mom. Happy 4th Birthday Mack-a-Doo!! I love you so much!!

Mabel Jean Melgaard

Mabel Jean, Kyle and Faith's baby, was born on Friday!! Faith was in labor for 39 long hours and she did amazing! She did most of it naturally but ended up having to have a c-section because Mabel was face up and too big for Faith's small frame. Mabel was born at 7:21pm on July 24 and weighed a whopping 8lbs 12oz!! She has a full head of dark hair and is absolutely perfect!! We are already completely head over heels for the newest addition to our family. So enough talk...here are some pictures of my sweet little niece.

Build A Bear

For Christmas Grandpa Gunnar and Grandma Betty got Rhian and Max gift cards to Build a Bear. Well today was the day we went to build our bears. They had so much fun!! They each made something that they will keep forever and is so special to them. Thanks for a great day Grandma and Grandpa!!

First the kids chose the animal that they wanted. Rhian chose a sparkly white bear and Max chose a monkey.


Then they filled it up with stuffing by stepping on a pedal. Then they hug it to see if they have enough stuffing.

Then they picked out a heart, made a wish, kissed it and put it in their animal.


Next was bath time. They got to step on a pedal and air shot out of the shower head while they brushed their animal. (Next we picked out clothes. I didn't get any pictures because Rhian would have had half the store in her bag if I didn't pay attention!!)


Last we made birth certificates. Rhian named her bear Hannah and Max's is Spider Monkey.


They LOVE their bears!! Thanks so much Grandma and Grandpa, what a fun gift!!