Christmas in Escanaba

On Sunday, December 27th, we said goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa Handrich and headed to Grandma Van Ermen's house in Escanaba, MI.

Interestingly, Daddy and I dropped Mommy off in Green Bay so she and Uncle Matthew could go to the Packer-Seahawk game that afternoon. Meanwhile, as Mommy and Uncle Matthew froze themselves at Lambeau Field, Daddy and I continued our trek north to Escanaba. Since Daddy had the Christmas music playing on his iPod, the trip wasn't too bad, although I got a bit cranky with him on the last hour of the trip since I didn't nap very much earlier that morning.

Nonetheless, we all arrived safely in Escanaba, and I spent five wonderful days playing with a lot of my aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Of course, I got even more practice opening Christmas presents. I'm really starting to get the hang of this paper-ripping process! And I let Mommy have some fun with the bow, which somehow ended up on top of my head.

I also got to spend more time in Grandma's "jumperoo," which is a toy I absolutely love. It lets me stand up and play with all sorts of fun toys and gadgets - one of which is a fuzzy green dragon puppet. And since I'm currently knee-deep in the teething process, I LOVE chomping on the fuzzy green dragon. Let's just say the dragon knows who's boss. :-)

Overall, the three of us had an absolutely wonderful, relaxing holiday season. We're all very thankful for our smooth, safe travels, and the blessing of being able to spend the holidays with our loved ones.

Happy New Year!

Christmas in Waupaca

Our first holiday trip this year was to Waupaca, WI to see Grandma and Grandpa Handrich. I especially impressed Grandma and Grandpa by how quiet I was during Christmas Eve mass - 90 minutes of church time, and I was as quiet as could be. It must have been the nice holiday music that put me in such a peaceful mood!

And of course, I also got to wear my first Christmas dress. I'll try to be modest, but I was VERY cute in my outfit. Mommy did a great job putting my ensemble together.

I also got to open more Christmas presents in Waupaca. One of my gifts from Grandpa and Grandpa was my very first Green Bay Packer hat. In the past week, I've already worn this hat a number of times. Since I still don't have a lot of hair, I really love how this hat keeps my head warm and toasty when Mommy and Daddy take me around town in this brutally cold weather.

The three of us had a wonderful time in Waupaca, as Grandpa and Grandma took great care of us. I heard they fed Mommy and Daddy really well, too...I thought I heard Daddy say something to Mommy about his pants not fitting anymore, but maybe that was a conversation I wasn't supposed to hear...

'Twas the night before Christmas Eve...

Before we embarked on our 2009 holiday travels, Mommy and Daddy and I celebrated our first Christmas together at home.

I loved staring at the ornaments on the tree, and one of the ornaments was also MY first ornament - very special!

And I really enjoyed learning how to open presents...I definitely got some good practice for next year. I even helped Daddy open one of his gifts, which was a movie ("The Hangover") that I won't be allowed to see for another 17 years or so.

All in all, I think I'll be OK with celebrating Christmas again in the future...

Week 19 Growth Photo

I celebrated my 19-week birthday in Escanaba, MI at Grandma Van Ermen's house. Mom and Dad helped Grandma get ready for Christmas. I heard they made hundreds of Christmas cookies and set up Grandma's Christmas tree, but I was too busy playing with my toys to notice. But when it came time for my weekly growth picture, I couldn't resist giving my bear some holiday love...

Week 18 Growth Photo

Our little girl is getting so big! As Mom transitioned her clothes to the next size up, Dad couldn't find much for her to wear - and ended up with this! No worries - Rachel is still as happy as can be. Next week we promise a little more Christmas festive outfit... :)

Busy Busy Busy

The Magician from Frosty the Snowman was "busy, busy busy!" and so were we this week! Dad was out of town from Tuesday afternoon through Friday afternoon for work. He was lucky enough to sneak in a visit with Great Great Aunt Velda in Atlanta before heading home. Mom made sure to have some adult conversations each day while Dad was gone, so we did sneak in a visit to Great Aunt Mary (aka Granny) and Great Uncle Jim on Wednesday. Mom forgot the camera so it was lucky that Uncle Jim remembered to take at least a few pictures. Thursday Mom decided that Rachel was old enough to start eating some rice cereal. We tried out the highchair for a bit and Rachel didn't seem too sure of it all. Then, a different time Rachel ate, we did end up documenting the messy face of the beautiful girl. After Dad got home on Friday afternoon, we packed up and headed to Escanaba to help Grandma Barbara get ready for a houseful of people through Christmas week. Grandma had an exer-saucer toy that Rachel loved to play in. Time to make sure we have one in Milwaukee! Rachel has also learned to completely love bath time. She really enjoys the few minutes after when Mom scoops her up in the towel and they giggle together. Rachel also had her 4th month check-up today and she is 13.4 lbs and 25.5 inches tall. She is right on target as a very happy and healthy baby! Can't wait to see what this next week will bring. Merry Christmas everyone!

Week 17 Growth Photo

As we start another week, Rachel continues to smile, giggle, goo, and gee more and more each day. Christmas time continues to approach us and we reflect on the many blessings of the year - number one being Rachel! Share in more smiles for this week and stay tuned for another weekly update!