2007 comes to a close

So this brings us into December. Another crazy month but we all managed to survive. John traveled to Germany for a week. We were fortunate to go to Berlin last year around the same time and it absolutely beautiful there. I was jealous that he got to go again although it was for work and not leisure.

Noah's school put on a Christmas program that was fun to watch. He of course, didn't participate at all. He spent the first 10 minutes howling because he did not want to go on stage and spent the rest of the time watching his friends perform from the audience and was perfectly content with that. I was amazed however that the director of the school was able to get the kids organized enough to perform songs with memorized lyrics considering that the age range is 2 1/2 to 6 years old. I have a hard time teaching that age group to draw in a classroom setting let alone perform on stage. I can't say enough good things about the school.

Noah's language has just exploded this last month and I can't believe the vocabulary on that kid! He is definitely at the age where we have to spell things and really watch what we say. You only have to say something once and he has it down. He has also decided that it is fun to bug his sister, particularly since she is mobile now and into everything, including his toys. It is impossible to get anything done and keep an eye on them both simultaneously. If you turn your head for a second, someone usually ends up crying. But Noah is not to blame completely, Anisha is learning the art of manipulation and it's to the point now where if Noah walks by her, she screams bloody murder.

Anisha got her top 2 teeth this month and let me tell how fun that was! Not so much. She also caught a stomach bug a few days before John was to leave for his trip. She got so dehydrated because she couldn't keep anything down, that we ended up in the ER and that was the most awful experience ever. Once she got some fluids in her though she was slowly able to eat and keep it down and was back to her old, mischievous self in a week. Of course, Noah then caught it and so did I, although not quite as bad, so I felt like I was doing laundry all the time. I don't ever want go through that again. But I do finally understand why my parents get so concerned when we get sick. It's just an inherent part of being a parent to worry and feel so helpless. I'm not sure that is ever going to go away.

Moving on to fun and exciting things...Christmas Eve was pretty mellow with the four of us and my dad, but we sure had a lot of fun. Noah really understood the concept of a gift this year and had a blast opening presents from us. Our family has typically always opened gifts on Christmas Eve. John's usually did presents from Santa on Christmas, so our kids get the best of both worlds. Spoiled rotten, I know. Anisha had a really good time playing with all the packaging, so I'm not sure why we even bothered to get any gifts. John's mom came over Christmas morning and then we spent Christmas day at the Mullin's house in Hugo. John's dad side of the family is rather large so it's always a lot of fun to visit them. John's brother, Dan and his wife Paige, and their 3 kids, Kylie, Ryan and Jesse, were also there, so Noah ran around like a crazy person. He slept pretty good that night.

The best part of the month was the 28th, because my mom finally returned from her trip to India (she was there since mid-October). I felt such relief when she got home, I can't even describe it. Noah was pretty excited to see his Dida. Anisha didn't quite remember her and was a little cautious around her.

John and I ended up trading both of our cars in for new ones. His truck was costing basically a car payment in gas a month because of his commute to work everyday. So he ended up getting a sedan. My issue was a space issue. My SUV was awesome, but once you put the stroller in the back, that was it. No room for anything else. So I bit the bullet and decided being a mini-van mom isn't going to be so bad. Both of them have so many bells and whistles, it's ridiculous. That's the only way to describe it. They make these things so that you can live in them.

So we bring 2007 to a close and I can't believe how blessed we are. I am grateful for so many things, my family, friends, kids and all the opportunities presented to us that makes our lives richer (and I don't mean with money). Thanks to everyone for all your love and support, we wish you a Happy New Year!