The Post-Holiday Blues

After the excitement and flurry of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's all packed into 6 weeks, it is normal to feel a little let down after it's all over.  The traveling, family, gifts, food, celebrating, Holiday church services, etc. can be exhausting though.  This was the first year in 6 years that I have not had to work one of the holidays, so we took full advantage.  And by that I mean several trips back and forth from Chicago to see family.  It was great to be able to be with family and not miss out on anything this year.  Cooper even got to stay in Chicago a few days on his own with the grandparents while mom and dad flew home to work a few days in between two weekend trips.  We cannot thank our parents enough for the generosity and love they show to us this time of year.  They took extra time and care this year (as they do always), to uphold family traditions and create new ones. 

But with all this being said, we are exhausted and happy to just be home.  We are looking forward to a month of not going anywhere, snuggling in while the snow and wind whip outside, and hanging out as a family.  We just need to be home and relax. So although usually this time of year I DO have the Post-Holiday Blues, I think I can honestly say I feel a sense of relief that is over this year.  Might want to check back with me in a few weeks though and I will probably feel differently ;)

SOOO many fun pictures were taken over the last few weeks, so I will just share a few (with captions of course!)

"Group" charades at the Zeltwanger family Christmas

2nd Cousin Love. 

Cooper going in for a kiss, and Josie just loving it!

And now a little hug.

Family Pic on Grandpa and Grandma Z's fireplace.  We have had so many family pictures taken here over the years.

The Whole Group.  Even though my mom was very sick over Christmas, she was amazing and rallied for all the events.  I know she was so happy to have us all here this year.  (Last year I think no one was able to be at the Z family Christmas ;(  )

Another family picture + Grandpa and Grandma.

I love how Coop is sitting on his lap ;)

Blowing out candles has become his new obsession.  So when Andy and I had to leave to go back to Chicago, Aunt Heather had the great idea to distract him by lighting all these candles.  She said it worked like a charm!  He didn't even know (or care) that we had left.  Oh our little pyro.

Papa

Grandpa Wayne

Making Christmas cookies with Cousin Grif and Cousin Saywer.  Grandpa Wayne and Gigi were brave to take on this task with these 3......

Once the kids were all asleep, we had some funny adult moments as well.  Andy needed a little help trying to get his feet into his new cowboy boots.....

Family Picture at our Bible Study's Holiday Brunch.

 

The Whole Gang.  There are 4 grandkids right now, next year it will be 5 when Baby Richard joins the group!

And when it's all done and over, it's always hard to say goodbye.  Coop even tried to catch a ride home with Aunt Heather!

 

And finally a little Happy New Year from Coop and his gal pal Jayla. 

Here's to a great 2013 for you and your families!

 (This picture was taken right before Coop pulled the elastic on his hat string and snapped his face, which resulted in a meltdown.  You can see him reaching for it here.....)

 

Meeting Mrs. Claus (and all things Christmas)

So we decided not to meet the big guy quite yet this year.  Don't think Coop would quite get it, and since since Santa's #1 Fan (aka Andy) didn't seem to mind, we will wait until next year for the big introduction!  That didn't stop us from stopping over at our neighbors to meet the sweet (and free) Mrs. Claus! 

Not so sure at first.....

(she wanted him to sit on her lap while she read a story, but all we could get him to do was snap this quick picture and he was done)

But after she revealed some bells and a fun hat to wear, he is was all about this Mrs. Claus thing!

 

We have been doing some other fun Christmas things around here as well.  Yesterday I decided Coop and I were going to have Christmas-palooza, so I fit in as many things Christmas as I could!  Some activities went better than others.  Let's just say when Andy got home that night I had 4 different "projects" that were left unfinished (and a mess).  Guess I got a little ambitious and expected a little too much from a 20 month old!  Here are a few pictures of the moments, plus a few other fun shots from the last couple weeks!

Pre-Heating the oven for the cookies. 

Although little does he know it is actually locked (we started locking the gas as he has figured out how to turn it on and we don't want him blowing up the house-and "no" doesn't seem to stop him these days).

"Organizing" the toppings

Mixing the cookies he is making for his Daycare Teachers.  He didn't last long with the mixing part.  "Help, mom!" were his exact words.

 

Checking out the first big blizzard and deciding if he should venture out or not.  It took me about 15 minutes to get the kid dressed in this get-up, only to realize once outside we forgot gloves!

Luckily he didn't mind.  Here he is cracking up at the neighbors having a snowball fight.

Coop loves the Christmas tree, especially when the lights are on.  He was doing pretty good about not touching it for the first week or so, but recently he likes to rip the ornaments off, and hit the brances.

Babysitter Aunt Kristel came over all festive the other night, complete with Santa hat and fun movies for Coop!  It's like she is straight out of the Babysitter's Club Books. Remember those??

We got to travel to Elkhart, Indiana a few weekends ago to celebrate this beautiful bride's special day.  My dear friend Amanda is a pledge sister from college, and I was honored to be part of her day!  Congrats Mrs. Roberts!

 

We also got to make a stop at the Eccleston house in Montgomery, Illinois for their festive Bows and Bowties party!

Despite the madness of the Christmas shopping I tried to do last Saturday morning, we found some time for Coop to play in the mall playground.  I know, most moms think these things are gross, with a million kids and germs all over.  I think Aunt Kristel would agree, as when she went inside the play area to check on Coop, she almost got pushed over by a 4 year old!  However it was our saving grace for a few minutes.

Had to sneak one pic in, for all those baby bump picture lovers! 

Here I am at 17 weeks (I am now almost 19!)

Here is Coop checking out the snow pouring down. 

 It was beautiful, although caused lots of school closings and havoc on the roads.  Coop even had a snow day too the next day, as his daycare was closed!  He got to hang out with Aunt Cindy and Max in the morning, then came home and our favorite neighborhood sitter Rachel came over.

Here we are on a "Christmas Light" walk through the neighborhood.  I think Coop really enjoyed it ;)

 

Trying the "2 kids" thing out.  Here we are babysitting Cousin Josie!  Wasn't too bad, wasn't too good either.  About two seconds after this pictue was taken, Coop decided to go crazy splashing everywhere, and Jos was not to happy about that.  But she is such a sweetie and only cried once the whole night.  And who can blame her if someone is biting her toe!  (If you hadn't guessed, that someone was Cooper).  All in all I think we are excited to take on the challenge of a new little lovebug around here.  I am glad we are a team of two though, and my heart goes out to all the single momas out there.  I don't know how you do it!

 

Merry Christmas to everyone!

  What a wonderful time of year as we celebrate our Savior's birth and spend precious moments with our loved ones.  Remember to hold everyone you love a little tighter this year, as we never know when it is our time to go "home".

 

 

 

 

 

Lots to be Thankful For

This year (similiar to year's past) we got to spend the holiday with BOTH families together at Grand Beach!  We are so lucky that our families are so close and that they both enjoy sharing Thanksgiving dinner together.  This way we are not forced to choose between them.  We truly have a unique situation in that our parents are best friends and live 10 minutes apart in Naperville and 5 minutes apart in Grand Beach.  We try not to take it for granted, as we recognize this is very rare.  We spent 4 lovely days at the lake relaxing, golfing, eating, watching football and movies, and just soaking up all the family time we could.  Coop loved spending time with his grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins.  He truly thrives on being the center of attention, especially with my family since he is the only little one running around.  At one point there were 7 grown adults just staring and laughing at his every move, he is such a little entertainer!  All I can say is that it might be a "adjustment" (to say the least) when his little brother or sister arrives in May!

Reuniting with "papa"

 A little outdoor adventure with Uncle Bryan and Daddy

An attempt (failed) for a cousin picture

Loved getting to know this little sweetheart better.  Our niece Crosbi Lu is such a little doll and will someday hold her own with these boys.

Coop's favorite face these days.  He loves making this at his Aunt Heather the best!

 

I know I have more pictures than this from Thanksgiving but can't seem to find them all right now and I am tired.  So there might be more to come at some point, but for now good night!

A Few of our Favorite Things

Thought I would share with you a few of my favorite things these days......love Coop

 

Celebrating the Holidays.  Thanks to cousin Sawyer I got to be this awesome dog this year, and experiened my first trick or treating!

Helping mommy clean (or at least pretending to)

Technology!  Notice I am typing on my laptop with my Iphone nearby.

And more technology.  I love listening to any kind of music, especially with dad's earphones!

Ice Cream!  (why use a spoon when you can drink it?) 

This day I had an allergic reaction to the antibiotic I was taking for an ear infection, so mom got to get out of work early to pick me up from daycare because I was covered in a rash.  After my dr. appt she took me for ice cream, great idea mom!

Bathtime hair do's  (this one is compliments of dad).  The picture is so small because there were some parts of me mom didn't want exposing to everyone.  Just keep your eyes focused up top at my hair please!

Cousins!  Happy Surprise 30th Andrea!

Watching Husker Football with my dad.  Go Big Red!

Good Friends and a Baby Bump (already!) 

Mom calls it her baby bump but I think it might be because she seems to be ordering food a lot while in her car.  Her favorite is this place called McDonald's.  At least I get some fries (and a few sips of diet coke) out of the deal!

Trying to share with my friend Jayla (mom says I am not very good at this yet, I don't know what she is talking about, I did let her have one small ice cube)

Cheering on the Huskers with friends!

Mom's makeup drawer.

Usually I like to take out all the qtips from the jar on the counter and try to clean the mirror with them, but sometimes I get a hold of a makeup brush and I run that over the mirror too.  Mom puts it on her face then, which I think is weird (and not very sanitary since she probably doesn't realize I just cleaned the mirror, counter, and bathroom floor with it!)

Watching Dad work outside.  If I could just figure out how to get out there.......

Organizing my diapers.  Here I am trying to do "diaper art" on the floor.  No one seemed to really appreciate it much though......

This must be one of mom's favorite things these days, because she always has this bag out and also carries little bags of these in her purse and car.  She is ALWAYS eating them.  A lot of time she hangs out with her head in the toilet, which I think is funny but she doesn't seem to be smiling.  Don't quite get that one yet.

 

Well that's it for my favorite things these days.  What are some of yours?