{Christmas Love}

What a whirlwind of a holiday it has been!  We want to wish everyone a very New Year and hope everyone had a great holiday!  Our holiday started last Friday when Michele and Mike came into town.  We had planned on spending Christmas Eve at my parents with the rest of the family, so Friday night, after visiting with everyone, Bob, Anna, and I headed home, tucked Anna into bed and waited for Santa to come.  We really wanted to open gifts from Santa as a family, so Santa visited the Seidel house a night early.  I was so incredibly excited for the morning and watch Anna open her gifts, it was me who didn't sleep that night!  Needless to say, Anna was very excited to open all her gifts and has not stopped playing with her new kitchen since! 

One lucky little girl, Santa Came!!!

Opening up our first gift from Santa with dad

In major L.O.V.E. with my new kitchen, all the different pieces are my favorite!

Multitasking, playing with multiple new toys at once!!

And finally, a video of Anna finding Santa had come during the night:

We spent Christmas Eve day visiting friends and family, including my cousins and grandma in Manitowoc, The Houston family in the evening (LOVED holding sweet baby Henry, Stacy and Scott's 2 month old little boy) and finally enjoyed a visit from Matt and Stephanie Balzola and their little boy, Vincent before heading off to bed.  Christmas Day was another busy day including opening gifts, visiting with the Zimmer family (my dad's cousin), and a Packer tailgate hosted by my parents before Bob, Michele, Mike, Jason Zimmer, Jerry Zimmer, my dad, and I headed down to Lambeau for the Packer game.  We had such a great time at the game, the Packers pulled out yet another win, and we all managed to stay warm!  What an awesome opportunity it was to spend the night at Lambeau on Christmas!!!

Michele playing with Anna and Vincent

Opening a gift from Liz and Brett....Happy Feet Penquin!

Cuddles with Belle on Chrismtas Monrning!  (Yes, those are matching PJ's!)

Smiles with Aunt Michele:)

Merry Christmas!

Anna in her Christmas Tutu!

Anna and Brett cuddling!

Mike and Mike enjoying their "flights" at Hinterland

Michele and I at the game in our matching santa hats!

Mike, Jason, Bob, Michele, and I at the game

Monday we met my Aunt Di Ann for breakfast and then visited with my grandma and uncle at my grandma's.  We had a wonderful visit and it was fun watching Anna play with all of my grandmother's "pretties."  The rest of our week was filled with more time with family, a dinner out at Ogan and Titletown, some time out with friends Thursday night, taking Anna to Sir Bounce Alots with Paul, Lois, Becky, and her girls and finally, Bob and I ended our weekend dressing up on New Year's Eve for a wild wild west themed party at a friends of ours, we had a blast!

I also wanted to share a video of Anna opening some of her gifts from Grandma Lois and Papa Paul.  We are celebrating Christmas with the Seidel clan in two weeks in Wausau, but they brought these gifts over this week when they came to watch Anna one night because they were larger and didn't want to travel with them (nor would we have the room to bring them home with us!)  Unfortunately, Anna went to bed before we got home and so we opened them the next morning. 

We are so thankful to have had a wonderful family and friend filled holiday and thankful for all the many blessings in our lives.  We look forward to continuing to celebrate with the rest of the Seidel clan in two weeks when we go to Wausau and stay at the Grand Lodge waterpark. 

Many wishes for a happy and healthy 2012!!!!

xoxo,
Bob, Mel, & Anna

{I like to bounce, bounce, bounce!}

A few weeks ago, Bob had a Friday afternoon off, so we decided to check out Sir Bounce Alots with Anna.  Similar to inflatables you might find at a church picnic, Sir Bounce-Alots is full of all kinds.  Anna (and Bob & I!) had an absolute blast!!!  We went back this week with our nieces Abby and Izzy.  It is such a fun place to go - not too big, not too small, reasonably priced, CLEAN, and very entertaining, for a wide range of children ages...adults too:)  Below are a few pictures from our bouncing adventures!

The slides are a big hit for Anna!

Such a big girl, I can bounce by myself!

Cousin Izzy, not sure what to think!

Bouncing with dad for a little extra "height"

Aunt Becky, Cousin Izzy, and Annas!

Anna can never get enough of a carousel!

 

{We Had a Visitor this Week!}

That's right, St. Nick paid us visit yesterday afternoon!  Bob and I remembered about St Nick late Monday night and while he was ready to visit, we were just too beat to get up and fill Anna's stocking.  So we took advantage of the fact that Anna doesn't totally get it yet and St. Nick stopped by Tuesday when I was working from home.  We got back from my parents for dinner and Anna was very excited to see that her stocking was full with some fun treats.  St. Nick brought Anna a See N Say, a small tambourine (a noise maker, what was he thinking?), crayons, an Elmo coloring book, a puzzle, and some Gerber fruit and veggie pouches, one of Anna's favorite snacks!  Anna seems love all of her new treats! 

What did he bring?!?!

Checking out the stocking!

A new puzzle!

Score!  I am not sure what this is, but pretty postive it makes noise!

Taking a break for quick pose

Coloring with Dad!



{So Much to be Thankful For}

Well, it certainly has been a crazy couple of weeks for the Seidel Family, full of a few ups and downs.  I thought we would share what has been going on.  On Halloween, we were so excited to find out that we were expecting baby #2!  We hadn't exactly been trying for number 2 so quickly after Anna, but we were ecstatic to find out we had another one on the way.  We have experienced for ourselves and have had close family and friends experience the loss of a baby and pregnancy, so we know just how fortunate and lucky we were and every pregnancy is a blessing, no matter the circumstances.  We anxiously waited for our 8 week appointment, which is when my OB does the first prenatal checkup and ultrasound.  Unfortunately, our ultrasound did not go as well as we had hoped.  I can vividly remember seeing Anna's heartbeat at her 8 week appointment so when the ultrasound tech showed us the screen and all we saw was an empty sac and no heartbeat we were devastated.  Dr. P said that we could just be a week early and it could be too early to see something.  As most people know, I am the ultimate planner, so I was doubtful, yet hopeful my days could be off.  They checked my hormone levels and sent us home to wait.  My HCG levels were around 21,000, which is good, however, I suspected that if they were that high, shouldn't there be a heartbeat by now?  I went back Wednesday to get them checked again, and sadly they dropped to 16,000.  We went back Friday to have another ultrasound just to see what was there.  This time a sac, fetal pole, but no heartbeat.  Dr. P confirmed the miscarriage and I had a D&C procedure done Monday.  It has been a really rough couple of days/weeks for us, but I am happy to report that we really are doing well.  My procedure went well.  I was so nervous, as I have never been under for anything, but it was relatively simple and I was home and in bed by 2 in the afternoon.  Our spirits are high, we are so incredibly lucky to have each other and sweet Anna in our lives, we couldn't be more thankful.  While we were thrilled to learn we were going to be expanding our family, we know it just wasn't our time and we look forward to what the future will bring us!  We certainly are squeezing Anna a little tighter these days! 

I want to give some love to Bob - he has provided such amazing support throughout all of this.  I will never forget the look on his face when he came home from work on Halloween and I told him we were pregnant.  He grabbed Anna, threw her up in the air, and absolutely beamed from ear to ear.  It has been a hectic couple of days and I wouldn't have gotten through it without him or without his support, both physically and mentally.  Thanks sweetie!!!

I thought I would finish this post with a few cute pictures of Anna from Thanksgiving - we had a wonderful and quiet holiday at my parents.  Enjoyed a visit from Bob's parents in the evening and my mom and Elizabeth and I joined all the crazies out there shopping from 9:00 PM - 2:00 AM - we had an absolute blast - I look forward to doing it again in future years.

Lots of Love from the Seidel Family - we hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season!

All Dressed Up and Ready to go to Grandma's!

Scoping out Black Friday Ads for Mom!

Eating Thanksgiving dinner - my mom insisted on a real plate and silverware....I was a wreck, Anna did great:)

{Catching Up...}

The Seidel family has been sooo busy the past couple weeks!  Where to begin...let's see....We had a wonderful Halloween party and are so thankful for all who came to help us celebrate!  Anna, Bob, and I dressed up as Fred, Wilma, and Pebbles, and I must admit, Anna rocked the Pebbles costume!

Fred, Wilma, & Pebbles!

Thank You Grandma for making me such a cute costume!

On Halloween we took Anna to my parents to trick or treat, she didn't really get the whole concept yet, in fact, we would probably still be there waiting for her to walk up to the front door...I think she did everything BUT that, including danced around, went across the street, played with wood chips, you get the picture.  But overall she looked cute and had a good time, and that's all that matters, right? :)

Last weekend we traveled to Minnesota to help celebrate Bob's godson Bentley's 7th birthday and our newest niece in the family, Harlowe's baptism.  It was a great weekend as the ENTIRE Seidel family traveled to Minnesota (minus Ann, we missed you!!!!)  We got in Friday night, had a delicious dinner at Ben and Haley's and gave the kiddos a chance to play.  Saturday we headed to the Mall of America for the day (A big hit with ALL the kids with the rides, plus we got some shopping in, score!)  Saturday night we went swimming at the hotel and had pizza and cake for Bentley's birthday and the baptism was Sunday before heading back home.  It was a wonderful weekend and we were thankful to share it with family - a big thanks to Ben and Haley for all their hospitality!

"The ride are this way!"

Similar to the airplanes at Bay Beach, Anna LOVED this one!  There was a lot of dramatic "Weees!"

The carousel is always a favorite of Annas

Anna and Bentley love each other!

Cousins!  Anna, Bentley, Harlowe, Issabelle, Braxsen, & Abby

Finally, Anna has been taking a First Bugs class at the Y.  Class is offered on Tuesday mornings, so typically my mom takes her, but this past Tuesday, I went into work a little late so I could check out class.  It was by far one of the cutest things I have ever seen.  The kiddos get to play on some gym type equipment, sing, dance, and play games.  Class is for 2 years old and under so needless to say, the teacher has her hands full.  Anna seems to really enjoy class (This was demonstrated when she tried to teach it with the teacher when she should have been sitting on her mat!)  The slide seemed to be her favorite!

{Anna's First Pumpkin Carving!}

Today we got to carve pumpkins for the first time and needless to say Anna's favorite part was digging into the gooey part of the pumpkin and once she got into it she was such a big helper seperating out the pumpkin seeds so we could roast them!  Carving pumpkins is not exactly my cup of tea (oh, the mess!!!) and I cannot even remember the last time I did it, but I must say they turned out pretty well!  Big thanks to Lois and Papa Paul for helping us out!!!!

Anna making her newest face at Papa Paul - love it!

Not so sure about this!

Anna and Bob with the final works of art!

Today was a very exciting day for another reason - we were thrilled to learn Elizabeth and Brett got engaged!!!  Brett proposed up in Door County and they are both very very very excited!  (As are we!)  Bob and I are so excited to celebrate both Elizabeth and Bretts wedding in 2013 as well as Ann and Brads - it is going to be a very good year!  Lots of love you guys - you're the best!!!

Congratulations Liz and Brett!!!! - Such a cute couple!

{15 Month Update}

After a two month hiatus on the monthly updates, I thought I better take the time to write down all the fun things Anna has been delighting us with recently.  With each passing day, Anna seems to get just a little bit busier, if that is even possible, so it is hard to find the time to jot down all of her latest tricks…
So, at 15 months, Anna….

...Is obsessed with having anything we have – whether it is the TV remote, a cell phone, a drink, a snack, it doesn’t matter, if we have it she has to have it as well.

...Likes to play the Elmo’s Monster Mash App on my phone – keeps her busy on shopping trips when she gets a little antsy…

...Is absolutely 100% in love with her bath…she would play in the tub for hours with the same 6 toys if we would let her…that or turn into a prune!

...Waves bye-bye when we or anyone else for that matter gets in a car….

...Loves to give kisses….by far my most favorite of Anna’s “tricks”

,,,Broke 4 molars this past month, which brings us to a total of 12 teeth!!!

...Is in major LOVE with puppies.  In fact, puppy was Anna’s first official word!  While it seems every four legged creature is a puppy, she can spot an actual puppy a mile away and squeals with delight when she sees one.  She loves to play “tug” with them, which typically results in Oscar or Belle dragging her across the family room while she squeals with delightJ  She loves to hug them, lay on them, kiss them, she honestly cannot get enough of “puppies.”  I will admit I was a little disappointed when I sat down to show Anna our wedding album and she pointed to my mother and said, “puppy?”

...In addition to puppy, Anna says mama, da (dad), Uh oh, and there.

...Thinks it is absolutely hystarical when she gives "tickles" and with that adorable laugh that follows, you cannot help but crack up!

...Is a fairly good eater…WHEN SHE IS NOT IN HER HIGHCHAIR!…She really is not a fan of sitting in a high chair for longer than 10 minutes, unless Sesame Street is on…but when she does eat, she loves eggs and ham for breakfast (with the occasional french toast stick or waffle thrown in), hot dogs, mac and cheese, any sort of pasta casserole, PICKLES, cheese, corn, all kinds of fruits, she absolutely loves Festivals Greek Feta pasta salad from the deli.

...I absolutely cannot get enough of her walking around the house, waving her hands all around, and squealing out – da, da, da, da, da, da….If only we knew what was going on in that little world of hers!

...She loves to dance - aka bop up and down to the beat of music and “spin”, while pivoting on one foot.

...Misplaces everything in the house…More often than not, I have lost my phone, contacts, the remote, etc…for some reason the PAM spray from the pantry is CONSTANTLY missing (I have lost 3!) and I love when I come across something that I was so frustrated trying to find…like in the
refrigerator or some other crazy place like that, and I cannot help but smile…She certainly keeps us on our toes!

We are looking forward to spending this weekend getting ready for our annual Halloween party next weekend and doing some stuff around the house...the decorations are set and the costumes are (almost) ready - we are looking forward to carving pumpkins with Anna and enjoying Halloween and all the fun that comes with it with Annas next weekend!

Below are some pictures we took from our recent trip to a pumpkin patch - The first part of October was unseasonably warm, and so we thouroughly enjoyed an afternoon full of fun at the pumpkin patch, petting zoo, corn maze, and park.