Fantastic Five

All five of the Reelitz grandkids gathered at the Circle R Ranch for Cal and Matt's 4/34 Birthday Extravaganza!
Four young lads, one lovely little lady!

Happy Birthday, Grandpa Jay!

Grandpa Jay's birthday was yesterday, and we attempted to get a picture taken of Alex holding a sign...it didn't quite work out the way mom wanted it to...

Sigh...

Mr. Ornery!

Furry fun!

Alex had some fun playing with Mom's furry hat on the way home from Chicago!

Tricks with sticks

I finally finished the triple rib knit blanket for my new niece! It was sized for a crib blanket - about 24x36. Well, I doubled the yarn because I didn't have a heavier weight to use and it ended up being closer to 36x36....ah well. Funny, it didn't look that wide on the needles!

Closer look at the rib pattern.

I also had some leftover Velvetspun yarn from a bunny blanket I made a year ago, so I whipped up a little hat for my new nephew as well. Belden wasn't a very cooperative model, though.

On the subway!

In honor of the Metra post, a classic from Sesame Street. One of my favorites as a kid! Sesame Street nailed the subway riding experience of NYC in the 70s - dirty, crime-infested, cramped. The best line is where the old lady muppet sings "You could lose your purse or you might lose something worse!" Elmo would be toast on this subway!

Metra Mayhem

Alex got to take his first train ride on New Years Day - the Metra out to Itasca to see Grandma and Grandpa Hennig. Much to our delight, he also got a "true" urban experience a la public transportation characters:

1. The Drunks --- several inebriated Blackhawks (and Red Wings) fans from the Winter Classic at Wrigley Field earlier that day. These being gentle suburban dwellers, they kept to mostly friendly ribbing about each other's teams (Hawks fans are just thrilled to even BE on TV).

2. The Crazy --- gentleman muttering and talking to himself about the noise level on the train. Also had a conversation on his cell phone in which he became enraged and yelled at whomever (himself) he was talking to (himself).

3. The Cat Lady --- the quiet older woman with a kitty cat holiday sweater sitting across from us reading a book. She also had the requisite gigantic reusable bag crammed with stuff. If I had to guess I'd say she had about three-four cats.

4. The Space Invader --- very large man sitting next to me who took up a seat and a half. Very nice, said "hi" to Alex as I tried to maneuver for more room.

'09 will be mighty fine...

This was taken in the car on the way home from Chicago last week. We've got more photos that we'll be posting in the next few days.

Out with the new...

UDPATE: 3:10 PM
Welcome Neve Dianne Elizabeth Kelly!
8 lbs., 4 oz. and 21 inches long (which makes her bigger at birth than her brothers!)
She is also named after her two grandmothers.
Baby and mom are doing well!

---

2008 is on its way out, but not before it welcomes a new little bundle of joy! We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our new niece/cousin! We will update this post as we get more news.

And also, this marks post #100 for 2008! Wow - that's a lot of bloggin'!

Hey, I remember this Bumbo thing...

Maybe I can still squeeze into it?

Let's try it this way...

Now this way...woah!

Ta-Da! There we go! Nice and snug!

Some Vids From Christmas

We've posted some videos on You Tube of Alex opening presents on Christmas Day. Some were taken at Grandma and Grandpa's, some were taken at our home. Enjoy!
Pushing around the presents on Christmas!

Check out my new keyboard from Aunt Shelly!

Opening books from Grandma and Grandpa Hennig

Christmas 2008

We had a wonderful Christmas this year, hard to believe it was Alex's THIRD one! We were "bad parents" last night and let him stay up late because we just enjoyed watching him play with all of his presents. We didn't want to interrupt him, he looked like he was having so much fun! Here's a comparison of the past few years, see how much he's grown:

Christmas 2008 - 25 months old
Christmas 2007 - 13 months old

Christmas 2006 - 1 month old

And if you want to see more pictures, we've uploaded all of the Christmas photos to our Shutterfly site - enjoy!

One to go!

Since it's one day until Christmas, here's two photos celebrating it! Nothing says "parenthood" quite like painting your child's stomach and forcing them to take pictures in the name of peace on Earth!


Alex's new favorite Christmas song:

It's almost time...

Tick tock, tick tock, only two days to go!

Tree More Days...

In honor of our recent attempts to potty train.
(yes, "three" is purposely spelled wrong above...Chicago pronunciation)

Read all about it...

Four more days until Christmas!

Five to Go...

Cat's Meow

Six days until Santa!

Seven Diet Coke Cans...

Please note two things about this photo:

1. I'm sitting on my new table that was an early Christmas present from Santa, thanks to Grandma Dianne! Adios crib - make way for my new table and chairs!

2. Mom gave in today and let me have a pacifier (and I managed to scrounge up another two to hoard)...'tis the season!

Cheers!

Eight days until Christmas...shake it up!

Single digits!

It's on - only nine days to go!