Karsten's first Christmas program was tonight. Here she is with Miss Shanda and her friend Mason (whose parents are also fellow U of I Vandals!).

Karsten with Miss Shanda
Karsten watching the kiddos on the stage

Karsten with her friends Wyatt, Ali and Miss Rae

Early Christmas

We were treated to an early Christmas dinner out.

It was a great time and a first with Santa for Karsten.

Cute family!

Cousins Richie, Tommy and Sarah

Hmmm...not too sure about you, Santa!
Karsten with Gaga and Papa

Karsten with the presents

Karsten now decided that she is interested in presents under the tree!

Holiday Open House

Karsten was so excited when her friends Brook and Avery came to visit last night for our open house. Brooke's mom, Lori and I were pregnant together all last year. We have pictures of us together last Christmas evening with our belly touching in front of the Christmas tree. Now here we are with 10 and 9 month olds! As you can see Karsten has her by about 6 or 7 lbs...and she is the younger one!

Danish Care Package

As part of Chris's heritage he has been interested in his family from Denmark. Well long story short and one snail mail letter later we came upon an email from a distant cousin (we think 3rd cousin) of Chris's grandmother. Her name is Bettina and she is married, 38 years old with three kids and she and Chris have hit it off! They have been emailing weekly, sometime more often, and have been really enjoying getting to know each other.

Well about two weeks ago this box appeared in our mailbox all the way snail mail from Denmark! What a treat-it was like Christmas for adults :-) Each piece in the care package was thoughtfully included from Bettina regarding conversations she and Chris had been having about what life and the holidays were about in Denmark vs. the US.

So we were sent an Advent candle, two types of marzipan (Chris's favorite treat), a CD of Christmas carols sang in Danish, some kind of yummy gingerbread flavored cake thing covered in chocolate and Glogg, a warm wine type beverage they drink during the holidays.

Super fun and a great way for us to get to know some heritage to teach Karsten! What a special Christmas gift.

Chilly Burrr Chilly

So this year we have had no snow, but we have the frigid temperatures instead. It has been so cold with below zero temps in the mornings when headed to school and work. Here is Karsten ready for her ride to school.

Decorating for Christmas

Karsten was not much into the decorating which was fine with us. We escaped her knowing how to pull everything out of every box and bin. But now that the tree is decorated and there are presents underneath, she is getting pretty interested. Should be a fun Christmas!

Mommy couldn't help but let her have a gift a bit early...Elmo's Christmas Countdown!

Christmas Tree Hunt

Yummy chili for Karsten!
Chillin' with Daddy

Don't cha just want to kiss those cheeks?

Silly Karsten!

Britt's family has an annual Christmas Tree Hunt when we all go into the forest and cut down our Christmas trees. They often times are less "perfect" than those on a tree lot, but they are free and fun family memories are made. This year is was SO INCREDIBLY COLD that we were barely outside to cut the tree down. Karsten and Mommy stayed in the car while Daddy and Hannah scoped out the trees. Thank goodness Karsten still fits in the Baby Bjorn and under Daddy's big coat! All in all it was fun but one to remember for the negative degree temps!

Turkey Trot

So the past two Thanksgiving mornings we have participated in the Oceanside Turkey Trot 5K near San Diego. The motto is "Move Your Feet Before You Eat"...and they are not kidding. The race starts at 7:00am so it makes for an early morning. But we are out of the house, out of our step-mom's hair and she has a peaceful few hours while getting the turkey and everything ready.



Karsten and cousin Abby all bundled up. It was pretty dang chilly on the coast at 7:00am.


Blake, Dad, Josh, Brook, Whit, Jen, John, Lizz, Abby, Britt, Karsten and Chris. What a crew-Dad with his kids, neice and husband and grandkids.

Dad with 4 of his 5 kids

Picture perfect CA coastal day. Oceanside pier in the background.
Note: all participants received medals...believe me, we did not break any time records or anything!

Karsten's excitement

In the midst of her rolling adventures, Karsten all of a sudden was filled with excitement! Who knew the floor could be so much fun!