Taylor Swift concert

"Mean"

"22" 

"We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together"

Our seats were really high up, but we could see everything great! And half-way through the concert, Taylor had a little stage at the base of our seats and performed several songs there. It was awesome!

"Red"

Chad surprised Sondra with Taylor Swift tickets for her birthday and I was the lucky one who got to go with her. We had lots of fun even though I hadn't bought the "Red" CD yet. I still knew lots of songs and it was a very fun show.

Mother's Day Dinner

Mother's Day weekend turned out to be a very busy weekend. So Sondra and I took Mom out to dinner at Ciao's Italian Restaurant the next weekend and then we did a little shopping, all kid free! It ended up being a Mother's Day treat for all us!

Christmas Eve

Hannah gingerly opening a gift.

Andrew got the fun game, Guess Who?, from the Eigstis

Andrew checking out his new Foosball Table game from Grandma and Grandpa.

Grandma helping Hannah open a gift.

New dishes for the big girl!

Aunt Sondra reading a new book to Hannah.

Jonathan testing out his new binoculars from Grandma and Grandpa

Hannah let Grandpa help her open her new baby doll. This was a big step for her. She's been kind of shy around grandpa lately.

Andrew, Luke and Aunt Sarah playing Guess Who?

Jonathan playing with his new Cars video coloring game from Luke and Adam.

He LOVED it!

Grandpa's surprise gift from Grandma - a new Henry gun. He was VERY surprised!

Grandpa and the babies - Adam wasn't too happy, and Hannah wasn't willing to have Grandpa only hold one baby. She was a little jealous!

We spent Christmas Eve day at Grandma and Grandpa's house. We usually just get together for the evening, but since it was a Saturday, we made a day of it! We had a yummy big lunch, quickly cleaned the dishes and then started opening presents. Everyone had a great time even though no one napped. And we were very tired.

The night before, Jonathan had started coughing and woke up late, around midnight, coughing and coughing. He finally coughed so hard that he threw up. We gave him some cough suppressant, took him outside to breathe in some cold winter air and put him back to bed. He woke up again, around 4 when the medicine wore off and again coughed until he threw up. This time the cough sounded like croup, so outside we went again. It was about 30 degrees, but I had my ND coat and Jonathan wrapped in a blanket. We looked at the moon and the stars for as long as we could stand the cold. He was such a brave little trooper. His cough still sounded horrible, so I dug in the medicine cabinet and found some leftover steroids from his last croup attack in October. So we gave him a dose, so water and a puke bucket and back to bed we all went. (Please note that I am a certified medical professional in the middle of the night and it's OK for me to drug my child as needed to sleep!) Ha!

In the morning, he had a mild, dry cough and no more croup sounding junk and no more puke! So we notified everyone that we were bringing germs and loaded up the car with kids and presents and had a great day even though we were tired!

Cousins

Adam and Hannah - would you believe they are 4 months apart? Who is older? Don't guess based on who is bigger! And getting Hannah to sit still for a picture, well, that required a little help from Grandma.

Happy baby! He just learned to sit all by himself a couple days before his 6-month birthday!

Sondra and Adam

Poor Adam. Hannah is probably always going to be pickin' at him.
I can just hear her, "Here, let me help you. You've got a little somethin' in your ear."

We celebrated the last day before school started with a trip to Hutchinson that included breakfast with the Nisly clan at Carriage Crossing and fun at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Somehow, I only took pictures of Adam and Hannah. I guess the big boys didn't hold still long enough for any pictures to be taken!

Christmas Eve

Andrew showing his Bookreader to Luke, Sarah and Jonathan

New clothes!

a new Thomas shirt!

Aunt Sondra and Hannah

Matt built this amazing bean bag toss game for the boys. It's slightly dangerous, but super cool!

DANGER: Notice the bean bag to the left of Luke's head. It's a good thing Andrew's aim was a little off!

Hannah sporting her new headband from Aunt Sondra.

Grandma and Hannah

Grandpa with his new magnetic flashlight

Matt got an Atariflashback game

Hannah, Grandpa and Luke

Luke with his two favorite people.

We had a great night Christmas Eve opening presents and spending time with family. Mom and dad made us a delicious dinner of smoked pork loin, sweet potatoes, bread, banana pudding, and creme brulee. The kids were in heaven as the presents kept rolling in. They opened their presents so fast that we didn't even catch any of it on film. They may have set some new records!

Hannah - 2 Days Old

Aunt Sondra, Uncle Chad and Luke meeting Hannah.

Luke wanted to hold Hannah, and he did not want to give her up! He held onto her outfit when Sondra took Hannah back and told him it was Chad's turn. So cute!

Ready to go home in her new car seat.

A little snuggle time with mommy while we waited to be discharged from the hospital.

Trying to wake the sleepy baby to eat.

She's already mastering the "Ayotte Scowl."

Girl time!

Sondra, Chad and Luke visited us in the hospital Saturday morning. Luke was fascinated by Hannah and wanted to hold her and didn't want to give her back. And then we came home Saturday afternoon. Hannah was officially 2 days old and ready to see her new home. We had a quiet afternoon and it was so good to be home! The boys were still at Grandma and Grandpa's house, so the house was very quiet. Jill brought us a yummy dinner from Ted's. (I love their hamburgers!) And we enjoyed more girl time.