Merry Christmas from the Galkas!

Sing it Katie!

Oh the Weather Outside is Frightful...

It has been snowing and snowing and snowing...

I think we got 4 inches between Thurs and Fri and are supposed to get another 10-15 inches today.

What better a time to make our Christmas cookies. Katie was too little last year, but a good age to introduce her to baking sugar cookie cut outs this year. Lately, she has to do everything herself. She floured, rolled, cut them out and then used the "shovel" (spatula) to put the stickly ones on the cookie sheet.

It was messy but fun!

...Before

After...

Oh to be a Second Child...

Ned let me sleep in the other day...When I came downstairs , he we eager to show me the cute pictures he took. He was so proud.

I looked at the camera to find indeed a cute picture of Andrew eating a frozen Stoneyfield yogurt tube or, as they are called in our house, yogurt pops. Not a problem. EXCEPT that it was strawberry! Oh Daddy...Babies aren't supposed to have strawberry for a year... Well, they aren't supposed to have egg whites until a year too and Andrew accidentily had those at 8 months. Whoops!

...And, I don't think they are supposed to have Tootsie Pops either
(that one he snuck off Katie's little table when I wasn't looking)
Boy was he angry when I took it away!

First Steps

As of Tuesday, Andrew is walking!! He has taken up to 10 steps. He lets go of furniture all the time now and walks and falls gracefully. He just bends his knees and crawls.

In this video, he is walking towards me. If I had moved back faster, he would have taken more steps.

Oh Christmas Tree

Had to be done or I fear Andrew would scale the tree!
(I am not exaggerating)

Decorating with Grandma

At least he has a sense of humor about it...

(Thanks, Blanchette's for loning us your gate)

Happy Birthday Katie!

We had quite the eventful birthday weekend.

As most of you have probably heard, NH is in a state of emergency. There was an ice storm Thursday, the 11th. We lost power at midnight. Ned's mom was already staying at our house. My parents, Rich, Carolyn, Charlie, Jeanne and Dino and Ned's dad were all on their way for the weekend festivities. Their hotels were closed. This meant a very full house for us. We had all the Magers plus Ned's mom at our house. 10 people in total.

Next, Katie's kids party was canceled at Rumble Tumble in Portsmouth. So, we scurried to call all our guests and rerouted them to our house.

Timeline --I found out the party was canceled at 8:45am. I started calling guests at 9:15am. Party was set to start at 11am...

I delegated...one person went to pick up the Backyardigans ordered cake (thank god the bakery had a generator!), one person got some balloons, one person pastries, one person to the grocery store...Good thing there were 7 adults staying at our house! It was hectic but it all turned out in the end. We had a great party with great friends and family.

Every year I make an invitation for Katie's family party complete with a poem. Thought I would share this years --

From toddler to preschooler and Big Sister too
No title will ever change how much we love you

You said goodbye to binky and moved to a bed
Both were easier than everyone had said

You can pedal a trike and can do a front roll
You are learning to swim and can count in espanol

Your smile is so big, your hugs so tight
Your happiness tells us we're doing something right

We love your imagination, it is silly and sweet
Always making up songs and "cooking" up treats

1095 wonderful days to date
What's in store for next year?
We cannot wait!

Before I sign out, I feel compelled to write a little note to Katie. I guess I am feeling a little sentimental...

Dear Katie,

Happy 3rd Birthday. I really can't believe you are three years old. In a blink I fear that you will going to kindergarten. I am not ready for that. You will always be my baby.

You are a smart inquisitive little girl. Full of spunk mixed with a little sass. You have a great sense of humor. You crack me and your Dad up on a daily basis with your silly antidotes and songs. Although you come across as shy in groups, we know that you are developing into a confident little person. You are very affectionate. You love to give hugs and kisses to friends and family. Your brother is enamored by you. You make him laugh the hardest and smile the biggest. I love to watch you play with him. It truly melts my heart.

I love you. You are a beautiful little girl. I can't wait to see how you change this year and in the years to come.

XOXO,
Mommy

Joint birthday party for the December "babies".

Katie met these friends when she was two weeks old.
Right to left: Uma, Katie, Jillian, Ryan and Mickey
Singing of "Happy Birthday": Take ONE

Class of 2024 display that Jillian's mom made.
Each row captures how each child has changed.

Birthday breakfast
Pink frosted donut with candles and lucky charms
(does it get any better than that???)
Singing of "Happy Birthday": Take TWO

December 9th birthday dinner
Katie requested steak and cous cous .
For dessert, one girlie cake with candles.

Signing of "Happy Birthday": Take THREE

Ad hoc friend birthday party at our house December 13th.
(Several people at the party still did not have power at this point)

Singing of "Happy Birthday": Take FOUR

Family birthday party Saturday night.
Singing of "Happy Birthday": Take FIVE

That night, putting Katie to bed, she said "Mommy, is my birthday over?" It was such a sad little question. I told her, yes, but we celebrate her every day.

Playing Together

Helping Himself

Grandma and Pop's house is not babyproofed. Andrew quickly figured out where the snacks were kept.

Into Everything!

I am afraid of the day that Andrew walks on his own. Even though he can only cruise and crawl, he gets into everything.

The Land of the Dutch

As most of your know our family is considering an expatriate assignment in Maastricht, Netherlands. It is a wonderful career opportunity for Ned and an exciting opportunity for the kids. Two weeks ago we went to check it out.

Maastricht is the oldest city in the Netherlands. There are, I believe, about 150,ooo people. There are a lot of surrounding "suburbs" so to speak. More like villages or very small towns, most with their own "city center." It was very quaint. We found the people to be very friendly and everyone spoke English.

There was a lot to see and do. Tons of sightseeing (if we didn't have two small kids in tow) and fabulous shopping! We mixed productive tasks like house-hunting, looking and preschools and dinner with Ned's future colleagues with fun things like Kinderstad indoor playpark, a couple castles, and Gaipark Zoo.

If you would like to check out more about Maastricht... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maastricht

Katie by the castle

Ned and Katie at the castle

Maastricht - restaurant lined streets

Market day in Maastricht

At Kinderstad

SMILE!

Katie looked so cute a few days ago. Hair done, no visible food on her face, cute dress and shoes. So, I put her on a stool and told her to smile. OK. Seems easy, but how do you teach someone to smile? Katie gets and "A" for effort but I think she has some practicing to do.

So NOT into it

Katie's school had a Halloween Parade last Friday. Ned took the day off to participate in one of Katie's school functions. She has been a little less than enthusiastic at drop off and Ned and I are both trying to be as supportive of her "bravery" for going to school as much as possible.

The kids paraded from the school down to City Hall where they collected candy and then sat on the steps and sang Halloween songs. Or, were supposed to, as was the case with our daughter...She was so not interested in walking. She wanted to be carried. And, then when the sitting on the steps and singing was set to start... Well, see for yourself. (note where Katie is sitting...it is as close as we could get her)

If looks could talk...I think Katie's would say "there are so many other places I would rather be!"

Happy Halloween...a Little Late

Andrew is a Lion and Katie is Tasha from Backyardigans (Nick Jr cartoon)

Dr. Seuss and Thing One

Katie was very interested in carving pumpkins this year... Like last year, she loved to scoop out "the guts" and smell them and say "it stinks!"

Andrew, too, got into it. He liked sticking his hand inside the pumpkin. It was messy and gooey...what more could a little boy want!

Second Child

As you know, Andrew is reaching his milestones at rocket speed... Too fast for mom, to be quite honest. When Katie started to cruise around 10 months, we bought push toys and encouraged her to walk. Andrew is a different story. We hide the push toys. Literally. He has to improvise.

New Hampshire Fall Fun

The start of our fall has been fun. There are a lot of fall festivals and farms to visit in the nearby towns. To date, we have been to 4 farms and 4 festivals. Katie loves to pick pumpkins. Each one is hand picked for a particular person.

In the video clip you can hear her telling me who each pumpkin is for. Then, she realizes she forgot a few people and it's off to the pumpkin patch to get more! We planned on getting 4 pumpkins, one for each of us, but came home with 10! It was hard to say no when her intentions were so good.

Demeritt Farm with Grammy and Andrew

Emery Farm on the hayride and Katie's friends:Meredith, Katie, Uma and Sylvia

Butternut Farm with Mommy, Daddy and Andrew

Climbing!

I subscribe to various parenting websites and magazines. All of which include when your baby should be reaching his or her milestones. I just got one yesterday via email that said "don't be surprised if you go into your babies bedroom and find him standing in his crib." Ahhh... been there, done that... a month ago. We are in shock and busy trying to re-baby proof our house suitable for Andrew!

Crawling at 6 1/2 months old
Pulling up to a stand at 7 1/2 months old
Cruising at 8 months old
Climbing at 8 1/2 months old
Walking at ???

Here's his latest -