Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Christmas Card 2014

Enjoy a few out takes of our Christmas card picture and baby #3 announcement. I also wrote a version of the Christmas card letter I intended to send but did not! Maybe next year!
 









 
Greetings from the Wades x 4! 
2014 was a year of establishing a 'normal'. It was probably the year in our 6 years of marriage with the least amount of change. No new houses, babies, churches, degrees, or jobs... we're saving our next big changes for 2015! Well, I should say that Mike switched projects at Boeing in February 2014. Although this was a 'new' job and came with a few months of travel, it didn't change the day to day operations on the home front (when he was in town!)
Our little Amelia, is so sweetsie at 2. She's a little mother; loving to care for her "baby dolls". She feeds them, burps them, cuddles and rocks them, and puts them down to sleep. She loves to sing (though she's not usually in any key), and she's using 5 word sentences. That amazes me because last year at this time we could identify two words. Her love for books has blossomed, so perhaps she's really absorbing language from the many books we read each day! She still loves to eat, and she'll be savoring morsels for 30 minutes after the rest of us have finished. She's a great sleeper, snuggler, and so far 'two' has been more fun than frustration.
 
Owen is knocking on the door of four. He cracks us up with his use of words like 'recognize' and 'similar'. His passion is still (and always will be) cars. Now he can identify cars on the highway by their tail lights. It's fascinating! His playing has branched a bit into building lego cars and also drawing cars, but the theme is still the same! He and Mike love to practice baseball and soccer, and I'm still hoping that he may grow in to some athleticism. So far, it seems that he's maybe stuck with my genes :/    
I'm still working part time at the student health center at UMSL, and I've picked up a little teaching gig in the SLU school of nursing. The kids are spending two days a week in a preschool/day care setting, and I think it's good for all of us. 
 
Our year was highlighted with an amazing trip to LA (for me), and the trip of a lifetime to Maui. We spent Memorial Day weekend/week as a party of 15 exploring and developing some beach lovers. Our 15 was comprised of Mima & Papa Wade, Mima & Papa Cooper, the four of us Wades, five in the Dax & Lindsey Nieders family, and Gaga & Papa Nieders, too! Maui is, indeed, paradise. Owen has asked almost every day when we get to go back! 
 
Next Memorial Day we'll be welcoming our third bundle of joy. Gender has been determined but is known only to God (and the ultrasound technician!). We are thrilled!
 
Happy New Year!
Mike, Heather, Owen, and Amelia

Saturday, January 3, 2015

Oh Christmas Tree

I'm going to skip over our fall events. I'm sure October and November were full of wonder, but I can't seem to remember anything during the 1st 12-14 weeks of this pregnancy. I think that's a protective mechanism that God gives to mothers ;)
 
So let's get to the holidays! There is much to report!
The Saturday after Turkey Day we have a (two years running) tradition to head out to Wash, MO in search of the Clark Griswold family Christmas tree. The kids love these sleds the best!

It's a fun ride!
 
Daddy explaining how we are going to cut this tree down. O wanted to get a really....tall....tree...but he settled for a 6 foot-er.

Heading in with our loot!

My kiddos are obsessed with their cousin Carson!
 
 15 attempts and the 5 of them would never look at the same time. Not a surprise I suppose! We'd  already attempted this 30 times in Maui!
 
We got the tree home and the Owen absolutely could not wait to decorate. We learned later that he thought Santa would come after the tree was decorated. It was heartbreaking to tell him he still had a month to wait!

Amelia put all of her ornaments on one branch. Also, pants are apparently optional!

My little elf, intentionally placing ornaments. It's the engineer in him!

Millie's finalized project. We left it that way all month.
 
There is nothing more magical than the glow of a Christmas tree through the month of December!