2010: A Picture Review

~2010~

It was an interesting year with big changes. It was a challenging year, but 2010 also brought much joy to our lives. Here is a brief recap of 2010 for the Fedell house.

~ January~

Ryan won an all-expense paid trip to Cancun with his work. He also celebrated his 26th birthday. We returned from Cancun to lots of snow. The most in 10 years or so.

~February~

February was a rough month. The show I worked on (the reason we moved to VA) was cancelled. It was heartbreaking. We also found mold in our kitchen and I didn't have a full working kitchen for the rest of the month and well into march. We also were house hunting this month.

~March~

I still had no kitchen, as you can see. My job was still not secure at this point either. We found out that we would be having another baby boy!

~April~

We took a trip to Minneapolis for a wedding. It was our last trip as a family of three before Colin was born. It went by way to fast and made me miss my old college town so much more.

~May~

We moved into our new house the first of May and began the exhausting overhaul of painting the majority of the house. I entered my 3rd trimester. Ryan also walked in the graduation ceremony for his Masters in Business Administration at Regent University.

~June~

I grew to the size of a house with Colin. It was ungodly hot and never really dropped below 90 degrees. We went to the zoo. I continued to defy all laws of gravity as I grew to monstrous proportions.

~July~

 

July was a big month for us. Jack turned 2! We also welcomed Colin Edward Fedell, born July 27th. He weighed 7lbs 12 oz and was 20 3/4inches. It was love at first sight and the perfect addition to our family.

~ August~

We adjusted with a new family member and a new schedule. Colin grew and Jack transitioned beautifully. He loved his new little brother.

~ September~

We traveled to Michigan to introduce Colin to our family and let them see Jack again. This was the second time I flew with a 5 week old. The toddler was definitely more challenging!



~October~

 

I turned 29 this year and Ryan and I celebrated our 4 year anniversary. Jack and Colin became fast friends. Colin smiled his way into everyone's heart and is such a joy.

~ November~

The weather finally began to cool, as I became more comfortable with both boys alone. We celebrated a quiet Thanksgiving with just the 4 of us. Our weekends were filled with children's birthday parties, a sign of our changing social setting.

~ December~

The end of the year came to a close with 16 days in Michigan. We bounced between both families with lots of festivities. It was a busy time, but always good to be with family.

I am still reeling a bit with the growth of my boys. It does not seem possible that they could be this old already. Time just seems to slip away.

With 2011 already a few days in, I pray that you will be blessed in this new year.

I am excited to see what 2011 has in store!

A Day in December

December 25, 2010



We have a very busy Christmas day. Since I have been married, I have attended 3 different Christmas celebrations on that day. It only increases with intensity with kids.

So, when  I was thinking about documenting a day in December, I figured why not always remember the craziness. So here it is...our Christmas.

Christmas morning started off around 8am, with a freshly out of bed boy...not quite awake yet.

A lively duel using left over wrapping paper rolls to get the blood flowing helps start the day off right.

Before any stockings or presents were opened, we start the day off with prayer and reading of the Christmas story.

Than it is on to our stockings, all items individually wrapped and opened one at a time from youngest to oldest. This was a little tradition that my family did to help make Christmas stretch just a little bit longer.

Colin was a sneaky baby and pulled his first gift out on his own. I guess he just couldn't wait to dive in...or eat it.

After stocking and breakfast, we get to the presents under the tree.

Funniest gift of the day: wire head massager. It created the above reaction on all the men. Worth more than it's $3.99 price tag.

Julie, my parent's old lady dog, insisted on being in the middle of the action.

Handsome striped pj boy with a great big gift. Mommy and baby boy nursing in the background. Pretty much what 75% of my gift pictures look like.

Proper use of Mr. Potato Head's glasses.

Little Santa baby.

My sister, bro-in-law and their dogs...enthralled with the present. I believe it was glass containers with lids. Exciting.

After finishing up with my immediate family, we quickly change out of our jammies and put on our clothes and rushed over to Ryan's parents house for round 2.

My boys get stockings from their Grandma and than we get right to the presents. This year his sister and her husband came in from California, so they opened presents with us. Normally, it is just Ryan's parents, his uncle and grandparents.

Cousin Eric showed Jack the proper form for a chest press, to help with the opening of presents, obviously.

The Fedell/Sturtevant clan.

Again, Jack opening gifts with the help of his cousin while I nurse Colin in the background.

A now full and happy baby reaching for a new playmate.

We ate a quick, light lunch and headed off to my grandparent's house for the last round of Christmas. This is my favorite round of all. Something about the water, the snow and twinkling of lights is just magical. Plus, her food is pretty fantastic.

Our welcoming view. Snow, birch trees and swans.

My mom shows Jack the swans on the water.

Kurt, my brother in law, is the "Santa Elf" this year, who passed out the presents. This gig has gone from just a hat, to Santa boxers worn over pants...to this... Kurt.

Great-grandma needed the help of the baby.

Somehow, the rest of the gift opening pictures did not turn out, or I just forgot to take them... oh well. We opened, we laughed, we loved it all.

Favorite toy of the evening...for the adult males...the peg and hammer toy. I doubt Jack got to play with it for more than 5 minutes.

Another Christmas tradition that my Grandma does, along side her awesome devotional, is the Jesus cake. She always makes one, talks about the reason we are celebrating Christmas and so forth. The littlest ones like the blow out the candles, being that is it Jesus' birthday and all.

The rest of the evening is spent playing games, like euchre, a Michigan tradition.

Great Grandmas cuddle and sing to sweet little babies by the light of the tree.

Clean-up begins by 10pm and people start to head out. Everyone is tired, but happy.

 Even the pups are tuckered out from the day.

We head back to my parent's house and have my over-stimulated, over-sugared (Jack), 20 minute nap only, still happy but tired boys in bed by 11:30pm.

Whew.

What a day.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.


That was our day in December. What was your day like? Link up here.

River Stop

 If you have to work on your Christmas vacation, like I am doing now, than this is where you need to come. The River Stop Cafe. It is probably the best little coffee shop I have ever been too. It is quaint and cozy. It is peaceful. The coffee is outstanding and the food is really good. It is a must stop whenever I come home. I have been to coffee shops in and around the twin cities as well as New York City, and this one is still tops.

So, if you must be away from your little family, writing scripts for a show that will air in Hindi, as you write in English... than coming to this cute little spot is just about as perfect a work place as you can get.

...and now, back to work I go...

Snippets

~ We arrived in Michigan on the 18th of December. We flew and my boys were PERFECT. The first leg of our flight we did not have to tell Jack "No" once. That doesn't happen at home. They were so great traveling.

~ There is more snow in VA right now than there is in Michigan. Kinda funny. We have had clean, clear roads and snow on the ground. Perfect.

~ I got one of the last pair of heels in my size in the country with well over $100 off at Anthropologie. They arrived in 2 days. They are glorious. Early Merry Christmas to me.

~ Christmas day was spent on the go to 3 different Christmas gatherings. My boys napped a total of 25 minutes and were up from 8am to 11pm. They both were happy and cheerful the whole time.

~ They both have been sleeping all day.

~ It is good to be home.

~ I took pictures for our "Day in December" on Christmas day. Figured I would like to look back at all the craziness.

~ I hope that everyone enjoyed their Christmas and remembering the reason why we all get together.