Hairs Cut

My mom and dad are in town for a visit. When Grandpa Pletzer comes to visit we all get our hair cut. For each child I have waited for my dad to do the honors of the first hair cut. So this time, Eli was ready to have his cut. He did fairly well letting Grandpa do his job considering it was past his bedtime and the hair starts to itch. Thanks Dad!

Them 2 year olds...sponges

As we were entering the park this afternoon, Isaac began marching and chanting "I'm way too sober!" Then later as he was swinging he was chanting, "Wisconsin is too sober." Watch the video below (sorry for the wind...). Isaac saw the UW Marching Band marching across the street before the Outback Bowl and has watched our Outback videos a few times. A really funny chant but not one you want your 2 year old repeating a ton in public, but its hard not to laugh when he does it.

Sick Again

Colds are passing from one person to the next again in our house. It has been this way since the beginning of November. With each cold we've had multiple trips to the doctor for fevers, ear aches, swollen glands, coughs, etc as each child and Kyle pass it from one person to the next. We thought we were all done with things around Christmas. Then Isaac started getting sick again on Wednesday. Last night Isaac was tossing and turning for hours with a sore ear asking me to call Dr. Gadea for some medicine. Luckily our pediatrician has a website for common night questions. How to manage an ear infection was one of them. I learned that I could give him Tylenol and Advil at the same time during the night, place a warm compress on the ear, elevate his pillow, and place a few drops of warm olive oil in his ear to minimize the pain until the morning. It worked and Isaac and I were able to get a few needed hours of sleep before heading to the doctor this morning. Thankfully it was Dr. Gadea's day at the urgent care. (Always best to have your own than someone else) I took Eli too since he was starting to get a running nose and feeling quite warm. Both boys have ear infections (Eli's third- one with every cold so far), but we have medicine now. Prema started sneezing today, so I am sure we'll be at the doctor again later this week. She never makes it through a cold without the need for antibiotic (poor immune system, inability to blow her nose, and deviated septum).

On Wisconsin

We went to the Outback Bowl in Tampa today to see the University of Wisconsin Badgers play the University of Tennessee. Courtesy of many different people our whole family was able to go to the Badger Bash prior to the game and watch the game from some very nice seats. We all had a blast. Isaac got to see the Badger Band and Bucky (not shake hands, but pretty close). So now Isaac is officially a Badger Fan!!!!!!
Badger Bash where we ate brats and cheese.

Kyle and Eli

Prema sporting her new shades too

Isaac the Badger Fan

The Wisconsin Marching Band--Isaac's favorite halftime show

8 Month Old Mess Maker

Eli turned 8 months old yesterday. The month of December was a busy learning month for him. At the end of November he was starting to sit up by himself. By mid December he was starting to properly crawl (His previous way was belly flop style). And before Christmas he started to pull himself up on furniture. Now he is making a lot of messes around the house, and too young to pick up after himself yet. The past couple of days he is standing more upright and starting to let go of things. It won't be long before he is walking. He is extremely proud of himself, as he has been with all of his new accomplishments. He loves going into his sister's bright pink bedroom and pulling down the magnets and blocks. With all of Eli's new activity his cute rolls are starting to diminish. He has been holding steady at 24 lbs for the past month and half.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was a lot of fun for us. We went to our church's 4:00p.m. service and then stayed afterward for our kids to participate in the 6:30 p.m. call to worship. This year the call to worship was a living nativity done by the kids with carols woven in to tell the story. Isaac was a shepherd and Prema signed "Silent Night". We had spent weeks going to church teaching some of the kids how to sign the song. There was a dress rehearsal for Isaac to practice being a shepherd. But no matter how much preparation, you never know what you are going to get until the big moment.

Isaac came out first, totally adorable. He is fascinated with Mary right now, so when he saw the little girl dressed as Mary with a real baby he tried to walk up to see her. There was a whole row of poinsettias in-between he and her, so one plant was crushed in the process. Then when it was time for Prema to start signing, Isaac walked to spot where he could see and started to try and sign himself. Prema knows the signing really well, but didn't keep up with the rest of us during the performance because she was too busy watching the people.

Isaac seeing Mary for the first time. What excitement.

Prema signing "from" in the verse "Glories stream from heaven afar." The others are at the part "afar".

Isaac signing too!

Forever Indian

You can take one out of India but you can't take the Indian out of them. This is Prema dancing (Indian style) in her dress up clothes ending in true Indian style staring at the camera.