Faces

Elin has really started showing us more of her personality these past few weeks. She is still an extremely laid back, easy going baby but lately we've been seeing more of a silly side with some glimpses of stubbornness. I've been trying to get better at taking pictures on a more regular basis. Our camera gives off this orange light first before taking the picture (in an attempt to decrease red-eye, I believe). The good news- we don't have red eyes in our pictures! The bad news- Elin ends up looking either drunk or possessed. Or both.

See what I mean.

I still have to figure out the workings of our new camera.

I was able to get several pictures that show Elin's fun little personality. Without further adieu.. the many faces of Elin Joy!

Elin's 'wake up happy' face

the 'I'm not amused' scowl.

the 'I'm a nerd and I like it' face

the 'whachu talkin bout' face

the 'I'm gonna lose it' face

the 'Marlon Brando/godfather impression' face (she's got the jowls down!)

And, of course, we can't leave Luke out! He loves to show us all sorts of silly faces, especially when we get the camera out. For some reason he names his faces after animals. I think the llama face is my favorite. :)

The 'owl' face

Vegas Baby! (... or Vegas with Babies, more like it)

Matt and I have had countless conversations about all the things that we want to do, memories we want to make with our kids, goals we want to accomplish - you know the type of conversation. We've also had several conversations that start with, "why didn't we ever (_fill in the blank__) before we had kids?" There are several things we had on our 'to-do' list way back when we first moved to California that, for one reason or another, we never did.

Last weekend we put an end to that trend.

In a very random conversation with a 2nd grader at recess one day last week I learned that Tim Tebow was going to be in Las Vegas speaking at a church over the weekend. The idea was sparked - we should go. We don't have anything we have to do this weekend, we should go! We never do spontaneous things like this, we should go! It didn't take much to convince Matt and he quickly got to work researching 'kid-friendly' hotels. So, Saturday morning we packed up the car and the kids and headed east, through the desert, to Vegas! Neither Matt nor I have ever been to Vegas (we've been in the airport and driven through Vegas before, but we don't really count that as experiencing Vegas) so we weren't sure of what to expect, especially with 2 little kids in tow.

When we got to Vegas, we first found the church that Tebow was speaking at. At this point we thought we'd just see if we could get a little more information. We ended up staying and waiting in line for a few hours to get our magic wristbands that allowed us access to listen to Bronco Greatness. We weren't intending to stay so we weren't as prepared as I would have liked - no waters or extra snacks or fun distractions to pass the time in line with a 2 year old. But it was a beautiful day and there was a little playground so it ended up being a fairly nice time. Luke amazed us with his patience and ability to entertain himself in line for a long time!

The church's senior pastor interviewed Tebow - the man, the follower-of-Christ, not the quarterback. It was really great to hear Tebow, in person, talking about his faith, how he is blessed to use the "platform God has provided through football" to reach others for Christ.

Afterward, we found our hotel- Circus Circus - and grabbed some late dinner. Again, since we hadn't planned on hearing Tebow when we did - we were pretty much flying by the seat of our pants. We were that couple cruising the Vegas strip pushing a double stroller at 9 pm. Please don't judge. :) We walked down the strip to see the fountains at Bellagio and some of the other sights/lights of the strip. Luke was quite entertained and thrilled to be out after 'the sun went to bed'. Elin wasn't as amused but she was content in the stroller nonetheless.

The next day we walked around a bit in the daylight, saw a few circus performers at the hotel, played some carnival-type games and then headed home.

It was a bit of a whirlwind trip. Definitely not the way we had envisioned our first Vegas experience (next time we'll go sans kids) but it was a great time and wonderful memories were made!

Ready to cruise the strip

Waiting for the fountain show

A little privacy please...

Our little Luke isn't so little anymore! Just ask him. He's a Big Boy! It's official. No more baby - no bottles, no crib, and now (drumroll please) no diapers!!! We still put a pull up or diaper on him for naps and at night but he always wakes up dry. AND he has woken me up in the middle of the night twice to go to the bathroom. While I'm not thrilled to be up in the middle of the night I am impressed that he woke up knowing he needed to go potty!

He finally got the hang of going 'number 2' on the potty recently. For whatever reason he has connected the need to poop with the need for privacy. Thus, when he's doing business on the potty, he'll pull the shower curtain around him and create his own little private tent, just for pooping. It amuses me to no end. The first time I witnessed him do this, he was seated on the potty, grunting away, then looks up at me and says, "Mom, I need a minute" and pulls the curtain around him. NO Joke. Word for word - what 2 year old does that? I couldn't help laughing and, of course, getting the camera. I know, I know, he'll hate me later for posting this but I'm over it. It's my right, nay duty, as a mom to embarrass my children. :)

Luke's private pooping potty place

When he's not 'busy' in private he's accessorizing himself. Our BIG Boy! How fast time flies.

We love you Luke and are SO proud of you!!

Headpieces

Elin has been showing off more and more of her personality. She is such an easy-going, fun-loving, sweet little baby girl! She loves exploring and is in the early stages of getting into everything. She isn't officially crawling but she definitely gets around - I'm not entirely sure how she does it to be honest. It is some combination of bouncing on her butt and pushing with her arms, at least when she's in the sitting position. She's able to scoot around on her belly but mostly goes backwards as there is little traction for her on our laminate floors.

While she's normally surrounded by toys, like most little ones, she is naturally attracted to other items - like the laundry basket. She tried to pull herself up on it but ended up flipping it over onto her head. At first her imprisonment startled her but she regrouped and found it as entertaining as we did.

Later that night we had both kids in the bathtub. Luke and I decided it would be a fun game to see how many foam letters we could get to stick to Elin's head. I think we had 7 or 8 on there at one point!

She wears them so well!

Christmas 2011

So, I'm making good on my resolution - Christmas pictures/stories, as promised!

We were able to spend a total of 10 days in IL with my family this year. It was fabulous. As we were anticipating our trip to the Midwest, we were praying for two things: good health throughout our trip and at least a day of snow. Alas, we didn't get any snow BUT we were the only ones of the whole Thomson side to stay healthy! (I actually did come down with the flu one night, but it was relatively short lived, so I'm not really counting it.)

The locals were enjoying 'nice' winter weather, which as far as Californians are concerned, was freezing. :) All joking aside, we (mostly Luke) were glad to be able to get out of the house and do some outside activities- like go on a 'tractor ride' up and down the driveway.

Luke and Micah had fun trying to catch some snow flurries.We had plenty of indoors fun too- Pops played some songs on the piano.

Jingle Bells was a huge hit with the boys!

We went to the Children's Museum one morning (I don't have many good pictures, so I'm not going to bother posting any- sorry). Luke and Micah had a blast playing at all of the different exhibits. Luke's favorite was the water tables - he was totally soaked by the time we left. Matt attempted to dry out Luke's shirt with the blowdryers in the bathroom, without much success. Needless to say, that was a cold ride home for poor, warm-blooded Luke.

Elin liked the museum too - particularly because it gave her an excuse to show off her new boots from Aunt Andrea!

NeeNee and the boys decorated a gingerbread train. I must say, I was skeptical of how this activity would go - anticipating way too much sugar being ingested, a few fits being thrown, fights over frosting, inevitable meltdowns... you get the idea. But much to my delight, that was not the case at all! They really got into it and did a great job decorating the train, and the sugar intake was minimal (at least as far as I know). :)

Matt's mom went up to Michigan after Eric and Candice's wedding then took the train back to Chicago to spend Christmas with us at my parents house. It was great to spend additional time with her. Elin was especially spoiled with all the extra snuggles.

My mom gave all of the 'young 'ins' pajamas on Christmas Eve. We had a few attempts at a picture of all of us modeling our new jams... yeah, this is the best it got. sigh.

Elin was super excited about her first Christmas..see!

Luke was a champ in the self-restraint department and resisted the temptation to dive into all those presents before the rest of the family came over. After opening presents, the little ones were all ready for a nap. We actually got all four kids to nap at the same time, believe it or not! It was fun to play some games without being interrupted by kids asking for juice, needing a diaper change, or fighting over the same toy. We had our traditional Christmas meal of Swedish sausage (Grandma Phillips would be proud that Luke inhaled the Swedish meatballs and had two links of sausage). After cleaning up dinner, we had a surprise visit from the Big Man himself, Santa! Luke was pretty excited that Santa was at Pops and Nee Nee's house - at least until Jim and Julie's dog, Gracie, saw the intruder and sprung into guard dog action! It was quite entertaining actually.

All in all, it was a great Christmas day and Christmas vacation as a whole! We are always overwhelmed when we think about all of the ways we are blessed at Christmas time, this year was no exception.

Year in Review

This year I resolve to get back on the blogging band wagon. I really enjoy blogging and especially love looking back at past posts, therefore, I am determined to get back in the habit. I was thinking that I would try and 'catch up' on the missing months that have gone by without a single post but, alas, that is too overwhelming. So rather than attempt to catch up here is the DeBoer year (well, maybe not year but at least the last 8 months) in review:

We sold a house, bought a house, and had a baby... at the same time!

Here I am, in labor at the hospital, signing papers with our fabulous realtor to close the deal on our new house.

Leaving the hospital with a new baby girl!

Along with the new baby girl came a new love for all things pink.

Bye Bye Beaumont

Hello Redlands (and lots of work! The front yard already looks way different.)

We said goodbye to our exchange student of two years, Jung.

We welcomed nephew/cousin, Caleb Wilson Klingemaier

We welcomed Julie into the Thomson family!

Jim and Julie's wedding in IL - July.

Luke had mono and developed the worst case of hives I've ever seen!

We welcomed Jordan into the DeBoer family!

Jordan and Andrea's wedding - Lynden, WA. - July

Elin was baptized in September which meant more visits from family!

Luke started toilet training!

He's still getting the hang of it but we're nearly there!

The Klingenmaier clan came out to visit over Thanksgiving week again this year.

We were thrilled to have them celebrate the holiday with us.

Hopefully we'll make this a yearly tradition!

During the week the Kling's were out here we had loads of fun-

We went 'hiking' in Oak Glen then visited Los Rios Ranchos where they had a petting zoo, hay rides, live music, coloring contests, etc.

We went to the S.S. Midway in San Diego. The adults had fun seeing the different planes and learning about the way of life for a navy man on the ship. The kids were a bit young to fully appreciate it all. They liked the planes but couldn't quite understand why they couldn't climb all over them. :)

We visited the beach in San Diego while we were there since it was such a gorgeous day!

Walking the 'boardwalk'

The boys had a blast digging in the sand and splashing in the water! I didn't think to bring Luke's suit so he was soaked and his diaper lung down to his knees after about 30 minutes. whoops.

Beach Babe soaking up the sun.

We fed the swarms of ducks at Ford Park. There were SO many ducks, it was kinda unbelievable. They weren't timid either - they'd snatch the bread right out of your hand when you weren't looking!

We visited Santa at Bass Pro Shops (free pictures with the Big Man)

This was our first time getting pictures with Santa - both my kids aren't quite sure about it.

Luke made his Christmas Program Debut at our church. He stole the show by falling off the steps into the poinsettas! (I'll try to post the video. It is hilarious!)

December had us traveling again - back to the Midwest for Eric and Candice's wedding and Christmas with the Thomsons

We traveled to Oxford, Ohio for Eric and Candice's wedding.

Which also meant seeing lots of extended family!

Welcome Candice! We love you!

Luke and Uncle 'E'

Ring bearer and two of the flower girls, enjoying a hard-earned sucker.

Elin and Daddy - rocking the red, white and black.

I've decided this post is long enough without all the baby's first Christmas pictures from our time in Chicago. I'll just have to make good on my resolution to update again!

Of course, I can't do a year in review without some mention of all the sports we've (Matt's) watched throughout the year. Elway, Jeter, Swisher, and of course, Tebow are all names used in daily conversation in the DeBoer house.

And we wouldn't be good Broncos fans without doing a little Tebowing!

We hope that everyone had a wonderful 2011! We look forward to see what blessings God has in store for us all in 2012!