A Team 65: Exciting Stuff

This week flew by but on top of the wonderfully mundane family moments, were some extremely exciting ones...

First, this week Eric and I also got to share not one but TWO dates in just one week!!  For the first, we spent a wonderful Wednesday alone together.  To continue our prior tradition of enjoying a holiday day-off together, we "played hooky" and took Wednesday off.  Well, I already had the day off, but we put the boys in daycare for the day and then Eric stayed home too.  We used the day to enjoy each other's company and also get some Christmas shopping done.  After a morning running some errands in Kenosha, we scoped out ToysRUs for Christmas ideas for the boys, purchasing a few really good deals and adding a few ideas to our Amazon lists.  Afterwards we enjoyed an amazing lunch at Jose's Blue Sombrero (we'd been there several years ago and were not impressed, but this lunch was honestly incredible and I can't wait to go back).

Our yummy lunch.

Me and my date.

Finally, we did a little more shopping at Barnes and Noble and some other Kenosha stores before heading back to pick up our boys.  It was a terrific day and so great to have some time just the two of us!

Peek-a-boo Mommy!

On Thursday, Eric and I were able to spend a second date together!  A construction company that Eric's firm works with invited him and one other guy (and their families) to the theatre to see the Star Wars premier.  The company had rented out the entire small theatre as the Christmas party for its employees and others that they had worked with.  They had three separate showings of the movie and included catered food, free drinks and free popcorn.  As soon as Eric told me about the invite, I knew he really wanted to go and that I should try to make it happen.  The only issue was the fact that we had never hired a babysitter before.  After discussing though, we decided that there is a first time for everything and made it happen.  After three and a half years of parenthood, we hired a babysitter for the very first time, and from the sounds of it the kids did great.  Prior to the evening, we spent a lot of time discussing with Asher what was going on, assuring him that we would come back, and that it would be okay to go to bed without us there.  When we arrived home at around 10:30 that night, Avery was fast asleep, the house was neat and Asher was quiet and in bed (although not asleep).  He heard us come home and whined for us to see him but once he got his good night kisses, all was well and he went right to sleep.  The evening was a success and the movie was pretty great too! :)

The excitement of the week did not stop there though...on Saturday after a quick breakfast, the boys and I loaded into the van and headed to Crystal Lake where we met the newest member of the Klingenmaier family (our new nephew & cousin)!!!  Gabriel Philip Klingenmaier was born on December 10th and he is now the youngest of a half-dozen Klingenmaier boys (our 2 and their 4)...and totally adorable!

I barely made it past the entryway before I was able to confiscate the adorable little peanut! :)

Very proud big cousin! <3

Baby Gabey waving for the camera! :)

Avery wasn't quite as excited as Asher but he was quite curious about his new baby cousin and thankfully wasn't too jealous of Mommy holding another little one.

So cute!!

Love Newborn Snuggles!

At one point, I was snuggling Gabe when Avery came up and wanted to snuggle too.  Upon seeing this, Hudson also joined in and then Caleb as well.  Thus, I got some great snuggles with 2/3 the Klingenmaier clan.  :)  <3

Eventually, I gave him up and let Uncle Eric have a chance to hold him! ;)

After a short visit, it was time for us to head home...but not before we got an updated cousins picture with their perfectly stepped ages: 5 (Micah), 4 (Caleb), 3 (Asher), 2 (Hudson), 1 (Avery), 0 (Gabe).  **Note: To keep the stepped ages going, Gabe had to be born between Hudson's birthday (Nov. 12) and Micah's birthday (Dec. 31)...he snuck in right around the middle to keep the streak going! :)

Grandma & Papa Klingenmaier's 1/2 Dozen!

One of the many cousin shots.  Not a great pic overall, but I love the big brother snuggles by Caleb!

Video: Klingenmaier Cousins Picture

Avery enjoying some goldfish at McDonald's on our way home from Crystal Lake.

Fall family picture: Taken on the last day of Fall 2015.

On Sunday, another exciting family moment occurred: our family lit the advent candle at church.  Now this wasn't a huge moment for our family, but it was a nice and memorable moment, and an honor to be a part of the Christmas traditions at church, not to mention an honor to have our family prayed for by the entire church.

Asher after enjoying a donut before church.

This Sunday was also the day for the Hot Chocolate Bar in the lobby.  Since we were going to light the candle I didn't make myself a cocoa until after we had gone up front so that I didn't have to worry about going up in front of everyone with hot chocolate all over us.  Once we had lit the candle, we brought Asher to the preschool room, but we kept Avery with us because we feared he was developing pink eye.  Eric and I made our cocoas and then took Avery back in the sanctuary with us.  To keep him entertained during the sermon, I grabbed some mini marshmallows to feed him while we sat and listened.  He was quite happy about his treat and we slowly gave them to him one at a time.  The first time he got one, he slowly placed it in his mouth and then gave me a sweet smile.  The next time, the marshmallow was popped him much quicker with a bright smile flashed, the next time the smile became audible as he laughed to himself and the next time he gave a little squeal as he popped the marshmallow into his mouth.  As we quickly realized he was getting louder and louder with each little bite of sugary goodness we decided to hide the rest of the marshmallows and switch to goldfish crackers...still a happy boy, but significantly quieter! :)

Video: Avery Enjoys His Marshmallows

Asher enjoying some Christmas painting with me per his request on Sunday afternoon.

As another exciting part of this week, the weather continued to be unseasonably warm allowing us to grill up a tasty rib dinner thanks to Eric!  Yum!

Video: Avery Playing With Emma

Finally, our exciting week ended on Sunday night with one final very exciting moment...Eric and I paid off our student loans!!!  After ten years of paying two painfully large payments, Eric and I decided to end the pain and pay off what we had left on our loans...a wonderful way to end the week and this year and a great way to start 2016!!

A friend posted this on my Facebook page a few days later! :)  I cannot describe how good it feels to have those behind us!