Carrie's Knitting- Yay!

Here are my two very first attempts at knitting something other than a square (or rectangle)! I just finished this blue and lime sweater today (it's my 2nd sweater, the 1st is below), and it took about 3 weeks worth of "here-and-there" knitting. The pattern, buttons, and starting lime green yarn was from Joe's mom, Kristen. It's still kind of big on him now, but it should fit him great next winter!

Here is my FIRST sweater I tried making for Sawyer. It's not fantastic, but I'm still really happy with it considering it was my first attempt at knitting SHAPES of ANY kind! I also ended up with way too many button holes (spaced them too close together, and didn't want to throw off the spacing, so just kept making them close together... there are a lot of buttons)! I enjoyed him modeling it for me!

Down at the Ducks!

The other day it was in the 40*'s, so a few of us "Village" moms headed down to visit the ducks on campus. Sawyer fell down and got wet- a LOT. He even fell off the edge of the concrete into the actual, mainly frozen, lake (not pictured- I had to run and rescue him, not take a picture of it)- thank goodness it didn't break through! A lot of areas are still flooded, which caused kids to get wet also. We were out of bread, so we took some stale chex mix. I hope Chex doesn't kill ducks.

Sawyer with some of his favorite friends: GIRLS. He loves McKenna (next to him) and Caitlyne (in pink on the ground) the most. Probably just because they're all closest in age, and we see them the most (they all go to church together also).

Joe's Birthday Celebration!

Because of Joe's busy schedule, we had to hold his birthday a day early! We just had a nice evening at home with the three of us. I made him tacos (his request), and opened presents. About a month ago, he had asked me if I could make him a hamburger cake, so here it is! It took THREE pounds of beef to make a patty this big! Just kidding- it's devils food.

Sawyer wanted to help blow out the candles.

Just for fun, Joe wanted to set up our dome tent in the living room and play in it (mainly for Sawyer's enjoyment). We had a lot of fun, playing with the flashlight in the dark, and other 'camping' things.

Shedd Aquarium in Chicago

We had a fantastic day in downtown Chicago on Friday! It felt really good to go into the city. We went to the Shedd Aquarium for the afternoon, then hit Cheesecake Factory downtown for dinner. I've never spent so much on parking in my life, but we justified all of the expenses of the day as using some of our unexpected Christmas gift money to do something fun. Here are some shots of our fun at the aquarium!

One of the coolest things I've ever seen with my own eyes! They call this a Sea Dragon! Joe nor I had ever heard of such a thing, but there it was! They were really beautiful, it took awhile to pull me away from their tank!

EAA Museum

We took a trip to the EAA (air museum) in Oshkosh with Joe's family. Here's a view of one of the rooms, as well as Joe in one of the airplanes on display.

There was a hang gliding simulator that we all had a lot of fun on!

More Christmas Break Fun!

Back at Carrie's parents' place, we went for a walk outside in the snow. Here is Sawyer with the dog, Jack (that he loooooooves). Below is Sawyer with Joe, walking through a field.

We're visiting Grandma's horse, Jackson, in the barn.

Petting a rabbit at the neighbor's house.

Sawyer loves playing football with his uncle Zach!

Casual Family Pictures

The day after Christmas we spent the day with Joe's extended family in Milwaukee. Here is a picture his aunt took of us (Sawyer obviously wasn't thrilled with the idea).

Here is a wonderful four-generation picture of Kindt men! Sawyer with his dad, grandfather, and great grandfather.

Christmas Day with Carrie's Side

Christmas afternoon we headed to Carrie's parent's home where Sawyer met his uncle Mike and aunt Jenny for the first time! Mike, Carrie's brother, and his wife Jenny live in Las Vegas and come back to Wisconsin every other Christmas. Two Christmas' ago, Carrie was 8 months pregnant with Sawyer, so this was their first chance to meet him!

After opening gifts at Carrie's parent's home, we headed to Carrie's aunt's home where all of the extended family gathers to celebrate and have dinner. Here is Sawyer with his 2nd cousin, Nadia. She introduced him to dolls, and he caught right on! It was very cute that evening.

Here is Sawyer playing with his uncle Mike. Also in the picture is Sawyer's uncle Zach, and his great grandma Eleanor.

Here is the room where we have our annual "Yankee Exchange" gift game. People are starting to gather and get the gag gifts ready in the center of the room (Joe's in the background).

Christmas Morning at the Kindt's

Christmas morning at the Kindt home was wonderful! Hours worth of joyful gift giving, followed by a fantastic breakfast!

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was spent with the Kindts in Oshkosh. Here are Joe and Sawyer playing air hockey in the basement (Sawyer actually did pretty well for his first try).

The family gathering for our Christmas Eve music, scriptures and stories.

The Kindts have the tradition of each opening one gift on Christmas Eve before bed. We gave Sawyer his Thomas the Tank Engine jammies so he could wear them for Christmas morning. He generally hates getting clothes put on, but when he saw those Thomas jammies, he couldn't wait to get them on!