CHRISTmas 2011

So this Christmas since we have 2 little ones and it is so hard to travel right now, we decided to just have a low key Christmas and stay here in MN instead of going to visit Kris' family in WI and IL. Even though we missed them it was kind of nice waking up on Christmas morning and celebrating it with just our family of 4!:) Christmas Eve we went down to Faribault and had a Christmas lunch with my family and then went to the 5:00pm Church service. It was a really nice service but Brady was antsy and trying to keep occupied was a little challenge. There was one point in the service during the children's play that he decided he wanted to go see baby Jesus and ran up to the front of the Church and was all the way up the stairs before Kris got to him! I was a little embarrassed but people thought he was cute because he was pointing saying "baby"! Anyways...after Church we went back to my parents and then opened gifts and then came home:) The kids slept really well and got up on Christmas morning in good spirits and it was a wonderful day! We opened gifts in which both kids had LOTS of new toys to play with!! Thanks to my parents, sister and Kris' parents for all the wonderful gifts!!! Our kids are very blessed to have such wonderful people in their lives who like to spoil them so much! lol!! Christmas afternoon my parents came up and we had lunch and then just relaxed and it was very low key/no stress kind of day and it was a perfect!!! I feel guilty however because I didn't take that many pictures...and it was even Rylee's 1st Christmas:(!!! Oh well...I will do better next year!! Hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and we wish you health, happiness, and love in 2012!!! ~Love, The Shaban's

Brady's new Leapster Explorer from Grandpa and Grandma Muchow! Shark hat!!! Brady loves sharks!

My little Miss Claus!! So cute!!!

Our Loves

The night before Christmas morning and we were short on time so Kris and I just put all the gifts in a few big boxes and just wrapped the big boxes! LOL! Bad parents I know, but our kids are at the age where they don't care about the "opening" part of the presents anyways!
Brady's face on Christmas morning when he saw the gifts!

He would start to unwrap one gift then go on to the next! lol!!

New puma outfit from Auntie TT

Update on our little Buddy~

So I feel like it has been awhile since I have gushed about my favorite little boy in the WHOLE world, Brady aka "buddy" as Kris and I usually call him:) He has just been growing and learning SO MUCH these last few months and literally everyday I feel like there is something new with him! His vocabulary is expanding everyday and he is definitely at the age where he likes to repeat things we say...so we have been trying REALLY hard to watch the "swear words" around him!! It's a work in progress:)

So just a few things Brady has been up to lately and his LOVES/likes/and dislikes:)!

* still LOVES reading/or being read to. His favorite books are the music/cd books. He has a new 'Christmas Carol' book that Grandma June bought him that he just loves to sing to and read along. The "These 3 Kings" is his favorite song!

* Food is still one of his "issues" but he has gotten better these last few weeks and usually will at least try things...and if he doesn't like it it is followed up by one of his new words "ewwww":) lol. He is on an oatmeal kick right now and wants to eat it everyday...guess it's not the worst thing!:)

*His new favorite thing right now is the 'Lion King' and honestly could watch it everyday! He got it for his birthday from Auntie TT and LOVES it! He also has a stuffed "Simba" that he calls 'King" and loves to carry it around with him or snuggle with it at night:) (*update 12/31/11 I wrote this post a a week ago and just didn't post it right away...and today the 'Lion King' obsession is on the down slide...he is back to loving 'Elmo's World' Dvd's...which is good because we are bringing him to Elmo Live in a few weeks. It was his b-day present from Kris and I so I guess it's good he is becoming interested in Elmo again!) Just goes to show how fast things can change in a week!! lol!!!

*He has started interacting with Rylee...or to him it is "Ryewee". He loves to make her laugh and watching those two interact honestly melts my heart. The nights I don't work we just hang out as a family and just talk, play, listen to music:) I have to sometimes pinch myself to remind me that this is really "my" life. I am just so blessed to have 2 perfectly healthy children and a loving husband and we are able to spend that quality time together as a family. It is the best!!

*He still goes down around 8:30 and every night we have the same routine. Bath time, play time, books and then we still rock him till he gets sleepy:) And honestly the rocking is the best part. Even though he is getting bigger and heavier by the day...I still just LOVE to rock my baby boy:) We usually rock and say prayers and then I sing 'Jesus Loves Me' (which he has started singing along with me..it is the cutest thing and almost makes me get teary because it reminds me of when my Mom would sing that to me every night). Then before I lay him in his crib I always whisper how much Jesus, Mommy, Daddy, and Rylee love him, how proud we are of him, and how he is such a good big brother. The rocking, I know, will be one the things I will miss the most when he gets older. I hope when he is a teenager he will still at least want to give me a hug:)

*His favorite super heroes are Spiderman and Superman and he refers to both of them as 'Man'. He has a dance routine to the opening music of the original 'Spiderman' cartoon. Him and Kris both do it and it is so cute!

*He can climb in and out of his crib but lucky for us he doesn't climb out if we are not in the room with him. Hoping this doesn't change as I am not ready to put him in a "big boy" bed yet!

*He does go potty on the big boy potty every night before he gets in the bathtub. He hasn't gone poppy on the potty yet though. That is still a little to scary for him. I am not rushing the whole potty training thing. I just feel like when he is ready he will let us know:)


So these are just a few things I had to write down so I remember them:) My little buddy is 25 1/2 months old and I just feel like I will blink and he will be 18 years old and on his way to college!!:( I just want to remember everything little thing and just cherish all the small things in life:)

Rylee's 4 month Update~

So I can't believe it but my baby girl turned 4 months old already! Well now she is 4 1/2 months because I have been so BAD at updating this poor neglected blog lately!:( The holidays + a 4 month old and 2 yr old + working full time = NO TIME!! I don't know why but I just feel like every minute of the day I could be doing something....or have lots of stuff/projects to do and just not enough time in the day to get everything done. But I will stop whining, as I am sure the rest of the Mom's out there feel the same way! So anyways...my baby girl is 4 months old and is just getting bigger by the day! There still isn't much to report at this age but each day I can see her learning more and just really taking everything in:) At her 4 month check up the Dr. said everything is looking perfect with her and her development! She is still just our little peanut though. Weighing only 13 lbs. 5 oz ( which is in the 41% tile...which Brady weighed 14 lbs. 8 oz at his 2 month appointment....So compared to him she is a peanut!!:) She measured at 25.5 inches tall (89% tile) and her head was 16 inches (39% tile).

Rylee's Personality~

*Even though she still LOVES to nurse and favors that over the bottle she has started taking bottles for Pam (daycare lady) without having a screaming session for 15 minutes before hand! lol!

*She loves to laugh and smile! Brady and her have recently started interacting and he gets up in her face and says "boo" and she laughs at him. It is the cutest thing ever and I just can't wait to watch their relationship as brother and sister grow throughout the years! It truly melts my heart!!

*She has recently found her feet/toes and loves to sit and grab them and examine them.

* I think she might be getting her teeth sooner then later! She has two little bumps on the bottom gums and she has been chewing on her fingers and drooling like CRAZY!! But I know teething could take months so we will see!

*She still is only sleeping 3-5 hour stretches typically:(...although 2 weeks ago she slept for 8 hours straight!! It was only once but it made a world of difference for me in the morning!!

* Overall she is a pretty laid back/happy baby and I can't wait to see more and more of her personality come out in the months to come!!:)