Christmas in Minnesota

We had a nice visit with Keith's family in early december. We were there right in the middle of the blizzard, but due to the fact Minnesota gets a ton of snow every day in the winter, it hardly altered our plans. We did miss seeing his cousins/aunts/uncles though. Here are some pictures.

Luke with his new Thomas Train Set

Luke and Uncle Jeff

Luke with his new favorite "cheese" pose


Luke stealing daddy's hat:)

Snow day!

Cookies with Santa

Luke spent the evening with Mrs. Claus and Santa. The hospital had an event that Mrs. Claus read cookies to the children while they ate cookies in their pajamas. Luke talked about Santa all day, but when it was time to meet him, he took to Mrs. Claus more. They read Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph the Red nosed Reindeer. His favorite part of the evening was getting a candy cane. He is so easy to please:)Luke with Mrs. Claus

Luke with Santa

Storytime with the kids.

Cooking Club

I have been doing freezer cooking for awhile now after a group of girls got together from church and started exchanging them. Since then, I have gotten together with another group and exchanging meals as well. We make one meal but make enough for each family to get a serving of 4. It is a great way to get new recipes and try something you normally wouldnt try. This freezer cooking group is a little different than the first as we all bring our kids and let them play together. They all range from age 2.5 to 3 weeks. It is very hectic, but it is so fun watching all the children interact. This last month we got a picture of them and most of them looking (what an accomplishment!)

Bowling!

Here are some pictures of our bowling fun that we had a couple weekends ago. Luke had been couped up in the house after being sick, and thought he would enjoy getting out of the house. He very much enjoyed his bowling experience, and almost beat me one game! Luke using his assistant bowler.

Very excited after knocking over a pin. I wish we all got excited like this, even if it isnt all the pins.

Daddy working on Luke's form

Luke's hospital visit

Luke had to go to the hospital 2 weeks ago with Pneumonia and Asthma. It came on very quickly, and as unenjoyable the hospital visit was for US, he enjoyed every little part. We got there with a warm greeting, and a room right across from the nursing station. They were excited to see such a perky little sick child. He was very cooperative to let them do all his vitals, and loved helping them with the stethoscope.

His first field trip was to the x-ray area. They pulled him in a wagon, as he greeted everyone like he was in a float, with a little wave and hi as he passed. He can be very shy at times, but really enjoyed this part. I was not allowed to go in since I am pregnant, and Keith hadn't got to the hospital yet, so he was very cooperative "getting his picture taken" and receiving a new stuffed animal. The x-ray tech said he said "cheese" at one point.

Luke ended up having to stay over night and most of the day on Tuesday, but he did great. The student nurses came in and played blocks, and he got to order all his favorite foods whenever he wanted. When he started feeling better, Luke would stand at the door of the room and look at the nursing station and say "Hey Guys" and wave to them.

He is recovered quickly, and is back to his normal self, but he does ask to go see "Nurse Francis" about every few days. Since he went to St. Francis, he must have thought they all had the same name because everytime he had a breathing treatment he would say "Tank you Francis" when they were done.

Sneak Peek of Baby Bartusek!

We had our 20 week ultrasound at the end of October, but things have been busy so I havent been downloading pictures like I should be. We did find out the gender but my dad likes to be surprised so I wont be sharing it on the blog unless I give a warning, but we do know and have a name picked out, so just ask!

Baby Bartusek looked very good and healthy, although they did a marking called an echogenic bowel so we were given a 3D ultrasound to check that out. I do not have pictures of this to scan, because apparently I was supposed to bring a dvd to record it, so when we go back December 7th, I will have more pictures. Our lab results came back normal, so hopefully the marking goes away on its own. The baby was measuring 1.5-2 weeks ahead in all areas, and was even sucking his thumb in a couple of the ultrasound shots.

Luke really enjoys calling baby by name, and trying to share snacks with baby through my belly button. Every once in a while, Luke will refer to baby as baseball or scooter, but at least he is acknowledging him at all times:)