Shaffer Family Christmas/ New Years Celebration!

The Shaffer Family Christmas was moved to New Years Eve, so we made it a New Years Celebration as well! We started off the morning running charts by the office, picking up some last minute gifts and going to the grocery store; which was more exciting than it should of been because I had my wallet stollen, so I thought... I put my shiny new wallet in the front of the shopping cart, I didn't have the diaper bag, because David was driving Andrew around while he was sleeping. Anyway, the store was busy and I was very cautious not to leave my cart, not for too long anyway. I did have to put back the pineapple and quickly slip down the Mexican isle for some salsa, but I was never gone more than a second. I unloaded my groceries and to my suprise I had no wallet. I explained my predicament to the casheir and backed out of the isle to retrace my steps. I hurried through the store, scaving the ground carefully, as if I were missing a contact... no wallet. Could someone had taken it! I tried to remain calm, but was starting to panic as I remembered I had just stuffed my new wallet full of cash and gift cards, they took my new wallet with my steak house gift cards! I had the service desk make an announcement over the loud speaker, call the police and then hurried outside to tell David to cancel the credit cards. I was pretty ticked off at this point, worried that my identity would be stollen and someone would be eating my steak! I ran through the store once more, warning shoppers to beware of the wallet snatcher and went back to the service desk to wait on the police. In the distance I saw her, my new wallet coming my way! They found it in the deli, where I was picking out some cheeseballs for tonight! Ooops, it had just fallen from the cart afterall! I quickly checked out and told the cashier to call the cops back and let them know...I also told her I was glad I didn't get shot, I would for sure be dead with a 30 minute wait for help! She didn't think it was very funny! I thanked her for all her help and got out of there as fast as I could.

We finally arrived at the Shaffers and had a lovely ham dinner that Saralee had made for us. We finished off with her famous Pumpkin pie and Apple cobbler. Grandma Shaffer read the Christmas story aloud and we had a gift exchange, Grandma Shaffer got stuck with the booty-shaking Santa! We found out that Michelle did break her fibula and would be getting surgery on Friday, but her whole family made the trip anyway. Michelle's raised leg made a nice Euker table and Michelle and I beat Scott and Jeanie at a game. We brought Andrew's video monitor and he slept pretty well, despite the 6 kids and 2 yapping dogs! David played another game of Trains and got a game of Dominos in with the family as well. I even had time to finish up the book Twilite while Andrew was sleeping. We made lots of good junk food for the new year and watched the ball drop at midnight. Andrew woke up just minutes before the big celebration and got a big kiss from his mom and dad. Daddy got a big smooch too! What a wonderful year, one that we will always remember!

Miller Family Christmas Celebration

Andrews cough continued to progress during the weekend. Several times he woke up during the night and vomited because the flem was eliciting the gag reflex... no fun at all, especially when he is in our bed and puked all over me! Thankfully he never had a fever and seemed to feel pretty good during the day. I am really getting tired of sickness! By Monday morning we were ready to go see the doctor, to be sure his ears and lungs were not affected. The visit went well, no major concerns, just a virus that we have to wait out. When we got home the rest of the family was on their way and mom was getting a big breakfast together (pancakes, bacon, sausage, cinnamon rolls and scrambled eggs). Finally we were all together for "Christmas morning"! We thanked the Lord for all the blessings and that we could share some time together. We opened the mass of gifts that had been sitting below the tree, took some naps, watched the favorite National Lampoons Christmas Vacation and sat by the fire enjoying the company. We made chicken enchiladas, sweet corn and refried beans for dinner. Andrew ate some more peas and looked at us like he knew there was more to eating than his green goop! Aunt Holly let me try out her Ergo carrier that she got for her birthday. It was a good day, but the Christmas visit seemed to go by fast and was too short with the whole family being under one roof for only one day...

Extended Miller Family Christmas

The Miller Family met at Aunt Marcia and Uncle Bob's house this year for a Christmas get-together. It was nice to see all the Aunts, Uncles and cousins and meet the new additions - Chad and Carrie with their new baby girl, Allison. We also found out that Joe and Emily are expecting their 4th baby in July! Holly, Nate and Eliza came and are feeling better, but mom came down with the bug yesterday and decided to stay home to recover. We had our traditional white elephant gift exchange and brought home a booty-shaking, singing Santa (Oh boy, we are planning to get rid of our new gift at the Shaffer family goofy gift exchange next week!). Andrew did great, but was ready to get home and get some sleep! We needed a little rest as well, so we went home and spent Sunday recooperating...

Shaffer Family Visit

We did not have the Shaffer Family Christmas today, but we did get together with David's parents and his brother's family. Davids big brother, Scott, and his family have been living in England for the past year and were back for Christmas. They had never met Andrew before, but have been keeping up with his blog and felt like they knew him already! We had salad and pizza and the family played Ticket to Ride, while I got Andrew to sleep and finished some charts from work this morning. Madison and Christina were excited to see Andrew and even though he was not feeling great had lots of smiles for everyone. Andrews cold is progressing and it has been difficult to get him to sleep because of the cough and congestion.

Christmas Morning

Well, Christmas Eve was here and the Epple household was still recovering from the stomach virus. Holly, Nate & Eliza had all had their share of nausea and we did not want it at our house! Our family woke up with a stuffy nose, sore throat and cough so we knew the immune system was not 100% and did not want anything else! Dad, Katie and Kellin spent Christmas Eve with us. We had a roast for supper and went to the candle-lit serveic at Connection Pointe Christian Church, celebrating the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ. The rest of the family would come for Christmas morning IF no one showed clinical signs for 24 hours! Well, Christmas morning came and we got the call that the Epples were still sick... We had a little present exchange, because Kellin had to get back home for the muscial. We gave Andrew his Triple Fun Exersaucer - which he loved! He also enjoyed helping to open the presents and eat the tasty wrapping paper of course! Mom brought us a ham and I handed off a dish full of glorified mashed potatoes, yeast rolls and green bean casserol for her to take back to Holly & Nate. Katie, Kellin and I watched Mama Mia and we all had a relaxing day, but were disappointed we could not all be together. We got a phone call that David's sister had fallen on ice and had an injured ankle, so the Shaffer Family would not be having their Christmas tomorrow either! A Christmas to remember for sure!

Holly's 30th Birthday Disaster!

We had big plans for Holly's 30th birthday! First ice skating at a park, dinner at the Melting Pot and then a suprise party to end off the night. It was a terribly cold, icy day. Dad, Katie, Andrew and I went to meet David for lunch and do some last minute Christmas shopping, then the plan was to head to Holly's house. When we were finished shopping the roads were a sheet of ice, I almost fell on my head trying to get the stroller in the van at the Metropolis Mall (an outdoor mall in Indiana isn't the brightest idea!), some other shoppers weren't as lucky and did fall as we passed several emergency vehicles leaving the parking lot. We saw several accidents on the hour and a half drive to Hollys (usually a 20 - 30 minute drive...). Ice skating was already cancelled because the weather and Eliza not feeling well, but we were going to make it to the 5:00 reservations at the Melting Pot. We pulled into the parking lot to Holly saying "were going home, Eliza vomited on the way over". However Eliza seemed to be feeling better now, so we urged Holly and Nate to stay. We started off with cheese fondue and were having a good time chatting amongst ourselves. We had a long table and we stayed as far away from the Birthday girl as possible, in case she had contracted the stomach bug as well. The plans were in motion at the Epple home for the suprise party, friends were coming to put salt on the driveway and decorate before we returned. As we were chatting we noticed Holly was missing, so was Nate. My mom informed us that Eliza was vomiting and having diarrhea, Nate was dry heaving his way to the bathroom and Holly was not feeling well either! Holly found her way back to the table with Eliza wrapped in a blanket (she had already changed her shirt on the way over and now they were out of clothes!). Holly and Nate were headed home, the rest of us frantically calling to cancel the suprise party plans. We had already ordered the meal, so the rest of us had no choice but to finish the 4 course dinner. We sang Happy Birthday over the cell phone in Holly's absence. It was not the best birthday for Holly, but we hoped that they would all be feeling better before Christmas...

Kellin's Christmas Musical

The Miller Family made the long trip up from Texas for Christmas. The plans were to stay at Holly's, however Eliza was not feeling well, so the came to our house instead. We were going to see Christmas Windows, a musical that Kellin had a lead roll in. Mom went to Holly's to help with Eliza and Dad, Katie, David, Andrew and I headed to Fishers to see Kellin. It was a wonderful production and really got us in the Christmas spirit. Kellin did an excellent job and it was a fun evening. Andrew enjoyed the music and was an excellent baby boy, he was asleep by the time we made it to the car!

Hungry as a Hippo

Andrew has been very intersted in watching mom and dad eat for the last few weeks. He watches intently, drools and will even grab food right off your plate if your not careful. Being in the 97th percentile for weight, I was not too concerned about starting solids until 6 months, but Andrew kept showing signs that he was ready for something new. So at 5 1/2 months, we tried his first food, rice cereal (diluted with lots and lots of breast milk!). Andrew thought he was big stuff sitting up and eating real food. Our little boy is growing up!

First Haircut

First official haircut, that is... I cut just a bit off at 4 months, but the comb over was getting a little out of hand and we needed some professional help! Andrew loved the little red car he got to sit in. I was a bit concerned, because he really can't sit yet, but he did wonderful! He looked like such a big boy when it was finished. Next was cousin Eliza's turn... she did great as well and loved seeing such a pretty little girl in the mirror! Holly and I had a wonderful day together and our sweet babies even took a two hour nap at the same time! Holly helped me get the house cleaned up and make a big pork chop, glorified mashed potatoes and fresh green bean meal for our company (Mark, Jen and Samuel-3 months old). We ended the evening with chocolate chip cookies, of course!

Smile & Giggle

Andrew is such a little ham! He loves smiling for the camera and anyone who wants to look at him! We just can't get enough of him and enjoy every smile. He loves talking these days... When we drive he "sings" with the music. He is a very happy, easy going little guy.

More Pictures - 5 Months Old

We got some pictures of Andrew with his "I've got an Awesome Dad" shirt on as well. We bought way too many pictures, but I just couldn't help myself! He is such a sweet little boy!