Grandpa Steuer's Silent Night

Jackson and Mia were able to visit GiGi and Grandpa Steuer Christmas Eve with Matt's parents. Grandpa broke out the harmonica and played Silent Night for them. I had no idea he could play! I thought this was a cute video to share.

Here we come

Dress Up

Jackson and Mia received a dress up box from Santa filled with girl and boy dress up clothes. They have really been enjoying it. This video cracks me up. I may be able to use it as blackmail for Jackson later in life. This song is from one of their favorite shows Hi-5. Enjoy.

New Years and New Friends

We had our what is turing out to be our annual New Year's Eve party at our house on Wednesday night. It has been pretty much the same crew for the past 4 or 5 years. Sometimes it is at a restaurant or bar, but the last few years it has been at our house. It can be hard for everyone to find a sitter, so we have been having people over with their kids. It's fun to predict what will happen in the next year. It seems like someone is pregnant every year. We had a total of 9 kids and one in the oven (not me people) this year. The kids had a blast bouncing in the bouncy house. I didn't get many good pictures, but here are a couple that at least show the chaos. Luckily no one was injured.

New Year's Day we visited Matt's new boss and his family for the day. It was nice getting to know him, his wife, and their adorable little girl Grace. It is fun to meet new friends and talk about life, kids, jobs, etc. I hope we can spend time with them again soon. Here is a picture of Grace with Grant.

Reflections of 2008

As another year comes to a close, I thought it might be nice to take a moment and reflect on 2008 in the Steuer house. Each year seems to pass by faster than the previous, especially since we have had children. There were some big birthdays in 2008 with Matt and I both turning the big 3-0 (me first of course, since I am his old lady!), Jackson turned 4, Mia 2, and the twins rolled through their first birthday of many to come. I started this blog in 2008 (which is my new found addiction) and am glad that I am able to share my family with family and friends. I truly do not have the time to "scrapbook" or keep up with the baby books, but I hope this will suffice for my children. Writing the blog makes me want to do more things with my kids to create memories, take more pictures (especially of everyday things that may not seem so everyday in the future), and helps me remember my priorities in life, after which everything else falls in line-God and my family. Matt and I both changed jobs in 2008. We discovered we were pregnant again followed by an unexpected miscarriage. We traveled to Las Vegas and celebrated many family weddings. We survived several basement floods, installed a new heating/air conditioning system, electrically rewired our house, and purchased a new water heater (2008 was an expensive home owning year!). We watched our babies take their first steps, our first baby go to school, and our daughter make potty training a breeze. It has been a crazy, but beautiful year full of trials and triumphs. As 2009 begins, I can only imagine what will come. All I can say is that we are ready for whatever and wherever life takes us. Happy New Year!

Green Bad Guy

This happened awhile ago, but I haven't had the time to blog about it. The story is too funny (or scary) not to share.

We have an EpiPen at our house since Jackson has a peanut allergy. Each box comes with two EpiPens (syringes with the medicine) and a "trainer" pen which does not contain medicine or have a needle attached. The actual EpiPen is green and the trainer is black. When first prescribed the medication, the doctor showed Jackson and I how to inject himself with the trainer. We had practiced several times with it so Jackson would be familiar and not so scared. The box of pens and trainer sit up on a shelf in our kitchen. One day I was putting Mia down for a nap (twins were already sleeping) and I hear Jackson crying (not unusual). I look out in the hallway to see what Jackson is doing and he has his pants down. I look at his leg and he has a small puncture wound on his thigh. He is crying, "I got an ouchie! That green bad guy got me!" I have no idea what the green bad guy is so I ask him where he was when he got hurt. He says, "In the kitchen!" I totally did not even think about the EpiPen. In the kitchen, on the counter is the EpiPen opened with the needle bent and the medicine expelled. I tried to relax, but I could not believe he had stabbed himself with the pen. Apparently, he saw the EpiPen box while going to get stickers (to put on the calendar for pooping in the potty) and decided that it was a good time to practice with his trainer. Except he didn't have the trainer. Woops. We called the doctor and poison control and 1 hour later Jackson was totally fine. He really had no effects from the "green bad guy" and the funny part is that he injected it in the right spot, just didn't need it at that moment. I felt bad for him because I am sure he was not expecting a needle to poke him in the leg since he thought he had the trainer. Poor kid. I don't think he will be practicing with the trainer anytime soon. He doesn't want anymore unneeded incidents with the "green bad guy."

Christmas Pictures-Part 2

The kids and grandkids

Uncle Charley helping Grant opening his present

Liam opening his gift Grant and Liam playing ball




Uncle Charley and Aunt Kelly

Mamaw and Papaw

Mia loving her new dress

After a crazy trip to 10:30am mass (we really should not attempt church alone), we had a relaxing Christmas day at Matt's parents. The relaxing could have been induced by some delicious whiskey sours, but I'm not entirely sure! We had a great meal and the kids enjoyed their gifts. We played Little Einstein's bingo, Chutes and Ladders, and Disney's Scene It DVD game. It was a wonderful Christmas!