Baby Shower for Alanna

My friend Debbie threw a baby shower for Alanna on Saturday December 10th. It was such a great time! We ate brunch at noon and opened gifts afterwards. It was very low-key and perfect! Alanna got a lot of nice things and it was fun to show off my baby girl a bit. It really was the first outing where Alanna met actual people (meaning, she had been out to Walmart, but no one held her there) and was held by someone other than Matt or myself. From left to right: Theresa (mother of 15 kids... yes, 15), Debbie, Cass (holding Alanna), Cass's daughter Morgan is seated on the floor (I teach her voice and piano), and on the window seat is Jen on the left and the hostess Debbie on the right. Debbie's 5th baby will be arriving on January 2nd, so I was extra appreciative that she took the time and energy to host a baby shower for me so late in her pregnancy!

"I Love Daddy" fleece outfit. The girl on the bottom is Journey, another piano student of mine.

This is actually not a moment that I'd like to remember! The girl on the bottom right, Morgan, painted this ceramic angel for Alanna and it's the most hideous thing I've ever seen. Hopefully my face dosn't give it away. :S Seriously, the eyes are super creepy. What do you say to something like that?! Uh... thank you?

Opening gifts with a gaggle of girls at my feet. My friend Lydia is sitting next to me on the floor, writing down a gift list. Jen, red-hed up in the corner, is holding Alanna. Debbie's daughter Macy is in the black polka dotted party dress, and one of Theresa's girls, Renee, is in the pink shirt. Renee held Alanna and even had the motherly sway going on! It was pretty cute! She does have two younger twin sisters that she probably practiced with, but still - for being just over 8 she did a great job bouncing and holding Alanna!

It was such a fun afternoon with my friends! My super good friend Karen was kind enough to snap the pictures, which explains why she wasn't in any of them. Alanna got diapers, clothes, towels, toys, etc, which was nice, but the best part was just spending time with with the girls.

Canon City Parade of Lights

We took the kids to the Canon City Parade of Lights on the first Saturday in December (12/3). Like last year, we went with Karen and Kurtis and their two kiddos (Abigail, 4, and Caleb, 2). Take a look at how our kids were dressed verses how their kids were dressed and see if you can figure out where the parents are from. Obviously, you know where Matt and I are from, but can you totally tell that Karen is from California?! Charlie's decked out in his winter gear, sipping "hot" chocolate in his sippy cup. Abigail and Caleb aren't wearing hats (and it was in the 20's!), and Caleb's jacket was from last year. After 45 minutes at the parade (and the parade went longer, Karen and Kurtis just decided to head out after 45 minutes), Caleb's forearms and hands were bright, bright red from the cold! I don't know if he had mittens along and just didn't want to wear them or what, but holy cow - brr! Both kiddos had hats along and chose not to wear them. The funny part is that Kurtis is from Canada and had his hat, gloves, and puffy North Face jacket on, so he stayed toasty warm the entire time!! Poor kiddos... in Karen's defense, we do have pretty mild winters here, but that's my opinion because my knowledge is based on MN winters! The winters here are freezing compared to CA winters! Funny, huh? Well, despite the cold, the parade was fun! Charlie got a peppermint candy and a cookie, and had a good time sitting on the blanket just watching the lights go by. It was a little Fergus-y in that it was a slow parade with big spaces between the floats, but we enjoyed it. Alanna stayed tucked in with three blankets on top of her and both the sun shades up on the car seat and the stroller. Snug as a bug! After the parade, we drove around for a bit looking at Christmas lights. So fun! It was a nice wintery, Christmasy evening.

Powder Explosion

Does this need an explanation?! I pull Charlie into the bathroom with me while I'm showering, and this is what he found to do one day. How can I get mad when it vacuums up so easily? Plus, he was having such a good time! His skin was so soft and my bathroom smelled wonderful... AND it was only a travel sized bottle. For being his first big mess, it really wasn't that messy. It only took 3 minutes to clean up - that's my kind of mess!! Charlie just looks so cute with his powder mustache!!

The Rustand Family Christmas Tree

The family took part in the second annual cutting of the Rustand family Christmas tree. Charlie and I went out the Friday after Thanksgiving to scout out an area and the next Sunday all four of us trekked out to cut down a tree. We all had a fun time, Charlie was able to throw rocks in a stream, Alanna slept almost the entire time, and Julie and I enjoyed the time outside.

The tree Charlie and I had scoped out a few days earlier.

With a little trimming, it turned out to be a very nice tree.

Julie with all the kiddos in her arms.

Charlie doing one of his favorite hobbies, throwing rocks into a stream.

Here is Charlie "helping" with the lights.

Baby Alanna and her first Christmas tree.

Charlie even helped with decorating this year. He has one designated ornament that he takes off and puts back on the tree a couple of times a day.

The finishing touch.

The 2011 Rustand family Christmas tree.

This is the goal!

Between the hours of 1pm and 3:30pm, this is the goal:

Pueblo Parade of Lights

On Saturday after Thanksgiving (11/26), we bundled up and headed to the Pueblo Parade of Lights for the second year in a row. Thanks, Grandma, for those super warm boots for Charlie!! He was decked out in his winter gear and sat so nicely on the blanket, just watching the floats go by. It was fun, albeit a bit brisk. Baby girl did awesome - and by awesome, I mean slept through the whole thing. :) She stayed nice and toasty, too, thanks to a fuzzy bear suit on loan from cousin Kemper. It was festive!

Such bright eyes!! She is 24 days old here.

I can be frequently be found here, on the couch, in my little nursing station. 6-8 times a day for at least 30 minutes each time...

My favorite outfit

I just LOVE this outfit. I have no idea why, but it's just so cute and comfy for Alanna. Strangely enough, I bought it and another one with a different pattern at a garage sale in Fergus Falls for maybe 50 cents a piece. If you remember, Charlie had the exact same one with an adorable sailboat pattern. Go back and take a peek halfway through this post! Charlie had his newborn pictures taken in that sailboat outfit, and I also put Alanna in this one for her newborn pics! Fun!!

Charlie has to be thisclose to his sister when he looks at her. I wonder if he's nearsighted...?!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Thanksgiving morning playtime at the park. And why not? It was 70 degrees out! (Want to find out about Charlie's accessory? Scroll down to the bottom of the post.)Rustand debate: is it a twisty slide or a tornado slide? Put in your vote and settle a bet around here! Whatever it is, Charlie loves it.

This pic is simply to show that Matt was indeed wearing shorts and a t-shirt on Thanksgiving. Ok, so he took Charlie for a run and then ended up at the park where Alanna and I met them, but still. Shorts on Thanksgiving!

Our little ladybug all snugged in the stroller.

This is the part where we went to our friends Karen and Kurtis' house for a Thanksgiving feast. I didn't take any pictures! Boo! Like last year, we ate together and spent a few hours talking while the kids played. (They have a 2-year-old boy and 4-year-old girl.) I hosted last year, so Karen hosted this year. Next year, it's our turn again! It's so fun. We really enjoy hanging out with them, and like us, their family lives in California and Canada. Well, not that we have family in CA or Canada, but you get it. I brought mashed potatoes and green bean casserole, and Karen made the turkey, gravy, sweet potato casserole, cranberries from a can, and some kind of German thing called spaetzla... which was more fun to eat than spell. We topped off the meal with a traditional pumpking pie. From Costco. Ha!

Our two lil turkeys. Alanna's HUGE Thanksgiving outfit. She's obviously not ready for 3 month clothes yet.

Turkey butt!!

Enjoying her bath at the end of a busy day.

Question: Why does Charlie have a bandage on his forehead?

Answer: Because he's 1 1/2 and I bought stock in bandages. :) Just kidding. The real story is that he was standing in the living room a few feet away from the piano and either started to just tip over or wanted to be silly and throw himself down on the ground (like he frequently does). Either way, the top of his forehead slammed into a super sharp corner of the piano. Though it wasn't a big gash, it was really deep! Matt and I were both standing within 4 feet of him but couldn't prevent it from happening. Being a head wound, of course it bled quite a bit. I scooped him up into my arms and rocked for a bit while holding a tissue on his forehead to catch the blood. Charlie's tears stopped long before the bleeding stopped, so Matt took him into the family room to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade thinking that he would sit still and watch tv while Matt finished holding the tissue in place. It worked! At bath time that night, we were expecting to take off the bandage and reveal a huge bruise, but surprisingly enough it hardly bruised at all. There was a visible bump (especially when looking at Charlie's profile), but no black/blue/yellowish mark. This is one of the first few things we've actually needed a bandage for. Ah, the first of many. :(