Kate's first skiing experience

Kate's Papa Garth has said since Kate was born that he was going to have her snow skiing at 3 or 4 yrs old. Well, the time finally has arrived! We got her all decked out in her ski gear & ventured over to Sleepy Hollow for the big first experience.

Kate was very timid at first and wouldn't even put her legs on the ground after we put skiies on her feet. But after she saw another little boy her age snowboarding, she said "I can do that too!" That competitive nature came out in her and up the bunnyhill and down the bunnyhill she went between Daddy or Papa's 2 skiies.

Will was still getting over a little virus that day. This is the happiest he was the entire day. He looks like he was a real hip skier, however due to his small stature, he had to pass on actually trying the skiing thing this year. Instead he shoved 100 fruit snacks and a huge soft pretzel in his mouth to ease the wait time.

Kate thought she was pretty cute in her pink ski outfit. Hey, at least she looked the part, even if it was like pulling teeth at first to get her to participate in the event.

Will finally passed out and took a nap on Nana's lap while Kate and Brett did the bunny hills. Poor Nana didn't have her sunglasses, and me Kathy Kodak made her look into the sun for a family shot.





And the Grand Finale!!! By the end of the day, Kate was a true skier!! We are so proud of her and all the progress she made in just a few short hours. I think her Nana and Papa had a few tears in their eyes when it was all said & done. What a fantastic Day!!!!

January 2011 Wrap Up

Our final Christmas with the Van Zee Family took place the first weekend in January. It's kind of nice spacing them out to keep the holiday fun going as long as we can during these cold winter days. Kate gets so excited when her Opa comes to visit. He lives pretty far away, so we don't get to see him very much. She always likes to snag a chance to sit with him during his visits.

Aunt Jill was still on break from Columbia so she got to spend lots of quality time with the fam. This included cleaning up lots and lots of puke as both my kiddos got the stomach flu over the New Year, and she just so happened to decide to ring in 2011 with us. Oh the poor soul! Will started the whole gross epidemic a few hours before midnight. Jillian definitely takes her "Godmother" role to heart as she stepped right up and helped us scrup the floors & walls and do endless loads of laundry!

That big present in the last pic was Kate's trampoline that she decided she had to have after her great friend Mallory introduced her to the concept of how fun they are. Well, Mallory's Mom & Dad were able to dodge the idea somehow!! We weren't so lucky as TRAMPOLINE was the 1st thing she told her Opa that she wanted for Xmas. I have to admit, it has created tons of fun for them, and burns off some of their endless energy!

Right after Christmas we had dentist appts. Here is Kate in the fun froggy sunglasses she got to wear during the exam. She looks super mad here because she told me not to take her picture, but I couldn't resist. She just looked so cute!

Here she's chatting it up with Ronda our family hygenist (spelling?) This year she did so much better, no fear factor at all. And best of all, no cavities!!! Go Kate!!

Will had his first experience this time. Yes, that is a sugary sucker in his mouth, not a toothbrush. He took a lot, I mean a lot of bribing to get into that dentist chair!! Eventually we were able to replace the sucker with a toothbrush by turning on a monkey movie that shows a funny monkey learning to brush. All this with Will laying on his back, on top of me. Sorry, no pics of that crazy scene!

Lauren's Baby shower went great a few weeks ago. We had it at the Tulip Tea Room in Pella that included some really yummy food!

Kate and Teagan loved having a girls day. Any day away from those pesky little bros is a little vacation.

Papa and Nana celebrated their birthday in Jan. Kate decided to make strawberry cupcakes for the big event. I was a little weary, but they were edible. Well, anything is edible with a little cream cheese frosting on top!

The science center pass is always a good thing on these cold days. Will and Kate can put in half a day easily. The bubbles are one of Will's top choices.

Kate loves the play grocery store. She loves to shop, shop, shop. I wonder where she gets that from??

All in all, for being such a cold month, we were able to keep ourselves really busy!