The Algeras

Yes, I'm 31 today, and what a great birthday it was! Sara sang to me to start things off. What could be better than a 2 year old version of Happy Birthday to You?

In the morning we loaded everyone up and went to the New York Aquarium in Brooklyn. Sara had a great time and will probably be talking about this trip for weeks. She got a kiss from a sea lion! She saw real penguins, a walrus or "big monster!", otters and seals. She loved watching schools of fish. "Those fishies have a problem" she said as small fish swam around a bigger one. She liked the seahorses and jellyfish too. We may have a future marine biologist on our hands!

Tonight Ben and I went out for dinner while Grandma and Grandpa watched Sara and David. What a birthday treat! Sara got her bath in Grandma's tub and now both of them are snoozing away. Sara has claimed her bed here - we caught her jumping up and down on it this afternoon. David sleeps in his pack and play in the hallway. He had a very rough night last night, so hopefully he'll sleep better tonight. I was so tired this morning I poured my juice until the cup poured over and Ben asked me what I was doing!

Merry Christmas, everyone! I hope everyone had a wonderful day with the people they love. Congratulations to Brad and Ericka (Nate's brother and sister-in-law) on their beautiful Christmas baby, Leah Grace!

We had a busy but very enjoyable day. After church we headed to Grandma and Grandpa Zandstra's house for a delicious meal, presents and games. The kids could hardly enjoy their food with all those presents sitting under the tree! They had fun ripping and got great presents from Grandma and Grandpa and the aunts and uncles.

In the afternoon, Nate and Ellen dropped us off at the airport and we got on a plane to New Jersey to see Grandma and Grandpa Algera! It was David's first plane ride and Sara's fourth. They were so well behaved! David hung out on my lap laughing or just sitting. Sara read her book and played with her giggle stick. She took a midflight snooze and then looked out the window until we got to our gate (a half hour early!)

Bedtime was a little chaotic when we got home, but both kids slept pretty well and got up bright and early this morning for presents! Sara had a great time. Ben's dad restored the toy tractor he got as a gift when he was three and gave it to Sara. It looks like new and Sara has already taken it for a ride down the sidewalk. David sat on the seat and twirled the steering wheel. He's not even close to reaching the pedals yet!

Aunt Pam, Alyce, Kyle and Matthew came down from Massachusetts for an Algera family party. Sara was shy at first but warmed up to her usual silly self pretty quickly. She enjoyed her pizza and presents. It was so good to see everyone again.

Sara and David both went to bed with very little convincing tonight. Sara is back to being a big girl, going on the potty and being good about bed! I'm so excited about that. The'll need their rest! We plan to go to the aquarium tomorrow so Sara can see some penguins. That should make her week!

We've taken so many pictures in the last few days it's hard to choose just a few to put up here. Go check out Facebook or Flickr if you would like to see photos of all the fun!

We had a great day today! Check out this slideshow and enjoy it along with us:



Quotes of the day
"Here my snowboots, snowpants, snowcoat...lets go out now!"
"David WANTS to share his truck" (After she took his present away from him)
"Oh, my merry Christmas! My tea party! Thank you Daddy!" (after seeing her new kitchen)

Yes, it is still freezing cold and snowing like crazy! Church was canceled and we were stuck inside watching the snow all day long. It looks like we'll have a lot more snow to shovel by morning, too!

We had fun at home, playing and finishing Christmas wrapping. Sara took pictures for us. She loves saying "cheese for the camera, Mommy!" She is also very intrigued by the presents under the tree. "Toys for Daddy, Allison and Andrew!" There is stuff under there for her, but I didn't make a big deal of that. I don't need three days of whining! I get enough from Ben!

Sara is in bed, sleepy from all the Daddy playing. She and David love when Ben wears his Calvin sweatshirt with strings. They both got hold of them this afternoon and just about strangled him. David is working on finding his sleep while cuddling Daddy right now.

I might go shovel a bit. I have to work tomorrow and I'd like to be able to get out of the driveway in my car. The road has about four inches of snow on it right now, so the plow shouldn't bury us in too badly when or IF it comes by again. Before the plow came through this afternoon there was absolutely no way I could have gotten out. It was that deep! We'll go to bed soon and hope the snow winds down before morning.

David and Sara got an early Christmas present for this snowy day. It was perfect for sledding!

David hangs out













Sara makes recipies











David and Sara hung out with Daddy tonight while Mommy Claus went out to do ALL her Christmas shopping. There are still a couple things not crossed off my list, but it was a very productive evening. And it's amazing how much I can get done without my little helpers!

They did "help" me with the grocery shopping this afternoon. They were very good - David slept the whole time and Sara rode in the cart chatting with me. She helped empty the cart and then got a ride on the horse for being so good.

We headed to Great Grandma's house after that. Sara played hard with Allison and Andrew! "Allison wear me out, Mommy" she said on the way home.

Worn out Sara is snuggled in bed in her "very favorite" Christmas pjs. David is snuggling Daddy and hopefully have a good sleeping night. Sometime we do, sometimes not so much. We go to bed hopeful!

That's what we did today: listen to Sara talk and talk and talk. Ben wanted me to write these wise sayings down so we can laugh about them later. So here are some of the things heard in the Algera house today:

"I draw beautiful penguin eggs!"
"Pipie goes night when Sara is wakey!" (She only gets her pipe at night and she knows not to beg for it now)
"David is boring today"
"I want jelly sandwich, please no peanut butter"
"Mommy and Sara sailing away" (during her bath)
"When Daddy gets home, I give huge big kisses...Mmmmmaaaaa!!!!"
"Shake your booty!"
"found the baby wrapped in cloths laying in a manger"
"My Hayden Scott came to play. We hide from Mommy"
"Pizza! Give pizza!"

Here's David, taking a mid afternoon snooze by the Christmas lights. Maybe he is dreaming about the presents Sara told him about. He fell asleep while looking at the lights and shiny ornaments.

It was freezing cold and blustery today. There was plenty of snow for Sara to shout at. She really wanted to go out and play in it, but the temperatures were in the single digits, not even figuring in the wind chill. So Mom was mean, even though Sara found her coat and begged "here is snowcoat, I go play pleeeeeaaase!!!!!"

But she did find plenty to do inside. Dominique and Parker stopped by on their way home to Wisconsin. Parker and Sara had fun running up and down the stairs and doing downward dog with somersaults. Sara also had fun acting like a penguin. Penguins are her new favorite thing. She told me to "shake my penguin booty!" She walks like a penguin and dances like a penguin. It's hilarious.

Now Sara is sleeping in her new Christmas pajamas. David is fussing a little, but he'll be out soon too. He's been doing a little better at the nighttime sleeping. Ben's been getting full nights of sleep and I'm usually only short a half hour to an hour of sleep. Not bad!

Do these three characters look like they might be related? No Zandstra genes expressed in these kids. But they are still adorable, and Daddy isn't so bad looking either!

I'm just back from a few hours at work, which was a complete circus. I'm still on call just in case the craziness continues. One of the ER nurses said he was trying to bat a cycle; bring us one of each kind of patient. He was getting pretty close! Ah, fun times.

Sara and David were very happy and silly today. David likes to blow raspberries and Sara calls them "David's gazoos" as in "Mommy, David is making gazoos!" He belly laughs for two things - Mommy kissing his fat little cheeks and Sara. Sara has been walking like a penguin all day and reading her Christmas books. She won't go anywhere without her three Christmas books. They go to bed with her at night, and come downstairs in the morning. They are necessary for car rides and naps. Some boring day I'm just going to blog a list of things the kids do that I don't want to forget. It's like an online baby book!

Ben is out making a quick Meijer run, Sara is asleep with dolly, blankie and books and David needs some settling down. I think he might be getting a tooth. He is producing enough drool to water a small garden! Good night!

Things were just to busy last night to get to the blog, so I'm catching up in the morning. David is playing with the fish on his play mat and shrieking right now, and Sara is eating her morning snack "so good granola bar!" They are busy and happy for the moment.

Last night we met Grandma and Grandpa at the Meijer Gardens to see the Christmas trees. Sara had such a great time! The trees are big and bright. "So pretty 'Chrisas' trees! My tree so pretty too!"

The tropical garden was dark, lit only by lights wrapped around trees. It was beautiful and Sara had a great time running around and around the paths. The poinsettias and amaryllis were big and beautiful "So big plants, so pretty!" She liked the birdhouses on the bird tree, too.

The trains made of natural material were set up in the seasonal gardens again this year. It's so funny to watch groups of kids follow the trains through the rooms. Sara loves the trains. While she was chasing them, she ran into Ally and Andrew and their grandma and grandpa! They were all so excited. Andrew waved hello and bye-bye to the trains and said "toot toot!" when they came around the bend. Ally and Sara ran along the tracks and squealed when they saw the trains.

We found the childrens activities in the basement, and Sara had a wonderful time making a paper house with Daddy and playing with the toy trains. She also liked the turtle tank in the hallway.

David was a happy toot the whole time. He squeaked for food once, and when that need was met he was good to go again. He giggled and dimpled at everyone. Sara lasted until about 7:30, and then she started getting tired and cranky. So we headed out into the snowstorm for home. It was a slow drive home, but we made it in one piece. The kids were a little wound up so bedtime took a while, but they slept pretty well last night!

Sara woke up this morning and said "see pretty trees and trains today too? Please?" I guess she had a good time. Maybe we'll take her again some Saturday. If I bundle her up she would probably have a good time wandering around outside, too!

The kids slept in until about 9 today - how nice! We didn't have to negotiate with eachother for the parent sleep in. Ben made overnight french toast, so we stuck that in the oven and had a great breakfast. Sara ate a whole big piece and a whole banana! She's been a very hungry child lately.

We watched football and played indoor games all day. Sara is starting to feel a little cooped up, I think. But she loves having Dad home on the weekends, because he will give horsey rides and do somersaults with her. I'm not very good at somersaults. Ben and Sara were laughing at my attempts.

I feel like a bad mom today because I snipped David while trimming his fingernails. He was bleeding! Have you ever tried to bandage an infant finger? It's tough. He seems to have forgiven me, though. He is still awake right now, so maybe that's his revenge.

We're watching the snow blow and waiting to stick the baby in his crib. Hopefully things calm down by tomorrow, since I have to work in the afternoon. We've seen a plow go by once in the last two days, and our road is pretty full of snow. I'm not even sure the car could get out!

I can't seem to get this video to upload here - so follow this link to see some cute David.

What funny kids! David has been having fun rolling around and grabbing at his feet. Video coming soon! Sara helped herself to David's leftover pears after dinner tonight. "I eat David's pears! He all done!" David chowed down about half a jar of pears and I let Sara finish it off. She said it was very good. I'll have to see what she thinks of pureed veggies next!

We had a good day today. It was snowing pretty much continuously. Sara loves to watch snow, and it was the pretty fluffy stuff. We had to get out in it this morning so Sara could get the second half of her flu shot. She was not happy about this. She threw every excuse she could think of to stay home. "I tired, need bed! I hungry, need food! No doctor, no!" While I was strapping David in the car she stripped of all her clothes; "No clothes, no out!" I finally got her there and she did great. Everything was fine after she got a pink plastic dolphin for a prize.

We played some Chutes and Ladders, had a big lunch, had a nap and then headed to Great-Grandma's house. Sara loves to see her Grandmas. She read books and ate cookies. David was in a very cheerful mood. Grandma loves her baby giggles! Then Allison and Andrew showed up and the fun began. They read Elmo says with hyper child actions. Sara took off her shirt and Allison and Andrew followed her lead. Three half naked children running around! It was too funny.

Sara was upset at bedtime and I think we can blame the shot for some of it. Tylenol and cuddles made it at least bearable and she's sleeping now. David has had a very happy evening and is still blowing bubbles and giving Ben giggles. He is starting to slow down and look a little sleepy. His napping/eating routine got a little messed up today. Hopefully he'll crash soon and we'll be able to crash too!

Look at my little man with a hat over his eyes. He got dumped yesterday. Anika found a cute preschool boy she wants to marry instead. Oh well. He seems to be taking it well!

We've had a great couple days here. Not much going on, just playing and enjoying the snow. Sara really gets a kick out of the neighbors who are reroofing their house. They have to shovel the roof every morning. She thinks this is hilarious.

Sara helped make sugar cookies with cookie cutters yesterday. She thinks this process is great fun. She also really likes using a rolling pin. She also likes to eat these cookies. She ate three of them before I caught her pulling them off the cooling rack. She just grinned with her mouth full "So good cookies, Mommy!" Next time she wants to make all stars and moons with frosting smiley faces.

David is sound asleep right now. Sara is having a little bit of trouble settling down. She's had a couple of good bedtimes, but I guess she's just unsettled tonight. What a 2 year old.