Matthew's 1st Christmas!

Only 5 months old!

Merry Christmas 2006

Merry Christmas!

As mommy and daddy sang the words to Jingle Bells, Sam was determined to show his little brother the Christmas morning moves!

"Dance Matthew Dance!"

Merry Christmas to all our friends in family!

This year was filled with fun family and friends! Despite the fact that us Teplins were in hope of a white Christmas, we indeed had a blast with green grass. Sam and Matthew woke up Monday Morning with smiles and Sam ran downstairs to steal a cookie that was left out on the counter. We headed to Mimi and Papa's for a fun filled day with food (lots of it) fun and laughter!

The fun began!

Presents, presents and more presents. Sam did a great job opening up all his presents. He wanted to open every present and play with it....you can imagine his face when we said no. Brad and I were successful at making sure that some of the toys stayed in their packaging, which will only make for a more successful move to Jacksonville in 6 short weeks.

Thank you Mimi and Papa for all our amazing toys! We love them and it looks like the Oconomowoc Santa was well aware that Sam and Matthew were both good boys this past year!

Matthew, well, he found great joy just rolling around under the christmas tree in awe of the lights and the sounds of fun that filled the room!

Great Grandma Trudy was in her glory!

Next year, Matthew will have just that much more fun opening up his gifts!
Happy, Healthy New year to all!

"I'm a doctor"

"And your problem is? Let's see"

"Thank you Gaga Judi and Papa Stan for my fun filled doctors kit from Hanukkah!"

After a few minutes of showing Sam what all the doctors tools were, he was off to his first appointment. He takes our temperature, (sometimes he wants to take it rectally like we do his....again, we're in the learning stages) takes our blood pressure, uses the band-aid after he gives us a shot, listens to our heart and then looks in our ears saying, "I see potatoes". So fun! I'm nervous to think about the minute that he wants to examine Matthew...

I'm living my childhood ALL OVER again and it is SOOOO fun!

Good Bye Cabin Fever! Hello December!

Matthew loves his new compartment in the stroller!

No more stinkin' car seat!!!

"Mommy, I'm soooo happy to be outside!"

Now Matthew can SEE Sam which makes

for a WHOLE world of difference!
And then...we stumbled across the melting snow piles....So I let him be a boy...

Thank heavens Daddy was at work...he would of not been happy with a soaked product of fun! Check out the shoes and pants!
Who would have guessed that December would bring stroller rides through the neighborhood and a jump through some mud puddles? For Wisconsin, it is very tolerable outside and we are in full effect taking advantage. Sam is getting accustomed to requesting his daily walk around the block and seeing that he is dressed appropriately with his fleece and hat. Matthew, he has fallen in love with his stroller and just hangs out for the ride. Tomorrow, we're heading to the zoo, if that sun continues to shine!

It's time to Celebrate!

Happy 5 months old Matthew!

Where are we now...
You know, just the other night, Brad turned to me and said, "I'm so glad those first few months are behind us!". And he was soooo RIGHT on. What fell out of his mouth is something that I've been thinking about for some time now. If I think back and compare my two children, Sam was the more challenging of the two. Sam was a very very needy baby and needed our constant attention and always fussed and hardly ever smiled, which always made us wonder if he was happy. Matthew is always happy and always laughing and is much much more mellow. However the one thing that still stands true to us is those first few months of life are challenging and nearly drain the energy out of us. We were very very sleep deprived, concerned, confused, worried and happy. In reality, our life was changing before our eyes, never to ever be the same again.

So, reflecting on our life 5 months ago, it was insane. Adjusting to having a new baby and a growing and ever so active toddler in the house was a huge challenge. I am so happy to say that I think we've finally got our groove on. We have our routine, we have our schedule and we can finally take a step back and think, "wow, we did it. Some how some way, we've accomplished having 2 wonderful children very close in age and life is only getting better. "

Matthew is starting to eat solids on a regular basis. He's turned his nose up to Green Beans, but we're still plugging along as he's only going to be getting these for the next few days. Just the other day we pulled out the Jump-r-Roo and he is having a blast bobbling around in it. Not to mention his brother Sam thinks all these new toys are for him. Matthew is going to be celebrating his very first Hanukkah tonight at Gaga and Papa's house (one day early).

Matthews first wagon ride

Hold on Matthew, we're going for a ride!

Stuck, stuck, mommy, help you! (we still get our you's and me's confused)

Check out the look on little Matthews face. We got many emotions on this wagon ride. We got laughs, looks of fear, sighs, big eyes and smiles!

...in the house that is. I can see what my life is going to be like in a few months. Sam has entered a whole new developmental stage. It's now all of a sudden all about him and his brother. When Matthew leaves his site the first question always is, "Wheres Matthew?" "mommy go get him?" or, "let's go wake Matthew up". The developement is going from what used to be, "Mine
"my turn" ~~~~to~~~ "Matthew's turn", "share Matthew", "wait Matthew for me". They play games all day and Sam is finally discovering that the world that he once knew to be all about him, has turned into all about him AND his brother. What a beautiful thing.

We're moving along...

Last night we received a call from our realtor that in her hands she was holding an offer!!!! We've received our first offer for our condo in Port and as of last night, we've accepted the offer. The catch is...the buyer has to sell her home first. This is good, a step in the right direction. We're not officially sold yet, as we will still be showing our condo until her home sells, however, we've moving right along. This gives us some new hope that there is interest on the market right now, even though it's a little rough out there. Now instead of worrying about someone being interested in our condo, we have to worry about someone else's home being of interest....

We'll post new updates as they arrive. Until then, I will continue to keep a clean home with 2 little boys jumping from one thing to another all day long. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

Walking in the Winter Wonderland!

For all our loved ones who live in warm climates, these pictures are for you:

Uncle Darren & Aunt Ann, The Florida Teplins and The Tosons!

We have been enjoying the snow these past few days, however, it has been so cold, it makes our outside experiences kind of...short! I think sometimes it takes longer to bundle everyone up and actually get outside, but it is all about the experience! We ventured downtown to view all the Christmas trees and lights. Sam enjoyed everything, especially jumping over the snow and getting his little hands all full of snow, then complaining that he was "cold". Even little Matthew enjoyed the stroller ride and provided lots of smiles and was struck by the nasty winds that surrounded him!

Good vs. Evil

Evil = Sam
Good = Matthew


Evil Situation: Screaming, constantly screaming NO, I don't want TO. Sam do it. Attempting to jump on the kitchen table, followed by flying milk across the family room (or on daddies head), dumping all the couch cushions on the floor, followed by a hug and a kiss followed by, "don't worry mommy & daddy, it's okay, I love you." We get so frustrated and our hearts melt all at the same time??? How is that possible.

Our little Sam is just up to no good these days, for that we call him, evil! What drives us bonkers is, the love that he endures during his worst moments. Now, please don't misunderstand me. He is probably like this 60% of the time, the other 40% he is great! I'm entering this blog post to make me understand that this is all normal behavior and when our "good" son enters the 'terrible twos' we will be all ready for him.

Good Situation: Waking up with coo's and smiles. Full blown belly laughs followed by constant wiggles for love for all of us, even his 'evil' brother. Matthew is doing great! His demeanor has totally changed as his world is blossoming around him. He is starting to enjoy his car seat a lot more now, partially because we have moved Sam to the last row in the mini van so he can entertain Matthew. The screams that once echoed inside this four wheeled vehicles are turning into laughs! (THANK GOD).

Brad and I are holding on as Sam is taking us for a ride. The ride is a little scary, but please...can he be 3 soon????

"Mommy, ook all the snow!"

The story of today is: STAY HOME!
What a great way to bring in December! A SNOW DAY! Everything around here is closed and the snow is just pouring out of the sky. The wind has picked up and the snow is blowing around that you can't see a darn thing. It is pretty, but the roads are not. Brad decided against driving into work today due to the elements. However, he is still working remotely and diving deep into his conference calls. The beauty of having a work laptop! Sam thinks this is fun having mommy AND daddy home today, but for some reason has had a lot of time outs.

The time outs consist of:
1.Climbing on the kitchen table
2. Throwing grapes across the kitchen
3. Stepping on Matthews head
4. Dumping out all the trucks and kicking them everywhere
5. refusing a nap and emptying out his drawers
6. Emptying out his snack bowl of goldfish, stepping on them, and telling mommy to vaccuum
etc...

I think (hope) he is finally sleeping....

Tomorrow we are going to enjoy the snow and go downtown to all the parks and enjoy the holiday lights with some hot chocolate and coffee! Today, it's about making chilli, reorganizing the kids clothes and enjoying looking outside!