Thursday, December 29, 2011

Merry Christmas and Boxing Day!











Greetings!  Wow what an amazing week.  Jonas and Elsa loved Christmas and really had a lot of fun.  So many gifts, so many good times with family (and a get together or two still to come!), Elsa and Jonas just couldn't believe it.  We couldn't believe it either--it was a whirl wind of anticipatory activity followed up with lots of wonderment and joy for our kids. One of the highlights was a horse (big truck) drawn carriage that took us around Grandma Jeanne and Grandpa Paul's neighborhood caroling.  It was cold but we warmed up the night with some great singing!

Elsa was in hog/kitty heaven this Christmas with lots of new animals to add to her menagerie.  She has at least eight stuffed animals and other varieties on the table as we type that watched her eat her lunch today.  She can't leave any animals behind.  Elsa also had a nice holiday week of eating new foods and actually putting quite a bit away occasionally.  This is always of high interest to us because we want to keep filling her up so she puts on weight.  She really enjoyed Uncle Karl's deep fried cheese-sticks and we are hopeful that trend continues.  She also, much to the chagrin of one parent, has taken a liking to eating butter.  Whatever works!  Elsa has taken a real keen interest in singing and belted out several notes after everyone else was done at the Christmas Eve service at our church!  We couldn't be prouder!  She also loves We Three Kings and is really good at the chorus. 

Jonas, the mechanic, welcomed all sorts of trucks, trains, cars, motorized vehicles into the fold this holiday.  His Thomas the train track has expanded and with the help of several adults made an epic track for his trains.  The picture of the track is not to boast--it is there in case we take it apart and have to remember how to put it back together.  Santa left Jonas a lego garbage truck and he has been inseparable from it.  We are not sure if Santa meant this for Jonas or for Dan but both seemed to derive equal enjoyment from it.  Jonas also did really well at his sleep study.   He and Mari spent the night at Mary Bridge and Jonas had all sorts of monitors hooked up to him to see how he slept.  We won't hear for several weeks any outcomes, but Jonas received several compliments about being one of the best pediatric patients ever at the hospital.  Good job Jonas!

It has been a Christmas break filled with tons of fun, laughter, songs, occasional crying, and great family times for all.  Let's hit rewind and do it all again!  We wouldn't change a moment (except the crying sometimes).

God Bless,
Mari & Dan & Elsa & Jonas 

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Santa is on his way!


Greetings!  Ho, ho ho!  Merry Christmas (Almost).  Jonas and Elsa had a great week of festivities.  They loved all of their amazing gifts from friends and family near and from far away.  This week we took Jonas and Elsa to a community theater production of "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever".  They sat attentively the entire performance just taking it all in and had a great time.  We both commented on the way out that this was something we couldn't have done last year.  We are so proud of Jonas and Elsa and how they have grown and gotten stronger. 

At dinner last night, we sat near Santa Claus.  Elsa kept waving and saying loudly, "Hi Santa!".  It was great to see her be so outgoing and into it.  And wouldn't you know it, Santa Claus visited our house today.  Last year, Jonas ran away and Elsa kept saying, "oh no oh no oh no".  We are happy to report that it went much better this year.

As always, we are humbled by our amazing kids and how incredible strong they are.

God Bless,
Mari & Dan & Elsa & Jonas

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Happy Birthday!












Greetings!
Happy Birthday Jonas and Elsa!  We had a wonderful time this weekend celebrating Jonas and Elsa's third birthday!  Friends and family came over and helped us eat cupcakes and celebrate!  It was a special day and Jonas and Elsa had a blast.  They could hardly sleep after the party and they were so excited at all the amazing gifts and all the fun that we had at the party. It is amazing to think that it has already been three years! 

We are resting up the rest of the weekend and dutifully eating cupcakes each chance we get. 

God Bless,
Mari & Dan & Elsa & Jonas

Sunday, December 4, 2011

The most wonderful time of the year!

Greetings!  I feel like this has been the "Lysne Cold Season Update Blog 2011".  We have been either getting better or catching something new!  This week has been no different.  Elsa had a high fever at the start of the weekend and is now battled back to health.  Jonas just returned home from the doctor and has a double ear infection.  He is now on medication and will hopefully feel better soon!

We met with Jonas and Elsa's GI doctor to check on weight gain.  He was a little concerned that Elsa has dropped from the 10th percentile to the 4th percentile.  We share his concern but given that she has transitioned so well to day care and tons of changes in the past three months we are cautiously optimistic that this is a minor blip on the radar and we can get her plumped right back up.  Jonas fell asleep during the appointment and the doctor was concerned that his breathing sounded really congested.  He prescribed some nasal spray to help the situation and will continue to monitor it  Overall, it was a good appointment and we are happy with how strong Elsa and Jonas are!

We also received the detailed report back on their assessment from the school district.  As reported earlier, they did not qualify for special services at this time because they were right where they needed to be.  Great job guys!  This is a wonderful time of the year!  Good news and strong kids that can deal with colds and ear aches are such a blessing!

We had a wonderful time celebrating Jonas and Elsa's friend Joshua's 3rd birthday party.  He shares their birthday and it was a joy to be with such good friends to celebrate!  It was a Thomas the Train themed party and Jonas was in hog heaven!

God Bless,
Mari & Dan & Elsa & Jonas