We had a good Christmas and hope everyone else did, too. We spent some time in Virginia and Cook. It is fun to visit family but always so crazy and busy. It is a LOT of work trying to pack for trips away like that. And we stay so busy...time really flies. We always have intentions of doing this or that, but never make it out. (Sorry Sam, Meghan, Ericka....)
So the most exciting thing this year...a new member of the family! Piper Elizabeth was born on Christmas day. Congrats Danika, Anthony, and Taylor :-)
As for Kaitlyn and Brianna...they had a good holiday. They enjoyed seeing all of their grandparents and they made out with a huge haul of new toys, books, and clothes. Kaitlyn is even the proud owner of an Elmo Live. I must admit that Elmo is quite entertaining, even to me.
I will try and post a few pics some day soon!
Monday, December 29, 2008
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Merry Christmas from the Ganoes/Looking back at 2008
Merry Christmas! If you were referred here by our Christmas card, thanks for stopping by. If you didn't receive a card but would like to be on our mailing list next year, let us know. Also, feel free to check out previous posts on this blog. Many posts include pictures!
2008 started out with a bang, as we found out on January 1st that we were pregnant with our second baby. It was exciting and overwhelming. We spent the next 9 months preparing for our newest addition. Brianna Marie Ganoe was born on September 2nd 2008, weighing 7 lbs, 5 oz. She and Kaitlyn are just 18.5 months apart and we can't wait to see them grow up together! Having 2 so close together is keeping us busy, but we wouldn't have it any other way. It is amazing, challenging, awesome, crazy...all in one.
Kaitlyn is 22 months old, and an amazing little girl. She has her days (don't we all) where she is cranky, cranky, cranky. But in general, she is very sweet...and SO smart. She is currently mastering more and more phrases rather than just single words. Her verbal skills are definitely one of her strengths. She is saying "Thank you", sometimes even in appropriate situations. She can count from 1-10 with no help. She is a great big sister, giving Brianna good night kisses before bed every evening. She loves baby dolls, stuffed animals of all types, and especially books. She has also recently become very interested in her "Signs" DVD, and has been adding to the signs she had previously learned at daycare. She knows ball, mommy, daddy, milk, friend, sleep, blanket, play, and more. Not that she needs the signs, since she is talking so well anyways!
Brianna is almost 4 months old, and she is growing so fast. She is much bigger than Kaitlyn was at her age. She rolled over from front to back very early on, but we are still waiting on back to front. She is close, though! She has very good neck and head control and loves to sit up. We are starting to use the Bumbo. She also likes the snowsuit we bundle her up in during these cold winter months. She smiles as soon as you put her in it. Actually, she is a very smiley, happy baby in general. She especially loves to watch her big sister. You can tell that she is already fascinated by Kaitlyn and is really going to look up to her as she grows. We also got lucky a second time because just like Kaitlyn, she started sleeping through the night prior to the 3 month mark.
Andy is still employed with Flint Interactive as a Web Developer, a job that he enjoys and excels at. He was able to get out for a successful weekend of deer hunting this fall, which was a welcome and deserved "mini-vacation". He is severely outnumbered at home by females (the only other male in the house is one of our three cats). But he loves having 2 little girls, and people who barely know him have commented about what a great dad he is.
Kandi continues to work for RSI and has hit the 5 year employment anniversary mark. She did take a 12 week maternity leave after Brianna was born. During maternity leave, she kept busy with the baby as well as planning a Bridal shower and Bachelorette party for a very dear friend. The wedding was just a couple of weeks ago, and Kandi was Matron of Honor while Kaitlyn was a Flower Girl. After the wedding, Kandi promptly went to get her hair cut off and is proud to say she donated it to Locks of Love. She is now 11 or 12 inches worth of hair lighter!
2009 will hopefully be the best year yet! Kaitlyn will turn 2 in February, Brianna will turn 1 in September. Kandi and Andy will have been together for 10 years in February, and married for 5 in August. It will be a busy year, but we can't wait to get it started! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone!
2008 started out with a bang, as we found out on January 1st that we were pregnant with our second baby. It was exciting and overwhelming. We spent the next 9 months preparing for our newest addition. Brianna Marie Ganoe was born on September 2nd 2008, weighing 7 lbs, 5 oz. She and Kaitlyn are just 18.5 months apart and we can't wait to see them grow up together! Having 2 so close together is keeping us busy, but we wouldn't have it any other way. It is amazing, challenging, awesome, crazy...all in one.
Kaitlyn is 22 months old, and an amazing little girl. She has her days (don't we all) where she is cranky, cranky, cranky. But in general, she is very sweet...and SO smart. She is currently mastering more and more phrases rather than just single words. Her verbal skills are definitely one of her strengths. She is saying "Thank you", sometimes even in appropriate situations. She can count from 1-10 with no help. She is a great big sister, giving Brianna good night kisses before bed every evening. She loves baby dolls, stuffed animals of all types, and especially books. She has also recently become very interested in her "Signs" DVD, and has been adding to the signs she had previously learned at daycare. She knows ball, mommy, daddy, milk, friend, sleep, blanket, play, and more. Not that she needs the signs, since she is talking so well anyways!
Brianna is almost 4 months old, and she is growing so fast. She is much bigger than Kaitlyn was at her age. She rolled over from front to back very early on, but we are still waiting on back to front. She is close, though! She has very good neck and head control and loves to sit up. We are starting to use the Bumbo. She also likes the snowsuit we bundle her up in during these cold winter months. She smiles as soon as you put her in it. Actually, she is a very smiley, happy baby in general. She especially loves to watch her big sister. You can tell that she is already fascinated by Kaitlyn and is really going to look up to her as she grows. We also got lucky a second time because just like Kaitlyn, she started sleeping through the night prior to the 3 month mark.
Andy is still employed with Flint Interactive as a Web Developer, a job that he enjoys and excels at. He was able to get out for a successful weekend of deer hunting this fall, which was a welcome and deserved "mini-vacation". He is severely outnumbered at home by females (the only other male in the house is one of our three cats). But he loves having 2 little girls, and people who barely know him have commented about what a great dad he is.
Kandi continues to work for RSI and has hit the 5 year employment anniversary mark. She did take a 12 week maternity leave after Brianna was born. During maternity leave, she kept busy with the baby as well as planning a Bridal shower and Bachelorette party for a very dear friend. The wedding was just a couple of weeks ago, and Kandi was Matron of Honor while Kaitlyn was a Flower Girl. After the wedding, Kandi promptly went to get her hair cut off and is proud to say she donated it to Locks of Love. She is now 11 or 12 inches worth of hair lighter!
2009 will hopefully be the best year yet! Kaitlyn will turn 2 in February, Brianna will turn 1 in September. Kandi and Andy will have been together for 10 years in February, and married for 5 in August. It will be a busy year, but we can't wait to get it started! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone!
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Stomach bug
We woke last night to Kaitlyn crying and screaming around 10:30 (I think). It was the first or second night ever that we didn't use a monitor (she never wakes up, and the monitor was downstairs and we were too lazy to get it). But of course, this one night that it would have been nice to have...we didn't have it. But anyways we woke up what I think was very soon after she started crying. Went in there and discovered a BIG mess. Kaitlyn got a stomach bug. She was so upset, and scared, and pointing and saying "eeeew" while crying really hard. Poor girl! Threw her in the bath tub, then daddy comforted her and spent time with her while I spent a really long time cleaning up in her room. Eventually daddy was able to get some sleep and I spent the night with her in the living room, just to help her every time she got sick and also try and convince her to get some sleep. And she did, but it was very broken. She also started begging for water, but of course any time she had some it came right back up. Try explaining to a toddler that she can only have a few slow sips at a time when all she wants to do is guzzle the whole cup. lol
It is 6:50 am and Kaitlyn is sleeping in the play pen a few feet away from me. Daddy is already out and about to get some Pedialyte for our little munchkin. H0pefully the roads aren't too awful, after this storm we got yesterday, and the other storm we got the day before.
I am feeling icky too, and hoping I don't get this bug. And hoping Andy doesn't get it, and especially hoping Brianna doesn't get it. These things pass along so easily....yikes.
It is 6:50 am and Kaitlyn is sleeping in the play pen a few feet away from me. Daddy is already out and about to get some Pedialyte for our little munchkin. H0pefully the roads aren't too awful, after this storm we got yesterday, and the other storm we got the day before.
I am feeling icky too, and hoping I don't get this bug. And hoping Andy doesn't get it, and especially hoping Brianna doesn't get it. These things pass along so easily....yikes.
Friday, December 19, 2008
What's going on
Kaitlyn got to help daddy decorate Nana and Papa's tree
And un-decorate ours
Brianna is getting SO big and so strong!
Kaitlyn is getting goofier and sillier...
and sweeter.
Brianna celebrated her 3 month birthday...
And Kaitlyn always knows how to make a splash
Brianna enjoys hanging out in her crib, watching her mobile
and smiling...
and sitting up like a big girl!
So it's been a busy month for these two monkeys!
And un-decorate ours
Brianna is getting SO big and so strong!
Kaitlyn is getting goofier and sillier...
and sweeter.
Brianna celebrated her 3 month birthday...
And Kaitlyn always knows how to make a splash
Brianna enjoys hanging out in her crib, watching her mobile
and smiling...
and sitting up like a big girl!
So it's been a busy month for these two monkeys!
Our little flowergirl/wedding pics
I promised some pics:
Here is Kaitlyn, while trying the dress on at home. Not a fan at first...
Here's a pic where she's not so...mad. lol
Me (matron of honor) and Kaitlyn (one of two flower girls)
The groom, Paul, with Kaitlyn and the other flower girl
Andy dancing with the beautiful bride, Chelsea
Me and Chelsea hugging. I love this girl!
Andy and I
It was a beautiful wedding and we had a blast. We stayed overnight both nights in a Villa at Giant's Ridge and enjoyed the outdoor hot tub. We also met some really nice people and just overall had a fun time. Congrats, Chelsea and Paul!
Here is Kaitlyn, while trying the dress on at home. Not a fan at first...
Here's a pic where she's not so...mad. lol
Me (matron of honor) and Kaitlyn (one of two flower girls)
The groom, Paul, with Kaitlyn and the other flower girl
Andy dancing with the beautiful bride, Chelsea
Me and Chelsea hugging. I love this girl!
Andy and I
It was a beautiful wedding and we had a blast. We stayed overnight both nights in a Villa at Giant's Ridge and enjoyed the outdoor hot tub. We also met some really nice people and just overall had a fun time. Congrats, Chelsea and Paul!
Thursday, December 18, 2008
The big chop
I finally went through with it...I cut my hair! It was doing nothing but causing problems and making me mad, anyways. They cut about 11 inches, maybe close to 12. And of course, I donated it to Locks of Love.
Before (about 2 months ago)
One more
After
Before (about 2 months ago)
One more
After
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Hungy Hippo, wedding, and snowstorm.
Kaitlyn and Brianna stayed with grandma and grandpa Fiskari on Friday night, and with Nana and Papa on Saturday night. While staying with Nana and Papa, Kaitlyn picked up on the cutest sounding phrase ever. Well, it is when she says it.
"Hungry Hippo". The way she says it melts my heart!! We will try and post a video of it soon.
Also coming soon will be some wedding pics. It was a beautiful wedding (good job, Chelsea) and Andy and I had a blast. It was our first time away from the girls overnight (2 nights, actually!) as a couple, and we survived! Oh and Kaitlyn actually made it down the aisle in her adorable little flower girl dress. She had a huge breakdown right before as well as right after...but calmed down enough to go down the aisle with the other flower girl. We are SO proud of her!
And then of course, the snowstorm thwarted our plans to head back to Duluth on Sunday. I was supposed to work Sunday night, and we were also dropping off a bunch of tuxes in Duluth for Chelsea. We were on our way out of Virginia (and it was right around then we noticed the snow getting heavier) when Chelsea called to tell us the tux shop closed due to weather. That is when we turned around and decided to stay overnight in Virginia, instead of trying to make the drive to Duluth with our little girls and questionable weather/road conditions. Somebody else was able to cover my shift for me at work (actually she was already stuck there whether I came or not so it worked out fine). Good thing we did wait, because we ended up getting pounded with snow all over the area. Even driving back Monday was still rough. It was sunny out, but the highway had not been salted or sanded and part of the way back was 40 mph. Glare ice, fun.
Anyhow, like I said, I will post pics as soon as I am able. Right now it is bedtime!
"Hungry Hippo". The way she says it melts my heart!! We will try and post a video of it soon.
Also coming soon will be some wedding pics. It was a beautiful wedding (good job, Chelsea) and Andy and I had a blast. It was our first time away from the girls overnight (2 nights, actually!) as a couple, and we survived! Oh and Kaitlyn actually made it down the aisle in her adorable little flower girl dress. She had a huge breakdown right before as well as right after...but calmed down enough to go down the aisle with the other flower girl. We are SO proud of her!
And then of course, the snowstorm thwarted our plans to head back to Duluth on Sunday. I was supposed to work Sunday night, and we were also dropping off a bunch of tuxes in Duluth for Chelsea. We were on our way out of Virginia (and it was right around then we noticed the snow getting heavier) when Chelsea called to tell us the tux shop closed due to weather. That is when we turned around and decided to stay overnight in Virginia, instead of trying to make the drive to Duluth with our little girls and questionable weather/road conditions. Somebody else was able to cover my shift for me at work (actually she was already stuck there whether I came or not so it worked out fine). Good thing we did wait, because we ended up getting pounded with snow all over the area. Even driving back Monday was still rough. It was sunny out, but the highway had not been salted or sanded and part of the way back was 40 mph. Glare ice, fun.
Anyhow, like I said, I will post pics as soon as I am able. Right now it is bedtime!
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Catching up...beware of long post :-)
Wow, sorry it has been so long! We've just been so busy, especially now that I am back to working. Our weekends have been booked (and will continue to be for awhile), and our evenings are always go, go, go. The house is getting pretty messy as we still have not quite figured out how to successfully balance working opposite shifts with family time, child care, and house upkeep. All of those things are getting done, except the house upkeep part is a little (okay, a LOT) lacking. We'll get into the groove eventually, it just takes time. And I'd rather let the housework slide a little instead of family time, or child care duties, of course. :-)
Thanksgiving was busy for both Andy and I. I had to work, so I stayed home while Andy took the girls to Virginia for Thanksgiving, and then to Cook for another couple of days after. I did drive to Virginia just for Thanksgiving dinner, and then drove back to Duluth since I had to work that night. I was lonely at home by myself, but I did take the opportunity to get some stuff done during my waking hours. Oh, and it was nice to have the bed to myself! And of course, Andy having the girls by himself (albeit with some grandparent's help) kept him plenty busy.
Coming up this weekend, we will be in Biwabik for my good friend Chelsea's wedding. Kaitlyn is a flower girl (cross your fingers for NO breakdowns...) while I am matron of honor. I am super excited about it, though it will be another busy couple of days...Friday night the girls are staying in Cook with my parents, and Saturday night they will be in Virginia with Andy's parents. I will be busy with wedding stuff, and Andy will be busy getting the girls from point A to B at the appropriate times, and making sure Kaitlyn is well rested and fed before pictures and ceremony starts. It will be nice to have a little break though - a couple of nights away from the girls. We haven't had a night to ourselves in nearly 2 years, so this will be nice. Though as fun as it will be, we will inevitably miss the girls like crazy and think/talk about them a lot. So anyways, stay tuned for some wedding pics...particularly of Kaitlyn looking beautiful in her little flower girl dress!
As for how Kaitlyn and Brianna are doing - great, as usual.
Brianna has giggled a few times now (though only for a couple of seconds each time) and her head/neck is getting increasingly steady and strong. I am still nursing (though only part time since I returned to work) and have been very happy to have gotten this far after a pretty rough experience the last time. Brianna has turned out to be a great sleeper (so far) just like Kaitlyn. She has been sleeping 10-11 hours straight at night for a week now, and before that she was sleeping 6-8 hours straight for quite awhile. We never did anything to "make" her sleep better (or Kaitlyn either)...we have just plain gotten lucky...twice. Brianna is way bigger than Kaitlyn was at her age...she is just growing so fast, it is incredible! She currently has the typical bald spot on the back of her head, while the rest of her hair seems to slowly be getting lighter...we might end up with another super blondie on our hands, but time will tell. In any case, she is such a beautiful little baby girl and adding her to our family was a wonderful decision :-)
Kaitlyn continues to talk more and more. She can count from 1-10 (although you have to catch her at the right time, or else she is too stubborn to do it for you). She regularly says "I love you", and several other phrases such as "Good night" and "I poop". She has started to say "bye bye" to anyone or anything. The other day when we were leaving for daycare, I told her it was time to leave and opened up the front door. She was still in the living room, and before she came to the door, she had to say "Bye bye moose" about 6 times. The moose is a Christmas decoration, that last year she was terrified of. And she was this year at first, too. But she apparently has overcome that fear, because now the moose is her friend. Our Christmas tree is up, and when Kaitlyn saw it lit up for the first time she said "oooooooooh, pretty". Surprisingly, she has been leaving it alone...not even trying to pull ornaments off of it! The cats are the bigger pain, although even they aren't as bad as I had thought they would be considering this year we have a real tree. Even with the fake tree in the past, the cats had a hey day so I assumed a real tree would be twice as bad. I was wrong, so far...hopefully I don't come back in a week to blog about how the cats knocked our whole tree over, or ate half of it.
I could go on and on about how much Kaitlyn is changing and learning, but I will stop here...I think I've blogged long enough for the day!
Thanksgiving was busy for both Andy and I. I had to work, so I stayed home while Andy took the girls to Virginia for Thanksgiving, and then to Cook for another couple of days after. I did drive to Virginia just for Thanksgiving dinner, and then drove back to Duluth since I had to work that night. I was lonely at home by myself, but I did take the opportunity to get some stuff done during my waking hours. Oh, and it was nice to have the bed to myself! And of course, Andy having the girls by himself (albeit with some grandparent's help) kept him plenty busy.
Coming up this weekend, we will be in Biwabik for my good friend Chelsea's wedding. Kaitlyn is a flower girl (cross your fingers for NO breakdowns...) while I am matron of honor. I am super excited about it, though it will be another busy couple of days...Friday night the girls are staying in Cook with my parents, and Saturday night they will be in Virginia with Andy's parents. I will be busy with wedding stuff, and Andy will be busy getting the girls from point A to B at the appropriate times, and making sure Kaitlyn is well rested and fed before pictures and ceremony starts. It will be nice to have a little break though - a couple of nights away from the girls. We haven't had a night to ourselves in nearly 2 years, so this will be nice. Though as fun as it will be, we will inevitably miss the girls like crazy and think/talk about them a lot. So anyways, stay tuned for some wedding pics...particularly of Kaitlyn looking beautiful in her little flower girl dress!
As for how Kaitlyn and Brianna are doing - great, as usual.
Brianna has giggled a few times now (though only for a couple of seconds each time) and her head/neck is getting increasingly steady and strong. I am still nursing (though only part time since I returned to work) and have been very happy to have gotten this far after a pretty rough experience the last time. Brianna has turned out to be a great sleeper (so far) just like Kaitlyn. She has been sleeping 10-11 hours straight at night for a week now, and before that she was sleeping 6-8 hours straight for quite awhile. We never did anything to "make" her sleep better (or Kaitlyn either)...we have just plain gotten lucky...twice. Brianna is way bigger than Kaitlyn was at her age...she is just growing so fast, it is incredible! She currently has the typical bald spot on the back of her head, while the rest of her hair seems to slowly be getting lighter...we might end up with another super blondie on our hands, but time will tell. In any case, she is such a beautiful little baby girl and adding her to our family was a wonderful decision :-)
Kaitlyn continues to talk more and more. She can count from 1-10 (although you have to catch her at the right time, or else she is too stubborn to do it for you). She regularly says "I love you", and several other phrases such as "Good night" and "I poop". She has started to say "bye bye" to anyone or anything. The other day when we were leaving for daycare, I told her it was time to leave and opened up the front door. She was still in the living room, and before she came to the door, she had to say "Bye bye moose" about 6 times. The moose is a Christmas decoration, that last year she was terrified of. And she was this year at first, too. But she apparently has overcome that fear, because now the moose is her friend. Our Christmas tree is up, and when Kaitlyn saw it lit up for the first time she said "oooooooooh, pretty". Surprisingly, she has been leaving it alone...not even trying to pull ornaments off of it! The cats are the bigger pain, although even they aren't as bad as I had thought they would be considering this year we have a real tree. Even with the fake tree in the past, the cats had a hey day so I assumed a real tree would be twice as bad. I was wrong, so far...hopefully I don't come back in a week to blog about how the cats knocked our whole tree over, or ate half of it.
I could go on and on about how much Kaitlyn is changing and learning, but I will stop here...I think I've blogged long enough for the day!
Kandi at 5 Weeks
Andy, not sure age, but probably just born as I came out looking like the 747 of babies.
Kandi at 19 months. And Grandpa too. Kaitlyn was telling me that was grandpa, but didn't know who the girl was.
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