The joy of the plug

Nikki has discovered that nuks are not all that bad. She used to get mad at us for even offering her one, now she seems to like them.

And Growing... 15 weeks

Nikki is getting so big! She is right around 16 lbs. The first picture is in a 9 mo jumper and the second she's in a 24 mo sleeper. That is Kota's paw in the lower part of the picture. He was rudely kicked off the white blanket so I could take the picture. He is inching his way back on to it.

We now have full conversations every morning while getting clean diapers. She is cooing and talking in her own language and starting to get much more vocal...even starting to screech much to my dismay. :)

Hello from Vail

Well we just wrapped up 4 great days of skiing at Vail.
The snow was unreal and we can't wait to get back there.

Here is some pics and video of the fun.

The headlines say it all

All these goods and no one to share it with... "yes!!"

Our tracks from the first run

Jen, trecking through the pow.

Jen, owning the pow

Mike's turn...

Jumper is up!

Since we have no door jams or trim, we don't have a great place to hang the jumper. I got a shelving bracket and screwed a 2x4 chunk on the top to hook it. It's a little high, so she is standing on Kota's toy tub. It's secure and she seems to like it! She it turning around like a champ and is slowly starting to jump up and down more. If she is anything like Mike, I expect her to be jumping off the walls shortly.

New Lens

After playing with the current camera set up for a while, it's time to move to the next stage... the wide angle lens. Below is the first picture of me playing Friday night.

Yes, we were at home on a Friday night... we are now officially boring parents...

Here's looking at you Dad...

Cute shot of a very tired Nikki...

Thank you, Bruckbauer's!!

Bruckbauer's, our family friends from Germany, sent Nikki an early Christmas gift. The little bear pillow warms in the microwave and the pink wool jacket is just about the cutest thing she has! She's got a little growing to do yet, but I'm sure we will get LOTS of use out of them!

Thank you Monika, Peter, Valentin, Paula, Leni, Andreas, Claudia, Quirin, Friedl and Franziska!!!! We absolutely love them both...and the Kinder Uberraschung too!

We are still planning to return to Germany next year. Can't wait to see you guys again and meet all the kids! Hugs and kisses from Minnesota!

Mike Hunting over Thanksgiving

Mike took Kota and went hunting with our friend Ted and Shawn (Mike's sister Shelley's boyfriend).

Talking with Dad

Nikki must be going through a growth spurt because for the past 2 days, she has slept about about 20 hours per day. This was a rare awake moment when she and Dad were talking. She is starting to coo and babble a lot more; it's really fun to talk to her! She digs her little red cardinal too... :)