In bullet points for the sake of brevity:

* The 12/14 doctor's visit and ultrasound (and follow up phone calls) indicate that we have very positive numbers, meaning low risks, of Downs or trisonmy 13 or 18 in the new baby. Praising God for that. Healthy! They could identify arms, legs, hands, briefly feet, bladder, stomach, brain, nose, and heart which was beating at a strong 167 bpm. We have a 15 minute DVD as a result.

* We made it to the Lights of Christmas at Stanwood/Warm Beach. It was so nice to see a concentrated dazzling of lights, even on a bit of drizzly night. The boys liked the pony rides, petting zoo, the Polar Express tractor towed "train", the fresh hot donuts, the lights and the toy making work shop. They weren't so sure about talking to the Bruce the Spruce. It was worth the trip, and the coupon deal was awesome.

* We made it to Leavenworth for their town lighting. The sledding is what drew the attention fo the boys the most. They just love zinging down that hill again and again and again. (Perhaps next year the tubing hill at Snoqualmie, just a thought.) The chestnuts were a special treat as we listened to the town crowd singing. One side note, Jockey had to go to the bathroom every 5 to 15 minutes and asked to go home before they even lit the lights... kind of a damper but it seems like a legitimate medical problem and just not feeling good.

*Jockey went to the doctor for the first time ever for an illness. Not bad in 5 years, however, he was completely shy and would not hold still for the doctor's exam. And for his specific complaint, using the restroom successfully would have been a help too. End game, no infection, still took the antibiotics, and we have to come back and see the doctor to find out WHY... unfortunately they said it isn't completely IMPOSSIBLE for him to have kidney stones. Sorry son, I'm at fault for this one if that's what you have.

* We made it to the zoo for a bit of a mid-week trip. Rather than get things done at the house, I elected not to let them get worse with crazy boys running around inside all day. We met Cousin Tessa and Auntie Kristina. And followed the zoo up with a visit at their house for a movie and fun.

* We met my nephew (the boys cousin) Kyler for the first time ever. He just turned one this month. He has been walking about 3 weeks at the time of our visit. He was sure active and expressive, and totally into balls. All boy. Caleb and Josh now have a face to go with the "you have a cousin" claim.

*Christmas Eve we attended church services where Caleb bravely sang on stage with the other kids. He was great, but highly motivated by the bribe of a present from the Children's Pastor. Afterwards, Grammy and Papa Dahl came back to our house for casual dinner of the traditional German wieners and herring salad. Some of us abstained and went with the alternatives.

* Christmas Morning was at our house. I actually had to wake the kids up to open their stockings. They are the only kids I know that have to be woken up on Christmas morning. It was a good morning of conversation and hot breakfast with Grammy, Papa Dahl, Grandma Judy, and Papa Bill. The big difference this year is that Caleb can read the names on the presents and Josh can at least identify the first letter of a name... which means he got confused only with Grandma Judy's gifts and his own. So because of the reading thing, they were sifting through the gifts under the tree on their own trying to read everything to dole out the gifts themselves. Their enthusiam to read almost outmatched the gifts themselves... except Mario for the Wii, and Mario Kart with steering wheels. The Hot Wheels were also a huge hit.

* Christmas Night was at Grammy and Papa Dahls house for dinner where we saw all the morning people but also the Surfaces and GG Dahl. The kids played outside for a bit, and the Wii alot. That was what made it quiet enough for a nap...for me at least.

* The kids are recovered from the excitement of Christmas and on to being wild and crazy again. We met some friends of theirs at a Burger King and let them play on the equipment for 3 hours... hey, at least it's not my house being messed up. And another day we had Emily and Brittany over to give them their presents. Emily was so interested in a new environment to explore.

We have no set plans for the rest of the week or New Years. Just birthday party for one of Jockey's buds on Sunday afternoon. But that is the catch up to start fresh for the new year.