Kelsey has received Viking's gear from her loving Skala family members. Matt has insisted on her wearing this disgusting, I mean delightful, attire for a few Sundays now. Of the last five times the Vikings have played, Kelsey has worn her gear four times. The one time she didn't was the only time they lost. Thus, their record when she wears purple is 4-0. So what does this mean? According to Matt, it means Kelsey will be wearing her purple and gold on Sunday to cheer on the Vikings in the playoffs. Now don't fret Packer fans who are reading this! She will wear green and gold again because she actually likes it more. But since the Vikings have made the playoffs for the first time since the stone ages, I figure I better let her wear purple because it could be a long time before it happens again.
Matt, Kelsey and I went to our friend's house last evening to ring in the new year. It was a great time! Kelsey even woke up just in time to watch the ball drop with us. In a way, it was a little sad for me to see 2008 go. It was such an incredible year for us. We can only hope to be just as blessed in 2009. We hung up our new calendar today and I cannot believe all the dates that are already filled in! I guess we know we will be staying busy. On a side note, we were playing with Kelsey on the floor this morning and she started to just continously roll. She normally rolls over from her back to her tummy and then is content just playing that way. But today, she just kept rolling from back to front, front to back, etc. I guess our days of her staying in one place are quickly coming to an end.
Every other year we rotate which family we will spend Christmas with. This was our year to be in Owatonna. For Christmas Eve, we went to Dave and Vickie's to celebrate with our immediate Skala Family. We began by opening a few gifts and then played games before dinner. Next, we ate a delicious meal of steak and shrimp. During dinner, it is a Skala tradition for everyone to make a toast. It is always a nice way to reflect on the past and look forward to the new year. After dinner, it was time for more presents and games. To conclude the evening, we all went to 10:00pm mass. It was a beautiful service. There is something about the church being decorated and the choir singing that seems to set a very comforting mood. Little Kelsey must not have wanted to miss anything because she hardly slept all day. She was quite the trooper! On Christmas Day, we celebrated with Matt's mom's side of the family. It was the first year without Grandpa Ebeling. I think both Grandpa and Grandma Ebeling would be so happy to see that their family was together for the holiday. We again had great food and great company. Finally, we had the big Skala get together. Matt's dad has 10 siblings, and all but one made it. With all the kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids, it is quite the crew! I am not sure how we managed to keep eating, but of course, there was tons of wonderful food! Whenever the Skala side gets together, I always try to make a point of talking to Matt's grandpa. He is such a sweet man. I have grown so fond of him since I have been in the family. He loves to tell me story after story about his past, and I love listening to him. Even the stories he has told me many times never get old. Matt, Kelsey and I did manage to find time to celebrate with just the three of us as well. It was fun dressing Kelsey up in her Christmas dress. I think she was sick of those tights by the end though. However, she will need to tough it out one more time because we are headed to Pulaski to celebrate with my family.
It's been a few weeks since I last posted something. Matt and I were both bit by the flu bug last week and it seems like it took awhile to get back on track. Thankfully, Kelsey did not get sick. We would much rather have it be us than her. We are feeling better and are ready for Christmas. Last Sunday, we went to Kelsey's daycare Christmas party. Our daycare provider, Mary, made supper for all the families, as well as had crafts for the kids to make. Kelsey is obviously too small for crafts, but mommy and daddy did take the supplies to make them for her. Santa also made an appearance at the party. It was Kelsey's first time meeting Santa. She seemed to like him and gave her famous Kelsey smile. She did get a little startled when he rang his bells, but it didn't seem to phase her too much. The daycare kids exchanged presents and Mary also got the kids gifts. Kelsey got ladybug pajama pants and a glow worm. We feel very lucky to have Mary taking care of Kelsey because we can truly tell how much she is loved. Tomorrow starts the first of a few Christmas festivities. We are looking forward to family time and sharing our first Christmas with Kelsey. We of course had to buy her an adorable Christmas outfit with all the accessories. Pictures will be posted soon! Until then, Merry Christmas!
On Saturday, Stacey, Vickie and I got together for our annual holiday baking tradition. It is so nice that they invite me to be part of the festive day. We spent the day making cookies and candy. I actually can't take much credit because I get easily distracted by Kelsey and they ended up doing a lot more of the work than I did. If anything, I was a very good taste tester. Someone has to do that, right? For some reason, this day always makes me think of my mom. She loved Christmas and our house was always beautifully decorated with plenty of sweet treats to go around. It makes me sad that we never got to share in the tradition of having all the grandbabies over while we bake cookies all day. Yet, it makes me feel so fortunate to be part of a family that understands this and makes me feel so included. I am very blessed to have the Skala's in my life. Over the weekend, Kelsey learned to stick out her tongue and make a rolling/spitting motion. It seems to be her favorite thing because she has been doing it all the time. Here she is all dressed up for church sticking out her tongue. Be sure to stay warm this week since it is supposed to be freezing outside! Gotta love Minnesota in the winter--or not.
Kelsey is our pride and joy. She is such a happy baby. She loves to smile and giggle. She is also working on her own little language lately. She will carry on a conversation with you with her gibberish. Her latest thing is rolling from her back to her front. You can barely get her down and she is rolling right over. We have been working with her to sit up on her own, but she is not quite ready for that yet. She opens her mouth really wide now when she gets excited. We can tell she recognizes Matt and I because the minute she sees us, she starts to smile. Finally, she is getting good at grabbing things, especially my hair! She loves to get a big handful and then yank. It is so amazing to watch her change. Everyone always says how children grow so quickly, but I never really realized it until I had Kelsey. She is 4 months old now and she has changed so much in that time. It is neat to watch her go through the stages. I am really looking forward to Christmas break so Matt and I can share a few quality weeks with her. We are so lucky to share a common profession where we have time off together. We feel very blessed for all the good things in our life.
Last Sunday, my fears came true when Dave and Vickie bought Kelsey a Vikings shirt! It was a very sad moment for me. Sunday night the Vikings played the Bears, so Kelsey and Daddy got decked out in their purple. Kelsey looks so darn cute in everything that it was hard to be upset. She even smiled for the pictures for Daddy. But just because she wore it, doesn't mean she liked it. I guess this means that she needs more Packer gear for Christmas! And if the Vikings shirt just happens to get lost in laundry, I plead the fifth :)
