Lunder Family Christmas!

We celebrated Christmas a bit early with the Lunder family (Granny V's side) who all came into town from Sioux Falls, even Great Grandma Jane! Kyle says if she keeps shrinking, she'll be the same size as Koen next year :) Too cute! Elly and Ali were amazing hosts...everything was perfectly done from the decorations to the delicious food! We know it was a lot of work...and I think Ali was happy to say "One and done!"

So, the Lunder Christmas is always an experience....it is tradition to hire a piano player so we can all sing Christmas Carols out of the family book...THEN, we all play bells! I'm serious, it is quite the event! This year we got to hear Sunni play her harp and Soren sing a duet with her! It was beautiful! If Koen gets some musical talent, we know which side it came from! We had a great time! It was especially fun for Koen to spend time with Edward (from Norway) and Ella (from Sioux Falls) who he's only met once before!

Laura (Kyle's cousin), Ella and Koen

Koen and Edward

Hiding in the back with Grandpa....the bells were getting too loud :)

5 months!

Koen celebrated 5 months on December 9th, 2009, the same day that his Granny V celebrated her 60th Birthday! Happy Birthday Granny! We couldn't be there to celebrate Granny's Birthday because we were in San Diego, but I heard it was a great party! We'll celebrate in Hawaii!

A few things he's learned in 5 months....: he makes farting noises with his lips and he spits his drool everywhere; he rolls over and over; he say's 'bababababa'; he still loves to stand when you help him; he grabs his toys and brings them right to his mouth; he can grab his Nuk and put it in his mouth; he's happiest when he's naked; he started baby foods....loves sweet potatoes and hates peas; at Gramma H's place, he loves to scoot around in his play/walker; he LOVES to shop (spent 5 hours at Rosedale with Auntie Kaycee!!!)...

Here are some fun pics from the last few weeks:

Can't go anywhere without the NUK!

Nakey boy!

His nickname from PandaBite.com: Prince!

Grandma Surver

On December 13, 2009 we lost our beloved Grandma Surver. Anyone that knew Gram felt blessed to know her. She was the true meaning of 'family'....never missing an important event in our lives. She was there to meet Koen in the hospital the day after he was born and she was so excited to have another great-grandchild (5 total)! In October, we celebrated her 80th birthday before her and Grandpa Bob headed down to Florida for the winter. It's hard to know that we won't be able to get another hug from Gram or have another one of her famous sugar cookies, but we know she's up there watching over all of us. How lucky heaven is to have her......We will miss her greatly.

Stay Classy San Diego!!!

This past Sunday, Lindsey, Koen and I flew out to San Diego to see my best friend Becky. Koen was a rockstar on the airplane (I have to admit, I was terrified of how he would behave) and even some of the passengers commented on how great he was. On the flight home, we had a isle seat and I had Koen standing up on my lap. He eye-balled every passenger that walked passed him and smiled at them. He was definitely a charmer!

It had been over 100 days since it last rained in San Diego and wouldn't you know, the first day we got there, it rained ALL day. It didn't bother us though, as we decided to stay indoors and SHOP! The next day we brought Koen out to the beach, walked around, had some lunch and window shopped. Becky and her roommates (Kelly-sister and Kosta-Kelly's boyfriend) cooked dinner for us everynight, it was delicious! Our last day, the weather was perfect so we decided to take Koen for his first swim! At first, he didn't really react to the water, but once he figured out how to splash with his hands, he had a great time! A huge thank you to Linds for helping Koen fly for the first time....and another big thanks to Becky (Kel and Kosta) for hosting us all week and showing us around her new home city! It was a great time!

Linds and Koen....

First time at the beach. "Mission Beach, CA"

First time swimming at Becky's pool. He loved it!

We found the perfect tree!

The whole Hemenway clan (all 13.5 of us!)bundled up, put the kids on our backs and headed out to Wisconsin to pick out our Christmas trees. We were almost sent home just after we arrived as Sam spotted a few "Packer Fans" and started yelling at them...(he, of course had his Viking gear on, along with Kyle)!

We each found our own special tree.... Matt, KC, Abby and Sam's was the biggest. They named theirs Clarence :)

Andy found his ...with the help of Sam!

And here is our little tree.....(Joe, Brooke and Finn's was even smaller!)

All the boys....

Dad and Koen....

Can you find all the kids....hint, there are 4 of them :)

Thanksgiving 2009

Happy Thanksgiving! It's crazy to think that last year at this time we were preparing to tell our families the news that we were expecting Koen. I remember being so thrilled to share our great news! And now, Koen is almost 5 months old...just another reminder of how fast time goes!
We celebrated the day with both families! We had our first meal at Gpa and Granny V's house and our second meal at Gma and Gpa Pops place. Koen got to spend a lot of time with his great aunts/uncles and second cousin's....and of course, we all ate too much!
Soren and Sunni with Koen.

Gpa V and his little buddy.

Granny V and Koen

Cousin Katie, the next MN hockey star!

Auntie Amy holding Koen...and being silly with Finner.