Friday, December 26, 2008
To say we had a white Christmas would be an understatement. Micaela called my parents Christmas morning and told my mom she needed to "come and see our blizzard. It's scary!" We got tons of snow. Fortunately, we were all set to stay inside. Despite the snow, Santa still managed to find his way and Caleb still managed to cook an amazing turkey.

Micaela got everything she asked for, which may be because she didn't ask for much. All she wanted was a little mermaid umbrella and a sleeping beauty dress. She was very specific.I heard that Santa was at Target Christmas eve night desparately picking through the toys to find the sleeping beauty dress.
Once she saw these presents she wasn't very interested in opening her other presents, and after tugging at the wrapping paper for a few seconds she would give them to me and ask me to open them.

Micaela complete with early morning bed head.


Scarlett was much less specific in what she wanted from Santa. So Santa decided that she could get a kick and play in hopes that it would entertain her more than her swing and bouncer have been able to.

Scarlett also had some cute Christmas outfits.
Here she is with Great-Grandma Rands on Christmas eve...

...and here she is laughing at her silly mama.


Caleb and I did pretty well also. I got a ton of clothes, no suprise, and Caleb got a ton of gift cards, no surprise. Stephanie got me a beautiful Coach bag that immediately made me regret all the times I told her she was adopted when we were younger.

Caleb has been very anti-sweaters, which is disspaointing to me because I just know he would look so great in a sweater. I always tell him he has the perfect shoulders for sweaters. So I mixed it up a little bit this Christmas and got him a sweater. Fortunately, he said he liked it and would wear it. Unfortunately, when I washed it this morning I forgot that I wasn't supposed to dry it and it shrank. Fortunately, now I have a new sweater!


The big Christmas gift is the one we got for ourselves and my parents. We're going to Disneyland!
I also consider this part of Caleb's Christmas present and also a birthday present for both of my parents. Caleb said it counts as my birthday present too, but I explained to him that since we're going before my birthday it doesn't count.

posted by Michele at 8:32 AM | 3 comments
Monday, December 22, 2008
This last week has been a killer week for my family. Caleb and I have both been working a ton and it feels like every free moment is spent running around desperately trying to get things done for Christmas. Fortunately we were able to visit with Steph and Justin on their way through Salt Lake at our family Christmas party and we had Caleb's friend Mark and his girlfriend Rachel who came to stay with us from Portland. While I get slightly stressed about having house guests, Micaela loves it! She is the dictionary definition of "a people person." I think we have once again scared a childless couple about having children. Warning: if you don't have kids and think you may someday want them, do not spend any extended time with my crazy kids who may insist you re-enact scenes from Dora or believe that bathroom doors are meant to be open.

Another great thing about this last week is it was Micaela's Christmas program with her preschool. I am all for a chance to dress up and perform, and apparently Micaela is too. She was fabulous. The camera....not so much. Here's a few pictures I managed to snap where you can actually see her. In my defense, the lighting was very poor.


In this one they were shaking their bells, a theme throughout the program. Possibly because it was one of the few things that all of the children could do!
Scarlett watched the entire performance in her little ski bunny outfit. I'm not much of a hat fan, but my friend Robyn made this hat and it is adorable. Almost makes me want to sew hats. Almost.
This is Micaela with her preschool teacher Miss Marcie. She is fabulous as well.
As I don't think I will be posting again before Christmas I just want to say Merry Christmas to everyone. Thanks for being such great family and friends!
posted by Michele at 5:55 PM | 1 comments
Sunday, December 14, 2008
So in the last few months Scarlett has been fortunate to have a ton of new friends born. I have been to more baby showers in the last few months than in the proceeding 3 years. I have been trying to get some pictures of Scarlett with her new friends to share. Here they are. Sorry if there's repeats.

I almost considered not posting this picture because it was right after Scarlett was born and I was huge with water weight. However, I have come to terms with the fact that pregnancy makes you bloated and it's alright to look big. Also, I wore two pair of skinny jeans this week! Anyways, this is Samantha, Scarlett's friend who was born in May. Also pictured are me and Leanne.

This picture was taken by Scarlett's auntie BreAnn, who so eloquently demanded that Kamryn (born in September)wake up to meet her friend Scarlett. Also pictured are me and Amy.

This is a repeat picture of Scarlett and her new little cousin Wyatt, who was born in October. His mom is Scarlett's aunt Jessica.

This is a picture of Scarlett and her newest little friend, Mia with her mom Ashley, who was born in November.

As I still have a few more friends who are pregnant, I'm sure Scarlett will make even more friends. Also, Susannah, we're still waiting for her to meet Kieran, who was born the same week she was! I just know they would hit it off!

posted by Michele at 7:51 AM | 1 comments
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
You decide to buy a pink, princess Christmas tree.



Micaela picked it out. Caleb approved. Poor guy!
posted by Michele at 5:47 PM | 2 comments
Thursday, December 4, 2008
I just realized that November is now over and I no longer have to post everyday! Ok, so I didn't really post everyday, but I think I did quite well. Especially considering we were on vacation for a week in November. Speaking of vacation, while we were back in Reno we got to spend an evening with Caleb's family. Eli and Michele are kind enough to make dinner for everyone pretty much every time we come to town, which is awesome. Thanks guys! Here's the pics we took at our last visit. My favorite phrase in describing the DeCremers is "they lack genetic imagination." Take a look and see if you think they look at all alike.


They were all there with the exception of Toby. Here's Toby for further comparison...


Caleb's youngest brother Jake with Scarlett and Bailey. Believe it or not, Bailey is almost 2-years-old. She and Scarlett wear the same size in diapers!


Caleb and his mom. Oh by the way, Caleb has glasses. He is supposed to wear them when flying and driving at night, but he really likes them and usually wears them all the time. I think he looks like a completely different person and it freaks me out.

This picture was actually taken a few months ago. This is almost all of the DeCremer cousins.

The 3-year-old DeCremer cousins strike a pose.


This is Micaela and her cousin Ally. How cute are they? I can see two future heartbreakers!


Scarlett and her newest cousin Wyatt, who was born about 6 weeks after her. Notice how large her head is compared to his normal size head.

Once again, no genetic imagination!

We miss you guys already!

posted by Michele at 7:01 PM | 1 comments
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
We returned from Reno today. The car ride was about 8 hours, including a 30 minute stop as we were behind a serious accident that required a helicopter. Similar to the big car accident my family experienced on Thanksgiving 10 years ago.

I was 16-years-old and we were traveling to Salt Lake from Reno. I was driving my father's new Expedition when a large road kill (still unsure what it was) was in the road. I swerved and over corrected. It was all downhill from there. Literally, the car rolled downhill about four times. It's still a little fuzzy in my memory, but I remember we stopped and I asked my dad to get the cell phone. No one in the car was responding to me, so I jumped out the window, which was about waist high at this point, and ran to the highway. There I flagged down a trucker who radioed for help. A few memories...I was sick to my stomach and wanted to throw up. My mother was disoriented and her head was bleeding. I remember a paramedic asking me to hold a towel on her head and I was thinking I might puke. Then I said the magic words "my neck hurts." From that point on I was strapped to a backboard until they could do x-rays a few hours later. I shouldn't complain, because my father was strapped to one for several hours until a halo was drilled in his head. We got the royal treatment, two ambulances and then two air med planes to take us back to Reno, because my parents' injuries required more than Elko General Hospital could provide. Surprisingly enough, my sisters and I were basically unharmed, aside from bits of glass and weeds that were embedded in our skin for the next few months. This was all the more surprising because my sisters were not wearing their seat belts. Both of my parents had more serious injuries, although they are both still alive so it couldn't have been that bad. Just kidding guys...

Anyways, if you have ever heard people joke about my driving, this is why. This and a few other small accidents that occured over the next few years. Really quite minuscule. However, I still have somewhat of a phobia of driving. Which is why I flinch at sudden turns and stops and why I prefer not to drive when the weather conditions are less than ideal. Ten years later I am doing much better. I haven't been in an at-fault accident in 5 years and for the most part I will allow most people to drive me around without breaking down into a full blows anxiety attack.
posted by Michele at 8:34 PM | 0 comments