Christmas Round One

Our Christmas festivities began last Tuesday at Crown Center's Crayola Land with our visit to Santa. As one might gather by viewing this picture, Evan was not a fan at all. Surprisingly, once I removed him from from Santa's perch and he gladly high fived Santa he softly muttered "I unt dump truck" to the jolly ole fella. We enjoyed the company of dear old friends and loved lunch at Fritz's (especially not having to wait to eat at Fritz's!).

The celebration continued with my parents this past weekend...

It all began with anther trip to Crown Center to shop, eat, choose new ornaments and see the lights. We enjoyed the huge model train exhibit in Union Station and a chance to see the festive holiday sights in the heart of our city. Just after crossing the freight house bridge to return to our car we heard the rumble of a train heading down the track. We stood at the fence along the railway and saw 3, count them 3 HUGE real choo choo trains. We watched in awe as a coal train, an oil train and a freight train barrelled down the tracks next to Jack Stack and Lydia's (NOTE: Will park here always in hopes we can catch this awesome sight again someday!)

Christmas could have been over at that point and the kids would have had, though not tangible, the most exciting gift ever! But never fear, gifts awaited at Mimi and Papa's. We had an old fashioned slumber party a mere mile from home and awoke Sunday morning with the same excitement I recall having as a kid.

As promised we all kept gifts quite simple and thoroughly enjoyed the creativity explored and the memories created on that perfect Christmas morning. The day also brought with it a chance to visit Santa's Workshop (aka Great Aunt Carol's uber fantastic craft party for grandkids of her dear friends...every craft that you could imagine but would never want to clean up after in your own house!)

We returned to Mimi and Papa's for a lovely turkey dinner and enjoyed having a moment to savor the time we shared before racing ahead to the final 4 days before Christmas!

I spent Monday scurrying around to host a recipe swap amongst the neighbor gals - we had a lovely time tasting new appetizers and swapping yummy holiday goodies. The highlight was definitely Vanessa's Hot Butter Rum beverage...mmmm!! It was certainly a great way to remain in the spirit of the season!

Pics below include kids in Christmas jammies, cookie decorating and corn dog eating (FYI judging by the looks of it Harvey House at Union Station serves the world largest corndog !)

Merry Christmas to all...and to all a good night! Hope you make it on Santa's NICE list!!

Frosty the Snowman

Frosty came alive in our yard this past week .... there is nothing like a fresh snowfall and the laughter of little ones echoing off the snow. It took some teamwork, but we got it done!

Nevermind it was 9:15 pm and all the other neighborhood kids were tucked into bed....I'm sure they were peeking out their blinds wishing they were a Krueger kid that night! We had so much fun!!

Happy Winter (almost officially!)

Eventful Weekend

The weekend was lovely - for the most part!  Friday night brought with it PJs at 6pm, hot cocoa and a viewing of The Polar Express. Early to bed for everyone - it was quite refreshing.  Saturday we enjoyed the company of the Rabbitts and the Lund gals for the KU KState game (really just a great excuse for a playdate!) Emma and Evan had great fun with their friends :)

Sadly, the camera was not utilized this weekend and oh how I wish I had it on hand....Evan got his first up close and personal "wow wow" experience....read on!

So last night we went to a wedding reception and had a catastrophe - Evan was "dancing" just after we arrived and had a head on collision with a little girl - said girl's dad picked him up and then handed him off to me (I was across the dance floor watching and thought nothing of it as I had just mentioned to another party goer that he could his head could hit a cement wall and he would keep on running) He had a weird cry, arched backward then lost consciousness for an estimated 30-60 seconds (who knows...it felt like an eternity to me...) He was out long enough for me to yell across the dance floor to my mom, navigate across the reception hall and yell to the bartenders to call 911. I cradled him trying to stimulate him but could not till I laid him on the bar and rubbed his chest, then he started rolling his eyes and slowly came out of it. It was a moment I wish on NO other parent EVER!

Of course he was crying vigorously by the time EMS showed up, appeared fine and it caused quite a stir, but there was no way I wasn't going to call for help without knowing what was going on with him. In fact, the first words he managed to utter between screams were "Wow wows!!!" as the ambulance and firetruck arrived. (Kyle said...Yeah, they are here for you, Buddy!)  After an exam in the back of the ambulance (and a new stuffed reindeer curtousy of EMS), we declined an ambulance ride to the hospital and took him to Children's Mercy. Of course, when putting him in the car he protested and insisted "I wanna dance!".  After a thorough exam and a period of observation we came home. He even showed the doctor and nurse his fanciest dance moves before saying "I go party, I go dance!" ... so he clearly remembered what he was doing when he got "a bonk on da had" (as he says it!)

I'm still recovering from the shock of the moment - his little limp body and bluish lips are quite fresh in my mind.  Apparently an "impact seizure" is the least worrisome of seizures and there is no expected lingering effect. So much for my hard headed boy who generally keeps on running after a bonk...lets just hope this isn't his reaction to every cute girl he bumps into!!


Sunday included a trip to our favorite pancake place and a stop at the playground.  We sure appreciate the beauty of each moment when it is, even if just for a moment, jeapordized. Kiss your loved ones goodnight and give them an extra hug...I know I did tonight!

Happy Halloween!

Hope your Halloween was as bootiful as ours was! 

Evan was quite helpful...putting pumpkin guts back IN the pumpkin!

We had a blast all day...starting with pumpkin carving and leaf duty.  After nap we busted out the bounce house, food and spirits and enjoyed the company of the neighborhood parents and kids.  Mommy was too busy enjoying the food, wine and company to take pictures :o


After loads of bouncing fun, we all headed up the street to a lovely chili dinner at the Lillis (former McKnight) house.  Again, great company, fabulous food and TONS of fun (until, that is, Mommy had an asthma attack and had to abruptly leave for a breathing treatment...BOO). Mommy recovered in time to catch the second half of Trick-or-Treating.

The lion, as expected, declared "NO NION COTUME!!!" so he sported his spooky Halloween shirt for the festivities.


Hope your little ghouls and goblins crashed as hard as ours did last night...it was a delightful night of extra sleep!

Paging Dr. Krueger

Some fun pictures of Emma as she "doctored" Papa! He had a small spot removed from his face and was sure that Emma would love to help him clean his incision. She is a natural! She even gave Papa a kiss at the end...just what the doctor ordered!

Who knows, another doctor or nurse in the family? That was yesterday. Tonight at dinner she declared she will be an astronaut that goes to the moon, then when she gets back from space she wants to be an artist...the theme of our dinner conversation you ask?

YOU CAN BE ANYTHING YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP :)

Fall Fun

A day without kids = a day to play around with pictures, videos and blogs! What else could be better on a cold rainy day? Well, I can think of lots of other fun things to do but it is nice to have uninterrupted time to putz on the computer. Buckle your seat belts for a long post...I tried to capture the highlights of the past week! First and foremost, however, I want to post a tribute to my parents who recently celebrated their 40th Wedding Anniversary :) Wowee!

Congrats, Mom and Dad...you have nurtured, supported, guided and enriched my life every step of the way. For all that you do for us, I am forever grateful. WE LOVE YOU!!!

Despite the lingering effects of our illness, Kyle and the kids got out into the yard to play in the leaves. While outside playing, the kids were SO surprised by a visit from MISS WHITNEY! (our beloved friend and babysitter!) She was in town for the weekend and thrilled the kids with several visits.

Cousin Holden, Nana and Papa came to see us Monday for a belated bday celebration...Emma thoroughly enjoyed having a "big kid" to play with!

Emma and Holden celebrated their 4th and 5th Birthdays...

...and delighted in a slumber party!

Finally, I have some visual documentation that we are on the brink of the "terrible/terrific TWOS"! Mr. Mischief is always up to something...

Dress Up!

Evan and Tanner....partners in crime!

Note: There is a reason a child should not be left unattended in his/her highchair...

Left in his highchair with a PB&J, I run down to switch laundry. I come up the stairs hearing Evan declare "I want samich"...I'm thinking, "YOU HAVE A SANDWICH!"

Apparently it wasn't big enough...

He wanted a whole loaf of bread, so he helped himself to one!

I hope this post finds you all well, unaffected by the devilish illness dubbed H1N1 and excited for a ghoulish Halloween!

Happy 4th Birthday to Emma!!!

Last Friday Oct 16th we celebrated Emma's 4th Birthday...HARD TO BELIEVE!!! She is so grown up, independent and such a joy. She has a fabulous imagination and loves to teach her brother how to play. Though we have WWIII occasionally over coveted toys, all in all she is quite eager to show him the "right" way to do things! We celebrated with a birthday lunch at Winsteads with dance and school friends, then had a quiet Pizza dinner at home with Mimi and Papa.

Loaded with new Wizard of Oz Barbie friends (Dorothy, Lion and Scarecrow to accompany our beloved Tinman), a new barn, a Dr. Kit, Polly Pockets and some arts and crafts we were well prepared for a weekend of sickness that followed! Thank goodness for all the new toys...we were all sick and glad to have some new stuff to play with!

Here's to a fun year #4...full of preschool, dance and lots of new discoveries!