Wiltfang Family Christmas

It took a few years, but we finally made it happen!  Christmas at Grandma's in Kansas City.  And all were present and accounted for except for cousin James who got pneumonia.  The trip was everything we hoped it would be...and maybe a little more.  Here were the highlights.


1.  Underwear Prank:  It all started Thursday night when the newcomers to the family, Rick and Matt, decided to partner up in our Spades tourney.  Thursday was meant to be practice for the big family tournament since the whole family wasn't present.  We knew after their Thanksgiving Spades success, Christmas was bound to get interesting.  They beat Sarah and me in the first game and the result was not pretty: their egos grew and our frustration at their untimely success multiplied.  During the second game while the boys were playing my dad and Jenny, Sarah and I decided it was time for some action.  Throughout our game with the moms, we took turns heading downstairs to the bedrooms to collect their underwear.  Sarah did an excellent job of water logging it and placing it in Grandma's deep freeze in the garage.  VICTORY!  We could hardly wait until the next day when our prank would come to fruition.  We did seek out some early success while watching the end of their Spade game.  It came down to the last hand.  The boys had bet exactly right and so had Jenny and my Dad.  It was anyone's game!  In the last hand the boys assumed they had won and claimed victory by jumping up and down and chest bumping each other.  (See, they deserved what was coming to them!)  They practically drove Grandma to an early grave as they celebrated around her.  My Dad sat calmly tallying the points.  As soon as a smile broke out across my Dad's face I knew the boys had celebrated too early.  My Dad and Jenny had stripped away their victory by 6 points.  It was too good to be true!
Fast forward to the next day.  I could hardly eat breakfast I was so excited about seeing our prank to the end.  At this point, the entire family was in on it and was quite eager to see how it would all go down.  Sarah and I were flying by the seat of our pants and our lack of plan unnerved some family members:-)  Finally, Rick decided it was time to shower.  We all waited in the kitchen giggling about how great it was going to be when he went to grab boxers and found none.  And then it dawned on me that HE WOULD NEVER SAY ANYTHING!  He was going to put those dirty boxers back on and not say a thing!  Sure enough, I know my husband well.  He came up to have breakfast and hang out as if nothing had happened.  I could hardly contain myself!  A few minutes later he cornered me in our sleeping quarters (more on those later.)
Rick:  I don't have any boxers. You didn't pack them!
Me:  What?  What do you mean?  Of course you have boxers.
Rick:  NOOO.  I DON'T HAVE ANY OF MY CHRISTMAS BOXERS.  I told you to pack them.
Me:  (Pretending to look frantically through the suitcase) Oh my gosh, I must not have packed them!  I'm sooo sorry.
Rick:  Well, can you buy me some today?
Me:  Of course!  What are you wearing now???
Rick:  The dirty ones!  Don't tell anyone.
Me:  Don't worry, I won't...

Matt followed suit by showering and not whispering a word to anyone about the lack of underwear in his suitcase.  Meanwhile Sarah and I devised a plan to take all of the frozen underwear and hang it on the trellis on the side of Grandma's house.  It was nice and cold that morning, so they'd stay preserved.  Eventually we convinced the boys to go outside and move the cars around to get Grandma's car out so she could run an errand.  They started suspecting something was up when the entire family followed them out, cameras in hand.  Sarah informed them we had a surprise waiting on the side of the house for them beating us in Spades last night.  Here was their reaction...

I hope the neighbors appreciated all the work Sarah and I put in decorating the side of the house!

2.  The Sleeping Quarters:  We knew going in that sleeping arrangements were going to be tight.  Grandma has two extra bedrooms, both already taken.  One was nabbed by my parents and the other by my aunt and uncle.  The only other room is a downstairs living room.  It's attached to a part of the basement not finished which was perfect for the cats.  So...in that room were Rick, myself, Sarah, Jenny, Matt, Rooney and Bueller.  If that doesn't say slumber party, I won't know what does!  The room was 98% mattress and 2% floor space.  Our first night in the sleeping room took us all back to our slumber party years.  We were all so giddy we were laughing uncontrollably for what seemed like hours.  And just like the good old days, as soon as it started to get quiet, someone would make a comment that would send us all into hysterics.  One particular funny one liner went like this.
Us:  It had finally gotten quiet and all that could be heard was our breathing.
Rick: I USED TO LOVE SLUMBER PARTIES LIKE THIS!
Us:  HAHAHAHA laughing so hard we couldn't breathe.  You know the kind of laughing that is no longer recognizable as your own because of how high pitched and squeaky it has become!

I distinctly remember it taking me forever to fall asleep because I couldn't stop smiling in the dark :-)

Wiltfang family fashion, we had a costume contest.  The rules, well there weren't really any rules.  Grab a green shirt or sweatshirt and go to town decorating.  Of course this became the competition of the century!  Christmas morning was probably a little more stressful than it needed to be with everyone finalizing their costumes.  Who do you think should have won?

Billy AKA Frosty the Snowman ended up taking home the big prize.  He got to go first in the lunch line!   And believe me, that was a prize worth fighting for!  There was a bit of controversy surrounding his win.  The original guidelines stated the purchase and decoration of a green shirt was necessary.  However, anyone willing to put in the effort to get into that costume deserves a prize!

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE WILTFANG FAMILY!  It was a memorable one:-)

Merry Christmas 2010!

Wow, I've been so busy I haven't written in awhile.  It's hard to believe Christmas is on Saturday!  The month of December flew by!  School has been a great distraction.  It's taken a month, but the kids are finally learning my name.  I'm hearing less and less of Mrs. Fendellaaaa every day.  


This past weekend Rick and I hung out in Denver for Matt Baumgartner's 30th birthday.  It was great to hang out with friends and catch up after a few months of being away.  Saturday night was our second annual girl's Bunko night at my Aunt Becky's house.  We had a blast playing Bunko all night while eating way too much!


Thursday we'll head back to Kansas City!  I have been looking forward to a Wiltfang family Christmas for too long!  Grandma's house is going to be full to the brim with family, just the way we like it!  I'm excited for Rick to experience my family's traditions.  I hope he's ready to, as my Grandma likes to say, "drink some water and have some fun!"  


Can you believe on Thursday I'll be 12 WEEKS PREGNANT?!  I can't believe the first trimester is coming to an end.  Technically, the 13th week is the last of the first trimester, so one more week to go.  I'm anxious for my doctor's appointment January 3rd.  If only I had my own ultrasound machine and could check in on my little one whenever the mood struck.  Santa, if you're reading this, all I want for Christmas is an ultrasound machine!


12 Weeks

The most dramatic development this week: reflexes. Your baby's fingers will soon begin to open and close. His or her mouth will make sucking movements. Toes will curl, and eye muscles will clench. Meanwhile, nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and in your baby's brain, synapses are forming furiously.

In fact, if you prod your abdomen, your baby will squirm in response, although you won't be able to feel it. Your baby's intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into the abdominal cavity, and the kidneys will begin excreting urine into your baby's bladder.

Your baby's face looks unquestionably human: His or her eyes have moved from the sides to the front of the head, and the ears are right where they should be. From crown to rump, your baby-to-be is just over 2 inches long (about the size of a lime) and weighs half an ounce.

Missing the Creativity Gene

Today I took part in decorating my first gingerbread house.  Rick has been doing it for years with his sister, Maddy.  It was lots of fun.  But I was quickly reminded of my lack of creativity for such things.  As Rick was constructing a lamp post out of a candy cane and a spice drop, I was racking my brain for anything more exciting than an M&M pattern!  Alas, I didn't come up with much.  Here are the results!

This is Rick's front door.  Check out that lamp post!

This is the side I made.  I had lots of fun with patterns on the roof, but my lack of creativity down below shows!  I tried to make a fireplace with stockings in one of the windows.  It didn't exactly translate...

The light in this pic isn't great.  Rick made Rooney and Bueller in the window!

I chose to do an "F" on the back because well, it was easy!  My creativity peaked with Rudolph!

My little Gummy Bear

The 9 week ultrasound looked great!  We were relieved and overjoyed to again hear that hummingbird like heartbeat!  The fetus has doubled in size and looks a bit like a gummy bear.  The doctor said our chance for miscarriage has now dropped to 2%.  I feel like I can breathe!  And also start obsessing over baby websites...good thing I got a job!

Speaking of job, yesterday I was sitting with a four-year-old who was playing with play dough.  Out of no where he says, "My dad got cut."  "Hmmm what does that mean?" I inquired.  "He. got. cut." he responded as if he were annoyed that I didn't understand what he meant.  Lucky for me he went on to clarify,  "He got cut because he doesn't want anymore kids."  Ahhhh, yes.  Good to know!  Meeting his dad 10 minutes later was only a little bit awkward!

9 weeks:
I missed last week's update due to Thanksgiving.  But here's the latest.

Your new resident is nearly an inch long – about the size of a grape – and weighs just a fraction of an ounce. She or he is starting to look more and more human. All the essential body parts are accounted for, though they'll go through plenty of fine-tuning in the coming months.

Other changes abound: Your baby's heart finishes dividing into four chambers, and the valves start to form – as do his or her tiny teeth. The embryonic "tail" is completely gone. Your baby's organs, muscles, and nerves are kicking into gear. The external sex organs are there but won't be distinguishable as male or female for another few weeks. The eyes are fully formed, but the eyelids are fused shut and won't open until 27 weeks.

Your baby has tiny earlobes, and the mouth, nose, and nostrils are more distinct. Now that your baby's basic physiology is in place, he or she is poised for rapid weight gain.

Pure Exhaustion

Happy belated Thanksgiving!  Ours was quite eventful.  My parents and grandmother flew out Wednesday night and by early Thursday morning my mom was held captive by a severe case of altitude sickness.  First Christmas and now this!  Unfortunately she was out of commission throughout the entire weekend, eventually ending up in the ER to get fluids.  I didn't get to see much of her which was so sad!! Luckily we'll be together for Christmas.  I call dibs on hanging with mom!
After our turkey dinner and an intense round of Spades (Rick and Matt were victorious, BOO) my dad ended up driving to Vail to hang out with us Saturday.  We had a great time walking around Vail and hanging out with Laura and Adam.  We all went to see Harry Potter at the Cinebistro, a theater that serves dinner.  It was lots of fun and the movie was great!  Can't wait for the last one!  We met Laura's brother who was recovering from a ski accident.  Laura and Adam actually ended up taking him to the ER in Vail the get a few stitches.  Trip to the hospital round two!  And of course all accidents occur in threes, my cousin Jenny ended up braking her arm snowboarding in Vail on Saturday.  Sheesh. We were all lucky to survive the weekend!

I started a new job this week!  Hurray for having a reason to shower (at least three days out of the week:-)  Yesterday I worked in the pre-k room which was great.  The kids were a blast.  I was supposed to be doing a long term sub job for a woman going on maternity leave.  Unfortunately she lost her baby at 39 weeks yesterday.  Completely horrific and it just breaks your heart.  I'm not sure when she'll be back or what her plans are, so until then I'll be subbing for her Tues/Thurs.  On Wednesdays I'll be helping out as well.  I thought I would be in the toddler room, and then this morning I was told I would be helping out with the infants.  YIKES.  I know I need the experience, but it's scary in there!  I showed up at 8:30 this morning and there were 5 babies in the room.  The director was in there and literally goes, "Ok I gotta run, I'll talk to you later."  WAIT A SECOND.  There are FIVE babies in here.  WHAT DO I DO WITH THEM?  DO THEY EAT?  DO THEY SLEEP? I instantly began to sweat.  Within five minutes three out of the five were in hysterics and I was ready for bed.  Then the three month old showed up and she was hungry.  Ok great, I'll just warm up a bottle.  Except I have no clue how to work the bottle warmer and these babies aren't great at communicating.  After attempting to read the spanish instructions on the warmer, 12 years of learning the language got me no where, I began to get frantic.  My anxiety rose as the screams of the 3 month old increased in volume.  Eventually I said screw it and held the bottle under warm running water for awhile.  Luckily that worked and she calmed down as soon as the bottle hit her lips.  An hour later the second teacher arrived and I remembered how to breathe again.  Needless to say it was a LONG.DAY.  I'm glad I'm only working three days a week because I'm EXHAUSTED.

Time for bed...