My Christmas Letter 2008

In case my Christmas letter just lost in the mail on the way to your mailbox, I'll post another.

Greetings Family and Friends,
In keeping with tradition, our annual Christmas letter is going out late. It’s now evolved into a Happy New Year letter. Unfortunately, I don’t have a good explanation for my delinquency except to say that three children has, all of a sudden, increased the chaos level in our household exponentially. My New Year’s resolution is not to lose weight or spend less money, although these would be nice things. My resolution is to be the first Christmas letter you receive next year. Wish me luck.
Our life changed when Henry turned 11 months (in October). Before this, he was a great baby and we were organized (kind of), busy (but not too much), cool, calm, and collected. He has since turned into an absolute handful. These days I feel like it would take more then a super sized life preserver to stay afloat. But, I know that life changes quickly and although the days are long, the years go by fast so I’m trying to relish our chaos and enjoy it. Here’s a quick synopsis of the Bauer family in 2008:
Our baby (Henry) turned 1 in November. When he’s not climbing on the table, emptying my cabinets, or playing in our toilets, he’s cuddly, loving, and silly. He’s SUPER busy and is SO close to walking, taking 5-6 steps at a time. I’ll be thankful when he is walking, because the amount of time he’s spent crawling on the floors of McDonald’s or the sports center is absolutely disgusting. At home, he often wants to be carried, but anywhere else he likes to be down (once again, crawling over disgusting floors). He has mastered a high pitch scream anytime he wants attention (which is pretty much all the time) and loves to show it off at restaurants, grocery stores, or church. I try to explain it to the poor people around us by saying that he has two older brothers and has to scream to be heard. Unfortunately, people still hold their ears and give us dirty looks. I’m not sure his future involves playing well with others, because his big brothers give him anything he asks for (which is everything). His only words are “uh-oh”, “no”, and “hot”. He uses these appropriately all day long. Does this give you a glimpse of our day? Despite all this, we’re going to keep him (for now).
Emmett, our middle man, turned 5 in September. He is in his last year of preschool and has made his first real friend. He also played indoor and outdoor soccer this year, and scored tons of goals. He continues to play the piano AND hardly ever argues with me when I ask him to practice. He’s quiet and sweet and usually says, “OK, mom.” when I ask him to do something. I am aware that this won’t last. At his 5 year check up, we found out that he can’t see well (not my proudest moment). He now wears glasses and is thrilled with all the things he can see that he didn’t know he was missing. He learned how to make the “th” sound just recently. So, Thursday is no longer “fursday” thus taking with him any last remaining glimpse of a baby.
Owen turned 8 in November and is in the 2nd grade. He’s going to be an absolutely excellent litigator someday. He argues with me about everything, including but not limited to: the color of the sky and whether the world is really round. Interestingly, he usually has a fine argument. He exhausts us with his quest for knowledge and non-stop chatter. He’s very, very bright, and his teacher just recently asked us to consider skipping a grade with him (as of now, we’re not going to). His current fascination is tornado and hurricanes. He’s like an encyclopedia about them and can tell you the name of different hurricanes, the year they hit, where they hit, etc. He still loves soccer, but if he can’t be a professional soccer player someday then he would like to move to Kansas and be a storm chaser. Owen loves doing Mad Libs and puts the word “fart” or the derivative of in a few spots in every story. Then he giggles uncontrollably when he reads it back to me. I wonder how long this potty humor is going to last, but then I look over at Eddie who’s also laughing hysterically and I’m preparing myself that this may last FOREVER!
Eddie and I celebrated our 10th anniversary in August with a boating trip with friends (and Owen and Emmett). We’re hoping that by our 25th anniversary, we have more then 12 hours alone…together….consecutively. Eddie coached Emmett’s outdoor soccer team and has formed his own “Team Bud” soccer team. I’ve watched him play and I can vouch that they really do spend a full hour on the soccer field. But, then they spend a couple of hours after “supporting” Team Bud (if you catch my drift) in the parking lot. I’m a Wednesday night widow. It’s not so bad. He has a great time (but not team J). Eddie is still working for Anheuser-Busch and although, Baldwinsville still hasn’t captured our hearts, we are thankful that he has a job that pays the bills (and health insurance) and that I don’t have to work full time. With the changing economy and AB buyout, our future is uncertain. I am still working a little and driving kids around a lot. I have good friends, a husband that I love, and kids that are well behaved (at least in public) more often then not. I get lots of hugs and kisses and a shower at least every other day. Life is good. I spend a lot of time updating our family blog, http://bauerfamilyof5.blogspot.com. Check it out if you have a spare moment. I hope this upcoming year gives you lots of reasons to smile. I hope we all remember how blessed we are. And, I hope that through the chaos, we remember how short life really is. Most importantly, I pray that through each holiday season, my children learn (and remember) more and more about the real reason for Christmas. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!