Dear Santa Clause…

Ok so we are weird parents and have not let our kids sit on Santa’s lap until this year. The line to get the pictures has always been so long and was a minimum of an hour in years past. Today we were lucky and had a 5-minute wait so we introduced them to Santa and had their picture taken with him. As you can see Shawn smiles like most Hollinger’s where he will not show his teeth. You have to get him to really giggle to get a picture when his mouth is not like this. Katelyn is our little model and loves to have her picture taken. Usually you just have to get her to put her shoulders down and not tip her head all the way to one side. They are cute and thought that meeting Santa and dropping off their letters was a lot of fun. We all hope your holiday season is going well and wish you all warm wishes!

Dear Tooth Fairy…

Katelyn is growing up so fast. Today she lost her first baby tooth after wiggling it for an entire week! She had a lot of hesitation of loosing her tooth and last Friday even tried to superglue it back in place. Yeah, quit the mess to clean up and we still have glue on our kitchen table that refuses to come off. The glue in her mouth, face, hands, etc., has finally gone away. The last few days it was so wiggly that her tooth was crooked and would not even sit in her mouth like a normal tooth. She also was so nervous about it that no one was allowed to touch her tooth except for herself. Tonight she allowed me to wiggle it and wouldn’t you know it popped right out. She didn’t even know it was gone until she saw a small spot of blood on her finger. On the plus side tonight was one of the easiest nights to put her to bed so that the tooth fairy could come and visit. Thank you so much Tooth Fairy!

Trick-Or-Treat

The kids had so much fun this year trick-or-treating. Katelyn dressed up as a snow princess and Shawn was Darth Vader. This was the first year they have gone door to door instead of the trunk or treat. It ended up being a race from each door and to show me what they had been given at each home. Shawn still thinks that if he wears his costume it can still be Halloween and wants to go pick up more candy. There were a lot of cute kids that came by our home. I may not care for Halloween very much but the kids make it fun.

Fun in the leaves…

The kids all got together today to play in the leaves in Grandma’s back yard. They had so much fun throwing them up, at each other, jumping into them, and even hiding in them. By the end of the hour the once huge pile of leaves that once was there taller than any of the kids was left as a small mound of crumpled leaves.

They had a great time and are eager for Halloween night which will also help me update my blog once again.

First Day of School

The day has finally come for Katelyn when she can join all of the other kids at school. For the last several years she has cried when she sees them going to school and I have had to tell her she had to wait. Today she was very egger to hurry to school with her Hello Kitty backpack reminding me that she will miss me but will be fine.

Her teacher made it very fun for the class and I will enjoy these days when she gets home and wants to do her homework right off the bat. I am happy for her and excited at the new independence she is going to have.

Family Vacation 2008…

What a great time we had in San Diego, CA for a week this August. We were able to do so many things as a family, Sea World, San Diego ZOO, several beaches, and many other sites in the area. A million thanks go to technology and the wonderful invention of the GPS! There is no way we would have been able to find many of the areas that we enjoyed without it.

Katelyn enjoyed the water and would go as far as getting her feet wet in the Ocean. Shawn however preferred to be held or just content to play in the sand. What better for a little boy than the endless sandbox? Brian and I would go out a little further to our chest but didn’t dare venture out to far away from the kids. We all agreed that the beach at Coronado Island was our favorite and went back the night before we were to head home. La Jolla Cove was also a favorite being able to see the seals just right there laying out on the rocks at night and the waves rolling in with the tide.

Sea World packed in adventure for all of us. I had the opportunity to swim with the dolphins the first day and was a dream come true. Katelyn rode her first roller coaster at just barley the right height for the Journey to Atlantis ride. She says this was her favorite part of California – however I think it is because she knows how much fun both her parents have on roller coasters. Shawn thought it was neat to see the shows and laughed throughout the Cat and Dog show and also the Seymour and Clyde show. Shamu Rocks show at night was filled with lights, music, and a great show to have us all in amazement how someone can train all of the animals for each of the shows.

California was a lot of fun, but nothing like coming back home and life to go back to normal for a little while.

Summer Fun and Family Barbeques…

Wow, did we have spring this year? It feels like we have gone from a very cold winter to a hot summer overnight. Although with summer upon us is the best time for family get-togethers and my favorite outside barbeques! We have been having a great time so far this season and enjoyed many friends and family. The kids have enjoyed playing with cousins and cry when it is time to leave asking when they get to play again. What a blessing to have family so close available and those from out of town visiting. The countdown to fireworks began a few weeks ago but has been a great distraction and closer target than our upcoming family vacation.

The kids have enjoyed our backyard for the first time now that it is fully fenced in and they can run to their hearts content. Favorite activity out back is the trampoline and only gets better when you add the sprinkler underneath or fill up water balloons playing hot potato and trying not to pop them. They now understand that going outside is being covered up with sunscreen and now accept it and don’t put up a fight. I keep telling them that someday they will thank us for it.

As for Brian and I we are still busy working as usual and also counting down the weeks and days for our family vacation. It is going to be a great escape from our normal routines and to share it with the kids. This will of course also give me another subject to write on in our family blog and of course more pictures.

Hope everyone is enjoying his or her summer break, get-togethers, weather, and vacations!

How time flies when you are having fun. It seems like it was just Christmas and it is already Easter and the ending of March.

This year has been productive thus far and we are looking forward to spending a lot of time outside this year. We have finished putting up the fence in our back yard and the kids are having a wonderful time running around without hearing mom telling them to stay in the yard or running after them. Ok – your right I think I like the fence a lot more than they do. Along with the fence we purchased a trampoline for the kids to play on.

Easter was wonderful in our home with the kids spoiled by grandma and grandpa in an Easter egg hunt on Saturday and then rides with Grandpa on his motorcycle. Along with the visit from the Easter bunny they have enough candy to last a lifetime.

We are all looking forward to this coming year and all the new beginnings that will be ahead of us.

Welcome to the Hollinger Blog! This is something that is very new for me and so please bear with me in trying to figure it all out and make it more interesting for those of you who are actually interested in reading about our family.

For beginners our family consists of Brian, Shana, and our two children Katelyn, and Shawn. We also have a family pet which is a guinea pig whom we have named Peppy Le Pig. Katelyn seems to be the fondest of Peppy and treats him as her little baby doll. Peppy who has got to be the laziest animal I have ever seen allows her to carry him around, hold him like a baby, and hand feed him. Shawn on the other hand when he gets a hold of Peppy will let him run which in turn ends in Brian or I trying to get Peppy out from under the entertainment system with the broom and Katelyn crying thinking Peppy will bite one of the cords and we have a “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” of the cat that bites the Christmas tree lights.

Brian works as a designer and drafter for an architectural firm and a few things on the side for custom homes. He enjoys playing Star Wars with Shawn, video games, and collecting sports cards. Most of all he LOVES the Boston Red Sox. This past September we were able to visit Boston and attend a game at Fenway Park where the Red Sox played against the Yankees and won.

I work for a marketing company as an administrative assistant when I am not working as a full time mom. Between the two I have a pretty full plate and it keeps me going in many directions at once. Things that I enjoy are playing with the kids, outdoor activities, crafts, and quite time.

We hope that by doing a blog it will help us keep in touch with everyone other than just a Christmas card at the end of the year.