New addition

If you haven't heard by now, we have a new addition to our family.  Wren Louisa was born on December 2, just in time for one of our first big snowfalls.  Since her arrival, she has been loved, kissed and hugged daily by her older siblings.  We have all been marveling over her tiny little person- all 5 lbs 13 oz of her at birth.  She has long fingers and toes, a small dimple on her left cheek (possibly the one Hanna left behind?), and quite a bit of blonde hair.  Elisabet wonders if she will have green eyes when she is older, although they are blue right now.  This is likely because we recently discovered that Elisabet's eyes are turning green so she inspects them daily to note changes.  She is quite pleased to discover something she shares with just mom.

Leif's 11th birthday and Christmas went by in a flurry.  We had a huge 18+ inch snowstorm the week after Wren came home and since then we have been digging out.  It looks to be a great winter for snow sports.  Leif, Hanna, Elisabet, Travis and Papa went skiing at Afton Alps and had a fantastic time.  Travis and Papa spent the day trying to keep up with them as they bombed down the hills.  They also all went ice skating at the local outdoor rink.  This weekend everyone will start nordic skiing with the MN Youth Ski League.  It will feel good to get back into skiing shape!

We celebrated an early Christmas with Travis's family and then we had the special treat of getting all the Haslers together at Christmas this year.  The three newest grandchildren got to meet one another, and we had several evening gatherings over great food and wine. It definitely seemed as if we had really multiplied this year!  But the chaos of all the cousins is lots of fun.

Here are some photos of the various events:

Wren's birth


Birthday and Christmas