Christmas with the Ranks

Feliz Cumpleanos Joe Bahunglenuts!

Not everyday do I take the time to thank the man that stands by me day in and out! He is truly a marvel. Whether it be washing dishes, wiping behinds, scrubbing floors, reasoning with two young ladies, or calming a fussy baby he is a super star. My partner in crime, Joe Bahunglenuts, the only man who can feed Claudia peas and help Eloise understand why she doesn't have a "special" chair. We love you!

Happy Birthday.

Making Dad's favorite cake

Happy Birthday!

Snapshots

These are a few snapshots from the past weeks. Hopefully I'm sharing why Christmas is such a special time of year.

The Wheels on the Bus go...

Contrary to Miss Junie B. Jones summation of the smelly yellow school bus the Rank girls loved their first ride.  Admittedly it does help to have your sister right there with you to ease the school bus jitters.  Claudia was asking this morning what it was like to ride on a bus and Eloise replied "Bumpety bump bump"

Choo-choo

We have been busy playing in our newly fallen snow and filling our bellies with holiday sweets.  Thought we would share some of our joy!  Notice that the babies are not pictured because that would be two little bodies lying flat on the ground stuffed into snowsuits screaming!  Merry holidays.

Tub of Turkeys

We had the good fortune of having some guests for Thanksgiving.  The Johnson's from Nebraska stopped by on their way home from Minneapolis.  Totaled up that means five four-year olds.  It was a lot of fun and the kids really had a good time playing together.  Hope your Thanksgiving was a blast too.

Platinum

I had the luck of having an unruptured cerebral aneurysm show up on a head MRI this past month. After much thought and preparation, Friday I was admitted to the neurosurgery team at Mayo for a planned angiogram. The purpose of the angiogram being to get a more detailed image of the aneurysm from the inside. Knowing the exact shape allows surgeons to better decide how to block the ballooning wall of the artery. From there the options were to coil or clip the aneurysm. It turned out that my aneursym was of favorable shape meaning it had a small stalk, and the surgeons were able to place multiple platinum coils within the aneurysm to block the blood flow into the aneurysm. I spent the night in the Neuro ICU and was discharged on Saturday morning. Besides a headache and a little pain behind my left eye (where the aneurysm was located) I'm feeling very blessed and well. So the Rank house is thankful tonight for our health and for little reminders to love and cherish each other every day.

Recent Accomplishments

Bye-bye Hot tub

I'm trying..

Done Ta-Da!

almost sleepless in Seattle

August 2006

November 2008 (we still fit)

We are off to Seattle!

Jammin' with Hannah Montana

Some friends at the Seattle Woodland Zoo

Bert and Ernie

Shopping at the Children's Museum

We're in car one!

Look who we found at the top of the Space Needle.

It's a nice view even with the wind.

Here's some interesting creatures swimming at the Seattle Aquarium.

More interesting creatures going for their first swim.

Snoqualmie Falls

Milestones

I have to admit that I have never been fond of keeping track of milestones, probably because Claudia and Eloise failed to meet most of them on time or at all.  The most important milestones are left off the charts anyhow: sleeping through the night, entertaining themselves and/or each other, giggles etc.

I do have to rejoice in the fact that Julianne and Vincent are following a more normal course!  Julianne is the first of four to do the toe to mouth trick!

And I can't get enough of the two of them sitting; entertaining themselves.

But there are a few milestones that not many will ever meet:

The day the big girl twins fed the baby twins:

And the day that Claudia was brave enough to get out of bed with help from her sister "her best bud" Eloise.  You girls make mommy so proud.

Happy Halloween! 2008

Fall

What a beautiful time of year to start back to school, play in the leaves, and spend time with loved ones!

Life's Comforts

The family enjoyed a beautiful fall day out at the Apple Ridge Orchard.  Vincent found his thumb and Julianne continues to blow great raspberries.  We hope some of life's treats have found their way to you!