Christmas and New Year update

The holidays are officially over. And, we are officially on our own with Karmann and Max. Grandma and Papa left early yesterday morning, after an awesome (almost) two week visit. But let's start the update just before Christmas...
Since we have lived in Florida, we have only been in Orlando twice for Christmas. Once when Karmann was born and this year, since Max was born. When Karmann was born, we spent Christmas Eve in the hospital since she had jaundice, and this year, my dad was in the hospital for an on going stomach problem. Thank goodness, in both situations, everything turned out fine, and my dad was released two days after Christmas. So our actual Christmas morning was pretty low key, with it just being the four of us, and Karmann being surprised with presents under the tree. All she wanted was actual "presents" having never defined what those presents would be, though she did state the night before that she wanted Santa to bring her candy canes! Luckily we had a couple that we hung on the tree. Needless to say, she was very satisfied.
We were lucky to have Sarah and Charlie in town for Christmas, so that afternoon they came for Christmas Dinner. Since things were a little off schedule with my dad in the hospital, dinner was pretty basic with a ham, green beans, rolls, and I think Kris did make a pumpkin pie. Aunt Sarah and Uncle Charlie got Karmann and Max a tire swing, so that was installed, and outdoor fun began!
A few days later, Grammy, Aunt Keri, Uncle Choy and Amara came for a visit. Karmann was lucky that Amara stayed through New Years. They had a blast together, putting on Christmas shows of carols and playing musical instruments, playing outside, and just plain keeping each other company. They have really grown close as cousins, and almost act like siblings sometimes! Karmann was sad to see her leave!
Papa also came down just in time for New years eve! The plan was for him to help Kris install a fence and gates for the back yard this break. The fence was ordered at the end of November, and it was to be delivered before the holiday....well, to make a long story short, it still has not arrived as I type this. Instead, about a million little things got done around the house - inside and out, and they even got a few fishing excursions accomplished too! I love it when Steve visits, as every little think that we procrastinate on gets done and done right the first time! Just wish we all lived closer!!
Having both Grammy and Papa here meant that Kris and I got a huge break, and we even went out for dinner for New Years Eve. We just went around the corner, and practically had the whole restaurant to ourselves, but it was really good, and we enjoyed each other's company!
Both Grammy and Papa enjoyed seeing how much Max had grown in just a month since they last saw him. He is weighing almost 15 lbs on the bathroom scale - which is crazy! Karmann only weighed 10 lbs at her 2 month check up! He's starting to coo, laugh and smile with huge dimples in his chubby cheeks! He is a very mellow baby and doesn't make any noise hardly, unless he's hungry, then he is loud as all get out! And if you don't feed him immediately, he gets MAD! Bless his heart, he eats every 2 hours, sometimes more frequently, and each side for at least 15 minutes each! He's sleeping pretty well at night, and has some where he'll sleep up to 5 hours! Which is pretty good. He loves it(or doesn't complain or cry or scream) when I give him a bath in the sink, and  loves to be cuddled and warm in fleece blankets and pajamas. He's already in 3-6 month clothes, and has almost grown too big for his bassinet.
Speaking of bassinets, I forgot to mention that in order to make room for his crib and Karmann's stuff, one of the "little" things that got accomplished, was switching bedrooms upstairs. It has worked out really well so far. We still need to get a mattress for Max's crib since Karmann still uses hers in her toddler bed, but once that happens (and we find the charger for the monitor) Max will most likely be sleeping in there real soon.
Karmann is in love with Max and is very proud to be a big sister. She even offers to share her toys, food, and hair bows with him! We hope her enthusiasm and caring continues as they grow older! Kar had her 3 year check up at the doctor's on Friday. She has grown 2 3/4" in one year, and weighs 29 lbs. I forgot to write down how tall she was, but I know she's over 3 feet tall. All were at the 50 percentile rates. We have started using M&M's to motivate her to go pee and "poo poo" as she calls it, in the potty. It hasn't really worked on #2 yet, but feeding her "purple" juice on a daily basis is making her go - and we are hoping she will catch on and not do it in her pants....soon....we hope!!
Recently she has become addicted to Mickey Mouse Play house and so this past weekend, as Grammy and Papa were going home soon, we all went to Downtown Disney. Grammy got Kar a Mickey doll, and I swear she has not put him down since. Forget Piggy! Mickey and Minnie are all the rage!!! We will plan a big deal with family when we finally take her to Magic Kingdom, which will probably be this year - maybe for her 4th birthday.
Well, that's about the update, or as late as I can stay awake. I'll post a link to photos soon.