2009 Christmas Letter

We decided to post our Christmas Letter on our blog this year. I've put some links in the letter to take you to older posts from the year. Simply click on one of them to read more about that event. Enjoy!

Merry Christmas from the Hilgendorf’s!

Kyle-This year Kyle turned 30! His gifts included tickets to the US Senior Open in Carmel, and he finally got to go on a tour of Wrigley Field. He loved seeing the Cubs press box, clubhouse, dugout, and stepping onto the field. Kyle is still working at Eli Lilly after 8 years there and things are going pretty well. Right now Kyle is trying to heal from a broken foot that he got from playing football with the high schoolers!

Krista-I am very much enjoying being a stay-at-home mom with Ryne. I love getting to spend each day with him and seeing how he is learning and growing. I am also involved with some women’s programs at my church during the week. Kyle and I continue to work with the youth group at our church and have been able to go on a few trips with them this year.

Ryne-On to our sweet Ryne James…As I looked back over pictures and blogs from the last year, I am amazed at how much Ryne has changed. He started out the year just beginning to crawl. In June he started taking his first steps and now runs everywhere. He also has a very extensive vocabulary. Ryne LOVES his grandparents and can’t get enough of his “Papas and Mamas”. In May we celebrated Ryne’s 1st birthday with a Sesame Street party. Little did we know how much he would grow to love Elmo! In June, Ryne got to attend his first Cubs game (although it was in Cincinnati). Ryne made it until the 9th inning and stayed up until almost 10:30 that night!

Dogs-This year we unfortunately had to get rid of one of our dogs, Sammy. She was having lots of trouble getting along with our other dog Chloe. Fortunately, Sammy has been adopted by another family and we pray that she is enjoying her new home.

Family-This January we welcomed our newest niece, Penelope, into the family. She and Ryne are becoming great friends. We now have 4 nieces and nephews: Titus, Ellie, Addison, and Penny. This past August my sister and her family moved to Germany to do mission work at a school. They are dorm parents for 25 high school boys who are children of missionaries. Kyle, Ryne, and I will be going to visit them for Christmas. It will be Ryne’s 1st plane ride and should be an adventure!

We always love this time of year to receive pictures and letters in the mail from our friends that we have not seen or spoken to in quite some time. May God bless you and your families this holiday season and into 2010. We love you all.

Kyle, Krista, and Ryne

Ryne and Ellie High 5, Hug, Kiss

Cousins Ryne and Ellie have been hanging out this weekend for Thanksgiving. It's been awhile since they have been together but they have become great friends. Here is a fun video snapped during some playtime.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of our family and friends! We are so thankful for all of you. God has been incredibly good to us and our family. Last night the 3 of us took some time to build a thankful tree. We each took turns writing down what we were thankful for and tying them to the tree. Ryne didn't quite understand what was going on, but he was thankful for Papas, Mamas, and "George/Thomas/Elmo". Here are a couple of pictures.

Family Time at the ZooBoo

The Indianapolis Zoo has their "ZooBoo" event every year leading up to Halloween. We went as a family and also were joined by Kyle's sister Emily and our niece Penny. Here are some pictures and a video from the day.

Kyle and Emily with Ryne and Penny

From Oct. 2009

In front of the sea lions

From Oct. 2009

Shark Petting!

From Oct. 2009

Ryne and Penny

From Oct. 2009

One of his new favorite words, "Pumpkins!"

From Oct. 2009

Giraffes

From Oct. 2009

Ryne didn't quite know what to think.

From Oct. 2009

Getting candy from one of the trick or treat stations around the zoo.

From Oct. 2009

The highlight of his day, the Hay Maze. Video follows with clips from the maze and his time on the playground.

From Oct. 2009

Trunk or Treat

Sunday we went to the annual "Trunk or Treat" at our church. This involves several of the high school and junior high students decorating the trunks of their cars and handing out candy to the little kids. Here are some videos and pictures of Ryne's experience. After about 3 cars he got the hang of it and literally became a candy snatching machine.

From Oct. 2009

From Oct. 2009

From Oct. 2009

From Oct. 2009

Getting the hang of it!

From Oct. 2009

From Oct. 2009

From Oct. 2009

Sharing with cousin Penny.

From Oct. 2009

At home with his stuffed Tigger.

Ryne and Jackson Piano Time

Last weekend we went to Cincinnati to celebrate Jenny's 30th birthday. Their son Jackson and Ryne get along great and had a lot of fun together, especially practicing the piano!

Fall is Here!

Fall is my (Krista) favorite season. We have had a chance to enjoy the weather and do some fun fall activities. Here are a few pictures of the season so far:

From Oct. 2009

Stuckey Farms with Grandma and Grandpa P.

From Oct. 2009

Ryne loves the tractors!

From Oct. 2009

First wagon ride.

From Oct. 2009

Picking pumpkins at Bales Farm.

From Oct. 2009

From Oct. 2009

From Oct. 2009

From Oct. 2009

First hayride!

From Oct. 2009

Church friends at Bales Farm.

From Oct. 2009

Ryne, Elmo, Walmart

We had to make a run to Walmart this weekend and decided to kill some time in the toy aisle before dinner. We are continuosly amazed about how obsessed Ryne is with "melmo" since we don't really watch Sesame Street much. But he does have several Elmo books.

Ryne during professional pictures

Ryne and his cousins got professional pictures taken outside today. I captured this between shots while Ryne took a break. Don't worry, he was fine after his stumble.

September So Far...

Here are a few pictures from the last couple of weeks:

This is the awesome rocking horse that Krista's Uncle John made for Ryne. It even has a blond streak to match Ryne's.

From Sept.2009

From Sept.2009

This bib was made for Ryne:

From Sept.2009

Banana is his favorite word and his favorite thing. We cannot go to the grocery store without buying bananas, and he likes to hold the bananas the whole time he is in the cart.

From Sept.2009

I know Ryne is 16 months already, but we had to take his picture next to the 1 at the Indianapolis Museum of Art.

From Labor Day 2009

From Labor Day 2009

Another picture from the IMA:

From Labor Day 2009

Here are a few pictures from Labor Day at Grandpa and Grandma H's house:

From Labor Day 2009

From Labor Day 2009

From Labor Day 2009

Zoo Day

Ryne and I went with my mom to the Indianapolis Zoo a few weeks ago. Ryne liked the dolphin show and loved all of the animals that he could see up close (like the ones behind glass). But, I think one of his favorite things was sharing Dip n Dots with his Mommy at the end of the day!

From August2009

From August2009

From August2009

Ryne loves the slide!

From August2009

From August2009

He hates goats!

Ryne at the State Fair

We're way behind on updates, so here come several in the next few days. Krista took Ryne to the State Fair one day a while back. Kyle is not a fan of the fair, but even he admits these pictures look quite fun.

From August2009

How does this thing work?

From August2009

Now we're moving!

From August2009

Excuse me sir, do you have any apples?

From August2009

I found an apple, but this apron is ENORMOUS!

From August2009

This is much smaller than the other tractors!

From August2009

My daddy from the "city" might not approve of this.