Christmas 2008

Christmas has come and gone, and our house looks like Toys r Us exploded in it. Our celebration started on Christmas Eve with dinner at my Grandma's house and Christmas Eve service at church. We had a nice little group for dinner and even had some old friends stop by that we hadn't seen in a while. John was very impressed with his Santa cup GG had set put especially for him. Santa even left an early surprise gift of new jammies and "The Polar Express" DVD. After service we took 3 VERY tired babies home to go to bed and wait for Santa. When I was putting John to bed I told him Santa would be coming tonight, and very concerned he asked, "He's not going to come in my room is he?" I reassured him that Santa would stick to the living room. Christmas morning was a blast. This was the first year that John got REALLY into his gifts. Everything he opened was his favorite. At one point he unwrapped a gift for Natalie, and the shirt box I had used had Christmas print on it. He freaked out and screamed, "Oh my gosh! A Christmas GAME!" Luckily he was not too disappointed when he opened the box and found clothes. We had family over for lunch and more gift giving and then headed to my Dad's for more food and more toys. Phew! I think these kids are set for at least a week or two. :)

trying to get a picture of all the kids in their Christmas outfits

just a funny pic of Rebecca

Rebecca Christmas morning

John Christmas morning

Natalie Christmas morning

John got a whole box of "boy" dress up clothes...here he is posing as a Power Ranger

John in the only moment of silence he had all day. I had to capture it on film

...and CONGRATULATIONS to my baby brother who graduated from Mizzou last week! It will be nice to have you home.

My Baby is 4!

How did this happen? My little baby turned 4 today! After what seemed like a weeks worth of parties, John's actual birthday was today. Mike took the day off work, we dropped the babies off at GG's house, and had a great birthday day, just the 3 of us. We started off with lunch at Olive Garden because John wanted mac and cheese for lunch. Then we went to the Botanical Gardens to see their holiday train display. John was in love. We could have spent the entire day there and he would never have gotten bored. There were so many scenes to see...my favorite was a little barn area that had a moose being milked! Seriously? Do people milk moose? After the trains we went to the fire station and one of the firemen gave John a tour and showed him the firetruck and helped him slide down the pole. He got to sit in the drivers seat and turn on the lights. Before we left he loaded John up with a fire hat, a badge, and a bag full of pencils, erasers, stickers, and coloring books. John was in heaven getting to meet a REAL fireman!

Dear Santa...

Today the kids and I went to go see Santa Claus. I got everyone dressed up in their Christmas outfits and off we went. It didn't go well. :) John hid behind the stroller and refused to go anywhere near Santa. The girls sat on his lap for a second and then burst into tears. Rebecca actually did this silent scream face for quite awhile. I have never seen her do that before. After getting their screaming picture with Santa I tried to get a few pics of them standing by a Christmas tree in the mall since they looked so cute, but there was just too much going on for them to concentrate on me and smiling for the camera. On our way out we stopped in Macys so John could mail a letter to Santa. His letter read, "Dear Santa, I want a crane. Just a crane. Love, John."

Party #2

Today John had his birthday party at home with the family. Luckily we had nice weather so we had BBQ for lunch and John got to play outside while lunch was being put together. Thank you Aunt Lin for entertaining him. :) He got some fun new toys, books, and clothes. He was very impressed by the check box Aunt Peggy got him without even knowing it was filled with coins for his piggy bank. Cake was had, Happy Birthday was sung, and a long nap was taken by all of us.

Injurys, Nature, St. Nicks, and Birthdays...what a post!

We have a new injury in our house. John lost a fight with his bed frame last night. He was being sent to his room for time out (what a shock) and in his thrashing and fit throwing busted his head against his bed frame. It never did bleed, but was dented in when it first happened. Scary looking. He is fine though. He only cried for a minute, and his injury did get him out of serving his time out. Poor baby. His face is going to be a mess by the time he's 7.

Last week I took the kids to a nature center nearby. I had never been there before, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was very kid oriented. There was an indoor tree house, tons of stuffed animals (real ones, not toys), fish, turtles, and a huge viewing area with tons of birds. The kids loved it. After we left we drove through another nature reserve that is known for having tons of deer, elk, and bison you can see from your car. Unfortunately we only saw one deer. At least he was very near the car so even the girls could see him.

We also recently went to a St. Nick's party at my Aunt's house. She sets up a bunch of games and activities for all the kids and they have such a great time. There is also a lot of food and good company for the adults. John and the girls came home with bags full of candy and prizes.

Rebecca showing Natalie what settings will maximize her workout
John getting his prize from the duck game

This year John was big enough to help with decorating the Christmas tree. He was very excited about having his own ornaments to put up. He wanted to know where every ornament came from, and it was fun for me to reminisce over each ornament we have been given over the years. Thank you to my mom for putting the year on every ornament we received as kids. I am definitely continuing that with my own kids. So, our tree is decorated, with a surplus of ornaments about 2 feet off the ground. We have had a few break (from the girls) but nothing that can't be fixed.

Today John had his first birthday party with friends. We had it at the train store he loves so much. When everyone arrived they did a pinata. The kids loved it, and most of them were completely surprised when candy started to rain down on them. I think they just thought it was fun to beat the thing with a bat. Then after cake and juice everyone headed over the train room to play with the huge train table. He even got to put his handprint on the wall of the store. Most of the parents stayed, so it was a nice chance for Mike and I to get to know a lot of the parents of John's preschool friends.

John + Winter = Crazy Mommy

I knew I was dreading winter for a reason. This cold weather is keeping us indoors most of the time and John has no place to let off his energy. If I didn't get my hair colored every 6 weeks I would definitely be all grey. He is just driving me insane! Constant running, jumping, screaming, fits...I'm about to lose it. He found the candy for the treat bags for his birthday party and opened them up and i don't have any clue how much he ate. I keep finding wrappers in his bedroom. The other night Mike fell asleep on the couch and woke up around 12:30 am and saw John sneaking into the kitchen. He followed him quietly and found John with 2 handfuls of Starburst! Who eats candy at 12:30 in the morning? How often has he done this while we have been asleep? Agh! The candy is now obviously moved to higher ground. He even got a time out at Preschool which never happens. On top of this he has a double ear infection and pink eye, neither of which seem to be slowing him down. Thank goodness my mom is babysitting tonight so Mike and I can have a date night. Spring...I miss you. Please come soon.

The Holiday Spirit

I was looking through old Christmas pictures and found my 2 favorites of John. Just thought I would share and send a little Christmas spirit your way.

and into December...

Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone and we are into December, the busiest month of the year. Thanksgiving lunch was at my Aunt and Uncle's house and not only are we outnumbered, but I think the adults in general at lunch were almost outnumbered. There were so many kids running around having a great time, and one little addition that didn't do any running but was content to be held and just observe. I was so glad to finally get to meet and hold my new cousin (2nd cousin?) Tanner. She was an angel. So adorable and I didn't hear her make a peep the entire time. Next year we will have another little one so I can't wait for that. John had a great time with everyone. Rebecca and Natalie took a little time to warm up to the crowd, but after an hour or so they were fine. Rebecca's favorite thing was Tanner's infant car seat. She was mesmerized by the toys hanging on it, and even sat in it for quite a while. The kids were nice and worn out by the time we left, so there was no trouble getting them to bed.

Saturday I had an elementary school reunion in the afternoon, and then my 10 year high school reunion that evening. The girls and I went to the first reunion while Mike and John had some quality "boy" time together. I was a little nervous for my HS reunion, and I still can't believe it's been 10 years, but I had SO MUCH FUN! Mike was one of the few husbands to attend, but he found a few guys to hang out with while the women reminisced.

Today we had our Parents as Teachers educator come over and play with the kids. John learned about forest animals and the girls showed off their cooking skills in a play kitchen. She is still a little concerned, as are Mike and I, about John's speech, so he has a referral for speech evaluation. We won't hear anything for 4-6 weeks, but hopefully if it's needed we can get him into speech therapy before kindergarten.

Our next event is John's 4th birthday. He is having his first party with friends this year. I'm excited for it, but I'm a little nervous that kids won't be able to come because of the proximity to Christmas. Well see though. Invitations just went out yesterday and we already have one RSVP, so he'll have at least one friend to play with. :)

Natalie with her baby doll in Tanner's car seat

Becca in Tanner's car seat

Rebecca and me at my elementary school reunion