Christmas

Sorry it has been so long since we posted! I have not been home very much, and things have been pretty hectic around the house.

We have had a fun month getting ready for Christmas. The kids knew that after Thanksgiving was Christmas, so almost everyday was filled with the question, "Is it Christmas yet?" This was really the first year that Austin and Caitlin knew that Santa was going to come and leave them presents. They were so excited to go to the mall and see him. Both did great, in fact Austin wouldn't stop talking to him. He told him a few times that he wanted a black guitar and headphones. Caitlin followed that up with her request for a pink guitar and headphones.

We went to church on Christmas eve. Caitlin wanted to get all dressed up in her "fancy dress" and we even got Austin to wear a decent shirt and some cords. He requested a bulldozer shirt, but I luckily talked him out of it! After church we drove through this enormous light display that a local John Deere dealership puts up every year. It is really undescribable, it is so big.

After we got home, we sprinkled (dumped) some "magic reindeer food" on the lawn that the kids had made at school. The kids went to bed around 9, which is way late for them, and other than Austin getting up to look out the window for Santa, they went to sleep pretty quickly.

Amazingly, they slept pretty late. They didn't get up until about 7:30 or so. That is about a 1/2 hour later than normal lately. They came downstairs to see all that Santa had left them. They were really excited, and really cute. Austin got a new hoop, a black guitar, a kid's mp3 player, some pajamas, and some other little things like hot wheels and a soccer ball. Caitlin got her pink guitar, a kid's mp3 player, a doll house, a hula hoop, some pajamas and some other smaller stuff.

We opened the other presents after a little while, and they did pretty good. They said, "Thank you" and took turns opening, which Kim and I were happy with. Everyone that sent them or gave them anything, thank you. They have played some with everything that they got, and just go from toy to toy. They are a little overwhelmed, I think.

And one last note...Last Satuday, as I left for a trip, Kim undertook potty training both kids. Caitlin has toyed with it off and on, while Austin had shown no desire whatsoever. Well, she did a great job, and the kids have been great. Since I got home late Monday night, we have only had 1 accident, so they are doing great. We are really proud of them, and I am looking forward to the reduced expenses of diapers!!!

That is about it. Below are some Christmas pictures I thought everyone might like to see...Some are from Christmas Eve and the rest are from Christmas morning.