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.

Today was nice!

Yesterday Ryan came home for less than 24 hours...unfortunately I don't think he got to enjoy it too much because (1) he was sick and mostly slept and (2) the kids were grouchy as all get out! He left for sunny Florida again this morning... :(

The kids were in a MUCH better mood today. They came into our room at around 8:30 so we enjoyed some snuggles while watching cartoons. The kids drank some milk, I had some coffee. It was very laid back and relaxing. Then we headed downstairs for breakfast. Last night I assembled an "art basket" that they shared...it had various things in it...glue sticks, stickers, colored popsicle sticks, tissue paper, paint pens, colored pencils, scissors...they did "art projects" for about an hour! Austin declared he was giving his to Aunt Bubbles and she was going to "blove it!" Caitlin always says she's giving her stuff to Gramma. Caitlin managed to use an entire glue stick without gluing one thing! You figure that one out!!! After that we headed to the basement. They played soooo nicely until naptime at around 1pm. Then we all took a little snooze until 4pm (I only fell asleep around 3pm so don't be too jealous...no 3 hour nap for mommy!). After a little snack I gave them a bath and put their pj's on because we had an exciting night ahead of us!

Their special treat was a car ride in their jammies to look at Christmas lights. And that's what we did!!! We stopped at Wendy's and the kids ate jr. cheeseburgers while we drove around town. We drove past the town hall, through some neighborhoods, and through this huge display at Reynolds (a John Deere place). We probably drove around for about an hour and 20 minutes listening to Christmas music and chatting about everything we saw. Caitlin saw some light up reindeer and said, "I wish Daddy would set up my reindeer." I told her I would tell him she said that and that it would probably melt his heart. She said, "No! Then his heart would be broken!" She was cracking me up. Austin was kind of being a stinker today but he was so sweet too...while we were at a stop light I turned around to smile at him and he gave me the biggest grin like he was having the time of his life! Then when we got home he wanted me to carry him and dance! He loves that!

At bedtime I read them a Mary Engelbreit edition of "The Night Before Christmas". That particular book gets me all teary eyed because I bought it at a book fair at Montwood (where I taught) shortly after Ryan and I married, with the intention of reading it to our children someday soon after that. There were a lot of discouraging Christmases where I thought I would never get the chance to do that. So every time I read them that book, it is special. They are our miracles & that book reminds me that God fulfilled the deepest desire of my heart.

Well, suppose I should go straighten up...busy day tomorrow...speech and eye dr. - woo hoo!

Christmas Cheer

Before Ryan left for his trip, we kind of half decorated for Christmas...he put up the tree and topped it with the star. The kids were sooooooo excited that they got to watch AND put up the ornaments (I have pix of the finished product...just need to upload them). This is a fun age to truly see the magic of Christmas. While it isn't all about the sparkly decorations and gifts, it is fun to watch their excitement with those things. They have been asking if they can leave "gingerbrown" cookies for 'nanta (Santa) and a treat for the reindeer. So cute!

So, anyway...I put up a few more decorations while they were napping. When Caitlin saw them, she was so sweet...she came up to me and said, "Thanks mom for putting up the stockings! Thanks for putting up the decorations!" She can make your heart melt in an instant!

Austin was mostly worried about shoveling ("cooping the 'now") with the new snow shovel from Aunt Bubbles and Uncle John. The basement has never been as snow free as it was today! :) That was the most he did today...he had a fever of 102.2 as of 5:30pm...so he was a little sluggish today. He snuggled with me and we watched "Eloise at Christmastime" in the basement while Caitlin played dress up and tea party. He is also a heart melter...how about this..."Can I 'nuggle with you mommy?"

Supposedly we are getting 3 inches of snow overnight...we'll see! As long as my honey's plane can land here on Monday, I'm cool. If Austin is doing better, maybe we can all shovel together. Oh, he'd be in heaven. He's a real outdoorsy kind of guy...first the mowing obsession, now the shoveling obsession. Funny! Caitlin is looking forward to making snow angels and throwing snowballs.

Time to continue "decking the halls"!!! Hope to post again tomorrow...

Happy Thanksgiving!

A day late, but still...pretty good for us lately! :)

Who knew 3 year olds didn't like to shop the 4a.m. Black Friday sales??? lol...just a joke. Anyone who knows me well would know I am NOT an early riser...even for good deals!! :)

Yesterday, the kids and I snagged Lynn and John and drove up to my mom's house for Thanksgiving dinner. We had a bit of a rough start...Austin was still sleepy and didn't want to cooperate...but we made it on the road by about 10:30. Two Starbucks stops later, we made it to my mom's where the kids had a ball with their baby cousin, Ethan and their older cousin, Mason. They got to help hold Ethan's bottle during his feeding and gave him little kisses on his forehead. Uncle John & Aunt Bubbles took them outside for awhile and they rode a big wheel AND a big kid 2 wheeler (with help of course!!!). It was slightly chilly but fine for a little fresh air. They were operating on no naps and I was kind of surprised that they did so well...they even stayed awake all the way home. We got back home around 8:45 and after a little milk, it was straight to bed.

I was happy to see Ethan again...he has grown soooo much! He was very alert for awhile so we got to play too! He's a wiggly little guy...I laid him on the floor and helped him with his dance moves. He also makes the cutest little faces and was holding onto my finger while he took a little snooze. There is nothing like the pure joy that babies bring.

Austin and Caitlin were very happy to hear that they will have a new aunt soon. Clint and Sarah got engaged and will be getting married in January. YAY!!! With Ryan's crazy travel, we aren't sure if we can all attend, but are trying to figure something out...the kids wouldn't want to miss a good party (and neither would we)!!! :)

Yesterday was a good day to reflect on all that I'm thankful for...beautiful, fun, healthy kids; a hardworking, loving husband; growing in my faith through the past year; my health (especially my tongue being "cured" earlier this year); a nice home that keeps us sheltered; not having to worry about feeding or clothing our kids....there's a bunch more, but I'll stop there.

We are going to try to get out of the house later today...I'm sure I'll have more to post this evening! :)

Well, we didn't make it out...kids (okay, and I) slept until 4:30 and Austin felt kind of feverish when he woke up. So we snuggled, played, read their new Curious George books, watched part of "Elf", snuggled some more and headed up to bed. They must still be wiped out because it's been very quiet up there!!!

Tomorrow morning we are going to head to Target with Lynn for a little Christmas/grocery shopping. Hopefully Austin will be feeling better so we can do that. I hate being cooped up all winter...this week seemed loooooooong because there was no speech or school!

Big Kid Beds

I'll say they are a success! The kids stayed in them all night long and waited until Ryan came in this morning to get out. WOW! That is a major accomplishment. Also, they have played in their room ALL MORNING! They came downstairs for a brief moment to say good morning and get a hug and kiss and after that...forget about mom and dad! :)

That's about it for now...gotta head back to the kitchen...more later!

...naptime was a little wild...kids were into their new found freedom and had to be reeled in a little bit. I am happy to say that finally they both fell asleep and are having a good afternoon so far.

Caitlin has a joke she tells!!! I think it's great...I'm all about the corny jokes and this one is pretty corny (I taught her it!). She yelled it down to Ryan this afternoon which I found hilarious! (I'm not going to spoil it...so, if you want to know what the joke is, you'll have to ask Caitlin!) Our little comedienne!!! She also sat at the island and did "homework" with me. This consisted of her gluing pictures that I cut from magazines onto a piece of construction paper. She loved it!!! So cute!!!!!

Austin is still complaining of the 'niffles and insists he needs 'nynol. He gets mad if you tell him no. But he doesn't need any! He has loved being upstairs in his room...go figure. He's very happy that today is a "play day" with daddy. :)

Ryan hung some pictures in our living room, so we now have a cute gallery wall with all the pictures I've been framing of the kids over the past 3 years. Seems like there's always something we want to do to make our home more "ours". There's a lot more work to be done...but we'll get there eventually!!!

'Nynol & the 'Niffles

So, Austin has a cold. He calls it the 'niffles and insists that he needs 'nynol (tylenol) to feel better. He's a character! He was feeling pretty miserable with his congestion and runny nose today. And the poor thing has an awful sounding cough to boot. Hopefully both kids will be healthy for our trip to my mom's for Thanksgiving...definitely don't want to infect baby Ethan!!!

We are having our small group dinner on Monday which is also Thanksgiving dinner for our family since Ryan will be travelling...don't feel too sorry for him, he's going to be in Florida (in a stuffy gym all day), but still...FLORIDA. We will miss him though!!! Anyway, I've been spending the last few days preparing for that and tomorrow I am going to be cooking up a storm so I won't be absolutely crazed on Monday. I LOVE to entertain and cook so I'm looking forward to it. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays because the focus really isn't on gifts...it's on being thankful and reflecting on God's goodness.

Ryan put up the "big kid" beds again today. We tried it last year and it failed miserably with them bouncing around and practically smothering one another. This time so far so good. They still want to share a room which is fine with us...I actually love listening to them chat and process their day with one another. Last night, Caitlin told Austin to "be quiet!" because she was "reading a book at the library!" She comes up with some good ones.

Here's another thing I love about Caitlin...she loves veggies and fruits. Today she got all excited that I was cutting bell peppers and had to have some. Then she munched on a celery stick. Of course, she had to add her own flair and remove the "peel" (the stringy things) and dispose of them in the kitchen sink!

Austin loves when I hold him and dance with him while singing silly made up songs. He giggles so much when we do that! As evidenced at Travis & Kasia's wedding, the boy has serious rhythm and superior dance moves! :)

Lynn and John came over tonight and played with the kids for awhile. Austin and Caitlin had a ball and played like crazy. They fell right to sleep tonight, which was great!

Speaking of sleep...suppose I'd better get some too!

SKUNKY

Tonight I had the distinct honor of holding skunky's hand during our bedtime prayer. Then I had to give him a hug and a kiss!!! Skunky...my 3rd child! :) Caitlin is hilarious with that skunk!

My brain is fried right now...looooong day! More tomorrow!