Christmas Eve

The kids had a great time baking the annual "Happy Birthday Jesus" cake. They couldn't believe I actually let them lick a beater! The icing and sprinkles were definitely their favorites. Xavier dug holes in the cake with his spatula while Brooklyn painstakingly placed each individual sprinkle in its perfect spot on the side of the cake.
After grilling out for supper, we headed to the Christmas Eve service at church. The kids were so anxious to get home to eat their cake! Xavier walked out of the sanctuary in the middle of the service and Andy had to chase after him(much to the amusement of those sitting behind us!)

Christmas at Grandma and Grandpa's

We had Christmas at my parents' house on Saturday this year. Xavier received a monster Playmobil castle that has a million pieces! The box claims it will take 2 hours to assemble it! Andy has started on it. We'll see how long it actually takes!

In a Little Stable

Brooklyn's preschool had their yearly Christmas program on Tuesday evening. The program had the usual retelling on Luke 2 and dancing angels, but the best moment of all was watching my little angel singing her little heart out. Just before we left the house, Brooklyn discovered that her favorite fish had "gone to a better place." Does the toilet count as better? Hysteric crying complete with red blotchy face and hiccups followed. She did NOT want to go to her school. She wanted to mourn her fish. I finally convinced her to go, but she would only sing because "it makes Jesus's heart happy." Aww!

Here is Brooklyn with her class singing In a Little Stable. She was so excited to discover her buddy Taylor(standing next to her) was also wearing a red plaid dress.

I spent some of the program giving Xavier piggy-back rides in the back of the gym just to keep him quiet. I'm sure everyone appreciated the occasional giggle over a bored scream.

Ballerina Girl

Avery and Brooklyn love dancing together.

What a lovely arabesque!

Every December we are allowed to watch one of Brooklyn's dance classes. I love to watch her dance! She has a great teacher who makes learning how to really dance lots of fun! She knows the five positions and the next time you see her, ask her what she does with her chicken nugget during class. You'll be surprised, I was!

Here is a brief clip of Brooklyn's class. Unfortunately, I can't get my video editing software to work so you'll have to watch it sideways!

Tis the Season

Saturday was our annual ABF(Sunday School Class)Christmas Party. Great fun was had by all who attended! We even braved the cold weather to carol at a few houses. Brooklyn didn't want to go along because "Mommy, you know I don't like to sing." But, Xavier loved joining in with the group. Who knew we had a group who could sing so well? After we all warmed up and watched the end of the UCLA/USC game, we had the ever-amusing white elephant exchange. We tried to keep the kids occupied in the dining room with a VeggieTales Christmas, but the minute they heard the wrapping paper, they came running! The best/worst gift this year had to be the lovely rust colored chair brought by the Bakers. I'm so thankful for this group!

O, Christmas Tree!

We spent Saturday morning putting up the Christmas tree and decorating the house for the holidays. Brooklyn and Xavier loved pulling the ornaments out of the boxes and placing them on the tree. We only had one ornament casualty and I think it can be glued. Brooklyn placed the angel on top of the tree for the second year in a row. Xavier got to turn on the lights after everything was put on the tree. Don't worry, it's a remote. We don't let Xavier play with electrical outlets! It was neat to see his eyes light up with the tree as he pushed the button. Both kids were excited to be able to play with the VeggieTales nativity set again. They've been asking for it to come out of the crawlspace since Easter! I'm already tired of hearing Junior sing "O Little Town of Bethlehem."

Thankful for so much

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend with our families. We spent Thursday morning "playing" on Oma and Opa's property. The kids went for a hayride and Andy and I went for a walk in the woods. It was such a beautiful day! Later, we went to Cincinnati to enjoy a delicious meal prepared by Diane. I was painfully aware that I ate too much! John and Diane's dog Nikki had an injury so Brooklyn created a chair fence to protect her from the other dogs. She's always so concerned about others!
Andy and I braved the after-Thanksgiving shopping frenzy to complete most of our Christmas shopping. I can't imagine how he gets up that early every day for work! While we were gone, the kids made a gingerbread train and gingerbread cookies. Brooklyn and Xavier really, really wanted to eat the train. Thankfully, they were distracted with the cookies. After a visit with my Grandma, we headed home. We were so happy to know we still had the weekend to be at home!

Jumpin' in the Leaves

I wouldn't normally post this much, but we've been having so much fun lately! Yesterday, I finally got around to raking the leaves and the kids had a blast jumping in the pile! I can't count the number of times I raked the same pile, and my hands are covered in blisters, but we had fun! We buried each other, had leaf fights, and laughed like crazy. It's days like yesterday that make me love my "job!"

Big Boy Bed

Xavier spent his first night in his toddler bed last night. I am happy to report that there were no problems! He was almost too excited to jump into his bed and say goodnight. He wasn't too happy to realize that he had to actually go to sleep. I hope bedtime continues to be this easy!

the Kiddos

We have officially joined the blog bandwagon. I check out everyone else's almost every day. It's only fair that I create my own. I really enjoy keeping tabs on your families. So, to get started, I'm adding Xavier's two year old photo and Brooklyn's four year old photo for all the world to see. Until next time, Happy Blogging!