Christmas ornaments

 

We have been getting the kids a new ornament each year. We try to get something that reminds us of them that year. Disney was having a sale on ornaments so that's where we got all of them this year.

Jackson - Perry the Platypus - When we were in the hotel at the beginning of the year, Jackson discovered the wonders of Phineas and Ferb. Matt and I kind of enjoyed it too :) He wanted to watch it constantly. TV was a revelation for them. I think I've talked about this before but they really had no idea what commercials were. At first they would get mad that their show was interrupted and they would ask me to fix it, then they started to ask for everything they saw.... whether it was for them or not. Jackson wanted me to color my hair at one point because the commercial made it sound so great :)

Maggie - This is her second year in a row for a princess. She is still all about princesses, and dress up. She wears a skirt or a dress almost EVERY. SINGLE. DAY! She watched Nutcracker ballet (the Barbie movie version) and she danced around like a ballerina for a long time. That would have been my second choice of ornaments :)

Hailey - She discovered the wonders of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. She would ask to watch Mickey Mouse all the time. For awhile she would actually sit and watch but now she watches and wanders.

Caleb - We haven't gotten his yet. His will be a baby one for his first Christmas.

It's kind of sad that a lot of them are movie or show themed this year but accurate. While I was pregnant and while we in the hotel and apartment they watched A LOT of movies and TV. It feels so good to not be pregnant anymore and to have a house again. Their poor little brains can take start developing again :)

Gingerbread House

 

 

This was another advent activity. The kids love to decorate things. This was a gingerbread house kit that Gram got for us after Christmas last year..... it still tasted fine :) Gingerbread houses are so fun to make but then they just sit around forever because everything about it is rock hard!! We used to make them for Christmas and then eat them on New Year's Eve when I was growing up.

My haircut

 

This is really old - well, Thanksgiving old :) Matt cut my hair that morning. It was driving me crazy so he cut it off :) He did a good job. We have been meaning to try to thin it out but haven't gotten around to it yet.....

Tree cake

 

We did this awhile ago...... Matt found this awesome cake so we used it for one of our advent activities. We gave each kid a 'tree' some frosting and some sprinkles to decorate it. They loved it. Matt was teasing me for decorating mine too. Mostly because he was trying to wait patiently for me to be done so he could eat some of it :)
I think I need to find a cake mold like this so we can do it every year!!

Snow + Trampoline

 

We got a few inches of snow the other day..... school was delayed a few hours. If we even get a dusting of snow school is delayed. The first time I took Jackson in on time only to see sign out front saying it was delayed. Huh! I was totally surprised. It hadn't even occured to me that school might be starting late - there was hardly any snow!! Now I know better - if it snows AT ALL here I need to check the schedule :)
We have a really steep driveway - those few inches of snow made it VERY slick. We all slid down it in our cars. That's a little nervewracking when the street is right at the bottom and you know you are going to slide into it. We didn't have a snow shovel or anything apparently it never made it in the move..... oh well. After we got a shovel and some salt the driveway was much better. Thanks Matt!
We also got the trampoline all put together. The kids have loved it. They play outside a lot more even in this cold weather. It was below freezing for over a week straight I think. We built a sandbox but before we got the sand put in it - it was frozen solid in the bags! We have so many projects to do and Matt has been so great about getting things ready for the kids in the backyard. Next up is the swing set but we havn't found the swings or bolts yet :)
We have a little hill in our backyard that the kids love to sled on. I will have to get some video up of that.
These pics were taken the same day as Maggie's Christmas program.... that's why she has a red 'rudolph' sticker on her nose.

Maggie's School Christmas Program

 

Maggie's PreK class did a little christmas program. The kids always love to put on a show for the parents. It's so funny to watch them try to remember the words to the songs. Maggie was happy to see both Matt and I there. It's been so great having Matt's work just a few minutes away. It's so much easier for him to come and go without missing too much time at work. Santa showed up at Maggie's class - the kids were very excited. Hailey followed him to the front of the room and then just stood there and stared at him. She won't sit on his lap but she goes right up next to him and just looks and looks. Maggie told him she wanted a toy butterfly, and girl and boy barbie dolls. She has seen Santa a few times and she tells him she wants something different each time.
We are headed to Georgia for Christmas so the kids won't be opening their presents until we get back. They were kind of excited when I told them it would be like having two Christmases.

Jackson and legos

 

Legos are still, by far, Jackson's favorite toy. He builds some pretty creative things. This was something he built that he wants me to send in to the Lego Jr magazine because they feature kids creations in each magazine. He was so happy to get his bed back because it has drawers under it and they have been designated the lego drawers. He hasn't really had any bad dreams since he's had his bed either. He had them fairly often at the hotel and apartment.

Church Christmas party

 

The Church christmas Party was all treats!! That's a great party. There was a lot of different kinds of cookies. The kids helped me make some pretty cool blue and white winter cookies. The idea came from a website called "jamie cooks it up". There is a lot of easy recipes on there - my favorite! :)
The primary put on a play for the ward. We have a small primary - about 15 kids total - so everyone has something to do. Maggie was a sign holder. When we had everyone sing she would walk across holding the name of the song. In between she held Christmas themed posters. Jackson was supposed to do something on stage but his group missed their cue. He didn't seem to mind. He came down and helped Maggie hold signs for a little while. He was much more interested in chasing his friends around the church than being in the play :)
On a side note..... 1/2 hour before we were supposed to leave home to make it to the party - Hailey and Maggie dumped over the computer chair in our kitchen. It landed on Hailey. It hurt her foot or ankle pretty badly but we couldn't see any serious marks. Matt stayed home with her while I took the big two and Caleb, because she wouldn't walk on it and we debated taking her in to the instacare. In the end we didn't take her in and he brought her to the party a little late. We didn't go to church the next day because she wouldn't walk on it at all - she was crawling all over though. She kept trying to walk and would say "hurt bad". It was very sad. We figured it was just a sprain and is now healed almost completely. Poor girl. She is always the one to get hurt. Either from her crazy siblings or being crazy herself.

He's a rollin' boy

 

Caleb has not seemed interested in rolling at all. Hailey was rolling from back to front at 3 1/2 months - I was getting a little anxious with Caleb. Then one day I left the room and when I came back he was on his tummy. He wouldn't do it again that day but the next day he was rolling again and again without a problem. Maybe he's just going to be a baby that waits until he can do it right before he even tries.

House pics

Here is a just a couple of pictures of the inside of the house. One is from the front room looking down the hallway to the bedrooms. You can kind of see the vaulted ceiling with open dark beams. Another is of the large windows in the front room. I LOVE lots of windows!! I also added a picture of the back yard. There is not a lot of open grass space but enough for the trampoline and swing set. The kids love playing in the trees. We will have to get rid of some poison ivy though. The other picture is of a fireplace in the front room. The dark wall next to it is the dining room.
I need some suggestions for paint colors for these rooms since they are right next to each other. I'm having a hard time thinking of two colors that will go with the red brick, the dark beams and match in two seperate rooms. They have to be light colors too :)
I watched some deer go running across the street by our house this afternoon. I do love that we are a little more in the woods here than Utah.
A house has helped but has not changed my feeling about this just not being the right place for us to stay long term. Here's to hoping I can even make it through the next year happy and healthy :) I have lots of projects planned. Maybe that will help.

House + Tree

 

Well, we finally closed on our house!! On Nov. 18th we did all the final paperwork. It took 11 weeks from start to finish and we didn't even get in to get anything done. We wanted to get a lot done before winter hit but because it all took so long we won't have a chance to do hardly anything. Especially because all of our help had come and gone before closing!! Bad planning on my end - I was so anxious to get it all done.
It feels good to be in a house and have space again. I don't know that it has helped us like it around here any more - but at least we aren't completely on top of each other and that definitely helps. Everyone has calmed down a bit now that they can stretch out. I definitely love having a washer and dryer again. and a dishwasher. and ice/water in the front of the fridge :)A backyard has been wonderful too. I feel like a better parent when the kids get time to play outside!!

About the tree...... so amidst all the moving of boxes...... we found a christmas tree left behind by the previous owners (two trees actually)so we set them up to see if they worked. Both did. One of them is in Jackson's room. He thinks that's great. We also hung some lights in the girls room. We haven't found lights for the outside yet - the kids are a little disappointed about that.

So now we unpack. That is always a long process with little kids around. They want to help way too much. They are very excited about all their things that they haven't seen for the past 10 months. Crazy that our stuff has been in storage for that long!! We obviously don't need it all..... but now that we have it back I remember missing it and I don't want to part with it. I'm quite the pack rat. That should probably be something I focus on fixing...... :) We have waaaaaay too many toys because I don't want to get rid of any. That's why I want to open a children's museum. Then I have an excellent excuse to have LOTS of toys and fun stuff :)

Caleb sitting

 

This little man is getting very good at sitting up on his own! He was sitting up very well before he started rolling over. He just started rolling over a few days ago but he started sitting a few weeks ago. He loves being able to sit up and play with toys but it's already obvious that he wants to be able to get around. He hates being left sitting alone and not being able to follow. He will be six months old in just a few days. The time has gone by incredibly fast and impossible slow at the same time.

Peace and Quiet.....

 

Peace and Quiet is a dangerous thing to hear with Hailey around. :) She loves to color - on anything and everything. She has since she could hold a crayon. I thought she would grow out of it a little bit but.... nope. Coloring needs to be a supervised activity with her. Sometimes I make the mistake of thinking yes, she's quiet and busy I can get something done. All that means is more work for me since I have to wash walls, kids, floors, books and whatever else she got ahold of...... Poor girl. She needs some more creative times :) I will work on that.