Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve - Natalie, Daddy, and JackChristmas Eve - Opening presents from Grandma Phylis.

Christmas Eve - Presents from Grandma Phylis.

Christmas Eve - Opening presents with Grandma Phylis.

Christmas Morning - Santa came!!

Christmas Morning - Jack opening his stocking from Santa!

Christmas Morning - Opening Santa presents!

Christmas Morning - Santa brought Natalie Tigger and her own chair! Christmas Morning - Matching PJ's and playing with Jack's new Train Table!
Christmas Day - Jack opening presents from Todd's family.
Christmas Day - Natalie got a car from Great Grandma!
Christmas Night - Jack opening presents from Heather's family.
Christmas Night - Opening presents from Heather's family.
Christmas Night - Natalie throwing paper away.

Visit with Santa

Poor Natalie...she was scared of Santa!
Jack was excited to see Santa!

We also got to pet Prancer! :)

We went to see Santa tonight at our park here in town. Santa's Village was set up with free hot chocolate, cookies, and goodie bags for the children. It was free to take your picture with Santa and Prancer. Prancer liked Jack and kept chasing him because Jack was eating a Christmas cookie! :) Jack was excited to see Santa and wouldn't hold still long enough for a good picture. Poor Natalie was scared and wouldn't go near Santa. We hurried up and snapped a picture and quickly got away from Santa. :)

Celebrating the Holidays

We have gone to Santa's Magical Kingdom (large light display) and to the Zoo Wildlights (the zoo at night with Christmas lights/displays throughout) in the last couple of weeks. Jack and Natalie both love Christmas lights and had a great time.

Jack was in the Christmas program at church (which is his preschool also). They sang songs during the program. He did a great job!! Once again, didn't sing too much, he was very overwhelmed with the large crowd. The church was packed, we had to sit in the last row of pews. He was looking for us the entire time. Todd stood on the side and video taped the program so we could see him once we got home. It was very cute and fun to see all the kids perform and sing.

Finally got all the shopping finished...now on to wrapping! I've baked a few batches of cookies and hope to do a few more this weekend. Christmas will be at our house again this year for Todd's family. We will go to Mom's Christmas night to celebrate with my family.

Getting ready for the big day...time is running out! :) We still have to go and see Santa! Eeek!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving was at our house again this year. We had 22 adults and 6 children! Todd's entire family and my family came together to celebrate. We had TONS of food! It was a nice day so the kids got to go outside and play on the swing set.

Here is a picture of Natalie on Thanksgiving Day. She enjoyed watching the Macy's Day Parade on TV. Especially the Rockette's, she danced along with them. :)

Jack had a special slumber party with Grandma and Grandpa the night before. He was super excited to spend the night at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Jack's Preschool Thanksgiving Program & Feast

Jack's preschool had a Thanksgiving program followed by a yummy Thanksgiving Feast. The children performed 3 songs dressed as pilgrims. This was Jack's first school program. Grandma Cheryl and Mommy attended (Daddy had to work). Mommy taped it so everyone could see what a great job Jack did! He didn't sing very much (much to our surprise), he sang the songs non-stop at home! :) But he did a great job standing still and behaving with his class. He was so cute! We are very proud of him! :)

Jack made the turkey hat at school. :)

Painting, Painting, and MORE Painting!

In November we decided to paint the interior walls of our house! We painted the upstairs hallway, foyer, living room, kitchen, basement stairwell, and the entire basement. With exception to our bedroom/bath and the kids bedrooms, our walls were ivory with white trim.

Now they are a nice shade of Sand White (neutral color). Todd and Mom did most of the painting.

Thanks Mom for helping out!! It looks great, we love it!

Boo at the Zoo Nights

Every year our zoo celebrates Halloween with nighttime activities for families and young children. The zoo is decorated with lights and family friendly decorations. Most of the animals are put away, but usually you can see the spiders and snakes. Yikes! Children wear their Halloween costumes and receive healthy treats along the way.

This year Jack decided he wanted to be a penguin! Grandma Cheryl made his costume. It turned out so cute!! He loves it! Jack found the North Star penguin and the two of them danced with each other. It was hilarious! A crowd started to form around them. They were very entertaining!

Natalie is our little Bumble Bee. She likes her costume and was a good sport. We were out until after 8pm. She just snuggled up in her stroller and tried to sleep.

Aunt Amanda, Uncle Jason and puppy dog Sam went with us. All the Grandparents and Aunt Cathy came too! We had a great time!

A Day Out With Thomas!

Jack spent the day with Thomas the Train! He took a 25 minute ride on Thomas. We went under several bridges (Jack's favorite!!) and sat on the top deck of the train. Jack had a blast! There were several activities for him to do...a hay maze, Thomas tattoos, storytelling, mini train ride, and of course, a gift shop. Jack got to meet Sir Topham Hatt! It was a nice, crisp, fall day. We had a great time!

Natalie's 1st Haircut

Mommy took Natalie to her hair salon to get her first haircut. Natalie was such a good girl! She sat on Mommy's lap and giggled at herself in the mirror the entire time. She looks like such a big girl with her new haircut!

And yes, Mommy was getting her hair done at the same time. :)

Story Time!

Jack and Natalie LOVE to read!!

Jack is learning sight words in preschool and is applying them to his books at home and reading to us! He is so proud of himself and we are so proud of HIM!!

Natalie loves to crawl on your lap and look at books. She points to the pictures you ask her to in the Look and Find picture books. She's growing up so fast!!

Clowning Around

Jack and Natalie clowning around for the camera. They are very close with each other. They giggle, laugh, and play together. Poor Natalie is lost without Jack when he is at school in the afternoon. She listens to Jack and does what he says (in a good way!). He is a great help with Natalie. He can calm her down if she is upset and make her laugh if she is whining.

Natalie is still not walking or standing on her own (she's lazy!). Jack has taught her to walk on her knees in an upright position. It is hilarious to watch! She is getting closer to walking on her own...she just prefers to crawl everywhere!