Christmas Class Parties

One of JW little boy buddies Nicolas' mother is from Europe and made these crackers for all the children.
JW loves his teachers and was really sad when I told him that Ms. Geri would not be there after the break. We wish you all the best Ms. Geri. You will be missed!

After we left JW's party it was down the hall for K's Christmas party. Here she is enjoying the icing while decorating her gingerbread man.

If you are wondering where R is I am wearing him-making it a bit hard to get a picture of him! It is also a challenge to get a good picture b/c he likes to pull on the camera strap while I take pictures. So we will blame the bad pictures on him!! O- and this is what JW did during the party- play.

Christmas Program

Very cute program and K sang her little heart out! I was so mad when I got there and realized I had the wrong lens- maybe next time!
Sorry Heather I thought I got one of Trey looking right at us, I had not realized that Olivia had popped up.

And this is the only picture I have of K and JW together. JW was not real sure about the punch. He has certain mannerism that remind me so much of my brother!

Christmas Card

Well, many have asked where Millie was in the Christmas card picture this year so here is the story. I had hoped to take the picture outside b/c the kids take such good pictures when we are outside. I was running out of time and the last weekend we attempted the weather was rainy, overcast, and cold. Not the best setting for a successful picture. So we settled for inside and these were the best of the bunch. The first one looks like Brian had just been poked in the eye, I just look weird, and the kids are trying way to hard to "look" happy! The next one is ok except K looks as though she just swallowed a lemon.

And the last one K had an odd smile and R was not even close to looking at the camera. When we saw what we had to choose from(remember these were the best) we decided we would just use the one from Thanksgiving and Millie would just not be in the picture. If I had only signed the cards after the picture was taken no one would have been the wiser! Someone asked if it was a where's Waldo card-except where's Millie, maybe next year we will be more creative!

The Nutcracker

Last Saturday Brian and I took K to the Fox to see The Nutcracker. We had a great time but it was a bit odd to have only one child with us! K does not look too excited in the first 2 pictures b/c she had just woken up and it was cold that day. As soon as we got inside she perked right up and was ready for the show. She really enjoyed having popcorn during the first Act and seeing all the dancers. She did great and everyone had a wonderful time. On the way home we stopped at the old Krispy Kreme- what a way to end our little date!

Wrapping/Painting Presents

Since K's 2nd Christmas she has helped me wrap our Christmas gifts by decorating the paper. JW has also been helping out the past 2 years. The kids really enjoy decorating and ask about it every year. K was all business and took her time.

After 4 or 5 presents JW decided he would rather sit at their table and draw a picture instead!

Santa and Lights

The first Friday night in December we headed downtown to see Santa. The kids were very excited after watching all of the videos from their past visits. It is hard to believe that this was our 5th time to do this! Santa's lap was a little full this year so K stood- as long as she was next to R she really did not mind. Another night, while Brian and I put the outside lights out the kids had a little performance on the front steps. They used the extension cord as their microphone- got to love the imagination of children!

R was snug as a bug watching the performance!

Friday with Friends

One Friday we had some of K and JW's friends over for a playdate. Tutu had spent the night earlier in the week and brought gingerbread man kits that the kids loved, so I thought this would be a neat project with everyone. Mia looks a little unsure but Livie is all smiles!
JW was working hard on the icing.

Here Lauren is working on her masterpiece...

and K adding her finishing touches. I don't have a shot of the end results but they turned out cute.

Trimming the Tree

The kids had a great time decorating the tree this year. Here R is hanging up his ornament from Tutu. K wasted no time and got straight to work!

After referring back to last years pictures it was clear that it was K's turn to put the star on the tree. JW had been in a reindeer conga line at school and that is why his nose is red.

Krispy Kreme

Does that sign not make your mouth water! While we were in Jax we took the kids in their pj's and headed out to Krispy Kreme! The kids enjoyed watching the donuts in the big oven and then come down the belt to be glazed.

But they enjoyed eating the most! Since it was after Thanksgiving they had their holiday selection available. It was fun to take the kids to this Krispy Kreme b/c in high school Daddy, Aunt Jill, and Mommy would go by there on the way to school and have a quick breakfast.

Thanksgiving Part 2

After the big lunch, K helped Grandma decorate the cookies. We normally make them from scratch, but fear not the cookies were eaten in record time. JW enjoyed playing with some of Daddy's old toys.

And no trip to Grandma and Grandpa Pete is complete unless you spend several hours running the trains!

Thanksgiving

We started our trek to Jacksonville for Thanksgiving on Tuesday night. Tutu and Poppy let us spend the night so that we would be a little closer to our destination. Once we arrived in Jax K helped Grandma with some turkey day preparations. Here the kids are "painting" the bird Thanksgiving morning.

Remember how I mentioned we brought the Thanksgiving feast attire- here Pocahontas is joining us for Thanksgiving lunch!

We usually celebrate Daddy's b-day again with his family. Here Pocahontas and Mr. Mark are bringing the cake. His favorite cake/pie is pumpkin, which works well since it is Thanksgiving.