Christmas at the Grandparents

 We first celebrated Christmas at Grandma and Grandpa K's house with Great-Grandparents and cousins and the kids' Aunt and Uncle. We first got to play then, open gifts and the feast followed.  It was so fun to get to celebrate with four generations.

On Christmas night we went to Grandma B's.  We got to have Aunt Rachael and Aunt Michelle in town to celebrate with us.  The kids so enjoyed the attention they got from the three ladies and the goodies were a hit too. 

Daddy's Birthday and other celebrations

The Birthday boy with his birthday potpie and cake

 So our first point of the blog entry is that we celebrated Daddy's 32nd birthday!  He just keeps getting more amazing each year.  I don't get to spoil him much.  I had much grander plans than I got to execute but weather, holiday celebrations, and health seems to always get in the way.  I always hope he knows that ever passing year with him is such a blessing to me.  I hope that chicken pot pie and cake tasted like love to him this year.

The family before our horse drawn wagon ride through the neighborhood to see the Christmas lights

One more request before we left...and you know what...he brought it.

Notice that neither of my kids would sit in Santa's lap.  Daddy had to escort Clare up there and take the picture with her and she wouldn't take her eyes of Santa for a minute.  Hayden was not so shy but was all business.  Before we did that we rode on a horse drawn wagon through the neighborhood signing carols with our neighbors and taking in everyone's Christmas lights.  It would have been a little more fun if we hadn't discovered that Hayden is allergic to horses.  We sat a little too close the front and were huffing too much horse dander and the little guy couldn't hardly breathe.  Well, I guess I can cross off rodeo as a potential career for him.  Probably even veterinarian now that we've established our allergies to both small and large animals.  Either way, Santa visit and a couple cookies later we had two tired and happy kids.

First Snow of the Winter

 We finally had the first snow of the season today on December the 20th, 2012.  We haven't had much in the way of precipitation this year so every little bit is celebrated.  The kids watched the news last night and knew there was a big chance of it so as you can imagine they were up bright and early sneaking a peek out of their windows.  They wanted to go outside before breakfast while there were 45 mph gusts...that's where I stepped in tried to postpone our outdoor fun.  We made it to 10am.  Then I released the beasts including the chocolate one first pictured.  Afterall, her breed does originate in the north, so she loves this cold wet weather.  Clare didn't last as long as Hayden and watched him through the window at times (ones that he would throw the snow at.)  Admittedly, it was not my style of snow playing today with the wind.  But I'll give it to him.  He was really excited and played outside for an hour in that wind with his dumptruck and bulldozer.  Afterwards, I started the fire and cuddled them up in their little chairs with a blanket and books.  I call it successful for our first snow but here's looking forward to some more.

Creating New Christmas Traditions

 This year has been fun to explore new things in the city we are living and we just scratched the surface since our kids are so young.  We kept a lot of things simple (and cheap this year)  This was a beautiful free place to go for Christmas and enjoyed the Mayor's Christmas Tree and watching ice skaters.  We looked at a gingerbread village created by the city's top chefs and the electric train running through it.  We topped it off at a diner that has electric trains deliver the food to your table from the kitchen.  We played on a large wooden Santa's toyland playground and listened to carolers.  We had a lot of fun and I think we'll try and go back each year expanding on the activities as they get older.   It was fun to have this new experience this year!

Miss Clare and her Big Girl Bed

 Clare is  more ready to grow up than I am ready to let her most of the time.  I imagine that I'll be fighting that forever with her.  But these are the moments when it pays off.  Like when you have new baby coming and need her crib.  So with 2 months to go, we decided it was time to give the separation and attachment some time, should it be an issue.  Not so much.  She was so excited about her bed.  She stays in it and only had two nap times where we had to establish not to get out once in bed.

 

2028 Olympics here we come

 Both the kiddos wrapped up the fall semester of gymnastics and both really enjoyed it.  Hayden's balance and agility has improved so much in the last few months.  Clare's brute strength and ability to ignore pain has the makings of a Kerri Strug (1996 Oympics...check out youtube if you are unfamiliar with the story).  But seriously, they both really enjoy it and they are worn out after it.  So it is well worth it to me.  The teachers they had this fall were fabulous and the kids adored them.  They were so into teaching the little ones.  I finally took the camera and got some pictures and video and am so glad I captured it.  It is so fleeting.