We are thankful for so much, and continue to be blessed daily by good health, loving family, and caring friends. We spent Thanksgiving this year in Utah, and had a very low-key and relaxing day with just our immediate family. I cooked a turkey for the first time (and nobody got sick!) along with all the traditional yummy holiday food. Jason continues to work hard as Area Defense Council, and I am loving hanging out with the kiddos and constantly being challenged both mentally and physically as a mom.
Hope is thriving in her preschool and Max constantly makes us laugh with his funny expressions and robust personality. November was busy, but of course December even busier! Here are a few pics from the past 2 months.
Like father, like son
Hope had a Thanksgiving program at her school that parents were invited to. All the K4 kids are in the back singing as loud as they can, while the K3 girls are in the front silently participating. Hope’s hat wasn’t on tight enough, so she held it to her head the whole time they were up there.
I had some good friends over for dinner one night, and afterwards we ended up making some orange pomanders for fun. They are so easy and make the house smell like the holidays (thanks Dee and Jordana!).
Max loves to see the snow outside. It really hasn’t been too bad of a winter- yet.
The kids also like to watch Daddy shoveling snow off the driveway.
Here’s Hope in her Thanksgiving gear- her homemade pilgrim hat, an apron, and cozy turkey slippers! Oh, and of course what every Pilgrim wore- a dress up tutu.
Max has discovered a love for books. He constantly begs me to read to him, but here I caught him flipping through a fun read on his own. I wonder what he thinks as he reads? Right now he is into pictures of dogs and dinosaurs mainly, and of course food!
There he goes! Max is so proud of himself when he pushes his “mower” up and down the hall. He officially took his first steps on Dec. 11th, and he continues to build up his confidence since then.
I caught Hope “playing” with Max by giving him a hat to wear. She kept putting a mixing bowl on his head whether he wanted it or not. She can be so sweet to him, and then the next minute push him over and grab his toy. Luckily he is one tough little guy and so he has learned to growl at her in defense. It’s actually pretty funny to see.
This year Hope and Mommy decorated a gingerbread house together. She is holding up a bag of gumdrops that came with the kit (by the way, those houses are not as easy as they look to put together!).
She was very excited to have so much access to lots of candy.
I believe in this picture she was in a state of sugar shock. She had eaten pretty much all of the gumdrops and many many M&M’s- but we had a good time creating a colorful little house together!
I took the kids to a Festival of Trees and met up with a good friend of mine. Here is a Cookie Monster display that they really liked.
However, as with all outings with young kids, it’s never as easy as you think. Before the morning was over Max was fussy because he wanted out of the stroller and Hope was a little overwhelmed and tired. Overall a fun day, but we were all worn out after that one!
Max loves to crawl into the dishwasher any chance he gets. (He has also discovered toilets and the wonders of the toilet paper roll, but I won’t go into detail about that!) Here he is playing peek-a-boo, and for some reason he always puts one hand on top of his head. He loves that game and the attention he gets with it!
And here is the gingerbread house about a day and a half after we made it. Please notice the multicolored spots where candy used to be. It’s a wonder she didn’t chip a tooth trying to pry the M&M’s off the top!
It never stood a chance against a 3 year old with a sweet tooth!
We wish all of you a very Merry Christmas this year, and please let us know how you are as well!
I miss the kids so much. Please move to Georgia so we can play – all the time. I’ll drop out of hygiene school and be a full time Nanny!