Christmas 2011

Finally got Ray to upload the Christmas photos for me. :) Here is our Christmas 2011 recap!

A couple of days before Christmas - we went downtown to the park and walked around the Christmas display.




Aiden and Daddy
(and the dog)










Emmy at the Nativity Scene










Christmas morning!








Luke, opening a present














My beautiful Emmy Santa







Luke and Emmy LOVED their giant cardboard boxes from Aunt Stevie and Uncle Dan. Luke got a rocket ship one, and Emmy got a cottage.




Aiden liked his new Lightning McQueen sippy cup :)






Emmy, excited about her new scooter she had asked for!










It was a great Christmas, and we have enjoyed our Christmas vacation. The kids go back to school tomorrow!

Snow and Getting Ready for Christmas!

We got some snow last week (which has since melted) and the kids got some good playtime outside. After so many years away from real winter weather, I am happy with the cold weather, and I wish it would snow more! I am hoping for a white Christmas, but the weather forecast doesn't look too promising.
We did go out and get our Christmas tree last week. We got a real tree - our first real tree in about 10 years. It is pretty and I love that pine smell! I have most of the shopping done, and I think we are ready for Christmas!




Yay for snow!














My 3 cuties














Making snow angels













Our beautiful tree! :)

Christmas Recap

Well, I finally have a chance to update. We had a great Christmas! Ray's family was here for a few days, which means we had a full, busy house. Of course Santa came, and the kids got oodles of awesome gifts from him and our family and friends. We ate well, relaxed, and even got to play in the snow - very rare for around here, especially for Christmas! Lots of photos to share....




Santa was here!














Christmas morning! Everyone gathering around to open stockings.








Emmy :)














Aiden, with his stocking goodies - socks, a car, mittens, and his first toothbrush!




Luke got a magnifying glass in his stocking. :)









Opening gifts















Luke and Emmy with their cousin, Sophia








Luke with his new Thomas stuff








Aiden loved his new Cozy Coupe








My handsome husband with his new guitar









Me and Aiden :)











My parents, sister and me









Aiden, attacking Grandpa











Pretty Sophia








Cutie Lukey











My Grandma and Grandpa with the kiddos









Our family of 5!














Snow! Emmy loved it and couldn't wait to get outside! Pooky did not - he thought it was too cold.





My snow princess











Our Winter Wonderland










We are ready for 2011!! (which is a good thing since it is already here!)

Holiday Fun!

We have had lots of fun this month getting ready for the holidays! The first weekend of the month is our town's annual Christmas parade. The kiddos loved it!


Can you see anything coming yet??










Fire Truck :)








Watching the marching band










Cute Aiden, and big brother Luke too









Pretty Emmy









Daddy and Aiden :)










We also spent an evening at the zoo to see their Lights at the Zoo. It was freezing cold! We bundled up, got to see Santa, did a quick look at the pretty lights, and headed back to the car for some hot chocolate. The kids were excited to see Santa. Emmy was great, hopped right up on his lap, told him what she wanted. Luke thought he was ready.... until it was actually time for him to go up there, and he freaked out. :) It did make for some amusing photos though.

Catching up a bit...

Well, the holidays are over, we have had a great couple of weeks - enjoying our new little guy and having fun with friends and family. We had a nice Christmas. The kids were spoiled rotten. We spent the morning at home. Ray's mom and sister were here, which was great. In the afternoon, we headed over to my parents' house for dinner. Baby Gummy is still a great baby - sleeping and eating well, rarely fussy - so far, so good.
Emmy goes back to school on Monday, which even though she is a big help, I think she is ready to go back. Ray's mom is staying with us for a couple more weeks, and I am still doing daycare for now - giving it time to see if I can handle all of these kids.
That's it for now - my parents and family friends are headed over this afternoon, and Ray is cooking up a large chunk of meat for dinner... but we are all here, doing well, happy to be a family of 5. :)

Still Pregnant...

Well, I am 39 weeks, 3 days, and still pregnant and miserable. I have one last check at my OB tomorrow morning, then I am scheduled to be induced on Friday - so at this point, it is looking like that is how it is going to go. I may be absent for a bit (although I think I still have one scheduled post coming up), so Merry Christmas everyone! I will try to at least post a quick birth announcement next week! :)

Yep, it is still funny this year....

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Holiday Fun

Last night, we all headed over to a nearby neighborhood holiday lights display. Santa was there, along with hay rides, the movie Elf playing on a big screen, popcorn, and tons of beautiful Christmas lights.... Both kids sat in Santa's lap together and cooperate wonderfully. Emmy told him that she wanted a Webkinz unicorn, and Pooky wanted cars and trucks (shocking, but true!). We all had a good time, and my kids are so stinkin cute in their winter gear. :)

Elves

We are a Santa house. I love the idea of Santa and have fantastic memories of Christmas as a child. And now with kids old enough to "get" it, this time of year is just awesome! And now with Thanksgiving over, I am ready!!

When Ray was little, his mom used to tell him and his sisters that she would occasionally see elves peeking in the windows around Christmastime, and they had better be good so the elves didn't catch them being naughty and tell Santa. Cute, right? Ray mentioned something to Emmy on Thanksgiving about elves in our windows, and her eyes got really wide, and she was fascinated. She has been talking about the elves since then, and she swears that she saw one last night peeking in the dining room window just before bed last night.

Well, this would be great, except for now, Pooky is freaked out. Terrified of the elves looking in. He keeps asking me things like, "The elves don't come inside, do they?" and "Are the elves going to knock over the Christmas tree?" (not sure why that was so concerning to him). I had to tell Emmy this morning not to talk about the elves anymore, and if she saw one, to just tell me or Daddy, so Pooky didn't get scared....

He seems a bit better about it today, but I guess I understand... if little dudes with weird hats and pointy ears were looking in my windows, I would be scared too...













P.S. Photo credit to my husband, Ray, of course, because he takes most of our photos because I am a lousy photographer. So, in the future, just assume that all photos on my blog are taken by him, ok? (Is this good enough, Ray?) :)

Christmas 2008

It has been a really nice week! Christmas for our family was fun, not too crazy or hectic, but it was actually fairly relaxing and enjoyable, like it should be! This year was the very first year that we had Christmas morning by ourselves and not with our extended families. And although we love our families and we miss our family in Michigan, it was nice to have a quiet morning. My parents and sister did come over later in the day, but overall it was just a fun day and the kids had a blast too.
We all got some wonderful gifts. Among other things, I got my new stainless steel pots and pans that I desperately wanted and needed, along with a beautiful bench for my entryway - thanks Mom and Dad! The kids received way too many toys, as well as some clothes and other things they needed.
The rest of the long weekend was more of the same - we didn't do much and I loved it that way!





Santa came!

















Opening all those presents....













Bob the Builder slippers!


















Emmy sporting her new bathrobe, new roller skates and knee pads.
















Giant Incredible Hulk gloves!