La, la, la,la, la...

We had a day full of singing as Gavin had his preschool Christmas program this morning and a group of friends went to a local nursing home to sing carols and bring holiday cheer to the residents this afternoon.

Gavin was pretty adorable in his Christmas program. Knowing Gavin, I was actually betting Adam that he wasn't going to sing. I thought he would stand there, frozen with stage fright the entire performance. He really REALLY surprised me though. Not only did he sing, but he was doing the hand motions with enthusiasm! I was in shock, but it made my whole day to watch my sweet boy up there.

Go tell it on the mountain,
over the hills,

and everywhere!

Ring those bells...

and spin around...
What a proud proud mommy.My friends and I have made it a tradition to visit this nursing home each year at Christmas time. We have been practicing songs like Away in a manger, Must be Santa, Happy Birthday Jesus, and We wish you a merry Christmas. The kids sing together, then pass out cards and cookies.

The kids were enthralled with the fish tanks in the front room, probably because they were pretty sure a movie star (Nemo) happened to live there.


Really mommy? Another picture?

Some kids sang their little hearts out, others just stood there taking everything in, but watching the joy and smiles of their audience was priceless.

We made cards full of stickers and pictures, with their names written inside each one. Gavin and Jacob were proud to pass them out, along with the cookies. Gavin especially seemed drawn toward the grandpas, which I thought was particularly sweet because I was so close to my grandpa.



I loved watching the boys give in the spirit of Christmas and seeing how much joy they could bring other people.

The Santa parade

We went to the Santa parade in downtown Puyallup last Saturday night. We have never gone to this parade before, because we never really knew about it. My friend and I decided to go together and we fit all of our five kids, car seats and all, into her car.

To say that it was cold was an understatement. Our kids were bundled up from head to toe, with little red noses. ;) They loved it though and watched the entire parade without complaining about the weather at all.

My friend made hot chocolate for each of them... even a sippy of hot chocolate for Casey.

Unfortunately, we missed Santa Claus because Gavin had to go the bathroom... but we made it back just in time to see the lighting of the tree.

Sweet nothings...

Everytime Casey does something mischievous, Jacob thinks he is going to be BIG in trouble. So I always tell him it's OK, that Casey doesn't know any better. (Even though he is starting to know better. ;-) I walked into our bathroom only to find that Casey had pulled the entire roll of toilet paper onto the floor. Jacob happened to be in there at the time, so I jokingly asked him if he did it. He looked me right in the eye and said in his most serious voice, "No mommy. I know better."

The boys were sitting at the table eating lunch when Jacob asked Gavin what he wanted to be when he grew up. Gavin said he wanted to be a pirate, probably because he was a pirate for Halloween. Suddenly I heard, "Mooooommm, Gavin wants to be a pirate when he grows up! But there's no pirate school!" Then he turned back around and said matter-of-factly, "Gavin, pirates live too far away. Pick again."

Today Jacob woke up with a little bit of a cough. He was eating the chocolate out of his advent calendar and said, "Mommy, this chocolate cannot make me better. Only God can." Yeah for cute God realizations... love it. So I said, "You're right Jakey, God can make you feel better." Then all of a sudden he gasped and said, "Mommy, I need to pray to God so he knows I have the coughs!" Since we usually pray together at night, I told him he can pray to God anytime and anywhere. So he immediately folded his hands and said, "Dear God. Please heal me. Amen." And you know what? (I didn't realize this until now) He hasn't coughed again since.

Getting crafty

Now that Jacob is in Kindergarten, I'm realizing that the crafts I did in my first grade classroom are coming in handy. I'm actually not that crafty of a person, but these activities were super easy and fun.

We started on December 1st by making countdown chains. Each morning after they open up their calendar chocolate, they get to tear off a ring so we can count how many days there are until Christmas.

These gingerbread houses were a lot of fun! We just used a milk carton, graham crackers, frosting and LOTS of candy!

!

Jacob's gingerbread house. Note how evenly spaced and precise the candy is, which perfectly matches his little personality.
Gavin's gingerbread house, in contrast, matches his little personality. ;-)
Gavin kept sneaking candy off his gingerbread house throughout the day. When I asked Jacob if he wanted some, he said, "No mommy. I just love my gingerbread house too much."

Thanksgiving

We had a tri-fold Thanksgiving this year. We spent Thursday with my dad's side of the family, Friday with Adam's family, and Saturday with my mom's side of the family. Needless to say, we were well-fed and loved spending time with everyone. Most of all, I was so very thankful to have my husband home.

My most favorite boys in all of the world ;-)
Entertaining themselves as they wait for their food...

Say cheese, Auntie Kerri!



Casey happily exchanged his Thanksgiving feast for grilled cheese ;-)
Me and my Maddie girl ;-)
Cousins galore

At Adam's parents, the boys were more than excited to break out Santa Claus. As soon as I mentioned the word Christmas to Gavin (several weeks ago), he said, "And den I push da button!" and proceeded to show me how he bent down to push Santa's button last year. I can't believe he remembered that from when he was two!!

Daddy helped introduce Casey to the singing Santa
It's also a tradition to help Papa and GG set up their Christmas tree.
Of course, the cousins were even more enthralled with the cardboard box ;-)

15 months

Our little boy is growing up sooo fast. Here are some of the things he has been doing at fifteen months.

*Casey loves to stick out his tongue and loves it even more if we mimic him.

*He just learned how to drink out of a straw.

*His first sentence was "Hi dada!" as he twisted his little hand left and right to wave at him.

*When Casey gets full or chooses not to eat something, he puts it in the cup holder of his highchair tray. I guess this is his way of telling us he doesn't like something. ;) If he really doesn't like something (like the asparagus we had for dinner), he will immediately drop it out of his mouth and use his fingers to get the taste off his tongue. That is a pretty funny sight to see.

*Casey's personality is starting to come out more and more. It especially stands out when we go to the Little Gym because there are so many other toddlers his age. Some of them are clinging to their mommies with every ounce of energy, some like to play by themselves, some are scared to try new things. Casey has a strong sense of independence, and won't even look back to see if his mommy is nearby. He will take every opportunity to practice skills in front of everyone and loves to go around the circle, smiling and making eye contact with each adult.

*Casey is really beginning to love playing with his big brothers. He watches in awe to see how they interact with toys and immediately mimics them. He will laugh if Jacob and Gavin are doing something silly, which they totally eat up and act silly all the more.

*He just learned how to open doors and is so super proud of this feat.

*Casey will not let me do dishes without climbing inside and pulling everything out, so I usually try to unload and load the dishwasher when he is sleeping.

*He is soooo boy and even grunts... which cracks me up.

*I think we have another talker on our hands, as Casey will babble up a storm all day long. We have no idea what he is saying, but he does for sure! He will even match what he is babbling about with adorable facial expressions.

We are enjoying and soaking up every second of watching our little boy grow up!

Christmas is in the air

I know, I know... it's not even Thanksgiving yet. Adam is scheduled to leave for a ten day trip on Thanksgiving morning though, so we are pulling out the Christmas bins. That way, when he gets back, the only thing we'll need to make our home complete is our Christmas tree. ;)

Gavin found this bear in our Christmas bin this year and they have been inseparable ever since!


Adam was working hard last night to get up our Christmas lights.

Jacob decided to write out a letter to Santa for himself, Gavin and Casey. I love that he thought of his brothers and was worried that they weren't able to write yet. Then we plugged all of the information into a website and here was Santa's reply!

Merry Christmas Jacob!

Thank you for sending me your email all the way from Puyallup! Did you know that Puyallup is one of Mrs. Claus' favourite places? The other thing she really likes is to read all your wonderful emails. As a matter of fact, she was just asking if I had heard from you lately!

Oh! Oh! I think Santa forgot his hat in your letter (*wink*)!My goodness, Jacob! Are you really and truly 5 years old already?!? I'll bet you're really excited about Christmas! Everyone at the North Pole sure is! Are you looking forward to Santa Claus visiting your home? Rudolph said he's really excited about visiting your home! I also hear you've been a REALLY REALLY good boy. (Of course, you won't mind if I do a little checking, will you? HO!! Ho!! ho!!). I'm glad you mentioned the reindeer because they're all outside playing reindeer games right now. Did you know you can even vote for which reindeer will guide my sleigh this Christmas?

Let's see what you put in your letter for Christmas wishes: 1. monsters vs. aliens movie; 2. 550 piece penguin puzzle and; 3. mario brothers wii game. May all your Christmas wishes come true! Well, I have something to tell you about your Christmas presents. An elf is working hard on them right now! The elf's name is Clumsy. We really do love Clumsy (he really does make the best presents!) -- I just wish he'd be a little more, well, careful sometimes. I hope you won't be sad Jacob if I can't bring you everything you want because Clumsy the Elf really wants you to have a very Merry Christmas!

Oh! oh! The Grinch is trying to steal some of Mrs. Claus' cookies! That Grinch sure is funny. He may not like Christmas, but he sure likes those cookies! Well, I better go stop him before he snitches them all. Take care Jacob and don't forget to come back and visit me here at EmailSanta.com on Christmas Eve!! And remember... only 42 more sleeps until Christmas!!

With All My Heart,
Santa Claus

P.S. The reindeer say "Thank You!" for the nice treats! I hope you don't mind, but I had a bit of carrot and celery too. After all, even Santa eats his veggies!
What a nice surprise Gavin!

Thank you for sending me your email all the way from Puyallup! The Net sure is wonderful because now I can get emails from Puyallup and around the world in the blink of an eye. Even Rudolph gets emails... from pets! Why, here's Rudolph right now! HO!! Ho!! ho!! He just asked me to say 'Hi!' to you!

Oh! Oh! I think Santa forgot his hat in your letter (*wink*)!Well bless my whiskers, Gavin! I still remember bringing you your very first Christmas present and here you are 3 years old already! I hope you are getting excited about Christmas because I am really looking forward to visiting your home! Rudolph said he's really excited about visiting your home too! I also hear you've been a really good boy. (Of course, you won't mind if I do a little checking, will you? HO!! Ho!! ho!!).

Let's see what you put in your letter for Christmas wishes: 1. slinky dog; 2. scooby doo puzzle and; 3. toy story wii game. May all your Christmas wishes come true!Can I tell you a little secret? I love playing games on my Nintendo Wii -- reindeer games that is! HO!! Ho!! ho!! They are a lot of fun aren't they! I guess that's why so many good little boys and girls asked for the same thing as you! I just wish there was room in my sleigh to give everyone one.

Oops! I guess I shouldn't have had that last cookie because a button just popped right off my suit. I better go see if Mrs. Claus has any thread left! ho!! Ho!! HO!! Take care Gavin and don't forget to come back and visit me here at EmailSanta.com on Christmas Eve!! And remember... only 42 more sleeps until Christmas!!

BFF (Best Friends Forever :),

Santa Claus

***I'm glad Jacob didn't happen to notice the BFF part. ;-)***

Even though Casey wasn't able to express it, Jacob was pretty sure what he wanted for Christmas...
I also thought I would share this really cute book someone told me about. It has a story, verse, and craft idea for each day in December until Christmas. Love it.