More Christmas Fun

We took the girls to see Santa last week.  We have chosen not to do the Santa thing and focus on Jesus and family during this time of year, but I still had to get a picture of Brooke in Santa's lap.  It was interesting trying to explain to Kayla and Macy that Santa isn't really going to deliver your presents, but he will probably ask you what he should bring.  Kayla really does understand, but when people ask her about Santa she just freezes up.  Macy doesn't really think about it one way or another, although when we were waiting to see Santa one of his helpers asked the girls what Santa always says.  Macy thought for a minute and replied. "Happy Thanksgiving!" Anyway, the first time we tried to see Santa we went on a day when school was cancelled.  Bad idea.  I wasn't about to wait an hour with 3 little girls just for a photo-op.  We tried again the next morning and only waited about 10 minutes. I'm so glad we did because I love this picture of Brooke.  Classic.

One COLD night we went to see Lights of Life.  Of course we parked next to the pony rides and of course Kayla had to ride one.  She is really loving horses these days.  She had a great time.

They fed the animals.

Macy decided right before we left that she wanted to ride a pony too.  She enjoyed it for a minute or two, but then decided she wanted OFF.

After we finally warmed up in the car we stopped for the usual "Hot To Go" Krispy Kreme doughnuts.  

 

 

 We had our second annual Christmas Eve brunch at our house this year.  Last year most everyone couldn't come due to work or sickness so it was a small crowd.  This year we had a house full and we were so glad that the Andersons were able to join our family gathering. Of course I forgot to take any pictures, but Marc did snap a few of me and the girls making some homemade cinnamon rolls.

Jack left his sunglasses over here and Kayla put them on Brooke.  She knew she was cute.

Christmas Pictures

3-year-old Prayers

Let me preface this by saying that Macy will thank Jesus for everything.  If she is praying for Jesus to heal her boo-boo she will thank Him for it. We've tried to explain how to ask for something in her prayer, but God understands her heart, so that is what matters.

Dinner blessing tonight: "Dear Jesus.  Thank you for Kayla, Macy, Mommy and Daddy's dinner.  Thank you for the exploding toilet. Amen"

Bedtime prayer: "Dear Jesus. Thank you for my food.  Thank you for my boo-boos and Kayla's boo-boos. And thank you for the exploding toilet. Amen"

(Our toilet wasn't flushing right this afternoon and Kayla asked if it was exploding.  She said that a toilet exploded at school and at church.  I told her it wasn't exploding, but apparently Macy still thinks that it is.)

Christmas Fun

This year I decided to start a new tradition.  I took all of our Christmas books (and we have a lot) and wrapped them up.  Each night the girls get to pick out a book, open it, and we read it before bed.  It took a little bit of time to wrap all of the books, but it is completely worth it. I do need to get a larger basket next year, though.

Every year the girls decorate a gingerbread house.  For the first time in a couple of years, I actually think more candy went on the house than in their mouths.

They probably would have liked to add more candy, but it was getting late and we had to get them in bed. 

Dance Parties

Macy had her dance party last week and they got to wear tutus to class.  They also did a candy cane craft, ate some yummy snacks, and performed a cute little dance. She was so excited that Brooke and I were able to come into her class and watch.

Kayla's class watched a movie while feasting on quite the spread of food. Someone even brought hot spinach and artichoke dip.  For a class of 5 year olds? I will say that I saw several parents enjoying some. After eating her class performed a ballet and a tap dance for the parents

Sweet Friends

Our girls LOVE the Andersons. They will do anything for some playtime with them.  It's amazing how quickly they will clean up their room and playroom when they know they get to see their buddies. Last week the kids came over to play for a few hours while their parents got some Christmas shopping done. I don't think we heard one argument the entire night.

Mark and Deidre say that Jack is a stinker, but we think he is the sweetest little boy. 

The girls went non-stop all evening.  They had a great time dressing up, but they didn't want me coming in the playroom and seeing them.  I stuck the camera in the door and managed to snap a few pictures.

We ended the evening with a snack and Christmas movie.

Christmas Singing

Kayla had two singing performances this month.  The first one was at our church.  She was so excited to sing on stage. The kindergartners sang two songs and were so precious.

The second performance was at her school.  The kids sang a lot of songs that they had learned throughout the year as well as a couple of Christmas songs.

Decorating for Christmas

I thought that the girls would really enjoy decorating the tree this year, and they did for a little while.  Then there were other, more entertaining things to do.

Brooke loved to look at the lights, but it took her days before she would willingly touch the branches. So far she hasn't tried to pull on the tree or ornaments.  I am sure it helps that the tree is not in the living room this year. 

The girls really enjoyed decorating the little tree in their room. 

And the first gift of the season are Christmas pajamas and a new ornament. Brooke really enjoyed pulling on the wrapping paper.

This years ornaments were ballet slippers.  

Thanksgiving

It is less than 2 weeks until Christmas and I am just getting around to posting about Thanksgiving.  I really didn't take too many pictures, but I want to document a couple of things. 

Once Kayla realized that she was strong enough to pick Brooke up, and once we realized that she wasn't going to hurt her, Kayla has LOVED picking Brooke up and moving her around the room.  Brooke usually thinks it is pretty fun too.

We had a lot of family in town and so we had Thanksgiving at our house.  There was SO MUCH FOOD. Oh my. The cousins all loved playing together too. 

The girls and I made these cute turkeys.  Ok, who am I kidding. Macy took very little interest in helping, Kayla helped, but it was mama that did most of the work.  I did, however, discover the deliciousness of cocoa rice krispie treats with peanut butter spread on it.  Really, you should try it.

After lunch some of the kids dressed up and put on a show for us.  

And of course I can't forget to mention that it was Brooke's first Thanksgiving.  I know we are so thankful that God blessed our family with another precious little girl.

I think the only thing she ended up eating was macaroni and cheese. 

Good Point!

Marc: "Kayla, what is your favorite candy?"

Kayla: "That one!" (pointing to a picture of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups)

Marc: "Why is that one your favorite?"

Kayla: "It has peaunt butter in it and peanut butter is healthy.  I like healthy candy."