Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all our friends and family! We love you!

Christmas Gift

For Christmas Isaac and I gave each other TIME. Thanks to my mom who watched the kids while we got away to remember each other. We went out to a fancy dinner at Malone's. Thanks Paul for the awesome gift card that covered all of it. The food was amazing! Wow! Then we stay at a little BnB in Versailles, KY. It was nice and quiet night. Saturday though we really wanted to sleep in, the little monsters have us trained to wake up early, we had an early breakfast and then went to the bookstore to walk around. It is so different walking around without a screaming or fussy kid. It was nice. Then we went to the Mall to get an Aunte Anne's Pretzel I had been wanting. It was so good and worth the line. While I stood in line, Isaac got my ring cleaned and my battery in my favorite watch fixed. He is so awesome. I love seeing my ring sparkle. We then went to see The Tourist. It was a good movie. Afterwards we had lunch at the Smashing Tomato. Then we went to Kohl's. Isaac got pillows that were much needed. Then we headed home to the kids. They had a great time with Grandma. Simon didn't want to let go of her neck. Grandma made cookies and did crafts with the kids. They even slept in til 8am for her. We had a great time and so did the kids.

Weekend

We had a good weekend with the kids. On Saturday we went and got the kids' haircut. Simon did great. He looks like a handsome little boy. I am excited to see his eyes. Janna loves to get her hair cut. It is a little shorter than we asked but it looks so cute and starting to look more grown up. Last night before bed she was upset because she was afraid her teachers wouldn't recognize her. I assured her that just because her hair had changed they would still know her. We had lunch at Panera together as a family and both kids ate. Yeah. Then Simon and Isaac napped while Janna played on her computer games and I baked for their teachers. I made this...
http://bit.ly/dPsHD0
They were so easy and tasted great. I expected them to be harder but were so simple. I also made cookies too.
Sunday we had church and then the kids and I took very long much needed naps, while Isaac watched the Steelers. They won! Always making the afternoon better.
Sunday night we decided to do a "supernanny" technique to get Simon to eat a bit of chicken. After sitting at the kitchen table for 1hour 45 min he still refused to put the small piece in his mouth and choose to go to bed. He didn't get any playtime or video or story. Isaac says we lost because he still never ate the chicken but I think we got some credit for not giving in.

We are all looking forward to Christmas and time with family. Isaac and I are looking forward to our date night next weekend, our early Christmas present.

Snow

It was very cold for Christmas Downtown. Isaac and I had fun though!
Our first snowman!

Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving at Eric and Rachel's house this year. The food was delicious and there was a ton of it. It was great to be together as a family. We have a lot to be thankful for this year.

Ouch

Janna got her first "black eye" last night. Her and Simon were fighting over a toy and Simon head butted Janna and then the toy fell on her. It is swollen and bruised. She is so proud of it though. Simon does have a hard head.

First Bikes

Fun with Grandma and Grandpa

Grandpa and Simon going for a drive.
Decorating the cookies.

Pumpkin cookies
Spider Cake

No picture of oreo spider cookies but they were very good.

Pumpkin Carving

Oops I forgot to takes pictures of when they were finished. Janna helped scrap and cut the face out. After one look Simon was not interested in the pumpkin.

Old Halloween Pictures

Pictures from the Retreat!

Sweet Simon

Simon has been talking a lot more lately. I love hearing him. Janna was singing "Jesus loves me " in the car and Simon would say about every third word. He know the work Bible and will pull out the kids bible.

This morning was the sweetest though, as I was walking him into school, I gave him a big squeeze and said I love you. He replied " I love you too" and then smiled. I love my baby boy.

Family Retreat

Our church had a family retreat this past weekend at Aldergate. It was a good weekend overall. We got there Friday night and settled in to our cabin with our friends. Janna fell out of bed twice and coughed for awhile in the middle of the night but we did get some sleep. Saturday we had breakfast at the lodge with everyone. The we had game and dance time. Janna was really cute dancing, Simon even moved a little bit too. Then Isaac spoke for awhile, it didn't go as we thought. All the kids stayed and it was loud and distracting for him. We are just hoping that someone got something out of it. Then we had lunch. After lunch the kids and I took a nap and Isaac took a short one. Then we went out exploring. Janna and Simon loved the goats and chickens. We went to Banana Island and threw rocks. The kids had fun. Next we had dinner and then a campfire. Isaac did a very good devotion at the campfire. The kids loved the smores or at least the chocolate part. Then it was back to the cabin for bed. The adults stayed up and played games and chatted. Janna only fell out of bed once. Sunday morning I got the worse migraine of my life. I threw up four time and the whole day is a big blur. I do know that my awesome husband pack and unpacked all our stuff. Our friends helped with the kids. Once home and the migraine meds kicked in I was able to enjoy dinner with the family.
Overall it was a good weekend and we had fun with friends.

Creative Play

A couple weeks ago I was very impressed with Janna playing pretend. She pulled out her carousel that lights up when you move it. She put in it the dark hallway corner, then she got out some square plastic squeaky blocks, and Mr. Potato head parts. She put the eyes and ear and made them stick and the blocks marshmellows. Then she and Simon roasted marshmellows over the campfire(the carousel). They got blankets to sit on too. It was so cute to watch them play. She is very creative just like her Daddy.

Morning Conversations

I love some of the conversations Janna and I have in the morning. They make me smile the rest of the day. I don't like how she has been screaming and running after me when I drop her off all this week and the end of last week.

Here is our conversation from this morning:

J: mommy, is booger a bad word?
M: If you call someone booger to be mean then yes but if you are talking about what comes out of your nose no it isn’t a bad word.
J: But you and Daddy call me your little booger
M: yes we do we like to tease you because we love you and it makes you smile but if your friends don’t like it don’t call them booger
J: I don’t call them that anymore mommy
M: If you want mommy and daddy to stop calling you booger just tell us.
J: no mommy I like it she says with a big smile
----------------------------------------------------------------------
J: Halloween is over Mommy
M: yes
J: What is next?
M: Thanksgiving
J: yeah I like chicken
M: Sometime we have turkey
J: I like turkey too
M: we are going to Uncle Eric and Aunt Rachel’s House
J: If we have corn I will try it
M: we can have corn for you

Note: Last year Janna slept through dinner and just ate dessert, year before just ate bread, and year before that ate a whole bowl of corn. She has yet to have turkey/ chicken.

Swim Lessons

Janna is finished with her swim lessons. Out of 8 classes, we missed one and she refused to get during one, so in six classes she has made a great improvement. He will blow bubbles in the water, understands water safety, has learning how to use a kick board, and how to move her arms and feet. She was still recommended to stay in the pike classes. The age in this class are 3-5, so next fall her and Simon can be in the same class together. Here are some pictures of her swimming.

Ice Cream

One night long ago in September we went to Bruster for Ice Cream, well I got an ice cream shake from Zaxby's. Simon ate his first icecream cone. What a mess but he loved it. He somehow even got his shoes and legs covered in ice cream. Here are some pictures of the night.

Fall Festival at Daycare

The kids always have fun at the Fall Festival at the Daycare. Here are some pictures form last night. Janna was telling everyone she was snowwhite and Simon was cookie monster. She was so excited she barely stopped talking the whole night.

Craft Time with Daddy
Simon and Janna's favorite game!

Attempt at picture together!

Divine Corn Maze

We had a great time at Divine Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch. The signs getting there were very bad and "country" but we did find it after turning around multiple times.
We went with our church and got a group rate, the kids were free since they were four and under. It was only $7 for each of us, plus all four of us got a pumpkin. We went on a hayride to get the pumpkin, the kids rode behind a four-wheeling in a cow train ride, huge playground with slides the kids loved. The corn maze was huge. The kids one you didn't have to decide on turns and it was fun. The next one up Isaac wanted to try but you were to allow 20- 45 minutes and the kids were getting grumpy and tired. We had a picnic of peanut butter sandwiches and snacks too. We had a great afternoon!

I just read 16 things I have learned about being a mom. I loved this post. Check it out. Number 1 still has me laughing.

http://alphamom.com/parenting/16-things-i-have-learned-about-being-a-mother/

I love my Daddy

Simon was refusing to nap on Saturday, he just wanted his Daddy. So sweet!

Together

Art Time....they can get along...sometimes:)

Alabama

We got to go down to Alabama for our nephews' birthday this weekend. Mom and Dad came too. We had a great time with family. There was a party for Asher who turned 5 years old. A star wars theme party with Yoda Soda, Jedi Training School, Darth Vader Pinata, pin the gun on the storm trooper. Aaron and Christina did a great job putting together a fun filled party. Janna and Simon enjoyed the cake:) Judah had a small Elmo cake on Sunday after church. The kids helped him open his presents. They are renting a beautiful house and we are so thankful that we got to spend this time with them. The kids did well in the car with only a few loud moments. The portable DVD play was great! Thanks for the great time Aaron and Christina. We love you!

Cousins

Cousins minus Judah (1 years old) who was sleeping.

I just noticed that we now have a 5,4,3,2, and 1 year old!

Lunch with Simon

Two weekends ago I had a great lunch with Simon. We made funny faces at each other and giggled a lot. Yes he is still in his pajamas, but it was Saturday and he loves Elmo! Moments like this make the tantrums and fits all worth it.

I love you Simon!