Santa came!

Santa came to our house on December 20 since we were out of town on the 25th.  I've learned that even though I would love to wake up at home on Christmas morning, the kids don't really care when Santa comes, as long as he comes!  We had originally planned on asking Santa to come to my parents house, but we made a last minute decision to do it at our house, so we weren't  really prepared with cookies and milk...

So, we left orange juice and an oatmeal cream pie - ha! Santa didn't care, because as you can see he ate some of it.  And the next morning, Ethan didn't seem to mind, either!

Hannah got a Barbie doctor/vet center this year.  She loved it! She's able to play doctor and give her baby dolls and toy pets baths and haircuts. 

Ethan got a train set.  So far, he's been way more concerned about getting the trailer detached from the train, which is not possible.

He loves his new "choo-choos" even though he gets frustrated that they don't come apart!

Hannah's face when she was opening her stocking was priceless.

It just reminded me of the joy as a kid on Christmas morning. Such a magical time of year!  So glad we got to celebrate together as a family, even it was a few days early! 

Family Pictures

Now that our Christmas cards have been delivered (and probably taken off display at some people's houses by now) I thought I would post some of my favorites.  

Ethan was not in a picture taking mood.  He was hungry and cold.  But, we managed to get a few sweet shots of him.

Hannah, on the other hand, was doing great.  She's at a great age that bribes actually work really well, so we told her she would get a special treat if she smiled big!

Below is one of my all time favorite pictures...

Hannah LOVES her daddy!

When we first got there Hannah found this dandelion, which she calls bubble flowers, and our photographer caught this sweet picture.

Oh, these two melt my heart. The really love each other so much. 

And I love this guy, SO much!!

I'm so thankful to the Lord for blessing me with each of these people.  Wes is the best dad and husband and my kids just melt my heart each day.  Sometimes I really do think I'm living a fairy tale - and it's not just because I have a little girl that wears princess dresses every day!

Something new

Today Hannah and I did something neither of us had ever done...

I bought this gingerbread kit yesterday and I knew Hannah would have a great time putting it all together.  We waited until Ethan was asleep, because he would have just made a huge mess and had a major sugar rush after eating all the candy from it. 

Hannah did so good and did most of it herself.  I help with some icing, but she stuck everything on it.

Caught licking off some icing!

This little girl loves anything arts and crafts and this was no exception.  She had a good time!

She was so proud of her finished product and she can't wait to show daddy when he gets home from work. Ours didn't quite turn out like the box, but I think ours is better because of the cute girl next to it. 

This will definitely be a new Christmas tradition...and maybe we will let brother join us next year! 

Visit with Santa

On Saturday we went to the Market shopping strip to see Santa. Hannah was not thrilled about the idea, and of course, Ethan had no idea.  We told Hannah that if she smiled good and told Santa what she wanted for Christmas we would get her a special treat.  She said she wanted cotton candy and I wasn't real sure where we were going to find that, but we agreed to find her some! 

At first, Hannah just wanted to stand by Santa.  She was doing really well, but Ethan on the other hand, was not wanting any part of it!

Hannah was doing so well that we convinced her that Santa was nice and she should sit on his lap and tell her what she wanted for Christmas.  I also thought that Ethan may do better if sister was right beside him. 

Ethan was still not a fan! It made for a funny picture, though!

After we took pictures with Santa we saw carriage rides and Hannah insisted we do one.  She was so excited and it made her feel like Cinderella.

Ethan had recovered from the Santa incident and he did so well on the carriage.  He loved just riding and looking around. 

Miss Hannah loving the carriage and not wanting to get off! Luckily, the carriage ride made her completely forget about the cotton candy she asked for!

And one last picture of Ethan with Santa, just for your enjoyment.

Poor guy!

Tree topper

I'm the youngest of 3 kids and when we were little, it was a HUGE deal to us to put the star on top of the tree.  Our dad would lift us up so we could reach the top to put the tree topper on.  Each year we took turns putting the top on and with 2 siblings, that meant we only got to do it every 3 years.  Well, the other night Hannah wanted to put the star on our tree (before we decorated any other part) and it was such a sweet thing to see.

A ton of memories flooded back to me as I saw Wes holding Hannah high up to reach the tree.  Next year will be Ethan's turn and I'm already excited to get a picture of Wes holding him up! 

Caught Ya!

Sweet kiddos

Ethan is such a ham these days.  He loves playing outside. It's definitely his happy place.  Hannah has always been infatuated with our light covers that line our flower bed.  She always takes the tops off and uses them as little plates.  Well, Ethan discovered these light covers a couple of weeks ago and thought they would make a nice hat. 

On Thanksgiving Day we were at my parents house this year.  My dad has built this amazing park for all the grandkids in their yard and the kids absolutely love playing in it.  Hannah looked so adorable on Thanksgiving and I was able to get her to look at me to snap this sweet picture.

I love the personalities behind these sweet pictures. 

Matching PJs

I would LOVE for my kids to match every day. It's so cute to me when they coordinate...but I've found that it's really hard to find coordinating outfits that I like for both Hannah and Ethan, so usually I just don't attempt to match them.  But, I really wanted them to having some matching pajamas for Christmas, so this is the best I could do.

They are the same pajamas, but one is girl colors and one is boy colors. 

I'm excited because this year they get to wear their cute pajamas to a couple of outings outside the house.  I love my little matching kiddos!

Underneath the Santa says "I've been good all year" - that's a little questionable for both of them  - ha! 

18 Months!

Ethan is 18 months today!  He weighs 20 pounds, 12 ounces (10%) and is 33 inches long (70%) - long and lean like his daddy!  Ethan wears size 3 diapers, size 4-5 shoe, 12 month tops and 9 month bottoms.  Bottoms are hard to find considering his weight and length...everything that fits in the waist is typically too short.  He drinks 2-3 whole milk sippy cups a day and rarely has juice.  You are getting more hair, but it's light and thin, so there isn't much styling we can do with it still.

These days, Ethan's favorite things to do inside are play with cars on racetracks, bother Hannah and ride his rocking horse.  Outside he enjoys climbing on walls (and falling off and nearly needing stitches) and running around trying to find dirt, rocks and bugs.  He's definitely all boy.  He loves balls and kicking and throwing them.  Currently you have a bruise on your forehead, a scratch on your nose and a scratch on your cheek appeared this afternoon. 

Ethan's eating habits are fair.  He usually chews on fruit and then spits it out. It's like he likes the flavor, but doesn't want to get full on fruit - ha! He loves hot dogs, chicken nuggets and grilled cheese.  Lately he's been calling everything a cheeto.  He likes yogurt, cereal bars, fig newtons, applesauce, pudding, goldfish, pretzels, oreos, pop tarts, donuts and raisins.  Those are our staples. 

Ethan seems to be getting a new tooth every week.  This has caused some glitches in  his sleep, but overall he's still a great sleeper.  Typically he sleeps 12 hours at night and takes 2-4 hours worth of naps a day.  He's starting to somewhat give up his morning nap, even though most days he still needs it.  He's absolutely, whole heartedly in LOVE with his pacifier and puppy lovey thing. We CAN NOT leave the house without these things or we are in for it. 

You play very well alone and I love peeking in on you playing by yourself.  You are constantly bringing me books to read you  and I love it! It's such a sweet time.  You also bring me toys all day long and I take them and your run off to get another.  I have a great toy collection by the end of the day. 

Your favorite word is no. I will ask you if you had a good nap and you will shake your head so big and say no.  It's actually really cute right now, but I know that will change soon!  Other common words you say: out, more, milk, puppy, ruff ruff, moo, tractor, outside, diaper, mater, paci, Hannah, mommy, daddy.  You can say all your cousins names, pawpaw, KK, Big B.  You probably have a vocabulary of about 50 words you same often, but you repeat ANYTHING! Out of those 50 words, other people can probably understand 5 of them - ha! 

Oh Ethan, what a joy you are. I can't believe we are half way to your second birthday. I know you are going to grow SO MUCH between now and then. You've definitely been the perfect fit to our little family and we are so thankful for you. You keep us laughing and smiling and you think you are so big!   You keep up well with the big kids, but you'll always be my baby! Love you, kid! 

A Princess Party and a Festival

This past weekend we went to London's 6th birthday party.  She had a la la loopsey theme and it was at a local hair salon and all the little girls got to get their hair, nails and makeup done....and a tatoo.  Hannah LOVED it!

After she had her hair and make up done I jumped forward about 15 years thinking about her getting dressed up for prom.  Hannah looked beautiful, but I'm definitely not ready for proms! She absolutely loved it and kept her hair fixed all weekend.  her hairdo was called the "flower hair" and she's asked me several times since the party to fix her hair in the "flower hair." 

Saturday morning we headed to the Syrup Festival about an hour away. It was great weather, but it was packed!! We still had a great time and the kids enjoyed it. 

Hannah loved the carousel.

Ethan especially loved his ice cream!

Ethan was konked out seconds after we left. I think he crashed from all the sugar.  He was also SO sticky we had to strip him down to his diaper. 

It's so fun making these memories with the kids, even if they are alot of work for mommy and daddy!

3 !/2

Hannah is 3 1/2 today!  It's crazy to think that we are already halfway to 4! Every year just creeps on me. Before I know it we are going to be sending her to college!

Hannah has such a sweet spirit. She's (typically) so kind and polite and uses good manners.  She's started saying "yes, ma'am" and "no sir" without prompting and she's also learning to chew her food with her mouth closed.  She always says thank you and you're welcome.  I'm really so proud of her.

In the past 6 months Hannah has grown up so much.  She talks different, plays different and even looks a little different.  Her hair has grown so much.  She's developed a huge opinion about what she wears each day and she always wants a dress.  With cooler weather I've forced pants on her, but it's not always easy.  Our conversations have turned into real conversations.  She's curious and asks "why" about everything.  Yes, we still talk about barbies and baby dolls most of the day, but we've also seen her really get what we mean when we talk about Jesus and the Holy Spirit. She says that Jesus lives in her heart and in heaven and that he created everything.  We have always tried our best to instill the love of Jesus in her and the fruits of our labor is starting to pay off.  She will often volunteer to pray at dinner when we have forgotten and she prays really sweet prayers at night for family and friends. She pretend plays all day and it's cute to hear her playing with all her dolls. She sounds just like me a lot of the time!

Her favorite things to do are crafts, coloring with markers, playing with little princesses, dressing up, reading books and playing outside.  She loves to ride her bike and swing.  She's still got a really good balance of girly and tom boy.

Hannah still isn't a vegetable eater.  She will eat raw carrots with ranch, but nothing else.  She loves pretty much all fruit, so we just try to give her as much as we can.  She got her mommy and daddy's genes and she LOVES chips.  Our family could go through an entire bag of chips in 2 minutes!

Hannah absolutely loves dancing and school.  She talks about these things all the time and gets so excited when it's a school or dancing day.  She is doing great in dancing and Aunt Jenn tells me that she's a great listener at school.  She recently told Aunt Jenn that she wanted to be a mommy when she grows up and that made my heart smile. I pray every day that Hannah can be blessed to be a mommy one day and that she will someday be able to stay at home with her babies like me. It's truly a blessing.

Hannah weighs just about 30 pounds and wears 3T clothes, mostly.  She can still fit in some 2T things, but I generally buy 3's so they will fit longer.  She wears a size 8 shoe. She loves to have her hair braided, but I'm not so good at that, so it's usually just in a pony tail!

Hannah Kate, I love you more today than the day you were born.  I never knew how great it was going to be to have a daughter. I love giggling with you, dressing up with you and being girly with you.  I love that you like having your nails painted and typically always want a bow in your hair.  You are so precious to me and I'm so proud of the little girl you are.  

Love you!

Mommy

Halloween Parade

Today at Hannah and Ethan's school they had a Halloween Parade and a Halloween party at lunch.  Parents were invited to attend the parade.  Hannah (Strawberry Shortcake) did SO GOOD and Aunt Jenn even had them do a little "5 little pumpkin" story and Hannah did so well.  Hannah's good buddy Judson is the shark in front of her. Precious!

Ethan (a monkey), on the other hand, was not having any part of it.  He was crying when they came in and after he saw me, if was all over!

Poor guy!

Andrew was the cutest little thing in his class as a sock monkey.  As they strolled the babies in everyone in the audience was commenting on his sock monkey costume. So cute!

Marley was a strawberry and Hannah kept calling her HER strawberry.

My newest little niece was a bumble bee.  Hannah and Marley have both been this bee the past two  years.  It was so sweet to see her all dressed up. She did so well during the parade, too.  She came out just twirling. Adorable!

And here's a picture of my two sweeties before Ethan decided to completely melt down.

Looking forward to more festivities tomorrow!