It's Beginning to Look Alot Like Christmas

After getting the outside finished, we all headed inside and started to decorate our tree.

 

Charlotte and I got the snickerdoodle cookies in the oven.

(Charlotte got her hair done when she went to the hair salon with Daddy. While he got his biweekly haircut, Kayla did her hair and made Charlotte look like a "pwincess".)

She loves to help cook!!

We brought all of our Christmas stuff upstairs. The kids were SUPER pumped to go through the bins.

The placing of the star..... the star from Walmart. We retired the disco ball that we used to put at the top. Now that we have kids and stuff, no more messing around :)

The kids were fighting over ornaments. Are we shocked? Probably not.

Sawyer decided to put the ornaments in his mouth. I mean, why not?

Daddy helping Goose put her ornaments on the tree.

 

Sawyer tried really hard to help hang ornaments.

 

 

This boy loves his Daddy.

I love this picture.

Oh Pujols.... you used to be the first ornament every year. Not so much now. Charlotte hung my infamous Pujols ornament this year.

 

Wrestling and playing.... our usual day.

After we got the tree decorated, we had hot chocolate (that I added way too much sugar to) and hot cookies.

 

Charlotte felt so grown up with a big girl cup.

Alex looks like a rough and tough dude here.

This boy enjoyed the cookies...

Their version of cheers.....

Cheers to Christmas!!!

 

 

Our day has been so much fun.... we have even more activities planned!!!!

 

To Be Continued....

Oh Christmas Tree....

On Tuesday December 3, we got up early and headed out to find our Christmas Tree.  It wasn't a very cold day but it was misty and gross out. Alex had a doctor's appt for his 15 month check up so we had to go somewhere kind of quick. We decided to head to Schaer's Country Market (well, it was pretty much a given we would get our tree there. I worked there back in college and my high school best friend's parents own it.)

 

Charlotte was so excited to pick out a tree....and she was so excited that we were buying it from Ella's Grandpa.

Alex always asks a bunch of questions about the process :) Sawyer was pretending to listen.

So excited about Christmas Tree day.

Sawyer really wanted to help pick out a tree.

Charlotte just loved running in between all of the trees.

We found our winner. It was shipped from Wisconsin or Minnesota or something like that.

Does he not just make you melt????

Ella's Grandpa (Big Gare) got us all set up and ready.

And the market kitty cat even came over to say hey. Once Morris was in the picture, Charlotte and Sawyer could have cared less about the tree.

After we got the tree, Alex and Charlotte headed home with it (they ran a few errands too and were responsible for getting the  outside lights put on the house.) Sawyer and I ran to the doctor's office. (Well first we had a date at Panera Bread then we headed to the doctor).  He hated it. He screamed the entire time that we were in there. I told the doctor about how he kind of limps when he walks (I just wanted her to document it and know in case she saw him still doing it when he is like 3 and that way she doesn't think I am negligent as a parent.) I told her that I think he limps or always has one leg bent while standing and I think that it is because he is bowlegged or maybe he has one leg shorter than the other. She doesn't like the idea of waiting to see if he grows out of it so she ordered a hip xray to be done. I'm sure he will love that....

 

After the doctor's office, we headed home to help Daddy and Goose.

 

What a dreary day...but at least it wasn't freezing out.

They were such good helpers.

Kids and ladders. They just can't resist standing on that ladder.

 

 

 Such a productive day so far (which is good because when I scheduled it in my head, I scheduled it jammed pack.) We have such an exciting Christmas season ahead of us!!!!!

 

Time to decorate that tree....

A Baptism and A Birthday!

On Sunday, December 1, 2013, I woke up feeling so much better and I was so glad that the stomach bug was out of my system. I got a bunch of sleep on that Saturday night and I was like a new person.

 

Mary and Chad decided to commit their lives to Christ and they both got baptized that day. They both wanted to be baptized prior to their sweet baby being born.

 

I was in the back of the chapel sitting by my parents and Chad's parents but I was still able to get a few good pictures once I cropped them.

 

I should have gone up and moved that microphone.

Mom and Dad and I all attended the Baptism. (I left Alex at home with both kids.)

Two of Mary's great friends from ISU and their significant others also attended the Baptism. They drove from Morton and Normal to attend. She is so lucky to have such great and supportive friends. (They are both SUPER nice and just really lovely girls.)

 

 

I left after I took this last picture. As I got to my car, I realized I didn't have my keys. I lost them. I have NO idea where they went. Chad's AMAZING mom and dad took me back to my house to get my keys and then drove me back to Eureka to get my car. They are such great people. (I am writing this at the end of April and the keys have NOT been found. Ever. I don't know where they are.)

 

When I got home we started our Christmas preparations. We got the Advent calendar/candy countdown out that Gigi had bought each kid.

 

How exciting!! A piece of chocolate EVERY DAY!!!

After supper and baths, we decided to go ahead and give Daddy his birthday presents. (Since I was so sick the night before, we didn't do a single thing for his birthday.)

We made him finger paintings.

Each kid was SO PROUD of what they had made him.

He is so pretty.

 

We also got out their Christmas trees for their room (From the Kohl's clearance rack from last year...$2 per tree.)

Those were a hit!!!

 

 

We had a great Sunday at home with the kids. The Christmas Season is beginning!