Friday, January 3, 2014

Christmas: Part II


We spent a week in Cape Haze this year for Christmas. As we were about to leave town we got a call from Papa telling us that their A/C was broken :| Really?! What kind of luck is that? That makes 3 times in 1 year with no A/C! Thankfully it wasn't too hot that night as a cool front was coming through AND they came to fix it the next morning (Christmas Eve). Yay!


Busia and Dziadzia stayed in Stuart for the first time this year and Uncle Andrew couldn't get home from NYC so it was a quiet house this year. Grandma also had to work every day (except Christmas) so it actually seemed a lot quieter this year. Not that Grandma is loud! The kids just get much more excited with her than they do for us ;) They were still fully entertained though! Connor and Papa setup the train, we baked cookies for Santa and the kids had lots of fun outdoors with their trikes and big wheel.




The kids actually slept in a little on Christmas morning not getting up until just after 8 am! That must have been their gift to us :) They hurried us downstairs to see if Santa had come. We stopped first at their full stockings which were hung on the stairs. Connor told Grandma to carry his because it was so heavy and then exclaimed with a pointed hand "To the tree!" We walked into the room and Connor and Addie's faces lit up. Addie ran to the empty cookie dish and said "He ate all the cookies! And he drank all the milk!" How cute are they?! We let them open their stockings and then had breakfast before opening gifts. 




 

Addie was really into it this year, ripping through her presents as quick as she could and helping others with theirs. We finished a couple of hours later, almost 1 pm if I recall correctly! Santa was very good to all of us this year, we have very much to be thankful for. And we were all healthy I might add, a nice bonus!!





Addie took a liking to one of Connor's toys - his giant Red Power Ranger! ;) She kept posing with him and asking us to take their picture.



The kids wanted to ride their new scooters so we went outside for the next couple of hours. We also had Facetime with Andrew and Ashley so they could see the kids open their gifts from them. 






My focus the following day was to potty train Addison. I never in a million years thought she would still be in diapers at this point since she is so advanced in everything else she does. We were outside almost the entire day in panties (and not much else). Much to my dismay it didn't do the trick. We had to go up for naps and after sitting on the potty (and not going) I slipped on a diaper and she went immediately. She knows what she is doing! She told me she just doesn't want to go pee pee in the potty. I certainly can't make her....so we wait. We have tried everything at this point. She will go when she is ready.


We attempted a gingerbread village one day but they didn't turn out so well. I thought a bunch of small ones would be more fun but it made it much harder. They had more fun eating it :) Back to 1 big house next year!


 

Grandma went in to work late on Friday so she could make gingerbread cookies with the kids. They love doing this with her and had been looking forward to it for weeks.




I tried to cut down on the number of photos but I had a hard time with that. I know there are a few of you out there that want to see them all, so click here if you're one of them :)

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!


Thursday, January 2, 2014

Bike Ride

 

Connor has gotten pretty good on his bike (as far as following the rules go, he is still in training wheels) so we decided to bike up to the park a few weekends ago. It is only .75 miles from our house and we only have to cross one main road.  Connor followed behind me (with Addie and Zoey in tow) and John was behind him making sure he stopped and looked both ways when he needed to. He did great!


The kids had fun at the park and Zoey was in a whole new world. We stayed for about an hour before heading back for lunch. Connor doesn't really nap anymore and more or less 'rests' when we make him but not that day. He was out like a light! 

Zoey rode in the back on our way home. I guess she bothered Addie a little too much :p
I got a new child carrier for Christmas that I'm dying to try out. The bike trailer has been fine but now that it is just Addie riding it will be much easier to get out and go with her on my bike. We haven't had great weather lately but hopefully I'll get an opportunity soon! I'm looking forward to many more bike rides with the kids.



Sunday, December 22, 2013

Ugly Sweater Christmas Party


We held our third annual Ugly Sweater Christmas party last weekend. We had a really good turnout this year with almost 30 of our closest friends in their tackiest attire! It's so fun when everyone participates and I think the sweaters get uglier every year! We also did our traditional White Elephant gift exchange which always brings a good laugh or two :)


Tim was this year's winner for the 'Ugliest Sweater' even though I don't think it was technically a 'sweater.' Hilarious either way and he may have even slept in it ;)







A special thanks to BeBe and Grandpa for babysitting the buckaroos again this year. After our Christmas exchange they took the kids with them to the Embassy Suites for the night. We couldn't have done it without them!

You can view all of our party pictures here.

Christmas: Part I


We celebrated Christmas with my parents last weekend. Our visit was a little short as we had to get ready for our ugly sweater party afterwards but it was a great visit nonetheless.







The kids loved their gifts. The favorites were their very own tablets! Crazy, I know, but at least now they will stop using mine :) So I was putting an app on Addie's tablet (per her request) and while looking over my shoulder she says, "Mommy, is it downloading?" I had to laugh but seriously...she is growing up way too fast! Of course, she likely learned it from us but still super cute to hear her say. That and her shouting "YESsss!" when she gets a strike on her bowling game.





You can view the rest of our pictures here. Thank you BeBe and Grandpa for a wonderful (early) Christmas! Stay tuned for Part II down in Cape Haze with John's family :)

~~ Happy Holidays! ~~