Christmas 2008

We had such a wonderful Christmas this year! The whole family from my mom's side was here--Nannie and Paw Paw, Auntie and Uncle Pat, Christy, Adam, and Ashley. We did our own Christmas Eve service...performed by the cousins plus Hannah, including a "21st century Nativity!" We got some wonderful family portraits taken together. Adam, Christy, Christy's boyfriend Dustin, and I went snow-tubing at Cascade Mountain. And, of course, everyone got TONS of great presents! For example...I got a Wii, Hannah got a HUGE dollhouse and a bike, and Eli got many many baby toys. But, of course, the best part was everyone getting to be together--sharing stories, laughing (plenty of that!), playing games, reading books, and just BEING together.

Santa Visit

We took the kids to visit Santa yesterday! We went to Hilldale Mall (which, for those of you who don't know, has a FREE Santa--no photographer...just Santa in his chair--you get to take as many pictures as you want...and the mall isn't a crowded one, either--we didn't even have to wait in a line). Hannah got to sit with him by herself first, then both kids together. I hope she told him that she wants a bike!!! ;)

(P.S. if you haven't seen the next post down, you should check it out, too...)

Thankfulness...

I guess that it's during this time of year that you really start to think about how thankful you are for all the special people in your life. I think that sometimes I lose sight of the big picture...I am so incredibly lucky to have two such wonderful little children. My little Hannah, who is the most beautiful, loving, affectionate 5-year-old girl I've ever known. And my little Elijah...the most adorable, cuddly, happy little 5-month-old boy I've ever known. I am so thankful to have these two children. I made this little video to kindof remind myself of that...so I'll never lose sight of it. I hope you enjoy seeing it, too.

Christmas Portraits

We braved the slippery and snowy conditions on Monday afternoon/evening to get our Christmas portraits taken! (of course, if we hadn't, we might have been out of luck because, apparently, they're all booked up through Christmas!) As you'll see, the pictures we got are wonderful!!! We bought MANY pictures of MANY poses, so there are plenty to go around!! :)

Hannah's Birthday Party

Saturday was Hannah's big day! Her 5th birthday party. We had it at the Madison Children's Museum with 13 of her friends!! They all had a wonderful time together. It was a great place for a birthday party--low maintenance on the parents, and tons of running around and fun times for the kids. I didn't realize that Hannah had so many good friends at school, and they all really get along so well together! There is one little boy there who was a little "boyfriend" for Hannah--he never left her alone! He would hug her and practically tackle her when they played! I had heard her talk about him a few times, but never knew how much they really played together! I asked her about him after the party, and she said "I don't know...he just LOVES me!" Very cute. His name is Chayton, and he's the boy you see with her in the pictures. :)

Link to Pictures

This is just a short, quick post. I just wanted to post a link to our pictures from the California trip. So, here it is! http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2484357&l=4b0d5&id=8621722

Hannah's Birthday, Elijah Milestones

Things have been busy lately! Yesterday was Hannah's 5th birthday! I can't believe that she's five already. I think birthdays are as big a deal for parents as they are for kids--I can't believe that I've survived five years!!! LOL She had a wonderful birthday. She got some really fun presents (many princess ones, of course), and got to have cupcakes with pink frosting. (can you say "sugar high," friends?)

Elijah has also reached a couple milestones lately. While we were in California, he learned to blow raspberries...always a fun one. Thanks to that, he does it continuously, which leads to A LOT of drooling. But it is, of course, adorable, just like everything he does. He loves it when you do it back at him, too. Also, yesterday, his first tooth came in. Bottom right. We've been expecting it for a while, because he's been chewing on everything in sight (well, at least everything within reach!) He's also been doing great with eating oatmeal. He's having it for one meal a day now, and he actually eats it now without spitting much out. Once he reaches five months (in just a few days), we can move on to vegetables!! (and fruits, too...but veggies first) It'll be fun to see what he likes!