Merry Christmas!

We did a few more fun things the last few days before Christmas. We attended Lights at the Zoo and the weather was *amazing*. Last year I remember it being so cold I wasn't sure I wanted to bring Logan this year, but the temperature hovered right under 50 so it was perfect! That, of course, still didn't stop us from dressing our little man in a head-to-toe snowsuit that he couldn't move in.

The boys were instructed one day to give their Mama & Daddy special holiday back rubs. Eli completely ignored that activity and Colin gave Chris and I three-second, finger-tip rubs. Needless to say, I think that was their least favorite activity of the month. The boys wrapped their cousins' gifts one day and had a blast choosing the paper, tags, and bows that went with each. We made Christmas cookies one day and I have to admit that after years of making sugar cut-out cookies, I still can't get it right! My cookies always end up looking like bloated versions of what they should be and I have yet to make an icing recipe that I love. Thankfully the boys thought they were delicious and it was so fun watching their different personailities reflected in how they frosted the cookies.

We celebrated Christmas at Nana & Papa's house!

The boys have been enjoying their gifts...

On Christmas Eve we drove around our neighborhood to look at Christmas lights and read Twas the Night Before Christmas. The boys also opened their new Christmas jammies and had fun leaving a note and snack for Santa.

 

Of course Eli & Colin had a great time opening gifts this morning and reading Santa's letter! It looks like they were on the "nice" list this year.

Merry Christmas!

 

Continuing the Countdown 'til Christmas

Continuing our countdown until Christmas, here are those cards we finally finished.

I think they were definitely worth the wait. Colin gave his to his teachers and Eli made some for Nana & Papa and Grammy & Poppy.

On Day 13 we did a snowman craft.

On Day 14 I thought we needed a little more sugar in our lives so we made Rice Krispie treat Christmas trees. I really like what the M&M's do for the Rice Krispies!

On Day 15 we visited Santa at the Sylvania Historic Museum. We love going here. The wait is never long, you get to wait inside, and it's free! Plus the kids love looking at the Christmas decorations in all the different rooms and checking out the dollhouses upstairs. This is our first year with no tears. I think we might be back to tears once Logan is more aware next year!

On Day 16 we attended Colin's preschool Christmas program. It was so cute and it was amazing to see how much more confident he was this year compared to last year. He actually sang this year and recited the poems and prayers. He did the dance movements and even tried to get his classmates to participate more.

 Our little Wise Man

Day 17 was an epic fail - I might need to avoid the dollar section at Michael's next year. I bought water color ornaments for the boys to paint. Unfortunately, when you added water to the ornaments, the color dissipated instead of intensifying and the boys quickly lost interest.

Today we watched the movie Polar Express and ate popcorn. Just one more week to go!

25 Days of Christmas

The boys and I have been busy counting down the days until Christmas. This year our elves are leaving notes again in our advent calendar suggesting fun activities for us to do everyday. Day 1 was making a paper chain to help count down the days until Christmas. On Day 2 we decorated our windows with fun Christmas decals.

On Day 3 we went to a holiday party with the Toledo Parent's Group. Day 4 was dedicated to decorating our gingerbread house.

On Day 5, the boys wrote wish-lists to Santa by cutting out pictures of things they wanted from catalogs I've been saving over the past couple weeks. We then delivered them to a special Santa mailbox at Levis Commons.

On Day 6 we made a reindeer craft using their hand and foot-prints.

Day 7 found us playing with glitter while making paper cut-out snowflakes. The mess was so immense, I failed to remember to take pictures. On Day 8 we went to the library to read Christmas books. On Day 9 the boys colored in their Christmas coloring books and worked on trying to stay inside the lines. On Day 10 we bought socks together and donated them to Hannah's Socks. Finally, on Day 12 we started working on making Christmas cards for Colin's teachers, but someone (I confess, me) cut the cards too small so we'll be finishing those up today.

It's been busy but fun having something specific to do with the boys everyday and it's been a great reminder to focus on them instead of getting caught up in the chaos of the holiday season. I think I need to do something similar in January just because that month seems to last forever in these parts and I see us all getting a little stir crazy once the temperature starts dipping into the teens or lower everyday. 

Logan is 2 Months Old

At 2 months, Logan is becoming a very expressive baby. He's very happy most of the time and loves to get our attention by cooing and smiling, but when he's mad, the whole house knows it! He will turn his head to find his brothers whenever he hears their voices. He enjoys their antics to get him to smile and loves to watch them perform for him. He still hates his carseat and tummy-time but is starting to enjoy his swing and bouncy seat (thank goodness!). He is my biggest spitter of the three and if I don't have a burp cloth on my shoulder, I am guaranteed to get hit. Actually, even if I do have a burp cloth on my shoulder, I'm guaranteed to get spit-up on me at least once a day. Our little Logan has a tendency to aim anywhere the burp cloth is not and I've currently given up changing my shirt unless it's soaking wet, which doesn't happen as rarely as I wish. At his doctor appointment, little Logan weighed in at 11 lbs., 4 oz. and is 23 inches long. He's still in size 0-3 month clothes and size 1 diapers, but I think he'll be moving up in sizes by Christmas.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

First it started with the boys wanting to play Santa. They have the sleigh all hitched up for me to be their reindeer.

Then we decorated over Thanksgiving weekend. Colin and Eli were so excited to decorate the tree.

They haven't quite gotten down the concept of hanging the ornaments all over the entire tree. Thankfully they were OK with me spreading them out a little after they went to bed.

We're also doing the 25 Day of Christmas again this year, but I will not be blogging everyday about our activities. I hope to get some pics up soon though to show some of the projects we've worked on.

And just because I think he's cute...

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Happy Thanksgiving!

Bike Day!

Colin has had a fun-filled school year. They have had lots of special activities and events. One such event was bike day. The kids all got to bring in their bikes, tricycles, or scooters (and helmets, of course) and practiced bike and street-safety. At the end of the day, families were invited to join their student in the parking lot where the kids got to show off their new-learned skills.

Of course, the fun had to continue at home and Eli, not to be outdone by his older brother, decided that he was ready to graduate from a tricycle (which he barely pedaled on his own in the first place) to a big boy bike. Way to go buddy!

Logan is 1 Month Old

At 1-month, Logan is a very snuggly baby. He loves to be held and that's his preferred way of sleeping. Once we get him to sleep, however, he'll stay that way for awhile if he's well swaddled. He hates his swing and his carseat (how did I get so lucky to have 2 babies who hate their carseats?!?!) but loves the Baby Bjorn and his binkie. He's a great eater and is already up to 9 lbs., 10 oz. (almost 3 lbs. above his birth weight). He's in size 1 diapers and is just starting to fit into 0-3 month clothes. His brothers are still enamored by him and love to look at his eyes when he's awake and pat his head and give him kisses.