The Twelve Pics of Christmas

Jon had to work on Christmas Eve & Christmas Day this year, so we celebrated at some other times and spread the fun over several days. 

Happy Birthday, Jesus!  How fun it was to celebrate our Savior's birth!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Christmas seems to be approaching extra quickly this year!  I'm almost ready.  The kids ages make it such a fun time of year.  

The kids have done their share of cookie decorating this season.  What a wonderful tradition (especially when it's done at the grandparents house and they bring home goodies for their mom to enjoy)!  My parents are mentors to some foreign exchange students, and Scott & Natalie decorated a gingerbread house and cookies with them.

They then spent the afternoon with Grammy making more cookies and visiting ANOTHER train exhibit.  I spent the time shopping so it was delightful.  :) 

Moreover, we received a cookie kit from a sweet friend and had fun decorating more cookies with our friends yesterday.  We are not short on cookies around this house, and I'm not complaining!

Random change of subject, but I must document Kate's love for roundabouts.  She knows that we go on two on our trip to Grammy's.  As soon as she spots it, she says, "Roundie...Bout" and once we complete it, she holds up 1 finger and repeats "one more" until we reach it.  I'm not sure who she loves going around roundabouts more with though.  Daddy puts an extra zing in it and makes it comparable to a mini-ride at Holiday World.   Mommy gets confused and sometimes does a double loop which makes for extra backseat delight.  Needless to say, whoever she is riding with, Kate knows that her "Roundie...Bout" experience will be a good one.

A basement in the making...

Jon was just issued a brand new police car that is the latest and greatest model.  The kids think it's the coolest thing ever.   

Thank you, Grandma, for some new, warm Christmas jammies!

Merry Christmas from the Goobers!

A Christmas Tradition

We were supposed to name a Christmas tradition during our fellowship at BSF this week.  I couldn't think of any great ones at the time, but the next day Jon's mom took us to a fun train exhibit downtown.  We've gone for several years in a row now...ta da...a Christmas tradition. 

Scott was counting down the days for this for awhile.  I found him searching through his closet the day before trying to find the "perfect shirt" to wear for the outing.  :) 

 The girls have been forced to become train enthusiasts, too. 

 We explored a few other areas of the museum this year, as well. 

 

  

 Thank you, Carol/Grammy, for a great time!

Where Did November Go?

I've been asked for a blog update.  So...this one's for you, Dad.  I told my Dad that I was going to update my blog when my sister-in-law updated her blog.  So...Maggie, this is your cue to update!:) 

Let's see...November...school, medal of bravery, sickness, building a new house, Old Maid, Thanksgiving, Monkey Joe's...you know...life.

Jon received the Medal of Bravery award in November for his involvement in a deadly situation this summer.  Natalie said, "I'm thankful we have such a brave Daddy."  :)

I was making cookies for a cookie exchange the other day and Scott tested one out.  He said with much disbelief in his voice, "They taste like they were made by someone who is excellent at making cookies!?!"       How could it be?  :)

Scott asked me for some "windex cards" last week. 

Kate is at a funny age.  Her new words make us all laugh.  A few times a week she wakes up in the morning saying, "E-I-E-I-O!" 

She's really fighting naps these days and last week was yelling "DOOOONE!" (in a polite, happy way) after a 5 minute crib session.  Yesterday I got a surprise when I was reading books with the older two during Kate's "nap" time.  We heard the screech of a door and then little footsteps marching down the hall.  She was so proud of herself as she boldly crawled up on the couch to join storytime.  I was hoping she would forget her new jumping-out-of-the-crib trick, but after a few minutes of being put down for a nap today, she was back out to party.  And so a new battle begins...

On a more positive note, Kate's wising up isn't all bad.  Yesterday, she watched a sibling go potty and then said, "TURN!  TURN!  TURN!"  I humored her by letting her sit on the toilet, and lo and behold, she took her turn and went potty too!!  YAY!!   Since then, she's done it 4 more times.  Potty training wasn't even on my radar yet.  Merry Christmas to me??!  Time will tell! 

For some reason, Kate has switched her "NO" to "NOT" lately.  I recall Natalie doing this, too.  

Do you want some apple?  "NOT!"
Did you have fun in the nursery?  "NOT!"
Are you ready to get out of the bath?  "NOT!"


The kids have been on an Old Maid kick lately.  They still don't have their poker faces mastered.  No matter how hard they try, you can always tell who is holding the Old Maid.  :) 

 

Natalie had hearts on her back pockets and wanted a picture of them.  Kate heard Natalie mention heart pockets and just had to check them out!

We're building a new home.  So far, we just have pictures of us standing in a field, but hopefully more developments on this in the coming months!:)  We drove by as the basement was being dug today.  Exciting!

Pumpkin Time

We took a wagon ride to the pumpkin patch one morning.  If Jon and I look a little tired, it's because we were!  It was early AND freezing!!!!! 

 GROSS!

 Jon always gets stuck with the dirty jobs.  :)

 Good work, Jon!  The kids think they have the best pumpkin ever. 

Not pumpkin related, but later this day, Kate got to go on her first miniature train ride at the park.  The kids were happy that she could ride now too.  Kate loved it and kept saying things like, "Choo-Choo!  Honk!  Fast!  Fast!" during the ride.