Happy New Year

Our friends, the Kerns, invited us for their annual kid-friendly New Year's Party again.  We had a blast and so did the kids!  She prepared 3 crafts (hats, snowmen candle holder, and noise makers) so Hannah was in heaven!  At 8pm the kids scrambled out to the deck to pop bubble wrap and scream at the top of their lungs.  An extra little touch this year was the balloon drop (rigged in the trees by Justin and Melissa).  Thanks guys!  It was wonderful as always!

Uncle Aaron's Doppelganger

 Hannah just loved Uncle Aaron.  She had really warmed up to him by the last day!  She thought he looked just like Flynn Rider from the Disney movie Tangled.  They do have a striking resemblance!

December in New York

What a wonderful time we had in New York for Christmas!

 Hannah loved helping in the kitchen.  Here she is helping PaPa make pizza dough for the Coddington Christmas Eve dinner tradition. 

 Hannah was so happy to get a Rapunzel castle from Santa on Christmas morning!

 Hannah and Timmy had fun getting to know Great Uncle George (AKA "the nice man who sends me Target Gift Cards for my birthday" according to Hannah).

Timmy wasn't feeling so hot on Christmas Day.  He came down with a high fever (spiked at 103.5 in the evenings) and was so mellow.  His fever lasted about 4-5 days and the poor guy was just feeling crummy.  I kept waiting and waiting for a rash to appear because we suspected  Roseola.  Finally, on the day we were leaving, Timmy was covered in a lacy web of a rash all over her body, which confirmed what we thought.

Aunt Lisa knit this adorable sock monkey for Timmy.  It is soooo cute!  We will treasure it for years!!

 

 JuJu and PaPa took Hannah to the Strong Museum of Play with Krista and her grandparents, who attend the same church.  It sounds like the girls hit it off and had a blast playing together. 

Hannah always loves the pretend grocery store at the museum.  I noticed right away when I saw the pictures that Hannah's cart is filled with baby foods!  What a sweet big sister!

 We visited Mrs. Olsen, a long time family friend, to say "Merry Christmas."  Hannah painted a suncatcher for her and was so proud to give it away.

Great Grandma and Great Grandpa enjoyed getting to know the kids better, too. 

We had such a relaxing and fun time with our family.  We are so blessed!

Santa With Friends

Our 4th Annual visit to Santa with our church friends.  My how the group has grown!!!

Preschool Christmas Play

 Hannah was happy to participate in her Preschool's Christmas Play as a shepherd this year.  She held her staff proudly and it was darling to see the little ones acting out the Nativity.

Her class had a Christmas Celebration together.  We have been blessed to get to know many families through this preschool experience.  We have made some wonderful friends...hopefully lifelong!

Timmy's 11 Months

 Timmy is such a fun little addition to our family!  He keeps us moving and is almost always smiling. He loves to do whatever big sister, Hannah, is doing, especially if it gets a rise out of her.  I love hearing the two of them giggle together. I found this great idea for a ball pit on Pinterest.  Hannah wanted in on the action so I moved the balls to the pack 'n' play and they love to wrestle in there together.  Timmy holds his own against her brutality (I mean, pestering) and I think he's just about as strong as Hannah :)

Below we are at Castaway Cafe.  They added a little inflatable area for the little ones and Timmy had fun chilling and bouncing.  He's still cruising around, but hasn't taken any independent steps yet.  That's just fine by me!  I'm sure he'll walk when he's ready.

Timmy has a bunch of teeth now--SEVEN!  He has tell-tale signs when he is teething--drooling and a hard time sleeping at night.  A little Tylenol seems to help him a lot and he's enjoying his additional chomping abilities.  I got a nice bit on my finger this month when he was practicing using his new tools.

During mealtime Timmy loves to drop his food or cuppy on the floor and say "uh-oh!"  I've been trying to get it on video but he doesn't do things on command.

I also gave Timmy a bang trim this month.  I was getting so tired of strangers calling him a girl.  His locks are beautiful and I hated to cut them, but I think he looks a little more boyish with his hair out of his eyes.

Dancing Queen

 Hannah is still enjoying her dance classes.  She has a little friend named Olivia in her class.  I met her sweet mommy when I worked for the Hartland School District.  The girls love getting all dressed up in their leotards and have learned a lot about balance, hopping, skipping, and other gross motor skills.

On this particular evening, the teacher brought the girls to the stage for the first time.  They were amazed at the largeness of the room, but warmed up to the area quickly.  I am very pleased with this Dance Company!  We had a not-so-good experience with another place a few years ago, but this place has made up for it.  The instructor actually reminds me a lot of one of my best friends from high school, Brandi!

Cantata

Our church Christmas Cantata was this evening.  I tried to get Hannah's hair to curl back up a little but she wasn't too pleased.  I decided it wasn't worth it and took the curlers out almost as soon as I got them in.  I might get brave and go straight for the curling iron next time!

 This little girl just loves to sing!  She belted out "Sing Noel" and all of the other songs.  I was surprised at how well she knew the lyrics.

 Caleb was running the sound booth during the program and Timmy was still feeling pretty crummy.  Since I couldn't leave him in the nursery with a goopy nose and didn't want to miss the Cantata the two of us hung out in the narthex and watched through the window.  I think we actually had a better view than if we were in the sanctuary because I could stand up.

The music was a beautiful celebration of the coming birth of Jesus Christ.

Santa Visit

Today we visited Santa Claus at the Twelve Oaks Mall.  Hannah was so excited to sit on his lap and tell him what she wanted--a Rapunzel castle!  She loves the movie Tangled and hopes to grow her hair as long as Rapunzel.  Timmy wasn't feeling that great so I gave him a bit of Benadryl before our Santa visit.  I didn't want him snotting all over that red fluffy suit.  So, I guess that's why Timmy has that drugged look on his face...because he is!

Counting Our Blessings at Thanksgiving

 Grandma and Grandpa made the long trip from St.Louis to join us for Thanksgiving in Brighton this year.  Grandma put Hannah to work right away at making a pumpkin pie.

On Thanksgiving Day, we celebrated Christmas together.  It is so much fun to see the kids open the gifts with excitement.  Timmy mostly just ripped and ate paper, but Hannah's eyes lit up with glee each time she had a turn to open a present.

 Of course, Hannah spent a lot of time in her princess garb.  Grandma gave her a crown and tutu for Christmas and I don't think she took them off the whole day.

 Timmy loved his activity play table.  We're still trying to teach him what it's actually for.  Right now he prefers to use it more as a tool as he pushes it around the room to sturdy himself while he cruises.

 It is quickly becoming a family tradition to visit Huckleberry Railroad on opening night the day after Thanksgiving.  I think this our third year riding the train, walking around the quaint village, and marveling at the fireworks.  I think this year's fireworks was the best display I've seen in my entire life.  They were beautiful!  Hannah covered her ears, but didn't scream for cover like she did last year.

 The next day, Hannah and Aunt Lauren made their 2nd annual gingerbread house.

 Here's Hannah in another dress up!

 She even coerced Grandpa Pete into trying on a few dress ups!

What's that smell, Timmy?  Again?  Really?

 Grandma's enjoying her little rugrats.  Can't get enough snuggles with these two cuties!

Playtime with Grandpa Pete!

We had such a wonderful time!  It is so hard to say goodbye to family because there are normally several months between visits.  It's so hard living long distance from loved ones.  But we are thankful for the time we do have together.  It is so precious!

We are blessed!