Jingle all the Way!

Last week Andrew had his very first Christmas program at his school.  Actually, it was his very first program ever.  We were beyond excited about it.  He had been learning Jingle Bells at school and would come home singing it all the time.  His 2 year old class were the first to perform and they sang three songs.  They were too darn cute for words!

I was so nervous and excited all at the same time.  I would never have believed Andrew would have stood up there the whole time without running around or acting silly, but he did!  I was so proud of him!

 

For those of you thinking I must have found some pants that fit him?  Nope.  These are 24 month so the length is great but they are safety pinned! Lol!

 

This picture would have been awfully cute, if it wasn't for my big, colorful arm taking up half the picture!  My mom took this one- and happened to capture him smiling.  I was so mad I got in the way!  We made sure mom and I both brought our cameras and daddy had the video camera charged and ready to go!  We got there 40 minutes early to make sure we got a seat up front!  Some All of the other parents surely thought we were crazy, but I could have cared less!

 

It was just so much fun seeing Andrew perform with his little classmates.  This is one of the reasons I love that he goes to a day care center.  We don't really think of it as day care.  They have such a structured day, and Andrew comes home singing little songs (with actions!) and telling us new things every day.  Every day they have story time (which Andrew will now sit and listen to!) and then a craft that goes with the story.  He just loves school more and more and he talks about his teachers and friends all the time.  Everyone there genuinely loves and cares for the kids, and I feel so good knowing he is in such good hands every day.

 

This is Andrew's sweet little friend, Lilly (my best friend, Alissa's daughter).  I love that Lilly is at his school (in the preschool program) so she can check on Andrew for me!  Isn't she a doll?

 

This is Andrew saying "Cheese!"

This is a short video of Andrew's class singing Jingle Bells- it is so adorable! You'll notice Andrew is more fascinated with his jingle bells than with singing!  It is so funny because he knows every word to this song!  I think he was just overwhelmed with all the attention!  He was having fun though!  (Email readers have to click the link, it'll take you straight to it)- You can also pause the music at the bottom of the blog:

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

We have had a busy last weekend before Christmas!  My mom and I did some last minute shopping at the mall on Saturday and took Andrew with us because Craig had a school event.  Andrew was actually very good, considering the crowds and how long it took us to get around with a giant stroller full of bags!

 

This cracks me up- this was us on the way out of the mall.  Towards the end we had to take Andrew out of the stroller to make room for all the bags!  Doesn't it look like he's going to tip over??

 

Ga Ga got suckered into buying him an ice cream cone, which he devoured instead of his lunch!  That's what grandma's are for, right?  (At least, that's what my mom says! Ha!)

 

Andrew rode the train 3 times!  We just couldn't believe it, because this past Easter he had a fit when he rode this train.  He was scared of being closed in, but this time he loved it!  He'd keep saying "again?"  But when we showed him Santa he said "No, Santa...NOOOOOOOO!"  It was pretty funny.  What is it with little kids being scared of Santa?

Relaxing at Gymboree while Ga Ga and Mommy shopped!  Thank goodness for these TV's!  The person who thought of that idea was one strategic thinker!

 On Sunday we headed to the new Bass Pro Shop, which I thought Andrew would love.  They have such neat things to see, including a large amount of stuffed real animals, which freaked Andrew totally out.  I wanted to get a picture of him next to the big bear, but he was having no part of it ("No, Bear...NOOOOOOOO!")  That is his new phrase when he doesn't want something.  I think he thinks he needs to make sure we know he means NO so he says it twice!

He and daddy did have some fun though.  This isn't quite like Ralphie's Red Ryder, but close enough!
I didn't get any pictures of him with Santa.  Maybe the fact there were several large stuffed reindeer right beside his chair- or the fact that Andrew is still a little unsure of the big guy.  I was totally hoping to persuade him to sit on his lap- Bass Pro offers a free photo with Santa!  You can't beat that deal.  Oh well, so the day didn't turn out exactly as planned.  It was fun anyway!

After our trip to Bass Pro, our friends Kevin, Alissa and Lilly came over for pizza so the kids could exchange their Christmas gifts.

 

Lilly gave Andrew a fun Thomas bath toy!  He wanted to take a bath right then!

 

Can you tell the kids were thrilled with getting their pictures taken?  It was way past their bedtimes but they were still having fun playing and didn't want to be interrupted for a picture!

Well, it sounds like a bad winter storm is headed our way, just in time for Christmas travel.  We are thinking about loading up a few days early and heading to Ga Ga's, just to make sure we get there!  Luckily it is only about 20 miles away.  We hope all of you have safe travels and a very Merry Christmas!

The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with JOY!

~Psalm 126:3 

Christmas Celebrations Underway!

Just as I suspected, the days are flying by and Christmas is creeping up on me!!  I am a week behind in updates, along with about a million other things, when all I really want to do is sit back, relax and take in the real reason we celebrate Christmas.  Have you ever noticed how rushed and fast paced people are this time of year (me included!)?  My mom and I went shopping today (yes, with Andrew in tow!) and we could barely move around in the mall, stores, roads, etc.  We are exhausted, and feel like we've been going a million miles an hour.  School just got out on Friday and I've got one day down and only five more to go.

Last weekend we started our Christmas celebrations with Craig's side of the family.  We had a wonderful time!

We thought we'd attempt to get a photo of all the kids together, thinking it wouldn't happen, but they did really good!  Can I just comment on my kid's pants here?  We have looked literally everywhere for a pair of pants that fit him.  They are either too short, or too big around the waist.  These are 18 month pants, which are entirely too short, but anything 24 month/2T falls right off him!  We have some adjustable waist, but you can't always find them in the right size/color.  What a struggle!  Ha!

They were even good and posed again in front of the tree!  Andrew is really into cheesy smiling these days.  He'll say "cheese!" whenever the camera comes out.  I love it!  Here he is with cousins, Jayden and Evie (brother and sister), and Brooke and Jack (brother and sister).  Another little cousin is on the way in a couple months.  We can't wait to meet her!

 

Andrew got lots of nice gifts- and he had such fun opening them all!  This Christmas is going to be the most fun yet (and I've loved them all since he's been born!)

 With Grandma Huegel

 

This is one of his favorite gifts- an art easel.  He loves doing art at school.  His teacher says it is his favorite thing!  He's going to spend a lot of time at this easel, I just know it!

 

Uncle Keith and Auntie Darlene gave Andrew and Evie matching towels (sort of!)  They were so cute putting them on and staring at each other!

 

 

Andrew got really into opening gifts!  One right after the other!  We tried to take turns with all the kids so the adults could all watch them open, but it was so hard to get them to wait their "turn!"  They did pretty good though!  It was so much fun watching the joy on all their faces.

 

Andrew with Uncle Jeff playing with the tools he gave him.  We are so excited to meet Jeff and Lori Anne's baby girl soon!  They are going to make such good parents.  They love all their nieces and nephews so much.

 

Here is Andrew with his Great Aunt Joan (Craig's aunt).  Andrew just adores Joan.  She came to watch him last year for several days when I started work and we didn't have a sitter yet.  They had so much fun together.

 

This just cracked me up- Jayden and Andrew had matching pj's!  They looked so adorable and cuddly!

 

Andrew just loves all his cousins so much.  They have so much fun together, running around in circles in grandma and grandpa's basement and jumping on the beds!  Ha!  Whenever it is time to leave, they all go around giving each other hugs.  It is so precious.

Another week has already flown by.  I'm off to wrap more gifts!  Hopefully one of these nights I'll get a chance to just sit and relax and enjoy the sight of all the presents wrapped and under the sparkling Christmas tree! (Hey, I can dream, right?!)

Baby, It's SNOWY Outside!

There is just nothing I love more than being snowed in.  The timing couldn't have been more perfect- right before Christmas, I had tons of gifts to wrap and cookies to make.  I just didn't have the time...until the 14 feet of snow hit and school was canceled for 2 days!  It was like an extra weekend, stuck right in the middle of the week, right before Christmas.  We stayed in our jammies, and baked and wrapped and shoveled our hearts out!  And it was pure bliss!

 

No, we didn't make Andrew shovel!  He wanted to help daddy!

Yes, here is my hunky hubby and his favorite snow toy!  I swear he loves this snow blower more than anything!  He gets almost giddy when it snows enough for him to use it! Lol!

 

I couldn't believe all the snow!

 

Andrew's swingset was practically buried!

 

And this was me trying to open our front door with no success.  Yes, we were literally snowed in!

 

But we still went out to play!

 

 Does anyone else set up shop to wrap gifts right in the middle of the living room?  Craig loves it (not!) I literally spread out everything and insist on watching "A Christmas Story" over and over again until I am done wrapping!  The only thing I hadn't had a chance to stock up on was scotch tape...so when I ran out I had to cut apart our packaging tape since I couldn't venture out to the store!

 

Andrew's stocking is stuffed to the brim...

Then my little helper and I mixed up 4 batches of our family's famous sugar cookies (yes, we have something famous for almost every season! Ha!)  But you won't get the recipe for these (sorry!)...it's a family "secret" recipe that spans 5 generations!  And oh my they are YUMMY!!!!

Andrew got really into helping (and taste testing!) Ha!

 

He made a sweet little snowman design.  I love this picture with his little hands...

 

 

I was pretty much cookie-d out by this time!  There's still one batch in the oven and the counter across the kitchen was spread out with cookies, too!  There were over 150 of them!

 

Making these cookies is a tradition in our family.  I have wonderful memories of my mom and I doing this together when I was growing up.  I am so excited to continue the tradition for Andrew.

The decorating is the fun part!  I still have two more batches to decorate (yeah, this is more than a 2 day project!) but I had to decorate some to take to Craig's family's Christmas this past weekend.  We just got back tonight and I haven't uploaded pictures yet, but I'll have more to share soon... we had a wonderful time!

 

Here's my little cookie monster!

The snow is finally piled up and the roads are clear, but those 2 days off were the most enjoyable and fun and we were so grateful to get to all be home together as a family.  I love it that Craig and I both work at a school so we almost always get snowed in together!

And there's just nothing quite like a white Christmas!