Christmas 2012

What a great Christmas! We kicked off our week-long Christmas last Saturday with the Sharp family party at Mom and Dad’s. Then we came home for a day to go to church, pack and go back to Mom and Dad’s on Monday (Christmas Eve). Christmas was extra special this year because Uncle Will was home! It was the first time we had all been together for Christmas in several years due to Will’s work schedule.

Christmas Eve started off with Henry’s second birthday party.

And then the sugar cookie decorating began… Henry was taking his nap so he missed out this year, but Jack really enjoyed decorating and he even won a coveted cookie ribbon. Hmmm… I wonder why he won since Grandma Pam was the judge?

After decorating we had a Mexican fiesta and then we were off to church. I tried to get a good picture of the boys all dressed up, but it didn’t happen. But I did get this one of Henry hugging Big Bear, my bear from when I was little. Christmas Eve service went fairly well overall. Highlights included Henry almost escaping under the pew and saying loudly, “no” and “under” when I was getting him up. He also discovered he loves Burts Beeswax chapstick. And poor Jack dropped his lit candle on the floor as soon as the hot wax dripped on his fingers.

After church the boys opened their Christmas Eve jammies and books.

Christmas morning was very, very exciting. They both loved opening presents this year and showing off for pictures.

On the 26th we headed to Lebanon for Christmas with Grandma Sue, Grandpa Bill, Aunt Lindsay, Uncle Anthony and cousin Luke. The boys love Luke a lot. He got lots of tickles, hugs and kisses every day. That evening Henry had his third birthday party and got to blow out candles again! I also stopped taking quite as many pictures, so unfortunately I don’t have as many to post.

The next morning we had our second Christmas and Henry helped Nathan with a scavenger hunt (clues written by the especially talented Grandma Sue!) to find his big present – a weed eater.

And Jack was so excited to open a pair of cowboy boots from Grandma and Grandpa.

Henry found a new love – a stuffed hippo from Aunt Lindsay and Uncle Anthony. He even said after his nap, “Don’t want Polar Bear ever. Want hippo.” Strong words that were quickly taken back.

That evening we went to Grandma Donna and Grandpa Dee’s house for the Lewis family Christmas, including a delicious meal and our annual White Elephant gift exchange. We got to see all our aunts, uncles and cousins and Jack especially liked playing Star Wars Angry Birds with Ryan. The next day we headed home after a wonderful Christmas week!

Henry’s 2nd Birthday

Henry turned two years old today. He started off the day opening his presents because his big present (a play kitchen) wasn’t really wrapped – it only had a sheet over it and we knew it wouldn’t last until after breakfast. After presents he sat down to a birthday breakfast of his pancakes. He definitely understood it was his birthday and was ready to blow out his candles.

Next we headed to the aquarium at Crown Center. He liked it and really wanted to climb on the exhibits and then run to the next one, yelling “Another fish.” Then we were off to Manny’s for a birthday lunch, where he got his own sombrero and blew out his second round of candles for the day.

For his birthday supper he had spaghetti. He’s been sick this week, so he hasn’t been eating much... But he ate every bite of his spaghetti. I guess he was just waiting for me to finally serve him his favorite food. Then it was time for cake! His favorite animal, by far, is polar bears. He sleeps with his polar bear and talks everyday about going to the zoo to see Nikita the polar bear. So he had to have a polar bear cake.

He seemed a little surprised when he saw the cake. And we forgot to wipe the spaghetti off his face so his chin looks a little red.

After supper, we interviewed him about his favorite things. You can watch the video here.

His answers in the video should not be trusted… here’s a list of his real favorite things:

Food – fruit, hummus, macaroni and cheese, anything sweet and warm milk (never cold, but warmed for 18 seconds in the microwave)

Toys – stuffed polar bear, books, Lightning McQueen car, outside four-wheeler, monkey backpack, zoo animals

Songs – Take Me Out to the Ballgame, He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands, Joy to the World, Happy Birthday

Books – Right now he prefers library books to his own books. He gets new ones every week at storytime and he always wants animal ones.

Things to do – run around and play with Jack, go down the stairs on his tummy, play outside, read books

People – Jack and Daddy. Often, his first words in the morning are, “Need Jack.”

He is such a sweet little guy. He is very laid back and rarely gets too upset about anything. However, he does hold his own with Jack. We could tell he was pretty sick this week because he was cranky, which is rare. He talks all the time and he thinks he’s pretty funny. He is such a blessing to us and we are so thankful for him. We love you Henry!

Snow Day!

We got our first snow of the year last night, so Jack's preschool was cancelled today. He was sad for about 5 seconds (because today should have been his Christmas program) and then he asked when he could go out and play in the snow. We were able to keep him inside until about 9 and then he couldn't stand it anymore. Despite the 27 degree temperature and very strong winds, he was ready. He stayed out about 30 minutes and claims he never got cold, which I kind of believe. He kept his scarf over his face the whole time so only his eyes were showing.



Henry was very sad the whole time Jack was outside. He was forced to sit at the window with Gingerbread Man and watch Jack, which in his opinion, was not fair.


Things started looking up for Henry when we decided to go out again around 10:30. He was very excited to get bundled up.


He lasted about 15 minutes and then he and I came in, while Jack stayed outside with Taylor and Cameryn. They had a blast eating snow, rolling around in the snow and playing freeze tag.

Daddy is Awesome

Nathan is the best dad in the world. And we don’t take pictures of he and the boys enough.

It’s Beginning to Look A lot Like Christmas

We’ve been busy this month getting ready for Christmas. I think the boys’ favorite Christmas activity so far is opening their chocolate Advent calendar each day. I got them each their own, so their would each have their own piece of candy every day. A couple of weeks ago we went with Grandma Pam to Union Station to see the model trains and also ride the Holiday Express Train. Then we ate lunch at Fritz’s and played outside at Crown Center on all the wooden cars and toys by the big Christmas tree. Henry fell face first onto the concrete getting out of one of the cars… I’m so thankful he didn’t knock his front teeth out. Luckily he was able to get his hands up to break his fall.

Last weekend, Grandma Sue and Grandpa Bill came up to hear Jack sing at church. He is quite the performer now and does a great job remembering the words to all of his songs. He was thrilled because his choir teachers gave each child a stuffed donkey as a Christmas gift. He named his Domino. On Saturday we decorated our first gingerbread house, and also decorated gingerbread cookies.

This morning Henry helped me make puppy chow to take to the neighbors while Nathan and Jack went Christmas shopping. He was a great helper, and discovered he loves chex, maybe even more than the puppy chow itself. Jack helped me deliver the goodies after lunch and he told one of the neighbors, “Merry Christmas. Here’s some dog chow for you.”

Santa

Tonight was our MOPS Santa night... we've never been before because Jack has never wanted to sit in his lap before. But tonight he did! And so did Henry, after he gave him a high five and checked him out for awhile.

She’ll Be Back

Henry has been a bit of a mommy's boy lately, especially when he wakes up in the morning. He’s pretty clingy and a bit grumpy while he wakes up. So when I dropped him off at Sunday School this morning I mentioned to his teacher that he might be a bit sad when I left. He usually doesn’t care at all when we leave. Well, turns out he was okay with me leaving. After I left he just looked at his teacher and said, “She’ll back back” and started playing.

Leaf Fun

Yesterday the weather was unseasonably warm and very windy, so we headed outside after nap to play in the leaves. One of the trees in our front yard just started losing its leaves a couple of days ago, so the ground was covered. While Henry slept, Jack and I raked them all into piles. Jack played a little while by himself and with our neighbor, and then Henry woke up and joined in the fun. They all had a great time. It was so fun to watch them and play with them. They thought it was great fun to make leaves rain on my head. They didn’t want to come in, but we had to because it was getting dark. I’m still finding leaves here and there in the house, despite trying to shake off outside.

Here’s Jack in action before Henry came out. You’ll notice he changed clothes because he got so hot from all the playing.

Where, Oh Where Did My Little Jack Go?

Jack is seeming so grown up to me lately. It's a bit strange to start seeing him as a bit more independent and having his little own world (at preschool) outside of our family. He talks about his friends at school a lot and is starting to learn some hard lessons about friendship. On Tuesday, he was kind of sad when I picked him up from school. He was quick to tell me that his best friend had hurt his feelings by stepping on his fingers. Then he went on to tell me the following:

"Mommy, I am very sorry to tell you this, but I am very angry at you."
Why?
"Because you didn't pack me enough food in my lunch."

He is showing his independence more these days. Yesterday, he got his water cup down and filled it up from the Brita pitcher in the fridge. Of course, he's not tall enough to see when it's full so it overflowed and soaked everything. But then we talked about how Mommy wasn't mad at the mess, because he was being independent and that is a good thing. So we filled it up again and then he was putting the lid on and it spilled everywhere again. He fought back his tears, but I could tell he was so disappointed he couldn't get it himself. Just a few minutes later he was making a telescope from a toilet paper roll and I asked him if he needed help and he replied, "No, I'm doing independent."

He is also turning into a great big brother for Henry. Last night, Nathan had to work late so I ate after the boys did. I told them when I sat down that I wanted them to play so I could eat. Henry didn't take this request to heart and stayed right by me and wanted to sit on my lap. Jack came in and led him away and I could hear him saying, "Buddy, mommy is focusing on her food right now. I'll play with you."

He is also great about reading to Henry. They play their own version of "I Spy," with Jack saying "Where is XX?" and then Henry finds it.


This morning they were playing ring around the rosie and Henry wanted to hug Jack. So they fell on the floor, with Henry laying on top of Jack hugging him and Jack says, "You can lay here forever if you want buddy."


Today he had school pictures and he looked so grown up. Here's a picture from a little over a year ago and there he is today.