Christmas Morning!

Since Hannah had a hard time going to sleep on Christmas Eve, she wasn't interested in waking early to open presents. We made the boys wait for a little bit then let them open their stockings before their little heads exploded.

The best part about the stockings was their reaction. We had some disagreements in our house about Santa. Andrew didn't believe and Jonathan did. One night when Keith was reading a Christmas book to the boys about Santa, Andrew asked Keith if Santa was real. Keith answered, "Sure." and kept reading. The next page showed a picture of a tired Santa resting after a long night of delivering toys to all the boys and girls in the world. Andrew looked at the page for a second before looking at Keith and saying, "Are you crazy?!"

"Santa" moved and filled their stockings.
Jonathan looked at the stockings and said, "I knew he would come!"

One of the best presents Santa put in the stockings were electric toothbrushes, a Thomas one for Jonathan and Captain America for Andrew. Such a big hit. Who knew?!

Andrew was very excited about his Angry Bird key chain from Santa.

He quickly decided to build an Angry Bird tower.

After a few more minutes, we let them open their presents from Santa. Andrew was in awe when he saw there were several presents wrapped differently from all the others and marked from Santa. (His mother came up with this plan to confuse and intrigue him.) He whispered in awe, "He really is real!" To which I would've laughed, but I was suffering from severe laryngitis and couldn't make any noise.

Santa brought them little tents and a light-up moon.

When Hannah finally woke up, the unwrapping began. New matching T-shirts for the boys and a dress for Hannah.

The boys each picked out a present for each other. Jonathan picked out little Legos for Andrew, and Andrew chose a Chuggington train for Jonathan.

A Little Einstein laptop for Jonathan

An ISpy Leapster game for Andrew

A Little People house for Hannah

A Lego race game for Andrew

Keith got a new remote-control helicopter.
Hannah had started to open this present, and I quickly took it from her before Keith could see what it was. But I wasn't quick enough to avoid the watchful eyes of the boys. I had Keith open it last and the boys came running back into the room right before he opened it and asked if he had opened the helicopter yet. Surprise gift ruined. Oh, well.

the aftermath

Jonathan playing with his new GeoTrax zoo.

Christmas morning dawned bright and beautiful. This was the first time in our 10 years of marriage that we had no place we had to be on Christmas day, and we just relaxed and enjoyed it. I woke up with no voice and it didn't get better as the day went on. I could literally only whisper, but otherwise I felt fine. The interesting part of not having a voice was that I sort of became invisible to my children. In their minds, if mommy can't talk, then she obviously can't hear us either and daddy will solve all our issues. This gave me more time to read a book on my new Kindle! This was literally the quietest Christmas we have ever experienced, but it was perfect!

Santa's Littlest Helper

After we got home Christmas Eve and got the kids, all but one, to bed, we dug out the presents for Christmas morning. A little girl thought that bedtime was optional since she took a little nap on the drive home from Hutch. She was getting into the Christmas spirit and thought she would get a jump on her brothers. But her mean parents put a stop to her fun, after they took her picture, and convinced her that sleep was crucial!

Christmas Eve

Hannah gingerly opening a gift.

Andrew got the fun game, Guess Who?, from the Eigstis

Andrew checking out his new Foosball Table game from Grandma and Grandpa.

Grandma helping Hannah open a gift.

New dishes for the big girl!

Aunt Sondra reading a new book to Hannah.

Jonathan testing out his new binoculars from Grandma and Grandpa

Hannah let Grandpa help her open her new baby doll. This was a big step for her. She's been kind of shy around grandpa lately.

Andrew, Luke and Aunt Sarah playing Guess Who?

Jonathan playing with his new Cars video coloring game from Luke and Adam.

He LOVED it!

Grandpa's surprise gift from Grandma - a new Henry gun. He was VERY surprised!

Grandpa and the babies - Adam wasn't too happy, and Hannah wasn't willing to have Grandpa only hold one baby. She was a little jealous!

We spent Christmas Eve day at Grandma and Grandpa's house. We usually just get together for the evening, but since it was a Saturday, we made a day of it! We had a yummy big lunch, quickly cleaned the dishes and then started opening presents. Everyone had a great time even though no one napped. And we were very tired.

The night before, Jonathan had started coughing and woke up late, around midnight, coughing and coughing. He finally coughed so hard that he threw up. We gave him some cough suppressant, took him outside to breathe in some cold winter air and put him back to bed. He woke up again, around 4 when the medicine wore off and again coughed until he threw up. This time the cough sounded like croup, so outside we went again. It was about 30 degrees, but I had my ND coat and Jonathan wrapped in a blanket. We looked at the moon and the stars for as long as we could stand the cold. He was such a brave little trooper. His cough still sounded horrible, so I dug in the medicine cabinet and found some leftover steroids from his last croup attack in October. So we gave him a dose, so water and a puke bucket and back to bed we all went. (Please note that I am a certified medical professional in the middle of the night and it's OK for me to drug my child as needed to sleep!) Ha!

In the morning, he had a mild, dry cough and no more croup sounding junk and no more puke! So we notified everyone that we were bringing germs and loaded up the car with kids and presents and had a great day even though we were tired!

Christmas gifts from the Fleurys

The boys eagerly opening their presents!

The Best.Gifts.Ever!

Several eves before Christmas, we opened our gifts from Uncle Dave, Auntie, Ben and Cate. Sadly, because we were having so much fun, we only took these 3 pictures. But, let me assure you, there was much excitement and happiness! Especially over these three darling shirts, which came with a Dr. Seuss book for each Thing. Thank you Fleurys! We love you and hope to spend a Christmas with you soon!

Christmas gifts from the Petersons

Getting ready to rip open some presents!

Legos!

Rescue Heroes!

Baby Stroller!

Thank you Petersons for some awesome presents! We loved everything and love starting our Christmas early with you! Maybe next year we can open presents in the same room...

Best Ever Molasses Ginger Cookies

Best Ever Molasses Ginger Cookies

2 1/2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. each salt, ginger, cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 c. butter, softened
1/4 c. Crisco
1 c. sugar
1 egg
1/4 c. light or original molasses
1/2 tsp. orange zest

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix dry ingredients in medium-sized bowl. In a large bowl, beat butter, Crisco, and 1 cup sugar. Add egg, molasses, and orange zest till light and fluffy, about 4-5 minutes. Add flour mixture till all combined and refrigerate 1 hour. Roll dough into 1-inch balls and roll in sugar. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
Makes about 5 dozen. (If you over bake it will be a harder cookie)

This is a new recipe I tried this Christmas! So yummy and not to sweet, so you can eat lots of these cute little cookies.

Christmas Letter 2011

Dear Family and Friends,

Well, it's true what they say, "Time really does fly," especially when you have three little people to keep up with! Here's a quick update of our lives.

Andrew turned 6 this summer and started Kindergarten, which he loves, we are officially old with a kid in school. After the first couple of days, I asked him what he likes most about school. His answer, "Riding the bus and recess." Such a boy. He also enjoys his Rockin' Readers group and has been trying to read books to us at night. Andrew also loves building with Legos and "screen time!"

Jonathan is 3 1/2 and goes to a Kid's Day Inn program one day a week. He loves it and calls it school. He had his adenoids removed and tubes put in his ears in November and is a different child since having this done. No more chronic sinus infections, and he sleeps through the night again! Jonathan loves trains, playing outside and coloring pictures. He and Andrew are co-conspirators and best buds, most of the time.

Hannah is now 14 months. I don't know how that happened so fast! She started running after her brothers at 10 1/2 months and hasn't slowed down since. She also thinks she is as big as the boys and wants to play with everything they have. She doesn't have many words yet, but we always seem to know what she wants!

Hannah is still a petite thing, but don't let her size fool you - she is mighty and capable of creating a giant mess. She's very busy and destructive, but is also a sweetie giving hugs complete with gentle, little love pats. She also has a girly side and will gently carry her baby dolls around the house. It's so fun to watch her little personality shine.

This summer we met Keith's family in Newport, RI for a fun week at the beach. The boys did not remember ever being at the ocean, and they LOVED it. Hannah did too! She even tasted the beach, which we did not recommend! They also loved playing with their cousins, Ben and Cate.

Keith is still staying very busy at work. He passed his EIT test this spring and is now studying to take his PE exam (Professional Engineer) this next spring. I stay busy keeping up with everyone's schedule and volunteering at church. I also try to keep track of everyone's latest antics on our blog: ayottefamily.blogspot.com

We are so thankful to call you friend and wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year.

Love,
Keith, Tanya, Andrew, Jonathan and Hannah