Merry Christmas with Grandpa and Grammy

We had Grammy and Grandpa live with us via Skype so they could watch the kiddos open their presents. Hannah was a little shy/overwhelmed so her tongue is out in almost every picture. *sigh*

The boys got the Imaginext dragon and ogre

Hannah got a portable Minnie Mouse karaoke machine. The flower is the microphone. Grammy bought this when she was in town visiting and Hannah was with us while we shopped. She would not let go of it the whole time we were in Target, and we had to be creative to get it away from her in the car. So, she was very happy to see this toy again!

And the Imaginext castle. To say they were excited is an understatement!

Hannah wasn't too sure what to think of the "roar!" She only felt safe when one of us was holding her.

The boys wasted no time getting the castle and all of its accessories set up.

Hannah chose to move her pet stroller upstairs away from the scary "roar."

At the end of the day, she finally decided the castle was OK as long as Daddy was nearby to protect her.

Merry Christmas from the Fleurys

Andrew and his new Angry Bird matchbox race track.

I'm sad this is blurry. Hannah was super excited about her new baby and had to take a bath with it that night.

Jonathan and his new Thomas train friends

Andrew has some trouble containing his excitement over his new Legos.

Jonathan in his Thomas dress-up clothes. How cute is this outfit?!
Thank you Fleury family for all of our wonderful Christmas presents!

Christmas presents from the Petersons

 

We let the kids open their presents from the Petersons a few days before Christmas. New books are always a hit, unless they are the dreaded Maze book. (Actual title: "Maze, Solve the World's Most Challenging Puzzle.")This book has caused so much stress for Andrew because it is virtually impossible to solve and that just doesn't fly with him. But on a plus side, it has kept him very busy and greatly improved his reading skills! The book Jonathan is holding is hilarious and we highly recommend it. "Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs" by Mo Willems

Thank you Peterson family!

A new tradition and Max

We introduced the kids to one of our favorite childhood Christmas movies, "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" in claymation. They loved it! (Please try to only focus on the children's happy faces and not my messy living room.)



And because three needy children just aren't enough, we also have a needy cat. I was minding my own business, doing some online shopping or Facebook stalking, and Max thought I needed a little help.

Jonathan's Preschool Christmas Program

Jonathan doing the motions - top row, third from the left.



The theme was, "Happy Birthday, Jesus."

Jonathan's program was on the first day of Andrew's Christmas break, so he was able to watch his little brother perform!

I didn't notice when I took their picture, but Jonathan is holding Hannah's hand. It might've been to keep her from running away, but it looks so cute!

Trouble also known as Hannah...

What happens when a certain 2 year old finds the fish food left out on the counter?

 

 

 

This happens.

At least she didn't feed poor Mr. Fish all this food.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Grandma and Grandpa giving the three youngest grands a ride.

Grandpa and the kiddos

Grandpa and the babies, who aren't really babies anymore!

Hannah was so scared at first, but once Buster got out of the way, we couldn't get her off the Ranger.

little helpers

Umm Hannah, the broom works best on the hardwood.

We had a very relaxing Thanksgiving. It was just us, mom and dad and the Eigstis. The cousins played hard all day and the weather was perfect for playing outside. Al and Dorothy stopped in for dinner and then we all went home and crashed. A great day spent with family!

Glashagel visit!

Jonathan (4), Zach (8), Andrew (7), and Jobe (6)

The Glashagel family was in town for Thanksgiving and came over to visit us. The boys hit it off immediately, and we were able to get them to hold still for about 2 seconds to take these pictures right before they had to leave. Please move back to Kansas so our boys can play together all the time!

Christmas Tree!

The boys were a big help in putting the ornaments on the tree.

Andrew hanging up his tractor ornament he got several years ago.

We started the decorating process while Hannah napped.

She was very happy to help redecorate when she woke up!

And of course, she used her stool to help her reach the out-of-reach ornaments.

Ruby was very happy to see the tree. I think she thought she was the princess of the forest.

Thanksgiving Preschool Party

 

Doing the turkey dance - so cute!

 

Praying for our Thanksgiving feast.

His buddy, Jackson, cheesin' for the camera.

Enjoying the feast of beef stew that all the kids helped make, a roll, fruit, cheese and crackers and a Capri Sun to drink, or as Jonathan calls them, "Summer Salts."

Spinning in a circle

Jonathan was one of the first to pick an activity from the turkeys tail behind him. If you look closely you can see he is jumping in the air. Everyone had a turn to pick an activity.

Mrs. M and Mrs. W, explaining that they each got to bring home a little turkey filled with M&Ms!
Such a fun Thanksgiving party!