Merry Christmas!

Christmas 2011
Andrew - 6 years old
Jonathan - 3 -1/2 years old
Hannah - 14 months old

A certain little someone decided to stop cooperating...

And then the sillies came out...

Merry Christmas!

A nice spring day

in the middle of December!

Andrew worked on an elaborate chalk road.

Hannah was just happy to be outside running around in the fresh air.

Jonathan practiced his soccer kicks.

He kicks...

waits for the score...

and the victory celebration!

We've been blessed with a mild December and took advantage of the 50 degree temps. They played hard and slept great that night!

Hannah antics

One night

a little girl, named Hannah

decided she needed some of daddy's dessert

and to ham it up for the camera,

and make a few phone calls

instead

of

going to bed.

"Hewwo? Yeah, I'm not tired either, but my parents are!"

Bowling Christmas Party

Keith's work party was at The Alley this year, a very kid-friendly place. The boys had never experienced bowling and thought this was the greatest thing ever! Especially since they had it set up as cosmic bowling, so much cooler than the normal, boring, keep-the-lights-on-style of long-ago days. And I wish I had had the opportunity to learn to bowl with bumpers. The boys both scored as high as Keith and I. Hannah thought it was cool too, but since we didn't want her to drop a bowling ball on her tiny foot, we kept her safely away from the action. I see more family bowling nights in our future!

Drama, Drama, Drama

Hannah has started a new bad habit - pouting and throwing a small fit. It's actually quite comical and completely ridiculous. She usually starts out in the A-frame position - feet and head on the floor.

This episode was especially dramatic and required her face to be hidden.

After her little fit, she flops over and lays on the floor with a little smirk. This will only be allowed for so long and then it won't be so funny for anyone anymore! But for now it's funny and I needed to catch it on film. I can't even remember what she wanted this time. I think it might have been my camera.

The beginning of a fit.

And a non-smiling girl for once. Nap time for sure!

I think Hannah may have learned some of her drama skills from her big brother:

Andrew: "I am never, ever going outside again! I'm like a bear. I'm hibernating. I can't go outside. I hate shoes! I quit socks!"

And I could go on and on with the ridiculous comments I heard when I told him to go play outside on a beautiful day. Obviously some children in my house believe that playing outside is a new form of punishment. *sigh* And after about 10 minutes of happy play, he came inside, fake sneezing and claiming he's allergic to grass.

Christmas Program at Church

Waiting for the program to start

Singing "Happy Birthday to Jesus"

"Away in the manger no crib for his bed.
The little Lord Jesus lay down his sweet head."

"The stars in the sky look down where he lay
The little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay.
Shhhhhhh....."

The 2s, 3s, PreK and Kindergarten Sunday School classes sang a couple of songs at the beginning of the service this week. The boys did great! They did all the motions and sang all the words. So proud of how big they are getting!

Oh Christmas Tree!

Hannah can hardly contain herself and the wonder that is the Christmas Tree. Notice that the bottom half of our tree is strangely empty. Well, not so strangely if you know Hannah! She's got her own method of decorating that is really more like destroying.

This year the boys helped put on 90 percent of the ornaments. Let's just say that this year's tree is not exactly how I would decorate, but it is decorated with love and that's all that matters. My OCD did kick in and I had to move several ornaments that were touching after they went to bed. And thanks to Hannah, I think the tree looks a little different every day. We are just hoping to keep it decorated until Christmas with a minimal loss of ornaments!