It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!

Happy Holidays!  It seems the minute we came home from Georgia, the holiday spirit fell upon us.  Our first stop was to the tree farm.  It is a Clark Griswald style tradition for us to load up the family and head to the endless rows of green to find "the one."  Cooper and I ho-hummed about what we should do first...tractor ride to the tree area, Santa Claus visit, living nativity scene or hot cocoa and popcorn.  As predicted, the John Deere tractor ride trumped all other activities this day. 

 Nothing like a crabby Cooper to get you in the spirit.  Fortunately, he pulled himself together for a few moments....

I found the perfect tree, a little small, but probably easy to decorate.  My evil twin had to copy my smart problem-solving abilities and found a "branch" that he wanted for a tree.

 Next stop at the tree farm... Mr. and Mrs. Claus' house.  I was THRILLED to tell Santa that I wanted "MY OWN SNOWMOBILE!"  Santa gave my Daddy and Mommy a concerned look, not sure what that meant?

Cooper couldn't quite get any words out because he was trembling in fear.  I guess that means Santa won't bring him anything this year.

The live nativity is a neat little petting zoo area.  We made a quick stop there to feed the animals.  As usual, I liked the goats the best...silly creatures!

The following weekend, while Mommy prepared for her cookie exchange, Daddy and I went to my preschool for the Angel breakfast.  I was able to bring one "angel" to school for special activities and a yummy breakfast.  It was nice to have Daddy all to myself.  Mommy told me that she gets to go next year, sorry Dad.

 That evening, our town hosts a Christmas Wonderland Parade.  It was like we were in a snow globe while watching the parade.  The snow poured down while we watched the parade go by.  It was sooooo pretty, despite that we got soaking wet!  Santa made a guest appearance at the end of the parade.  He seemed to recognize me from the tree farm because he gave me a big wave as he went by.

Chloe came to the parade along with a few other of Mommy/Daddy's friends and children.  We did a good job of sharing all of our wet candy.

 Here come a few random photos from the past two weeks.  Since Jenny loves to stay busy with us, she decided to have an indoor picnic for lunch one day.  We LOVED the picnic and it must have been one great trick as we ate everything up on our plates that day.  Thanks Jenny!

Mommy heard lots of giggling one morning and she found Cooper and I having fun with Q-tips.  She is thankful we didn't rupture anything in our ears that day and was reminded that the simplest things around home make the best toys.  Notice my mismatched jammies???  I now insist on going to bed at night without a diaper.  I am about 75% successful with staying dry, but not this morning obviously. I also strive to be independent and if I have an accident, I stand on my chair, get new undies and find new jammy pants all by myself and in the dark.  My parents can tell in one glance the next morning how the night went.

One day, I hollered for Mommy to come help while I was in the bathroom.  I told her to put "PEOPLE" away and please get me the "church magazine."  She is second guessing the notion that boys are low maintenance. 

We went to Papa's and Grandma Sharon's to celebrate Christmas with them.  They booked a trip to Cabo in December and will spend Christmas in Indiana (Grandma Sharon's house).  So, we headed to the cities for a Christmas lunch and gift opening.

 We couldn't wait to find out what the grand finale gift was.... a JOHN DEERE GATOR! 

Cooper and I hoped and dreamed that the Gator was actually inside of this box.  Papa and Grandma Sharon must have known that we fight like brothers should over the John Deere tractor trailer in the garage.  We now have a two-seater which means I get to drive, Cooper gets to sit, and if I get tired of him, all I need to do is make one sharp turn.

 Cousins Lexi and Sam received motorized Razors, so I am thinking we can trade when we need a change of scenery.

 I couldn't WAIT to get my hands on that steering wheel.  After 24 hours of charging the new battery, we took it for a spin, literally.  The tires spun and spun and spun.  Whoever makes these toys doesn't factor in snow and ice.  Maybe Daddy can make chains for the tires?

 It was a bit sad for our family this year as we decorated our tree with the many beautiful Swarovski ornaments from Great-Grandpa Jim.  Grandpa passed away in August this year and he is dearly missed.  Our tree is most beautiful at night when the ornaments sparkle and remind us that Grandpa Jim was a true light in our lives.  To carry on the tradition, Papa gave us this year's Swarovski ornament (above) along with a few smaller ones for our tree.  Here are a few of our favorites from Grandpa from years past....

This one is not a Swarovski, but is a Waterford Bears collection that Grandpa Jim gave me when I was still in Mommy's tummy.

Here are the stockings all hung on the fireplace ready to be filled.  Our house is decorated, goodies are baked, most presents are purchased, lights are on the outside of the house.... we love this time of the year!

My preschool had a Christmas Program this week and I just couldn't wait to sing my little heart out... at home that is.  During the program, I occasionally did motions (we do a lot of sign language with our music) always clapped for myself at the end of each song (just like the audience) and mostly stood up there with a very serious expression.  My parents loved how all of us 3 year olds did our "own thing" during the sing.  They will never forget this cute day.  Mommy worried that maybe I didn't listen when my teacher taught the songs,until I opened my mouth and sang all of the words to Away in a Manger that night at home.  My parents just don't understand that not everyone in this world has a Type A personality.

 Our last event was this past weekend.  Grammy Lois' side of the family gathers for a weekend at a hotel to celebrate Christmas.  They always choose a waterpark and we went to a great one this weekend!  There are tons of kids to play with.  Here I am with Wyatt (above) who likes to drink Hawaiian punch and was a good buddy of mine all weekend.

 And this is Anna, who is 5 months older than Cooper and also uses a pacifier.  Anna looks like little Cindy Lou Who but she is the youngest of 5 girls (yes, 5 girls), so she can hold her own.  Cooper snuck a quick grab at her doll, can you see his expression?!?!?!  How great is that :)

 Now, this is more like it... John Deere cultivator!  We opened gifts from the exchange and then Santa made a very special guest appearance.  He gave me a Nerf basketball hoop for the door and he gave Cooper some blocks.  I love talking to this guy!

Cooper does not love this guy, but he doesn't realize the true benefits of Santa yet.  He shook in fear, but pulled himself together to give Santa a high-five, followed by some traumatized expressions and a final wave goodbye.  Little does he know that Mommy is hitting the mall Santa this week, poor Cooper.

 My favorite part of the hotel was the elevator.  My parents gave each other worried expressions since I became "stuck" on the whole elevator concept.  I asked if I could ride it?  Push buttons? Does it use a motor? Gasoline? Can I push the bell button...oops.  Does the elevator take naps? Can we go on it? Again? Again?  Can we put one in our house? Maybe that is what I should ask Santa for!

 The other fantastic perk of our hotel was the awesome waterpark.  I am quite the daredevil to my parents surprise.  I wanted to go on all waterslides but had to settle for the smaller ones since I didn't meet the height requirement for the huge tunnel one.  I wish I kept my shoes on.

Cooper loved the waterpark too, especially the fast slides and the big water basket that dumped water onto our heads.

 No peeing in the pool Cooper.

 We raced 2x2 down the slides and Mommy/Caden team won!

 Cooper had to try everything out, even the baby swings.

Cooper and I slept great thanks to the waterpark, Christmas party, and many cousins that kept us busy.

We can't believe it is already Christmas week!  All I have to do now is HOPE that Santa will bring me my snowmobile and some snow in time for the big day.  We close with our Christmas card this post (sorry that the right side got a bit cut-off).... Enjoy this busy week and remember that true meaning behind Christmas... baby Jesus.

Frequent Flyers

Thanksgiving week was a great time for us to kick off our holiday season!  We were so excited to fly to Georgia to visit Daddy's brother (middle brother) Ben, Auntie Erin, and cousins Bennett (age 4) and Kyra (age 10).  We flew out on Tuesday afternoon; let the stress of flying with two boys begin!  Our flight took off on time, but we lingered on the tarmac for 30 minutes or so.  While in route to Atlanta, there were bad storms down South, so we had to hang out in a flying pattern for another 30-40 minutes followed by a very turbulent 10 minutes of landing, ugh!  A 2 hour flight, which is usually shorter due to tail winds ended up taking us 3 hours and 10 minutes.  Just a little glmpse of what our flight to Fort Myers will look like in April.... a circus act!

Cooper and I liked the little kid park in the airport which helped us burn some energy before we had to sit.  For those of you who might be curious... no, our parents did not "drug" us on the airplane, instead, they resorted to a portable DVD player, new little toys (Dollar Tree is great for new, cheap little toys), and loads of snacks. Despite the delays, we did a great job on our flights both down to Atlanta and back (which was fortunately on time and only 2 hours home!)

We finally arrived in Atlanta!  Grammy traveled with us and Uncle Matt and Auntie Jill flew in the following day.  The boys had fun relaxing, playing golf, and visiting.  The ladies had fun cooking a huge Thanksgiving meal, shopping and catching up.  The kids had a great time playing with toys, going on golf carts rides (Ben and Erin live on a golf course), and doing "kid stuff" like shooting each other with Nerf guns :)

 Mommy just laughs at this picture.  This was a fun evening of wine and conversation after the kids went to bed.  The adults decided they needed something sweet.  Something sweet came in the form of Bennett and Kyra's Halloween candy bowl.  So that's where our candy goes!?!?!?

 The weather was nice, which allowed for golf cart rides and outdoor play.  We love taking golf cart rides around their neighborhood.  While we look forward to going to the neighborhood park, Mommy enjoys taking pictures of future possibilites for a home (Mommy and Daddy hope to build a house someday).  Here are two of her favorite homes.

This picture will look familiar very soon... it is our Christmas card picture!  We went out on Thanksgiving Day on the golf course.  It is hard to see, but in the background, you can faintly see mountains.  We had a fun time capturing some photos on the golf course that night while the sun was setting.

 It was finally turkey time!  Bennett and I had our own little table to sit at while the others sat around the dining room table.  We had a delicious meal surrounded by family we love and miss so much when they are away.

 Auntie Erin loves pay-backs.  She fed us whipped cream with our dessert and of course, Cooper and I kept going back!  Before you know it, we were all sugared up and ready for bed....NOT!  Gotta love Aunties :)

Auntie Erin's friend came to do group photos the following day.  We haven't had an updated family picture in quite some time.  Cooper didn't want to participate in the grandchild picture (go figure), but at least all did awesome for the group pictures.  Of course, we snuck in some playing time which resulted in muddy knees but happy kids.

Our final night was hell on earth.  We ventured to a hibachi grill for what should have been a fun dinner.  Before you know it, our crazy server was banging utensils on the grill and practically lit the entire restaurant on fire (Mommy reassures me that this was part of the act).  I burst into tears as I felt my face burn from the heat (over-exaggeration)... I started to beg to leave the place and asked Mommy and Daddy when "that guy was going to stop banging on the table!"  I settled in after 20 minutes or so and ate some rice with "rice sauce."  My parents said maybe we can try this again when I turn 4, no thanks.

 After the traumatic dinner, we decided to kick-off Christmas with Auntie Erin, Uncle Ben, Kyra and Bennett.  Since they will not return for Christmas (we are still working on this).... we exchanged gifts before bedtime.  I got a remote control car that crashes and flips (love it!) and Cooper got a retro record player (remember these throw-back toys!?!??!)  We are now in full fighting mode as we struggle to share in our household.

Of course, no Christmas celebration is complete without a mad scramble for screw drivers, scissors, and batteries.  Thank you Auntie, Uncle and cousins for a wonderful 5 day trip to your neck of the woods!  We had an awesome time.  We hope this is the LAST time we have to travel so far to see you.... their house will be back on the market soon as they head back to MN for Ben's job promotion (to take place within the year!)