Christmas Fun

This week we have been able to do some fun Christmas activities. Monday I was able to go to the Aboretum with my sister-in-law Trixie and her sister Jenny to see their Twelve Days of Christmas globes. They were really cool, it was fun to see the interpretation of the song in the globes. The kids liked them, Thomas got scared of the "Ten Lords a leaping" for some reason, but he liked them for the most part.

Then we went to the Gaylord Texan with Dustin's mom one night. The boys loved all the lights and trains.

Snapshots and Update

A little update with some pictures.

I love dressing my boys all cute for Sunday. I love dressing them with sweaters, vest, ties, bow-ties, it all so much fun. During the week I let them wear whatever pleases them but Sunday mommy gets to pick, now if they would let me do a photo shoot every Sunday that would be great!

Playing music for FHE

Our ward Christmas party Santa came! Thomas was very excited to see Santa and was waiting for him all day, I help set up the church so he saw that there was a place for Santa. During the day Oliver wasn't so sure about the idea of sitting on Santa's lap but the minute he saw him and saw other kids sit on his lap he couldn't wait for his turn. Also the primary kids sang a song in the program and Oliver decided to join. And in the picture Thomas looks like he might be flirting with the girl next to him, oh boy.

And a little update...
Dustin has one more week of school then he has a few weeks off! Let the party begin!

My brother with his family, my sister with her family, and my parents will be in town in TEN DAYS! Again, Let the party begin!

I have 5 more weeks for this baby to come, and I have been quite happy having him in my belly, until lately I have gotten so uncomfortable the last week or two, I have put on lovely 35 pounds and everyone asks when I'm due and is shocked that it's not until next month. My self-esteem has dropped a little, I know I'm huge, and it doesn't help to be reminded every time I leave the house. Notice I'm rarely in the pictures now? Yeah, there is a reason for that.

This last week Thomas has started speech therapy. I decided to get him tested earlier this month, and there are a few sounds he needs to work on, so we started therapy this week. When the lady tested him, she was surprised how smart and observant he was that she kept going for two hours until her next appointed to see how far he would go. She said in most areas he is in a 7-8 year old level and just had fun testing him because he kept getting things right, but he did have a hard time saying his "f" and "L" sounds, and one other letter, I can't remember. She said he probably would be fine and develop the sounds later, but we both decided to work on it now that way it's developed before he starts school and I wanted him to be confident in school. He loves it, and already in two sessions he's better, I think now he's more aware about articulation and is being less "lazy" when he talks. I personally don't think he will have therapy for very long. But since he isn't in preschool I like that we have someone coming to our house working on him one on one and teaching him, he thinks it's pretty cool.

Oliver will be two next month which is crazy! And he is liking nursery at church so YEAH! And he's getting so big but he still loves his naps! So hopefully he keeps that up for a while!

Gingerbread Houses

For Family Home Evening this week we made some gingerbread houses. In the past we haven't been very successful with our gingerbread houses, but we have been getting better, so I like to get the kits if possible. IKEA has some really good ones for really cheap, but this year I wasn't fast enough and they were out before I got there. So I almost didn't do it this year, but I feel like I haven't been as fun this Christmas due to being pregnant and being more busy that I decided to do it anyway.

So I made the dough Saturday, and put it in the fridge over night. I was planning on baking them Sunday and build them but I was busy doing other things that I ended up doing that all Monday. It took a lot of time... that I would suggest doing all this the day before you decorate... or when you aren't pregnant. I started the cutting and baking during Oliver's nap and it took me the full two hours, between the rolling out the dough, to cutting the shapes, and baking them. Thomas helped me and was a good little helper, but I had to keep telling him not to stick his fingers in the dough right after I rolled it. Silly kid! And the house smelled so good all day!

Then I decided to use Hot Glue gun to build them ahead of time. I would highly recommend that if you have young kids, because at least for my kids, they are more interested in the decorating part, so it skipped that part and they stayed interested longer. Also the glue gun dries faster so it was quicker and they didn't fall apart like our past houses.

By the end of the day after I did that work I wasn't sure if I was in the mood to decorate them, but I'm so glad we did! They were a hit! The kids loved it, and wanted to keep going, that after two hours we told them it was way too late to keep going, they had so much fun I'm ALMOST tempted to make more this year... almost... Dustin helped Thomas and I helped Oliver. They did so good. Dustin and I were in charge of the icing while the kids put the candy on. Thomas told Dustin where to put the icing, while I told Oliver where to put the candy, so it worked out great! And it's probably the first time I'm  proud of our houses! That I think for now on I will make the gingerbread, but we will see. 

After decorating we got the kids ready for bed and let them look at the Christmas tree for a few minutes before bed, it reminded me as a kid always sitting by our Christmas tree waiting for Christmas to come. Kids make Christmas magical again, I love it!

Then this last picture was Sunday while watching the Christmas Devotional. The kids love eating popcorn and watching a movie, it's become a fun thing we do once a week, or twice this past week thanks to the Devotional.

Christmas Card 2014

It's that time of the year again when we summarize the whole year, for those who don't follow the blog;)

This year went fast and is a blur but we have had a great time.  

Dustin: This is Dustin's second year of teaching and he is already a pro. The students love him and he pushes his kids and they have done some amazing artwork. Dustin continues to study art and draws everyday. He and Jessica took an online art class from Stephen Silver along with other classes and he has learned a lot. Dustin's first children's book is now available on Amazon, it's called, "Harry Hates Hair Cuts" if you were wanting one. Also Dustin has joined a soccer team and enjoys playing every week. He's a busy guy but he always has time for family, the boys love him and are always waiting for daddy to come home. 

Jessica: Jessica is an amazing stay at home mom, and enjoys it most of the time. She still continues to do art and photography jobs on the side, and even had one of her paintings on a 10 ft poster at the Valley Youth Theater in Phoenix, Az!  She loves that she is able to work a little but she mainly wants to focus on the family at this time. She loves to learn and develop new hobbies(she has become very domestic), this year she has been focusing on learning more about sewing, and cooking, which hasn't helped Dustin's waist line. Next year her plan is to learn how to build furniture, but not until baby boy #3 comes next month when she is more mobile.

Thomas: Thomas is now four! And is a typical four year-old boy. He loves super heroes, especially Hulk. He had a Hulk Birthday this year. He loves to go to the park, play with friends, watch movies, play with Oliver, and wrestle with daddy. He's at the stage where he likes to win in everything and do everything by himself, it been a fun little struggle in our family. His drawing and sculpting skills have improved and will one day be better than Dustin and Jessica. He can be a good little helper for Jessica, and likes to watch over Oliver. He also likes to fight Oliver, but for the most part, they get along pretty well. 

Oliver: Oliver will be two next month, and can be a little trouble maker. He is too smart for his own good and is quite independent and wants to do everything Thomas is doing. He's a good little talker and can be quite entertaining. He is still a huge momma's boy and still likes his cuddle time so when the baby comes his world is going to change. We think he finally likes going to nursery at church, but there were a lot of tears that were shed in the process. He likes running, going outside, playing in the park, and is also into the Hulk. Hulk is pretty big in our house. He loves hanging out with Thomas and daddy and being in the center of the attention, but is horrible at sitting for pictures. 

It's been a great year, we are excited for next year since we will be adding another little boy next month.

We hope you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Snapshots

A little update. Life seems to not be slowing down. I feel like my days are going by so fast and I can't get half the things I need to get done so this will be a little quick update.
We are excited for the Christmas season but I feel like since Thanksgiving was so late (ours was great by they way) this year I'm behind in everything. I just feel like I am off my game this year, maybe it's because I'm pregnant, but I'm one who tries to beat the crowd and be one step ahead of everyone this season and I just haven't been this year. Two weeks or so before Thanksgiving I tried to find the kids' Christmas jammies, and there were non to be seen! It was crazy! Sometimes I would find one that would work for Thomas but couldn't find something for Oliver, or the other way around. I went to about three stores and gave up and got them super hero ones this year, and didn't even bother getting Dustin and I some.
Then the other day I went to Ikea to get Gingerbread house kits, and they were sold out! It wasn't even December yet!! And I saw some things online that I wanted, and it was all gone, everything I went to the store for was gone. Luckily, most of my Christmas shopping is done, but I still haven't made the gingerbread for the houses, I keep putting it off... I still haven't worked on our Christmas card...either I just feel like I can't catch up this year... anyway some ramblings.... hopefully my next blog post will be better.
Anyway, enjoy the pictures

Decorating for Christmas

We were a little early this year, but our Christmas is up!!!

I usually wait till after Thanksgiving, but it's so late this year I just couldn't wait any longer. 

The boys had fun and were excited. We ran out of lights for the tree (I thought I had enough), so the process took a little longer, so about time we got lights and ran errands the boys lost some interest, and I ended up decorating the tree myself. Thomas was excited and put all the candy canes on the bottom all-so-nicely... then he was done. Maybe next year, my boys will be into it more... Also it probably didn't help that Oliver started getting sick, poor little guy. My boys just seemed more into wrestling and "punching" my snowman, the life of a mother of all boys.

Here's my advent calendar from our Super Saturday, I just need to get two more ornaments, but I liked how it turned out over all.

And  some phone pictures:

The last one is sick Oliver watching Frosty.