Merry Christmas Eve!!!

I LOVE Christmas Eve,  It is full of love, family and tradition.  I so enjoy the angst of the day/night knowing Santa is coming, and all the excitement Christmas day will have to offer.

Yes, it is a long day, its a long 2 days; but I wouldn't have it any other way =)

The BEST part of Christmas is having these 2 (and Jase) to share it with.

We went to my grandmothers as we always have and FEASTED! There was so much food!  Too much food!

When it came time to open gifts I am not sure who was more excited.  The kids, or me getting to watch them open their gifts.

They are at such a fun and magical time in their life.  I'm not sure if it was that I am ridiculously emotional or my pregnancy hormones but I was actually tearing up with joy watching them open everything. Sharing little glances with Jason as we watched the two little people we love most in the world unwrap with vigor, innocence and excitement.

Kyle's favorite gift of the night was a motorized toy saw tool.  Hailey's favorite was by far the shoes Auntie Stacey got for her.  They do not fit on her feet.....at all, but she LOVES them!  By the way, as a reminder....she is 2!! LOL =)

The evening wasn't about gifts though.  It was about my family coming together and celebrating such a special time of year.  We really are so happy and so blessed.

Can't wait for tomorrow.  I hope I get to sleep tonight.  I am so full of excitement! Jay just laughs at me.  I am such a kid at Christmas.  I LOVE it!!!

Merry Christmas Eve!!!!

My Little Mummy

When I came out of the shower and peeked in on my Hailey Bug I found her reading to Minnie Mouse and one of her babies =)

She is such a good little Mum.  Hopefully she will be an amazing big sister too! =)

Mommy Mission: COMPLETE!

Every year since Kyle's first Christmas I have taken the kids to see Santa.  I haven't been full of Christmas spirit this year so I actually thought about NOT taking them to sit with Santa.

They did just see Santa at the Christmas party....whats the big deal???  Do I really want to pay for a picture with Santa when they may not even sit with him??? Do I need another picture of them crying with a holiday figure?  The germs!  Then guilt crept in: Would I be able to forgive myself if I didn't take them?  Then a little Christmas miracle:  My spirit for the season returned! 

We dashes away to the mall......

Where Hailey cried hysterically! She would not let go of me! 

Kyle on the other hand knew it was his turn and he ran to Santa's lap and posed....

There were a few pictures taken.  2 were with his new "fake smile"  still not sure when that started. LOL! This was the third and this Mommy loves it!  I wish Hailey were in it as well, but I can understand. 

After he got off Santa's lap he told me "Mama Santa said I was good and I can get a saxaphone." He told me the rest of the day at random moments; "Mama I sat on Santa's lap."  "Mama I'm so happy, I got to see Santa."

Well worth it!

Mommy Mission: Sit with Santa: COMPLETE!

Merry Christmas! =)

Baking

Tonight we baked cookies for our 4 immediate neighbors.  The kids really enjoyed themselves.  Apparently I have them trained to get together as soon as the camera comes out =)

It was adorable.

When it came time to deliver the cookies Kyle was not shy in the least.  I rang the doorbell, and when the neighbor would come to the door Kyle handed them their Christmas cookies and said "Merry Christmas!  We baked you some cookies!" Hailey wanted to give the cookies to Crystal and Joe.  I think after seeing Kyle do it twice she wanted a turn, and she is very comfortable with them so she knew she could do it!

This whole having them grow up thing stinks...I like having them as my babies, but its so cool too!!!  I hope every Christmas is full of little moments like these with them! =)

Old News

I re-took this picture because it never made it off my other camera.  It's from Thanksgiving.

Love my little man!  Not sure where he gets all this stuff....he has never had a lollipop, and he won't try carrot cake, he loves helping me make it =) .  I guess he is just a thankful little guy. I LOVE him!!

Christmas Paaaarty

Last Sunday we had our annual Family & Friend Christmas Party.  It went REALLY well.  I think everyone enjoyed themselves.

Thanks to everyone who brought something to eat we were all deliciously well fed, had sweets to go around and were surrounded with love and laughter.

We also got to celebrate mt Father in laws birthday! =)

Just when the kids thought the festivities were over......SANTA CAME!!!

It was adorable watching the kids get so excited as Santa called out their name.

My Kyle stole my heart.  Each time Santa called a child's name Kyle would sit up straight and put a huge smile on his face.  It looked like he was thinking "Hey Santa look at me!  Look how good I am!  Pick me! Pick me!!" hahahaha it was so cute.

FINALLY his name was called.  He rushed to sit on Santa's lap and get his gift.  Although I am not sure what's up with his new fake smile???  I looked at him and said "smile Kyle. umm OK say cheese" and this is what I got.... =)

The big kids were excited to get gifts too.

Kyle was super psyched to get another gift.

Miss. Hailey, she was a little apprehensive.  The first gift she cried and cried.  She wanted nothing to do with Santa.  However, when she opened her gift she LOVED her little magna-doodle so much, I think when her name got called the second time around she just could not wait to see the next super fun gift she would get.  I think if her name was called a third time she may have hit the lap =)



It was another successful and happy holiday party.  My favorite moments were of course being with everyone. The children with Santa. Watching my little ones.  Hailey was so amazed and captivated with her gifts.  She walked up to everyone at the party to show them what she got.  I am so blessed to have so much love in my life. =)

Ry-Guy

Last week my nephew Ryan came over for a little while.  Kyle and Hailey love all their cousins, but it was nice to have a little one on one time with Ryan =)



Jason + Karen + Kyle + Hailey + Baby = 5

The word is out.  We told our family.  I think most of our friends know, and if you didn't hear it from us directly you may have learned about it in our Christmas card.  We are expecting baby #3!

It was a little bit of a surprise.  We have been talking about having a third child.  God just made the final call =).

We told people waayy sooner than I would have liked.  Jason just could not keep the secret. I wanted to at least wait for the 8 week ultrasound and maybe tell everyone in a special way at Christmas.  Jason just could not wait.  He had to tell his parents. So, he did, and they were SO EXCITED!

Now that his parents knew I had to tell my family.  It was the week of Thanksgiving so we thought we would tell everyone at the table when we went around to say what we were Thankful for. 

I wasn't going to see my Mom for Thanksgiving but I knew I was going to see her the day before.  I put a pregnancy test in a jewelery box and gave it to her.  I told her it was a little something Jay and I wanted to give her for Thanksgiving.  When she opened it she saw the positive test.  She was ecstatic!  She looked like she had just won the golden ticket to the Chocolate Factory!

The next day we were anxious to tell the rest of the family.  Unfortunately the day had a lot of excitement after the car fire, but it was nice to announce to my family after such a scary and life changing event that we were not just lucky to have gotten out of the car but blessed because we are having a baby in July!! Everyone was shocked and so so happy!

The last major announcement was Jay's sister.  We wanted to tell her in person, we were going to tell her Thanksgiving at dessert, but we didn't see her that evening.  We told her the next night at second Thanksgiving.  I didn't know an 8 month pregnant woman could move so fast or be that excited and not give birth! =)

Once our families knew we told our friends, and then everyone else in our Christmas card, if you notice the little print where all our names are signed...I didn't realize the print was so fine =)



Now everyone knows!  Baby #3 is due July 15, 2012!

 

When it Rains, It Pours.

We have had an eventful couple of weeks.  Thanksgiving, little crazy moments in between and now we have been out of our house for 4 days.  Hopefully this will be the end of our ridiculousness and drama.

Last Wednesday night it got very cold in our house.  I called Mike (my moms husband) the next morning and he came over to check it out.  The pilot had gone out in our furnace.  No big deal, he lit it. He did recommend someone come out and look at it, but I didn't stress about it.  I figured we could get through Christmas. We had heat all day.

Thursday night it was cold again.  Darn pilot must have gone out.  When I went downstairs to fix it I could not get it to light.An hour later my gut told me to go downstairs and see how things were. So, I went down an hour later all I could smell was gas!  I was nervous.  I called the gas company and they sent a gentleman out at 1am.  He found not 1, not 2, but several leaks!  He turned off our gas immediately and told us to call a plumber to fix our furnace.

Friday morning I packed a bag for the family and seeked shelter at my moms.  We would be warm, and the kids would be entertained.  Jay found a plumber who went to the house and fixed ALL the leaks. He really did do a GREAT job and went above and beyond with his service.  When the house was warm the kids and I went home and went on with our normal evening activities.  However, my gut was telling me to put new batteries in the fire/monoxide alarm downstairs.  After what happened Thanksgiving I don't think I could be over precocious when it comes to my family.

New batteries in, family relaxed, house clean, we were back to normal.  Until 10pm when the carbon monoxide detectors went off and we needed to leave the house.  It was quite a scene, the fire department had to come to the house, the gas company had to come out and off went the gas until we BUY A NEW HEATING SYSTEM!!  Didn't I tell you when it rains, it pours!!!???!!!

So we have taken shelter with my family, and are trying to stay positive this holiday season.  I would say 2 near death experiences within a couple of weeks qualifies my family for a little break.  On the bright side of things, we were always together, we are all OK, happy and safe.The best, is though the timing isn't great we have little things like Christmas lights to look at that make us smile =).

Again, we are so blessed!

***Update***
We are officially home and warm.  When we first got home it was a little chilly, but this is actually the most warm the house has been in a while!  YAY!!!!

Big Boy Bed

It's happening!!  Kyle is sleeping in HIS BED! I shared forever ago that we were co-sleepers, and its not working out for me. I LOVE my babies, but every mom needs a little break.  We tried the sticker chart a few months ago to get him to sleep in his own bed, but our summer was so busy and we were traveling so much it was hard to be consistent.

A few weeks ago I strapped on my mommy boots, stuck to my guns, posted up the sticker chart and got Kyle to sleep in his own bed!  The first couple nights were tough, but they have gotten better. He still wakes up 1-2 times a night, but he no longer sneaks into our bed (which I had gotten so used to I wouldn't even wake up, which did not help with the bed training). Last night around 1:45am he stood next to my bed and asked sweetly "Mama will you come snuggle me in my big boy bed?"  I tucked him in, laid with him for a minute and he was good for the rest of the night. My little man always whispers as I am walking out of his room "mom will you close my door."  Only 3 year old I know who wants his door closed =)

I am hoping this waking up will end soon enough.  The GREAT news is he is in his own bed, and liking it! Now to get Hailey- who wakes up YELLING at me several times a night to stop doing that and sleeping in her room.  Baby steps I guess =)

In the mean time.  I am so proud of my Kyle!!!! He is growing up so much. 

EDAVILLE!!!

We had SO MUCH FUN last night. We went to Edaville for a ride on the Polar Express. 

The kids were excited from the moment we were walking in.

They were captivated by everything they saw.

After a little running around, and posing for pictures it was time for the main event....a ride on the POLAR EXPRESS!

Unlike the "regular" Edaville train this ride takes you around the park twice.  The book "Polar Express" is read overhead and a special friend to Santa walks around showing everyone the book.

When the book isn't around you, you get to enjoy all the lights of Edaville.

Santa boards the train and everyone gets a silver bell from his sleigh =)

After our very special ride we had a little Edaville picnic, with hot chocolate and Christmas cookies.

We lucked out and had an unseasonably warm night, it was over 50 degrees! So, the kids got to go on all the rides!

It was an amazing night!  A perfect way to ring in the holiday season.  We even got the silver bells to ring it in with!