Holidays at Grandma and Grandpas

It has been a while since we spent Christmas in Rochester so all of Tom's family gathered together to spend the holidays at Grandma and Grandpa's. We ended up with 4 kids under 4 sleeping and playing under one roof which provided it's own excitement.

We got there Friday night just in time for some pizza for dinner. The kids did great in the car, much thanks to Noni's portable DVD player. The car was packed to the gills so that only Tom had free range of movement, but we all managed. Jeffrey slept for a short time in the early afternoon (we left C'ville around noon because Erin had her school party that morning). Other than that, they talked and sang songs....and watched Toy Story and Polar Express.

Saturday we hung out at the house settling in with Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Jeff & Aunt Robyn and Rylie and Avery. We haven't seen Jeff, Robyn or the kids since June and it's amazing how much Avery has grown. That evening was the annual Noronha Christmas party across the street. The kids were very excited to see Uncle Gary and Uncle Craig. They even participated in the Christmas sing-along.

Sunday morning was Church with the family. Jeffrey made it through almost the entire service sitting with us. We finally had to take him out when he decided it was time to sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star in the middle of the sermon. There was no quieting him once his mind was set on it. After church we went back home to Grandma's for some lunch and quiet rest time. Erin spent the afternoon helping Grandma cook and entertaining baby Avery. Once Erin realized she could make Avery laugh by being silly with her Erin was hooked. She spent much of the rest of our visit trying all she could to play with the baby or making faces at her. And heaven forbid Avery fuss when Erin could hear her, because she'd be there in a flash with her silliest faces at the ready. Sunday night was dinner at Aunt Katie and Uncle Bill's. Jeffrey loved being able to help feed the doggies and even let Brinley knock him down.

We woke up Monday morning to some snow falling. We decided to take advantage of it and bundled up the kiddos for some fun in the snow. We walked next door and sang some Christmas songs for the Noronha's. There were flying snowballs, snow banks to climb on, snow angels and other fun. Then we decided to walk up to the elementary school and play on the playground in the snow. The walk was a little icy and we had some bums going down (big and little alike) but it was worth it. The slides were super fast and swings just as fun as they were in June. We only decided to head back when mommy's toes were starting to freeze. Otherwise I think all 3 kids could have stayed out in it forever.

The rest of Monday was spent getting ready for Christmas. There was last minute shopping, some wrapping of gifts and food preparation. We headed back to church for Christmas Eve service. I dressed the kids in their dress and suit from Noni. They were so darned cute all dressed up. Jeffrey wasn't sure about the suit but once it was on he was fine. Erin wouldn't even let me suggest taking the dress off before we went out to dinner. The kids scarfed up dinner at a local Japanese Steakhouse / hibachi. I'd swear Jeff ate his weight in rice and steak and even veggies. When we got home from dinner the kids got right into PJs and Tom and I read "Clown of God" for everyone. After picking out the right cookies and milk for Santa everyone was off to bed, while the adults brought all the presents up from the basement and arranged them around the tree.

Christmas morning was tons of fun with paper flying everywhere. So much fun, it requires a post in itself. We hung around through Wednesday. The moms and dads left the kids with Grandma and headed out to a couple of wineries on the wine trail. It was a nice relaxing time. That evening Tom and I took additional advantage of the babysitting and headed out to catch a movie.

While all the kids in one house could get pretty crazy it was a very special time. We are very glad that we got to spend our Christmas with that part of our family.

Cookie Exchange

Erin's school had a cookie exchange recently. The goal of the exchange was for each child to bring in 3 dozen homemade cookies to share with the class and they would return with a variety pack of 3 dozen cookies. My first response was....are you kidding me? 3 dozen cookies? The premise behind the project was a valuable one. The kids were supposed to help out with the making of the cookies as much as possible. The end result was not as nearly as important as the process.

So we made Peanut Butter Blossoms - peanut butter cookies with Hershey's Kisses in the middle. They are fairly easy to make and there was a lot that Erin (and Jeffrey) could help with. Both kids were big helps with measuring and counting the basic ingredients. Erin helped with the mixer a little too. But Erin's biggest role was in making little balls of dough and then rolling them in sugar. She simply thought that was the coolest thing ever. Then while the cookies baked she and Jeffrey opened the kisses. When the cookies came out of the oven, Erin carefully helped put the kisses into the middle of the cookies. What seemed like a daunting task at the beginning actually turned out to be a ton of fun.

Here are some pictures of the process.

Measuring Brown Sugar

Cracking Her First Egg (She did a great job too)

Rolling the Dough in Sugar

Placing the Kisses

Christmas All Around

Erin had her first school pageant last night. Since it's a preschool in a church they did a little nativity play and sang some very cute songs. Erin was an angel. She was offered the part of a sheep but said she'd prefer to be a "fairy". Gotta love it...a Christmas fairy. She had on the traditional angel costume with the little tinsel halo. She smiled and sang and did the hand movements through the whole thing. We got a few cute videos, but nothing great because we had to sit at the back of the church for easy escape when Jeffrey melted down (which he predictably did about 5 minutes into the play). Erin's favorite part was when the angels got to blow their horns and wake up the shepherds and sheep. Of course we didn't know when it was coming and missed getting it on video. Afterwards they had a little party with cake and ice cream. It was great to see her having so much fun.

Here's a little video clip of the first song....Christmas All Around. Erin's the 3rd angel from the right waving the red horn all around. Enjoy!!!

Tree Time

We went out and got our tree on Saturday. The kids were both so excited about it this year. We headed into town to the Boy Scout lot, since we HAVE to buy our tree from the Boy Scouts. On the way Tom needed to stop off at Lowes for a few more little things for the deck. We needed some stone from the garden area and when we walked out there we saw dozens of trees. Not only that, but they were really nice, and affordable. We found one we loved and believe it or not we ended up with a tree from Lowes this year.

The kids helped get it all decorated when we got home. Erin wanted to put on all the ornaments she could get her hands on. Jeffrey did his fair share too. All of his ornaments ended up on one branch though. We let it stay for a while, and after they had moved on I re-arranged some. This was the first year we let Jeffrey put the angel on top. Boy, was Erin not willing to share that tradition. She sat on the floor in tears while Tom lifted Jeffrey up to put the angel up. I think next year we'll have to have 2 angels, or maybe a star and an angel.

We took a bunch of pictures, but somehow they all ended up with Jeffrey and no Erin. She was there, but just not so much in the photos this year.

Well, here's our pretty Lowes tree.

Puzzle Mania

There's a new craze in the house and it's puzzles. There are puzzles everywhere. Every day the kids are sprawled out on the floor working the puzzles.

I got Erin 2 little 24 piece puzzles for her birthday. Since then she's been pretty fascinated with them. She could sit at the table and just work them over and over for hours. But her method was very meticulous. She would put them together row by row. The pieces had to fit together in a specific order.

Jeffrey has a little firetruck puzzle with 9 or so pieces. He figured it out earlier this fall and can now do it virtually in his sleep. He's begun showing lots of interest in the larger puzzles. Now it's gotten to the point that he's the one on the floor with the 24 piece puzzles out.

His method is very different from Erin's. He puts them together by character. For example he'll find all the Big Bird pieces and put Big Bird together. Next comes Elmo. I was simply amazed the first time I watched him put one together.

Erin has moved on to her 48 piece castle puzzle which she's just starting to work on her own. It's quite cool.

Needless to say, there will be more puzzles under the tree this year.

First Snow of the Season

We had our first snow of the season today. They said we might have some flurries over night, but I didn't really believe them. Boy was I surprised to find everything covered with a light blanket of snow this morning. The kids were super excited. Erin still had school and Jeffrey had gymnastics. I was pretty lucky to be able to get the car out and up the hill (went out the back way over the bridge). Once we got to the main roads things were much better.

When I picked Erin up from school, they were playing outside. She was having a BLAST. Jeff was sound asleep in the car. After rest time I did let them both get bundled up and go out to play. It's not a ton of snow, but enough for two little kiddos to have a blast in. Of course, Jeffrey's boots don't fit at all, and Erin's are a bit snug. So he went out to play in his Cars sneakers, but it didn't seem to bother him. He also had mitten/glove issues. I can't get any to stay on him, and those that "kinda" stay on look completely goofy.

Here are a few pictures and a little video of them playing.

Butterfly Antics

I took this video a few weeks ago on a day I was feeling really crummy. I'd been sacked out for about 45 minutes watching some TV trying to get a little rest. I could hear the kids playing upstairs. This is what I found. Not only did they get it out themselves, but the also seem to have gotten out every other toy they own.