25 Days of Christmas

The boys and I have been busy counting down the days until Christmas. This year our elves are leaving notes again in our advent calendar suggesting fun activities for us to do everyday. Day 1 was making a paper chain to help count down the days until Christmas. On Day 2 we decorated our windows with fun Christmas decals.

On Day 3 we went to a holiday party with the Toledo Parent's Group. Day 4 was dedicated to decorating our gingerbread house.

On Day 5, the boys wrote wish-lists to Santa by cutting out pictures of things they wanted from catalogs I've been saving over the past couple weeks. We then delivered them to a special Santa mailbox at Levis Commons.

On Day 6 we made a reindeer craft using their hand and foot-prints.

Day 7 found us playing with glitter while making paper cut-out snowflakes. The mess was so immense, I failed to remember to take pictures. On Day 8 we went to the library to read Christmas books. On Day 9 the boys colored in their Christmas coloring books and worked on trying to stay inside the lines. On Day 10 we bought socks together and donated them to Hannah's Socks. Finally, on Day 12 we started working on making Christmas cards for Colin's teachers, but someone (I confess, me) cut the cards too small so we'll be finishing those up today.

It's been busy but fun having something specific to do with the boys everyday and it's been a great reminder to focus on them instead of getting caught up in the chaos of the holiday season. I think I need to do something similar in January just because that month seems to last forever in these parts and I see us all getting a little stir crazy once the temperature starts dipping into the teens or lower everyday. 

Logan is 2 Months Old

At 2 months, Logan is becoming a very expressive baby. He's very happy most of the time and loves to get our attention by cooing and smiling, but when he's mad, the whole house knows it! He will turn his head to find his brothers whenever he hears their voices. He enjoys their antics to get him to smile and loves to watch them perform for him. He still hates his carseat and tummy-time but is starting to enjoy his swing and bouncy seat (thank goodness!). He is my biggest spitter of the three and if I don't have a burp cloth on my shoulder, I am guaranteed to get hit. Actually, even if I do have a burp cloth on my shoulder, I'm guaranteed to get spit-up on me at least once a day. Our little Logan has a tendency to aim anywhere the burp cloth is not and I've currently given up changing my shirt unless it's soaking wet, which doesn't happen as rarely as I wish. At his doctor appointment, little Logan weighed in at 11 lbs., 4 oz. and is 23 inches long. He's still in size 0-3 month clothes and size 1 diapers, but I think he'll be moving up in sizes by Christmas.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

First it started with the boys wanting to play Santa. They have the sleigh all hitched up for me to be their reindeer.

Then we decorated over Thanksgiving weekend. Colin and Eli were so excited to decorate the tree.

They haven't quite gotten down the concept of hanging the ornaments all over the entire tree. Thankfully they were OK with me spreading them out a little after they went to bed.

We're also doing the 25 Day of Christmas again this year, but I will not be blogging everyday about our activities. I hope to get some pics up soon though to show some of the projects we've worked on.

And just because I think he's cute...

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Happy Thanksgiving!

Bike Day!

Colin has had a fun-filled school year. They have had lots of special activities and events. One such event was bike day. The kids all got to bring in their bikes, tricycles, or scooters (and helmets, of course) and practiced bike and street-safety. At the end of the day, families were invited to join their student in the parking lot where the kids got to show off their new-learned skills.

Of course, the fun had to continue at home and Eli, not to be outdone by his older brother, decided that he was ready to graduate from a tricycle (which he barely pedaled on his own in the first place) to a big boy bike. Way to go buddy!

Logan is 1 Month Old

At 1-month, Logan is a very snuggly baby. He loves to be held and that's his preferred way of sleeping. Once we get him to sleep, however, he'll stay that way for awhile if he's well swaddled. He hates his swing and his carseat (how did I get so lucky to have 2 babies who hate their carseats?!?!) but loves the Baby Bjorn and his binkie. He's a great eater and is already up to 9 lbs., 10 oz. (almost 3 lbs. above his birth weight). He's in size 1 diapers and is just starting to fit into 0-3 month clothes. His brothers are still enamored by him and love to look at his eyes when he's awake and pat his head and give him kisses.

 

Happy Belated Halloween

Last week we enjoyed Halloween just like everybody else and we have a disgustingly large stash of candy to prove it. I'm just a little behind on, well, just about everything right now due to our newest little man.

We carved pumpkins the day before. I wasn't sure where we'd find the time to get all 5 carved since none of the children can really help, but I should have known that Chris would come up with a solution. Because that's how he rolls -

I wasn't sure that our pumpkins would stay intact, but his technique worked remarkably well! And, of course, the boys got a kick out of watching daddy use power tools. They thought it was much more fun than sticking their hands into the icky pumpkin goop.

Mama & Daddy's pumpkins

The kids' pumpkins

The morning of Halloween, Colin had school and they had a dress-up party and a costume parade. Colin got to be the line-leader again this year for the costume parade. I was so proud of him because this year he actually sang along to the songs in addition to doing the hand-motions.

That night my little Obi Wan Kenobi and Diego had a great time trick-or-treating and stayed out for almost 2 hours. Logan stayed home with Grammy and I and looked cute in his Halloween outfit.

The boys had so much fun trick-or-treating they're still talking about it and playing "Halloween" a week later. I think next year I might have to leave a bowl on the porch and head out with my boys so I can witness the fun first-hand.