Gingerbread Houses

This year we waited until the last moment to do our gingerbread houses. I knew the candy was going to be too much for one particular little one to avoid. He now drags chairs and step stools around to get whatever he wants, so keeping him away was going to be hard. Waiting seemed like the right idea! So, Christmas Eve morning we got down to work.


KeKe and the girls (plus her niece Marisa) came and joined our tradition! I worked at including KeKe in holiday stuff this year, and think she enjoyed some of our traditions and maybe it made her first Christmas as a single mom a little bit easier.





This year everyone got along, and we made two really nice candy houses.


I particularly liked this snowman! Yumm. They looked so good, and tasted just as well!


The Blaisdell girls made a Christmas massacre, I missed getting a photo of it. Oh well. We can do it again next year!

Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Cookies

Of course I didn't get any pictures of the actual decorating... But here are this years Christmas cookies from our cookie party!


Our original weekend was a snow storm, so a few of our friends and family were able to rally on this last weekend before Christmas to get some cookies decorated! I just love this, and always find that the kids all wander off and the adults finish the job.


Quite a few of these lovelies are already gone, hopefully one or two makes it got Santa! Just a few days left now...

Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Chance

While visiting Andrea a few weeks back Savanna saw this cat available for adoption at a local pet store. Something about him caught her attention. A self professed animal avoider, it was interesting that she took such an interest in him. When she contacted us to ask if she could get him my immediate reaction was "no!" We don't need another cat, another body to be responsible for.... "No!"











Well, we all know how that goes! She persisted, and I reconsidered. She is a great kid, she hasn't really ever asked for her own pet (billy and liv have both had their own critters) and she was insistent that "this" cat meant something to her. I honestly feel like sometimes we do connect with certain animals, and in this case I felt like it was something I should honor. According to her, he sounded like a good fit for us, there wasn't any real reason not to... She called mid week and he was still available for adoption... It took just a bit convincing for me to get Bill on board. I had made up my (ok, our!) mind that we should get him for her then we had a weekend snow storm. I decided that if he was still available Monday it was meant to be. One phone call, some adoption paperwork and a few wrong turns finding the place and he was hers.






Bill and I totally surprised her, she thought there might be a "chance" but didn't know we were actually getting him! Welcome To the family Chance!

Now if he and Peanut would just get along....

Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

The 2013 Tree

After sitting a week with just the lights we finally got her decorated!


As in the past few years, we only have unbreakable balls, and all the important ornaments are up high (except the gingerbread man Wes made at school....Wyatt got him and ate the legs. "It's ok, he's a gingerbread ghost now!") I think it looks festive, and Wyatt is being really good about leaving it alone. I can't wait to see it with a big pile of presents underneath!

Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Getting the Christmas Tree

This year we had to cut our tree on a day Olivia couldn't go. The tree farm we love was only open 2 weekends! You have to be quick to get one of their lovely trees. I was sad she wasn't with us, but she said it was alright and we really wanted to get one so off we went!


We picked the top 2/3 rds or so of a nice big one, and billy got to cutting.


We hadn't had much snow, and actually the day was nice and warm (we bundled up anyhow. Grandma Houston was worried about the little ones)


I always love the time spent at the tree farm. We picked quickly this year- actually picking the first one we saw.


Once we got it home we put it into the stand, got the lights on and then waited for Olivia. As it turns out, the tree sat this way for a week waiting for a day when we were all home and could decorate!


I decided having a tree with no ornaments might have been a good thing with 2 little boys in the house!

Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Den

Bill and I finally broke down and bought furniture for the den. Well. Not furniture in the plural sense- just one honking large sectional! We ended up having to go with a modular set so we could build as close to what we wanted as we could. We ended up with this. Our first real "adult" furniture purchase. Since it has a lifetime warranty I guess it's a good thing that I love it. I'll be sitting on it forever!


The two end pieces are recliners and the one in the middle is too. We put console pieces flanking that center one so Bill has his throne. I think it fits well with our comfy family den feel- and there is plenty of room for lots of people to hang out and watch tv or a movie. Now that it's here I'm wondering who will be the first one to spill or throw up on it. Hummmm. Time will tell!

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Big Boy Bed

Without doubt, Wyatt is a terrible sleeper. He is up crying multiple times a night- sometimes just fussing and back to sleep, sometimes crying and awake... There doesn't seem to be much rhyme or reason. At least not that we can find. Any way you slice it he very definitely doesn't sleep thru the night, and needs me to help him fall back to sleep. Sometimes just patting his back, sometimes rocking him. Having him in the room with is us helpful in soothing him- but it's to the point that I'm ready to try some other options in hopes of getting sleep! So, after much to-do we put the bunk beds up in the little boys room.


And now Wyatt has his very own big boy bed! Wes transitioned really well to the top bunk. I was worried but he is very careful up there and has done a great job climbing up and down! Wyatt has spent the past three nights in his bed with varying lengths of time with my company! Hopefully it won't be too long before I spend the better part of the night alone with Bill! I don't know is just having him out of our bed will help, or if there will be some other steps (sleep training?!) but it's a start towards getting my nights back! Now we just need to get Savanna a bed frame so she's not sleeping on the floor!

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone