a little bit of life ~ January edition

I am so glad that I'm not the only one who has been slacking a bit in the blog department.  I've noticed several friends taking longer breaks in between entries, too.  I think the relief of finishing up all of those holiday posts combined with the less exciting month of January left me with little energy to find anything worthy to document.  But, after looking back over the pictures that I took this month, there were several notable events that I'll get to and also lots of little things that would be fun to include in a "picture dump" type post.

So here it goes, a little of what we did in January...

We started the New Year off with a little snow.  I stress the word little...I think we had a slight dusting, but it was enough to excite Carter and Kennedy who rushed outside and rode around on their new bikes.

Oh how she loves her tacky fancy bike!

We enjoyed an extra week with Nana who didn't have to start school until the 2nd week of January.  We always love our time together.

There has been no shortage of tea parties around our house this month.  Between Kennedy's fancy, porcelain set and her new, everyday plastic princess set, we seem to have multiple parties a day.

On a side note ~ Kennedy was such an angel during Nana's stay.  As I've said before, Miss K isn't always the easiest child to parent - she is strong willed and somewhat defiant - but the entire time that my mom was here over the holidays, Kennedy was a dream.  Polite, sweet, funny, kind - all of her positive personality traits in abundance.  It was so wonderful!  She seemed so much happier and was such a joy to be around.  There were no tantrums or sassy back talking...a little slice of heaven for 12 days! 

I would love to be able to write that this amazingly good behavior has lasted, and it has to some extent (I think we've turned a little corner and things are much better on a day to day basis), but this little chunk of time was to be treasured!

an afternoon at home calls for a little silliness

"Dear Tooth Fairy, May I please keep my tooth?  Love, Carter"

Carter's loosing teeth frequently and his smile is starting to resemble that of an NHL player.

This was the first tooth that was lost at school and it came home in a cute little plastic tooth carrier.

Unfortunately, Kyle was out of town and the tooth fairy didn't have any cash in her wallet.  Thankfully I have sweet friends who live close and could spot the tooth fairy a little loan :)  Crisis diverted!

Our small group has taken a little break over January, but the ladies and girls managed to plan a fun outing one Sunday afternoon.  We met for frozen yogurt at Menchie's and then headed to VEGA to watch a gymnastics competition.  One of our youth from church was competing and the girls had fun seeing her do her routines.

Someone discovered Mommy's make-up

I've been working hard to clean out closets and drawers throughout the house ~ a fun little challenge to rid our house of forty bags of stuff in forty days.  (I'm over half way there and it feels great!)  Anyways, one afternoon I decided to tackle the master bathroom and Kennedy was eager to help.  I have a cosmetic bag full of make up samples and products that I don't use on a regular basis.  Kennedy had a ball ~ a little blush, some pink sparkly eye shadow and a little lip gloss made her feel very fancy!

A play date with Gracie was a change of pace for us - less princess and more super heroes

I love that about Kennedy...she isn't so girly that she turns up her nose at typical boy activities.  She's a great mix of girly girl, bug catcher, dare devil and wrestler.

A princess tea party

A play date with Kaitlin and Kennedy always includes princess dresses!

After church and lots of errands, Kennedy and I had a nice little lunch out.  As much as I missed Carter and Kyle when they were up skiing every Sunday, it was fun to have special time with my girl.

a trip to Menchies

this picture makes me smile

Kennedy is licking her bowl clean and Carter is photo bombing the picture

Kennedy's {1/2} birthday

As one who has a summer birthday, too, I love that Kennedy is able to celebrate her 1/2 birthday at school...special treats and a little gift from her sweet teacher.  Such a special day for our little Miss.

I cannot begin to explain how excited Kennedy was for her celebration. 

 (Unfortunately, her party was scheduled for a Friday morning, so I was still at work.  But Kyle did a wonderful job getting her ready, taking lots of pictures and describing all of her emotions in great detail.  He's pretty terrific.)

Kennedy chose to bring ice cream sandwiches - but of course we needed to fancy them up a bit.  Some sprinkles, lollipop sticks and cute polka dot cupcake wrappers made for cute little treats.  She was thrilled!

Kennedy happily posed for pictures before heading off to school

I can feel her excitement!

the sweetest teacher ever, Miss Tricia

hard at work

Happy 1/2 birthday, beautiful girl!

As much as it killed me to miss this special morning, I loved that Kyle got a chance to be a part of it.  He is often gone and certainly doesn't get the opportunity to participate in preschool events during the day.  It was probably very special for Kennedy, as well.

Christmas Day ~ 2012

Here it is the 18th of January and I am finally wrapping up my Christmas posts, wahoo!  January has started off slowly for us, but I have still managed to fill the minutes and I'm afraid my blog is often the first to be neglected!

Our Christmas celebrations ended with a wonderful afternoon and evening spent with family.  It was relaxing and fun but also special.  I love having a house full of people and there were helping hands throughout the preparations of the meal, so it was stress free!

Of course, I had to get all of our usual pictures before the festivities got into full swing.  After a few posed photos, I put the camera away and just enjoyed the fun!

My handsome boy

Christmas cuteness

sweet Kennedy

Pops and Nana

Our family

Papa and Grandma

the girls

the boys

the kids enjoying snuggles with Papa

(Kennedy had an unfortunate incident with a large cup of water, so an outfit change was in order)

I went to bed that night feeling so grateful for our family and for the blessings of Christmas.  It really was such a lovely time of celebration.  I loved the fun activities we did as a family throughout the month, was so happy with our lower key Christmas Eve and treasured all of our time with family.

We are so fortunate to be surrounded by so much love!

Christmas Morning ~ 2012

Merry Christmas!

Carter and Kennedy were so excited for Christmas morning, although (thankfully!) they were both so exhausted from the days before that they actually slept in and didn't come downstairs until 6:30.  Yes, that's sleeping in at our house!

They were so excited...getting them to wait so that I could turn on lights and snap a few pictures was nearly impossible.

I usually try to get a picture of their sweet, excited faces as they tip toe down the stairs but not this year...they were making a mad dash!

Carter is carrying a little stocking that Kennedy got from her Sunday school teachers.  She hung it on her door knob and Santa was very sneaky and put a few small things in it, as well.

Bikes!

They got bikes from Santa!

Kennedy's was exactly what she wanted and she's been riding it as often as she can.  Carter's was a touch too big, but after a few days practice, he's more comfortable and seems to really like it.

Stockings are always a big hit...sometimes the smallest, simplest gifts are the ones that they enjoy the most.

a new Ariel puzzle

A new devotional book that we've really been enjoying so far.

love these little looks of excitement!

We tried very hard to scale back this year and both Kyle and I felt so much better about it.  The kids seemed to really love their gifts, as opposed to being overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of it all.  They were very appreciative and we all enjoyed the present opening process more this year.  

speed balls 

(really racket balls that they play wall ball with at school)

Trying hard to humor their mom with a nice picture in front of the tree

helping Daddy

Daddy got a new TV for upstairs

Legos were the big gift this year...Carter's at the age where he's kind of hard to shop for.  He loves Legos and games, so he got several of each this year.

Daddy got some new clothes

quite possibly Carter's favorite gift of all!

He wore his new jersey three days in a row and only changed because I insisted it needed to be washed.

An Ariel doll that fits perfectly into her bike basket

Our traditional Christmas morning breakfast...cinnamon rolls, sausage and some fruit.  

So yummy, such a special treat!

Yippee!  

Nana is here!

Nana and Pops arrived around 10:00 on Christmas morning, so as soon as they arrived we started round two of presents.  Again, they tried to scale back and the kids really loved their few special gifts.  

The best gift was having them here, though!

Kennedy was permanently attached to Nana for her entire visit!

Pops!

Kennedy desperately wanted a LeapPad like Carter and was thrilled to receive one (and it was purple!) from Nana and Pops.  I think it'll be a great toy for her for many years.  With all of the electronic gaming options out there, I feel okay about this one because at least the games are educational.

Such a fun Christmas morning!

Christmas Eve Service ~ {Nativity Play} ~ 2012

Carter and Kennedy both participated in the Nativity play during the Christmas Eve service at church this year.  It's a simple production - no spoken lines, but great costumes and so much fun for the kids.  I have to say that it was probably the highlight of my Christmas celebration.  As we sat in the front pews, surrounded by our dear friends, watching the pure sweetness unfold on the sanctuary steps, I just felt joy.  An overwhelming sense of joy and peace.  This is what Christmas is all about.  I am so thankful that we are a part of this wonderful church family...I feel so blessed that my kids get to be a part of these memorable events and love being at church.  They were so excited to take part in the play and really enjoyed the experience.  The whole event just seemed to embody the love and joy of the Christmas season.

Preparing for the performance...

Carter was a shepard who was guiding the sheep (his sweet sister!)

I thought he looked fantastic!

I will quickly admit that this time in the chapel was complete chaos ~ there were kids everywhere.  Excited kids.  Kids with staffs that were all too easily turned into weapons.  And it was loud.  Very, very loud.  It was kind of my idea of a nightmare...but it was worth every second to see these kids up at the front of the church, helping to tell the story of our dear Savior's birth. 

Andrew and Carter

My little lamb

that face was just too much

Kennedy's costume was a bit too big, and the ears were a little bothersome but she really wanted to be a sheep, so we made it work.

She looked as cute as could be, I couldn't get enough.

Carter and Bryce

small group girls

Kaitlin, Audrey and K

Waiting for the service to start ~ so wonderful to be surrounded by our dear friends!

This was Sharon's last Christmas Eve service...it made me so sad to know that she wouldn't be telling the Christmas story next year.

Hoping she enjoys every minute of her retirement!

Our shepard and his sheep

(yes, she crawled down the aisle...it was slllllooooow going but they made it!)

Our little troop of performers

The look on Kennedy's face at this point was priceless.  She looked so miserable, but I truly believed she loved it.  Keela (the cow next to Kennedy) was hilarious, too.  We kept wondering if her waving feet would accidentally kick over the manger.  And to the right were the angels and wisemen...a few times I was afraid they were going to set themselves ablaze on the the Advent candle.  It was this mix of sweetness and comedy that made it so much fun!

The singing was beautiful and at the end of the service, all of the children were invited to the front and given glow sticks.  The lights were turned down and we sang.  It was a beautiful sound!