Christmas Week 2011

We had a very busy Christmas week full of family and fun.  I think Keegan enjoyed his first Christmas although it was difficult to fit naps into our busy schedule so he had to sleep on the go or not at all.  Ava was amazed by all the lights and food and presents.  I think this will be the first Christmas she will remember.  It was so exciting watching her amazement weather we were looking at Christmas lights or opening gifts.  There were so many memories made! 

We started Christmas off Saturday at Nana & Gramps' house with the best ham we have ever had and lots of fun by the tree!

Jeff took off work for my birthday on Tuesday and we headed to Northpark to see the trains.  Keegan was all smiles!

He wanted in there so badly and he kept banging on the glass when a train would come by.  This was a Christmas outing that he really enjoyed and it was so fun to watch him.

Ava really enjoyed them too this year.....

Ava enjoying lunch at Corner Bakery........

That night we decided to make our cookies for Santa.  I'm pretty sure Ava ate as many toppings as she decorated with.

And on Wednesday sweet friend Mason came over to make a few more!  These two have so much fun together.

And on Saturday we were ready for Christmas Eve.  These two were a little excited about it!

There is no child care at our Christmas Eve service so we didn't know how it was going to work out but they all did great.  Ava was so excited about going to "big church" with us but she fell asleep after we sang and the babies just hung out in our laps and took it all in.  Next year may be a little more challenging!

The four of us

All of us

Our little elf passing out gifts at Poppy & Grammy's house

Ava & Keegan exchanging gifts and a little love

 We came home and left out our cookies for Santa and carrots for Rudolph

Christmas Morning!

Ava has wanted this barbie house for months!  Her expression was priceless.  I hope she loves it as much as her mommy & Aunt Kara loved theirs.  Hoping it's worth a good seven years of fun!

Ava helped Keegan find his toys from Santa.  She seemed relieved that she was asleep when he showed up.  She would confirm with me a couple of times a week 'I'll be asleep when Santa comes, right?'  Ha!  But she was disappointed that she didn't get to see Rudolph.

 We headed out to spend Christmas Day with family in East Texas and drove home late that night.  We stopped at a Denny's on the way home for a late dinner and a break from all the screaming in the car.  (Keegan is not a big fan of the road trip)  It was the perfect break that we all needed from the car!  We had pancakes and laughs and made it home about an hour later.  And Monday we stayed in our pajamas all day long.  Another Christmas come and gone.  It truly is the MOST wonderful time of the year.

The Nutcracker

Last Tuesday in ballet Ava read about and "performed" part of the Nutcracker during class.  It was such a treat because her teacher let all the moms (and little brothers) in the room to sit against the wall and watch.  They practiced their curtsies and various other moves to the music.  So fun! 

I took a couple of videos with my phone and thought I would post part of the 'sugar plum fairy' dance where they all just danced their favorite moves.  Ava likes to twirl a lot if you couldn't tell by watching the video :-)   After Christmas break they will begin working on their first dance recital for June.  We are so proud of our little ballerina!

'Tis the Season

I can't believe we are 9 days from Christmas!  As always, the month of December flies by too quickly to get everything done on the list I make in the fall.  But I think I was a little too optimistic about taking a 9 month old out and about this holiday season.  As I looked at my list last night that included Holiday In the Park and Shrek ICE at the Gaylord Texan I couldn't help but laugh out loud.  The two times we've tried to even drive around town to look at lights Keegan has lasted maybe fifteen minutes before having a meltdown!  He naps during the day and goes to bed too early at night for most of what I had planned for us--  Not to mention the nasty cold that he had last week that he gave to Ava a few days ago.  So I put the list away and decided that (as my friend Amy always says) this is just a season of life.  She's right.  Keegan's baby days are numbered and we have so many more Christmas seasons ahead of us to fill with as many holiday activities as possible.  We do plan to visit Northpark next week to see the beloved trains but Gaylord and Six Flags we will hope to see you next year! 

Here are a few pictures of what we have been up to the last couple of weeks........

Ava built her first gingerbread house with us last week. We handled most of the construction but she did most of the decorating.  I think we will do another one this weekend.  She loved it!

She's quite the little helper when it comes to wrapping gifts this year.  She helps with the tape and places the bows.  Sometimes I give her preschool scissors, her own paper and tags and let her create :-)

These rainy days have been good for crafts.  We cut out different shaped ornaments for her paper tree last week.  It wasn't anything fancy but it gave us a good chance to practice drawing and cutting different shapes.

And we had such a fun day decorating cookies and gingerbread houses with friends Abigail & Preston last week.

  Ava is so excited about Christmas this year.  We are counting the days until Christmas morning and she's holding on to the hope of the same four things that she's wanted all month.  I think I am just as excited for Christmas morning as she is this year.  It's so fun to see Christmas through the eyes of a three year old.

 Love these kids!

9 months!

Keegan Reese Hutchison, I cannot believe you are 9 months old today!  This year is flying by so quickly and I'm holding on to every minute of these sweet baby days.  You are 18.5 pounds of strong baby boy, crawling everywhere and pulling up on everything. 

 You are such a happy boy and you sleep so much better now,  usually only getting up once at night and taking two good naps a day.Your army crawl turned into a real crawl about two weeks ago and you are so fast!  You think it's funny to crawl quickly away from me when you know I need you for a diaper or clothing change :-)  We gave you your big tonka truck early and it is your favorite thing to play with now.  You love to push it along and scoot along behind it. 

You cut your two bottom teeth this month which surprised us so much because your sister didn't get her first tooth until 13 months.  She got a mouthful at 13 months and I think that's happening to you now.

You say 'Da Da' all day long which is funny because you are such a mama's boy.  You follow me around the house and tug on my pants to get my attention.  You can pull up on my legs now and when those arms go up in the air, I can't help but pick you up every time. You can fall asleep in my lap almost anywhere.  I love, love, love holding you! 

You laugh so easily and it is so infectious!  When you start laughing we all crack up.  You still love Ava so much and you are into ALL of her things.  Trying to keep you from destroying her doll house and lego buildings is not easy because you always want to 'play' where she is playing.  I have a feeling that this may go on for quite a while.  You two are so precious when you do play together.  I love to watch you interact with each other.

You are about to celebrate your 1st Christmas even though you have no idea what's going on.  You probably think that Christmas just means "NO" since that's what it seems we say all the time about you getting into the Christmas tree, presents, wrapping paper & crafts.  But as we celebrate the birth our our Savior this year our hearts are filled with thanksgiving for you!  You are an absolute joy and a beautiful blessing to our family.  Happy 9 months!  We love you sweet Keegan!

Our Week

This week has been so busy but somewhat productive.  Jeff finished up the lights outside late Monday afternoon after working almost all day on Sunday.  I helped a little but I mostly tried to keep two little ones happy all day which was more challenging that usual because of Keegan's ear infections.  I think we are done but Jeff really wants to decorate the front tree.  He always does such a great job and Ava absolutely loves it!

Ava's stocking was delivered on Tuesday.  She was so excited that her name is on it and the ballerina 'has brown hair like hers' but she is keeping her distance from it.  Last week she tried to pull Keegan's down to look at it and the stocking holder came along with it, nailing her right in the middle of her forehead.  By the grace of God it was merely a bump and a nasty bruise.  It could have been so much worse!  It shook her up pretty badly.

And this little guy got his first tooth this week!  I found it right before I took him back to the doctor on Wednesday. His nose was running all day and he was so congested at night.  I guess we can blame teething on this little guy's rough week.

He seems so big all of a sudden!  I looked across the kitchen while doing the dishes Tuesday night and watched him play on Ava's kitchen like such a big boy. I've had a few tears lately realizing that my baby is not going to be a baby much longer. 

Last night we went to our neighborhood Christmas tree lighting festivities.  It's always such a fun time.  We stood in line to see Santa first.

All day long Ava asked when we were going to see Santa.  The whole time we were waiting in line she told us everything she was going to ask Santa for and everything she was going to ask him to bring Keegan since he can't talk yet.  So sweet! 

But as you can see she didn't ask for a thing.  Not even a candy cane would calm her in the old man's lap.  And I think Keegan liked him about as much as she did!  We decided this morning to just write Santa a letter this year.

The carriage ride was a lot more fun for everyone.  It started raining while we were in the petting zoo so we headed home a little early to watch the Grinch for the fourth time already this season :-)