Swingset for the boys

Carl has been working very hard building an amazing swingset for the boys. It is almost finished, so the boys are able to play on it now. They LOVE it! I will post pictures of the entire set once it's complete. For now, I had to post this sweet picture of my boys.

A New Chapter and a New Year!

This week started a new chapter for the boys...with baby girl coming in less than 9 weeks, it was time to move Luke into Isaac's room. We were hesitant at first, as Luke does not handle change well, but Isaac was thrilled and asking daily when Luke would start sleeping with him. Thursday we decided it was time to face it, after bath time we brought both boys in, got them ready for bed and set Luke up in his new bed. He was definitely nervous, so we got him his pacifier, and he was quiet. Isaac, our talker, was very quiet and both boys fell asleep quickly. They both slept soundly all night, Isaac until 8:00 and Luke until 8:30! Whew, what a relief to make it through night one! Last night went just as well, and so far so good for tonight, although the constant fireworks are making me nervous.

Another big milestone from this week is that Luke finally hit 20 pounds! Unfortunately he was sick this week, so I had to take him to the doctor, but we found out the good news! He's growing, slowly but surely, our little peanut! He had an ear infection in both ears, but the medicine worked quickly, he was back to himself in no time.

2011 has been a great year for us, we are blessed with love and joy, wonderful family, and fantastic friends. I am so anxious for 2012 and the changes that lie ahead...it's sure to be another incredible year! I thank God daily for the many blessings in my life, He is so good!

Christmas 2011

This Christmas was so fun...I think as the boys are getting older it will only get more fun as their excitement and anticipation grows. Isaac woke up a little early because he couldn't find his stuffed animal, when Carl went in to help him find it the first thing he asked was, "Is Santa here yet?" He went back to sleep for a little bit, but was up about 45 minutes before Luke. He was so excited, but very patient as we waited for Luke. Carl made us yummy Rudolph pancakes, so we ate a nice breakfast together while waiting. Once Luke got up there was no keeping Isaac back. So we gave them each their stockings and the present opening started! We gave them a Thomas the train toy which was out and ready to be played with, Luke was so excited! He played with that for a while and even got mad at us when we tried to give him a present to open. My boy loves his trains! Isaac couldn't get enough of the presents, he loved opening them, giving them to who they were for, and seeing what fun surprise waited inside. It was the first year he really got into opening presents. The boys got some fun gifts and had a great time playing with them all morning.

After an unsuccessful nap time we headed over to Oma and Opa's house for the den Dulk Christmas. It was so fun to see the excitement between all the kids as they gave out their presents and helped each other open all the gifts. After the presents they all played so well together, and really had a great time! Oma prepared a yummy dinner for us, which we all enjoyed eating and being together.

Monday we headed over to Emmy and Gumby's house for the Griffin Christmas, and what fun it was! The boys don't get to see their cousins on that side of the family as often, so they enjoyed getting to play and visit with them. Luke and Mariah are only a few weeks apart in age, so they have a good time together. Emmy prepared a great lunch for us which we all enjoyed before the fun began. After lunch, Gumby read the story of Jesus' birth, and we talked about the real reason we celebrate Christmas. The kids were all blessed with many fun things...I love seeing them all play together.

Christmas can be a hectic time as we rush around, but we really tried to keep our focus on Christ and His birth. I think Isaac really gained a good understanding of Jesus and his birth this year, I pray that as the years go on we continue to focus on Him and that the boys continue to learn more about Him and His life.

December Happenings

Oh my goodness, I am so far behind, I hardly even know where to start! We have had a busy, but oh so fun December! I'll try to give just the highlights.

• We started our Christmas fun with a trip to Santa's Wonderland to look at the beautiful Christmas lights. We went with some of the boys' best friends; Luke, Levi, and Titus, and it was an exciting adventure! We drove to College Station where we met up with our friends' family, and had a great dinner at the Chicken Express. This was a perfect break for the kids to get out and stretch their legs before heading out to look at lights. Santa's Wonderland is a drive thru Christmas lights display, which I've been to in the past, but nothing beats going there with my boys! They LOVED it! Luke was yelling and pointing the entire time! And the smile never left Isaac's face.



• Isaac had a Christmas program at school on the last day before the break, and it was precious! They sang Away in a Manger, Go Tell it on the Mountain, and Jingle Bells. Isaac looked a little more nervous than during his last performance, but he still enjoyed it and did some singing. He wanted to clap after every song, but the boys on either side of him kept stopping him. Poor thing, he was disappointed they wouldn't let him clap. Luke got SO excited when he saw his brother up on stage, his face was priceless as he pointed at Isaac. After the program we got to go back to Isaac's classroom for a brief visit with his class and teachers...I've said it many times before, but his school and teachers are a true blessing!



• Sinterklaas, the Dutch Santa Claus, is always incooperated into our Christmas traditions. Every year we get to see him at the beginning of December and he brings a gift for the kids. It is a great time of singing Dutch Christmas songs and learning more about our Dutch traditions. The boys did great visiting with him, Luke wouldn't sit with him, but he didn't cry...Isaac had a full conversation with him and sat with him for a few pictures. He brought Isaac a new microphone and Luke got a Thomas the Train book.



• We were supposed to host a Christmas cookie making playdate here at the house for our church friends, but Isaac got sick and so we had to cancel. I was so disappointed to not get to do this, so I decided that we'd attempt it on our own. Whew! That was a tough activity, I'm not sure we're ready for that yet. Hee hee! Isaac had fun though, and the cookies came out pretty good. Luke was mad that he couldn't help more, but he got over it once I gave him a yummy snack and a seat where he could watch us. After making the cookies we packaged them up and delivered them to some of our neighbors. Isaac was very excited to have a part in our gifts for our neighbors.



• Isaac talked all month about going to see Santa Claus, so I finally took them towards the end of the month. I knew that Luke wouldn't enjoy it, which is why I hesitated, but Isaac really insisted, so we went. They were both so excited to see him and talked all about him while we waited. Once it was our turn, Isaac crawled right up in his lap, but Luke grabbed ahold of me and did not want to let go. I went ahead and put him on Santa's lap just to get a few pictures, and boy are they priceless! Isaac sat perfectly with a sweet smile, while Luke screamed and reached out for me. I felt a little bad about it, but also got a good laugh from it. The picture was so funny I had to share it, I sent it in to a local TV station, and it was aired on Christmas morning! Unfortunately we didn't get to see it, but the news anchor e-mailed me saying she lvoed it and was showing it immediately.



• Our church held a Christmas Eve Eve service on Dec. 23, so we invited our family and some friends to join us. Oma, Opa, Emmy, Gumby, Mariah, and the Hendersons all came over for a lasagna dinner and then we all went to church together. It was wonderful to have so many special people there with us. The boys love going to church, but this day was different because they got to stay with us. Luke is normally hesitant to go to Sunday school, so he loved that he got to stay with us. He loved it so much that he surprised everyone with how outgoing and wild he was. During the service all the children were asked to come up front to listen to a story, read by the Community Pastor. This pastor happens to be a good friend of ours, and someone the boys adore, so they took it upon themselves to just climb right up next to him on the stage. I got them both down before he began reading, and was shocked by Luke's crazyness, he was so silly during the entire story, he was all over the place! Isaac was sitting nicely, or so I thought, I was busy watching Luke, after a few minutes I look up and see Isaac up on stage next to the pastor again! What!?! I'm not sure who those boys were...apparently they decided it was their night. Hee hee! The service was wonderful, the perfect way to start the true Christmas celebrations.



• Christmas Eve we decided to lay low, just have a quiet day at the house preparing for Christmas and enjoying family time. Isaac has been sleeping in a toddler bed, and we decided that it was time to move him to a twin size bed, so we did it on that day. He watched as Carl moved the bed in, but then I made him stay out as I put on his new bedding...a firetruck quilt...which he has been asking for! He was so excited about his new bed and his firetrucks, he couldn't wait to get in bed that night! Before bed we all crawled in Isaac's bed and read two Christmas stories together...one about the birth of Jesus and another about Santa. It was a sweet time for all of us.

Christmas Music

I am excited to say that Isaac has my love for Christmas music! We have a great time listening to our Christmas tunes as we drive around. I recently bought two kids Christmas CDs, but we only listen to the first three songs on each CD, over and over, back and forth. His favorite songs are: Go Tell it on the Mountain, the LaLa song (Deck the Halls), Frosty the Snowman, Jingle Bell Rock, and All I Want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth. It makes me smile to hear him singing along.

Bonding

This afternoon Isaac was tired, but of course not willing to nap, so we were having some sweet quie time on the couch. He was sitting on my lap and we were watching a Charlie Brown movie when I felt Baby Girl start kicking. I asked Isaac if he felt that he said yes and asked what it was. I told him it was Baby Sister she was kicking. I put his hand on my belly and she continued to kick. His face lit up; it was priceless. We sat together for a few minutes while he felt her kicking, and then he talked to her a little bit. I love how much he is understanding during this pregnancy, and how much he is already bonding with his sister.

On a random side note..we were at the store today, and he found a pink fleece pajama that he said we needed to get for baby sister. They didn't have a good size, so I picked a different set of pajamas for her. I showed him my choice, which was brown with butterflies, he said, "No we can't get that for baby sister, it's NOT pink!" Haha! I convinced him it was okay because it has pink butterflies on it; he settled for it.

Holiday Parade

Happy Boy!

I promise he was having fun.

The kids watching intently.

LOOK!!!

Luke bonded a little with Shane, they watched the parade together for a bit.

Today was the annual Tomball Holiday Parade, and what fun it was! I have taken Isaac every year since he was born, but last year was not a success. Both boys cried and were so scared last year, so we left after about 20 minutes. I was nervous going into it today, especially since Carl was not with us, but they LOVED it! I figured Isaac would enjoy it, but I knew Luke could go either way. Thankfully it was a success, neither of them were scared of the sirens, and they both really enjoyed seeing all of the firetrucks, police cars, ambulance, horses, bands, tractors, etc. Luke was so cute, when he saw something he liked he would point and yell. Isaac sat for quite a while watching intently, really enjoying it, but he is only three, so that only lasted a little while and then he wanted to get up and play. We went with a great group of friends, so there was plenty of people to play with...the kids had fun together! Luke went back and forth between playing, running away, watching, and even trying to join the parade a few times.

The last float in the parade was, of course, Santa Claus on a fireturck. Isaac said this was his favorite part of the entire parade...it might be because they threw candy when Santa came by.

:-)

I love the small town feel of Tomball, even though it's not so small any more; it's great to be able to enjoy a fun parade so close to home!