Pre-Christmas Eve

On December 23rd we got the chance to check out Adventure Church's Christmas Eve festivities which involved a live Nativity, Horse Drawn Carriage Ride, a Train Ride, and several other attractions.  We had a nice time and Evan especially enjoyed the train ride.  Here we are enjoying the fun.

Early Christmas Visit

On Wednesday, December 8, we were treated with a visit from Jim's sister, Alison, and Aunt Kathy and Uncle Herb.  It was so much fun, especially for the kids who got to have an early Christmas.  Here we all are enjoying watching the kids open their presents.

Evie got an adorable Baby Doll.

 

Evan got a Lightening McQueen tent.  He instantly loved it and was jumping in and out of it like it was a bounce house.  Evie was having fun going in and out too. :)

 

Each of the kids also got a new book.  They have become instant favorites.  Especially, the book Evan received, titled "The Tickle Monster Is Coming!"  by James Otis Thach.  He wants to read it every night.

Evie also got to eat some ice cream during the visit too.  Yummy!  She is a big fan. :)

Here are the kids with Aunt Kathy and Uncle Herb.

We love our family and were so blessed by your visit - thank you for coming to see us and for the generous gifts.  Love you all!

Santa Visit Take Two

The kids had one more chance to go see Santa on Tuesday, December 7 with our buds the Wisners at the Roseville Galleria Mall.  This time they dressed in their casual Christmas attire.  We weren't necessarily wanting to get another picture, we just wanted to see if Evan would talk to Santa this time and not cry.

Tyler went first with Jayne and he did amazing; sat on his lap, told him what he wanted and both kids even smiled pretty for the picture!  I was so impressed and Evan got to see this take place so I thought perfect, Evan should be able to do this now problem now.  

Well it was now Evan's turn he just saw his buddy Tyler talk to Santa and it all went great, I reminded him how well Tyler did and how nice Santa was.  Evan was still very shy and a little apprehensive.  We walked over and he didn't want to sit on his lap, but Santa offered Evan a candy cane and then asked him what he wanted for Christmas.  I initially had to tell Santa, but Santa then got the idea to ask Evan to give him a high five.  Evan actually gave Santa two high fives and then did tell Santa what he wanted.  I held Evie during the expereince.  Santa, told Evan he was watching him and that he was a good boy and would remember what he had requested.  We thanked Santa for his time and went on our merry way.  Progress! :) I was so happy.  

Here are the kids with Santa pictured in the background.

 

Here they all are posing pretty in front of the tree near Santa.

 

Here are Evan and Evie together.

The the Mommies got to get pictures with the kids too, Natalie with Jayne and Tyler and Evie in the background. :)

And me with the kiddos. :)

After our visit and mini photo session we decided to take the kids (the boys mainly) up and down the escalator.  Since the mall playground is gone due to the fire right now, this was the best form of entertainment we could come up with.  However, the boys loved it!  Natalie and I took turns rotating up and down with the kids.

Evie had fun looking out at the people on the bottom floor through the glass walls on the second floor and walking back and forth. 

 

It is the little things that make kids so happy. :) 

All in all Santa visit take two was a big success! 

Going to see Santa

Evie and Evan were able to visit with Santa on Saturday, December 4.  My Mom had a coupon for a free picture with him over at Town and Country Village in Sacramento.  Jim and I thought this sounded like a great deal.  Also, the day Santa was appearing Town and Country Village was having a special Christmas event featuring free goodies, carolers, crafts for the kids, and special sales at the local shops.

Below is a picture of Evie all dressed up to meet Santa for the first time in her new little Christmas dress.

Here is the whole family waiting in line to meet Santa.  Don't you just love how the kids match in their Christmas gear. :)

Now to the official visit with Santa.  Evan had been practicing for awhile what he was going to tell Santa when he saw him, he loves Thomas the Tank Engine and well he wanted two of Thomas' friend's James and Percy.  So for weeks every time we mentioned Santa, Evan would say "James and Percy."  He even saw one of his favorite characters on television visit with Santa, Caillou, so we thought he is ready. 

Well seeing him in person is always so different as we all know.  When Evan first got next to Santa to say hi, he was nervous as seen below.

 

In this picture Jim is trying to work with him again on what we had been practicing.  I think Evan was a little disappointed too because he had wanted to be brave and say what he had been practicing, but then got a little nervous and cried.  Poor baby boy!

And to make maters worse we placed Evie on Santa's lap first and well she immediately started crying.  This made Evan question everything he had been working towards and he cried more too.  We even tried just having him stand next to Santa.  No go!

 

At this point we realized they were both going to just cry and we figured we will just go with the crying picture.  So Jim put Evan back on Santa's lap.

 

And this is what you get...both kids not super happy to meet Santa.  Poor Santa! :)  But we got a funny memory that we can share with the kids for years to come.

One final note about our visit to see Santa.  While we were there we ran into good friends Natalie, Tyler, Janye and Natalie's Mom, Valerie.  It was so much fun!  Here they are in front of William Glen, a long time Sacramento store that is closing it's doors.

Here are Evan and Tyler with some other little kids. :)  Tyler is eating a free bag of Kettle Corn they were handing out at the event.  We got some too!  So yummy!

The kids also got to decorate Ginger Bread cookies.  Here is Evan with his box.  He was very proud and super excited to eat the M&M's on his cookie.  This is his classic pose lately, saying CHEESE and then looking somewhere off in the distance will doing it. :)

Last, but certainly not least, Grandma and Grandpa with Evie at the event.  At this point in the day she was done!

Good memories, free stuff, and Christmas cheer...all in all it was a great day!  Thanks Mom and Dad for the idea and free coupon. Love ya!

Christmas Prepartion

Our family had a great time getting ready for Christmas this year from decorating the house to doing an advent calendar. Here are Jim and Evan putting up the tree on November 27 (okay so this post has taken me forever to get up, but better late than never). :)

Here I am with Evie hanging ornaments.  She thought they were all very pretty.

Evan actually got to help hang a few this year too.  Here he is in action.

So proud and smiling!

 

Here are the kids with the final product in their P.J.'s.

 

We even got one of the Little People Nativity sets this year.  I think I was more excited than the kids.

Here is a picture of Evie checking it out.

Now for the Advent Calendars, Jim and I got one for both Evie and Evan (with the thought in mind that we would be having some of the chocolate too and we couldn't pass up the second one since it was buy one get one free, right?!?)  However, Jim's Dad also gifted us with a special advent calendar too!  We had so much chocolate we didn't know what to do with it and actually are still snacking on it today! :)  Evan, was loving it though.

Here is the family opening up the first day's box and demonstrating to the kids how this whole thing works.

We were especially excited for the first piece of chocolate to feature a train design and took a picture.

Next year we look forward to incorporating a new tradition with advent based on the book, "The Advent Jesse Tree." This has come referred by one of our really good friends. :)  Thanks, Carly!

Life Group Christmas Party

On Tuesday, December 14 our Life Group had it's annual Christmas Party.  We had so much fun!  The food for the evening was a Fondue Bar - Yummy!

Pictured from left to right: Heather with Ariel, Jim, Shana, Curt, Kim, Olivia, Bethany, Travis, Carly, Jon, Scott and Sarah.

The kids got into the fun too and all dressed in their pajamas and watched the movie "Polar Express."  This was the first time Evan saw this movie.  He was very excited to be watching a new choo-choo movie.  Here are the kids watching the film.

 

In this picture below Evan is telling Jim about the movie as he takes the picture. :)

Here are all the kids with their babysitter, Ms. Ashley.  She got them all little Christmas goodie bags.  Pictured from left to right, Evan, Gavin, Amber, Macy, Savannah, Issac and Cameron.  Ms. Ashley is in the middle.

Eleven Months Old....and VERY QUICKLY approaching the Big One!

Our baby turned Eleven Months Old on Thursday, December 9...Wow!  Time continues to fly by and as you can see by the date on this post we actually almost have ourselves a one year old.  Evie is still and always will be our little bundle of cuteness and joy.  Here are the latest milestones at 11 months (In the above picture you can see that she can climb the whole flight of stairs.  We still don't let her do it by herself in case she were to fall, but she tries to go up every chance she gets.)

*Evie can WALK!!!  Jim and I officially declared that Evie is officially walking on Wednesday, December 15.  She has been taking many little steps for awhile now and kind of got set back a bit with a cold the whole family got around Thanksgiving and it really lingered with Evie, but she has made up for it.  We are so proud and excited for her. 

*She still loves playing with Evan and we hope this never changes. :)   She is always trying to do what he does and enjoys playing with whatever he is involved with.

 

*Pushing and Riding Vehicles, she has been pushing vehicles around, but her new enjoyment is riding them. 

 

Evie can be found going back and forth throughout the house.  She especially enjoys going fast!  Is she her sister's brother or what?  Evan gets a big kick out of it too.  He loves to push her around.

*Dressing Pretty, Mommy continues to enjoy dressing Evie up.  Doesn't she just look adorable in the below ensemble?  If only she would keep the hat and ribbons and bows in her hair and on her head.  Oh well, it doesn't stop me from my dress up fun. :)

 

See the cute snowman hair clip below?  Don't you just love it!  They pretty much stay in long enough for me to get these pictures before she notices them and pulls them out. :)

*Passing things back and forth, Evie loves to hand things back and forth lately.  She thinks this is a real fun game. Below she is sharing this ball with me.

*The Refrigerator Magnets are fun for both brother and sister currently at our house.  Here she is playing with Evan again.  They really have a great time together. 

*Teeth a plenty - Evie has six teeth now.  Two on the bottom and four on the top.  Here is an up close photo for you to see.  Not the most flattering of my baby, but you can see the teeth. :)

Here is a more flattering picture. :)

*Standing and looking cute is something Evie has been doing a lot of lately.  I just love this picture below.

 

*Playing with Brother's toys as mentioned above, Evie just can't get enough of her brother.  Her she is pictured after getting into Evan's train box all by herself.  She thought it would be fun to check out all the contents.  While I was taking her picture she did offer my several pieces of the track.  Such a giver this girl. :)

*Evie is also already a Comforter.  She can be found giving you pats on the back.  Especially if she is getting patted on the back.  So cute!

*She enjoys talking (she speaks in the cutest baby babble, but can say mama, dada, up, baba, gaga) and playing games with her family.

*Evie also loves to make kissing sounds and can give open mouth kisses it is so funny.  Evan gets the biggest kick out of it. 

*She continues to love to clap and wave hi and bye.  Recently she has enjoyed making Mommy's hand clap together.  We have fun playing this game. 

*Upside Down girl!  She is her brother's sister and thrill is her middle name.  She is big on adventure and enjoys being lifted upside down and wants to go again and again.

*Laughing and giggling are also a fun activity for this little girl.  She enjoys being tickled and has the cutest little laugh.

*She is Eating more finger foods these days.  However, she does similar to what Evan did when he was this age, a lot goes in to taste and then comes out in little chunks.  Makes for a big mess, but I guess she is trying the food which is good.  And you really can't complain looking at this adorable little face. She currently loves gold fish, pretzels, and Ritz crackers.

*No Shoes or Socks Please.  She also is always pulling her socks and shoes off.  The below picture is a prime example.  She got one side off.

Our little 11 month old is amazing and fills our lives with so much joy!  Thank you God for such a precious gift.  We love you Evie and can't wait to celebrate your first year very, very soon. :)  Join us in our countdown to Evie's 1st Birthday less than two weeks away.