Sunday, January 17, 2016

Christmas Festivities

 Rob had to work for a little bit on Christmas Eve, but the kids and I had a nice time baking cookies for Santa.  Then he came home and we opened our gifts from each other.
New Christmas jammies from Grandpa and Grandma Bell.

 Jane got Blake a Minecraft alarm clock, which he was so excited about.


 Rob got a robot from his brother Michael.
 The kids got Mouse Trap from Grandpa Bell.
 Little Lincoln got an adorable stuffed penguin from Natalie.
 Rob got me a nice down coat from J. Crew and a super soft, comfy, warm bathrobe.  I got him a few new board games.
 We gave Jane a duplo castle, which she put together with her dad.

 That's one proud little girl.  Blake got Jane a little Jasmine Lego set.  Blake got Natalie some Sleeping Beauty Legos and a Minecraft stuffed animal.
 Santa came! I woke up to the pitter patter of little feet on our wood floor at 5:30 in the morning.  We had told the kid that they couldn't come out of their bedroom until 6 am, but Blake apparently was running out and taking peeks and even looking into his stocking.  :)

So I let Rob sleep the extra half hour and went into the kids' room and we talked about some of my Christmas memories from growing up to pass the time.
 Before the wreckage began.  It was so early that the sun hadn't even come up yet.  :)
 The kids gave me a quick smile before running and tearing into their gifts.



 Blake got a Lego Spiderman and Minecraft set and an Enderdragon from Minecraft.
 Natalie got some Minecraft Legos, a nerf bow and arrow, and a play doh food set.

 Jane got a stuffed unicorn, a jasmine doll, and a Hello Kitty School Bus, along with some play doh with princess molds.
 Then we spent the day building things and playing with the gifts.
 Lincoln enjoyed his new toys too.
 Blake was so proud of what he built.
 I love my happy, adorable baby.  Lincoln really is so good natured.  He's such a joy.





Winter Happenings

I love how the kids always ask to hold Lincoln.  They just adore him.
Natalie has become my great babysitter.  While I'm making dinner or breakfast, she'll hold Lincoln and take care of him if he fusses.
He doesn't usually fuss, though, because he's so darn sweet!
Rob was out of town for work the first family night in December, but the kids couldn't wait to decorate their gingerbread house, so we did that without him this time.

We love this tradition!
I just had to record Jane's fashion.  She came in all dressed up in her mermaid costume with her summer sandals. :)
 Lincoln has always had a really strong neck.  Unlike with the other kids, he likes to have tummy time and play on the floor.
 Rob took Natalie to the Nutcracker ballet the first weekend in December, so Jane and Blake and I had some fun of our own climbing trees and playing tennis.


 We went to the Festival of Lights.  We love this annual tradition.

 It was cold, so luckily Lincoln slept all bundled up in his stroller.
 I like to take the kids to see Santa every year at the mall.  I swear our Santa is the real deal.  The kids think so too.  He's been there ever since we moved here and is always so sweet with the kids.  It was worth the almost hour long wait!


 I was shopping at Walmart with Lincoln one Saturday morning and Santa found us.  He couldn't get over how cute Lincoln was.
 I just had to document Lincoln's first Christmas by the tree.  He's still not rolling over, but he's very wiggly and just adores his siblings.  He's a total daddy's boy too!

 For activity days in December we played some minute to win it games.  Rob was doing tithing settlement that night, so the kids were with me.  Natalie got pretty good at getting those pasta noodles on the skewer.  Lots of laughs.
 I hosted another music recital for my students in December.  Natalie and her friend Jovie played a duet from the Nutcracker Ballet.  It was so cute.
 Such a cute baby face.  I have to put socks on his hands or he claws his face.
 Jane is so sweet with Lincoln.  I came in the one day to see her reading books to him on the floor.  I was so worried that she would be jealous of him like the other kids were when a new baby came, and she has definitely been more clingy and needy to me, but has not shown any resentment towards him.
 This was the Sunday before Christmas.  I just loved seeing the kids all dressed up in their Christmas outfits.
 The one morning I was trying to exercise and Lincoln was being fussy, so Jane volunteered to hold him in the rocker and he fell asleep on her.  She's such a sweet helper.
 This was a different morning.  Jane always asks to hold baby Lincoln first thing after he wakes up.
The kids made potato-stamped snowmen art on the first day of their holiday break.