Getting Ready for Christmas

We have had such a busy month so far! We put up our Christmas tree and had three great helpers. 

 Okay, Brynnli was not the best helper, but she did create a lot of messes.

 Makayla and Caden had so much fun decorating the tree. We let them decorate the downstairs tree and they had a blast. They have decorated that tree so many times since we have put it up.

 I love this picture. Brynnli was trying to be like the older kids. She would sit in front of the tree and say "eeeese!!!" (Cheese). It is so fun to see her little personality shining through.

Here's the kids' completed tree. Can you tell we live with a toddler who loves to take all the ornaments off the tree? Every decoration is placed just out of her reach!

The nighttime view. It looks so magical.

The kids have their tree, and I have my tree. The kids were pretty disappointed when I told them they couldn't help me decorate my tree. I need at least one tree that fits my standards of "perfect" :)

 P.S. Maybe if Tyler is a good one day he will get his own tree to decorate too!

Here's some other things we have been up to this month:

We went to Home Depot for their craft day.

 They had a Santa there, and we tried getting a good picture, but Brynnli was screaming the whole time. After we took this picture Makayla asked me if that was a real Santa or just someone dressed up in a costume. I had to agree that this "Santa's helper" needed a little more work!

 Kitty the Elf showed up again this year. He has had some fun with the kids' stuff and even surprises us with treats every now and again.

Makayla was so excited about Kitty bringing us drinks, she wrote him a note and drew him a picture. I have to say for a 4 year old, her elf drawing is pretty good!

I love this age!

Kitty may have had too much of a sugar rush with his sprinkles and drink. 

I love Kitty the Elf. If one of the kids is doing something bad or not listening, I just remind them Kitty reports back to Santa and they change just like that. I'm going to miss that little elf come January!

We decorated gingerbread houses. Kayla and I decorated one together and Caden and Daddy decorated the other one. Brynnli tried to help us, but she was so tired, so she ended up taking a nap.

 Bet you're wondering why this little gingie is so short... Caden got a little hungry mid-decorating. Tyler thought he would make it look like it had blood and guts coming out. Boys...

 That night Kitty decorated his own gingerbread house. He didn't want to miss out on all the fun.

 We have been to see Santa a few times this month.

We went to the U of U gymnastics showcase. The kids got to get their faces painted, see Swoop, and even meet Mr. and Mrs. Clause...again...

This month hasn't been all fun and games. The kids are learning the importance of giving this season too. They took their money that they have been saving all year long from doing chores and went to buy toys for some little kids who may not have toys for Christmas. 

Makayla bought Frozen Legos

 Caden bought a tool set

 and Brynnli bought a baby Elsa. 

The kids had their last day at preschool until the new year. They had a class party with a visit from Santa. I think the kids were starting to wonder why Santa didn't remember what they wanted for Christmas... I mean come on, this was at least the 4th time they had seen him!

I really love that both kids have the same teacher this year. We love Miss Shaylee and Miss Lesly!

 Tyler and I got to go on a very much needed date. We were supposed to go see a movie, but that was the weekend Star Wars came out. We are not very big Star Wars fans, and no other movie looked good, so we came home and took a nap... it may have been one of my favorite dates with my man!

I used to hate winter and snow, but I've really come to enjoy every season in my old, wise age. Who could hate the snow when you look out your window to this: 

Plus, the kids really enjoyed shoveling the driveway. Child labor is the best!

 We've had a lot of snow lately, and seeing as the kids have the most awesome Dad ever, it seemed obvious that he would build a snowman with them. And when Daddy decides to build a snowman, he doesn't just build a small one, he decides to build one taller than he is.

 The kids were in love with their snowman!

 Thanks Daddy!

Daddy also built us an awesome hill in our back yard to go sledding.  The kids loved it!

Tyler was out of town for a few days this month, so after I put the kids to bed, I turned on the tree lights, watched Teen Mom, had my Dirty Coke, and wrapped presents until midnight. It was fantastic!

 We went to see the Lights at Temple Square. With all of the commercialized parts of Christmas, it's nice to take some time to remember the true reason for celebrating this season.

 I love this picture for so many reasons.

 We got a picture in front of this tree. They only put lights on it every other year.

 I love when the kids are being best friends.

 Makayla's favorite part was the different nativities. She liked to try to find Baby Jesus in all of them.

 Of course we had to take the iconic picture.

 After Temple Square we walked around City Creek Mall.

We also went to Thanksgiving Point where they had two of Santa's Reindeer for us to see. 

 Then we drove through the Holiday Lights.

 Have you ever seen five people crammed in the front seat of the car? It was hilarious trying to get all of us up there.

Caden and Daddy drove

 And me and the girls squished together.

I love doing Christmas activities with my family. Life is pretty good!

I love this time of year and all of our fun activities! But wait, there's more!

Our Tootie is 15 Months!

This little Cutie Tootie turned 15 months today! To celebrate, we put her hair in her very first piggies! Is she just the most adorable thing you have ever seen in your life?

At 15 months Brynnli:
-Weighs 19.4 pounds (6%) and is 29.75 inches tall (27%). I'm not used to having such a petite baby, but the doctor said she is doing fine developmentally, so he just thinks she might be a little girl!
-Still only has two bottom teeth, and is showing no signs of more coming in.
-Is the cutest little thing. Her personality is really starting to shine through. She can be very bossy with her siblings, and she usually gets what she wants. But she can also be very sweet and cuddly.
-Loves to explore and play with toys.
-Loves to dance when she hears music.
-Loves to climb on the kitchen chairs and table.
-Waves "hi" to everyone. She is the biggest hit in church.
-Can say about 10 words. Her latest words include:  Moo (cow), and her latest favorite: "Me, Me, Me!" which means she wants it.
-Loves soda. Every time she sees me drinking one she points at it and screams, "No, no, no, no" which means she wants a taste.
-Loves her sister. When she wakes up, she has to go say hi to Makayla. And when she goes to bed she makes sure to give her brother and sister a hug and kiss goodnight.

We love you Brynn!

Christmas Programs

Both Makayla and Caden had their Christmas programs at Little Learners. 

Makayla's program was on Saturday December 12.

 Makayla did so well at her program. She was one of the loudest singers in her class and did all of the sign language and dances. We were so proud of her!

 My favorite part of the night was when the kids sang their last song. All of the kids were screaming it. I was laughing so hard my hands were shaking, then I was crying because I was so proud of Makayla and so sad because she is just growing up so fast.

 Both sets of grandparents were there to cheer her on.

 And Makayla just adores her teachers this year. Miss Shaylee and Miss Leslie are so cute with the kids.

 Caden had his program on Tuesday, December 15.

 Before we left for the program, Caden had a little melt down because he didn't understand why he was wearing his church clothes. He was bawling and telling me, "What if my teachers don't like my outfit!" I assured him his teachers would love it. Then he started crying because he didn't want to go up on the stage. After a lot of reassuring and a good pep talk from Daddy, Caden was ready to go. He even got really excited right before the program and was telling us he was going to sing "Jingle Bells" really loud.

However, when it came time for Caden to go up on stage, he got nervous again. This was pretty much the face he had all night. Even when we tried to get him to smile, he just stayed so stoic.

 Until the program was over and he got a sucker, then he was happy again. He kept screaming, "I got a sucker!"

After the program we could tell Caden was so proud of himself, and we were even more proud of him. We knew he was nervous, but he still went up on stage and did his very best.

We are just so proud of both of our little preschoolers!!