Ward Christmas Party

This morning we had a fun ward party & a visit to Santa. It really was fun hearing the kids talk to Santa & tell him what they wanted. With Joseph it was funny because Santa asked him what his name was & he said Joseph. Then Santa asked him if he knew anyone else special named Joseph & he started listing people: Joseph Smith, Grandpa, my Uncle, Joseph of Egypt, Joseph with Mary...it was funny because the man playing Santa this year is named Joseph but our Joseph didn't know that.

And what did they ask for?

Lexie wants a barbie.

Joseph wants more fun pictures of his family for his room. (When Santa asked if there was anything else he said, "No, I just really love my family."

And Andrew wants trains & cars.

So many fun Christmastime activities. It's really fun to watch the kids & see what they do & say.

Joseph's VIP

This week Joseph is the class VIP.

He got to bring Corduroy home & share him with the family for the week (infact, there wasn't even any fighting over him).

It's been so much fun watching him share & show Corduroy around. He's colored with him, taken him on a "rollercoaster", & he has even made him a booster seat & buckles him in the car so he can be safe when we go places.

Kindergarten is so much fun.

What is it?

Andrew likes to draw lots of pictures while I help in Joseph's class. Last Friday he drew these & asked me what it was. I guessed a banana.

Nope, a happy shark.

Then he drew this one. Can you tell what it is?

A mad shark. Of course. (And a happy "A", too.)

Preschool Party

The theme for the last month in Andrew's class was baking. We had the fun field trip to make pizzas & they've made cookies in their class room. Tonight they had a "Cookie Night" & each of the classes performed a little song. This was Andrew's.

We sure love this little boy & his personality. We are grateful he loves his class & his teachers. Now if only he could get his hat to fit right...

Who's Who Take Two Answers

And the answers are:
A. Lexie
B. Andrew
C. Joseph
D. Eliza
E. Your guess is as good as mine.
Thanks to all who played.

A Fun Cake

We were so excited to make this cake for our wonderful friends. It's a baby cake telling them if they are having a boy or a girl. So last night we made a blue cake & a pink cake. (I didn't want to mess up baking it in all of the excitement of today, better to just have them ready.) Then they called me from the doctors office, handed the phone over to the ultrasound tech & left the room so they wouldn't hear when she told me the baby's gender & then off to decorating. They've been calling the baby "Jellybean" so we decided to decorate the cake with jellybeans.

Fun idea, huh? We'd never heard of it before, but are so glad they let us in on the surprise!

Who's Who Take Two

It's time again to play "Who's Who?" Below are pictures of Lexie, Joseph, Andrew, & Eliza. Try to match each child with their picture. Answers will be posted on Wednesday, so go ahead & make a guess. As with last time, not all pictures will be used.

A:

B:

C:

D:

E:

Santa Visit

Today was the annual Breakfast with Santa at Rick's work. We enjoyed the little breakfast, listening to the nice music from the quintet of a local symphony, seeing Santa, & picking out toys.

There was a big difference in how Andrew reacted to Santa this year from last year. Instead of being scared of him, this year he gladly jumped right on his lap, liked his fuzzy suit, & really enjoyed pulling on his beard (we found out it's the non-removable kind).

"In the Spirit"

Lexie had her 2nd grade music program, "In the Spirit," tonight. It was an enjoyable evening for all of us. They had a good variety of music for all the major December holidays (Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, & even one in Spanish).

Here is Lexie dancing to the "Peppermint Twist." Ignore the technical difficulties...Rick was on the ground holding his arm out trying to record it. We'll see what our friends got on their camera later, I know it's better than what we got. Her class got to help coreograph the dance.

It was a lot of fun watching Lexie & seeing her personality...especially with things that she liked doing & things she just wasn't comfortable with doing. She's been practicing these songs around the house for about a month. I think Joseph could have gone up & sung with the 2nd graders because he knew them so well.

Field Trip to Old Chicago

Today we got to go on a field trip with Andrew's class to make pizza at Old Chicago. It was really fun! Each of the kids got to make their own pizza. All of the kids got to see the dish washing area, the pizza dough maker, the pizza oven, & they even got to go into the fridge! Then they go to see their pizzas placed on the conveyer belt & them coming out the other side all cooked.

Andrew really enjoyed eating the pepperoni-especially before it was cooked!

It's funny, recently he's decided he doesn't like cheese. So, I told him to make it snow all over his pizza & he seemed to go for that, for a little while at least.

Off to go bake their pizza!

The finished product & it was delicious! Andrew is a great pizza maker!

We all had a great time on this field trip! Who couldn't have a great time when pizza is involved?

Eliza's Blessing Day

Our sweet lil' Liza was blessed today at church. It was a beautiful blessing for a beautiful little girl. We are so grateful to have her in our home! She really is an amazing little one.

We're glad Grant & Joyce could come out for the blessing.

O Christmas Tree

My friend, Kristin, gave me a great idea for the Christmas season: make a chain to countdown to Christmas & each day we do a fun family activity. This is day one:

putting up the Christmas tree. The kids, especially Joseph, are so excited about the chain & are constantly asking what tomorrows activity will be. It's gonna be a fun month!