There is nothing like Christmas morning!!!

Mariah has been asking for a desk for the longest time and we are so glad Santa brought one for her. I don't think we would have lasted another year listening to her begging. She is a delight and love her enthusiasm!

Samantha got the annoying toy of the year. The baby that cries and makes all kinds of cooing sounds! It is actually not that bad because Samantha manages to keep her pretty happy, although we do get shushed a lot in order to keep the baby asleep. She is a good little mommy!
Gabriella loved to play with pretty much everything else except her own gifts. Here she is proudly wearing Daddy's new snow boots. Daddy said she had better not play with anything other than her new kitchen because we happen to know it took Santa almost 4 hours to assemble! Luckily once the obstacle course full of boxes, packaging, wrapping paper and toys were removed from the room she was able to spend plenty of time cooking at her new kitchen. I am sure Santa was happy about that!
Tough boy Joshua was very surprised by his new 4 wheeler. I am a little nervous because he had recently looked at pictures on our friends blog of the husband doing all kinds of crazy stunts on his ATV. I hope Joshua isn't too sad when his barely reaches 4-5 miles an hour. I just have to make sure there are no hills around that he can turn into jumps. (thanks a lot Dale!) I am ready for that yet! After all the gifts were open, Joshua kept asking me if I was sure there were not any other gifts hiding somewhere. He wanted me to make sure I got all the packages out of the closet. I think he needs a reality check and to get a little less greedy. But, if there is any time in life that you can get away with being a little greedy it would be a 4 year old at Christmas! We will keep working on him...
We hope you all had a wonderful, magical Christmas! The New Year is right around the corner and we can't wait to see what it brings!

And, just think, only 362 more days until it is Christmas again:)

Christmas Eve 2008

There is just something about snuggly new pajamas on excited kids that just screams Christmas Eve to me! We had such a sweet, calm Christmas Eve. We came home from sledding, ate cinnamon toast and hot chocolate, and gathered in the living room for the nativity story. This year we took the advice of President Eyring and even though we don't have enough family members for all the parts we made due. The kids loved finding random bathrobes and crowns for the play. I think Gabriella and I were more princess than wise men in our pink and purple sparkly crowns, but Joshua was a the perfect Shepherd watching over his little sheep tucked into his robe pocket. Mariah was a very caring Mary, and Samantha was our angel holding her star high to guide us all. Kris was the narrator as well as Joseph and we all enjoyed the Christmas story one last time for this season. We sang a few carols and enjoyed the lights of our tree.

The kids exchanged gifts with each other. They had picked out the gifts themselves and I loved watching the face of the giver as he or she anticipated what reaction the receiver of their gift would have. It was so special. Kris and I gave the kids pjs and bathrobes and the kids pretty much stripped down right there and got in their cozy things. The kids got all settled down in Joshua's room and actually went to sleep pretty easily. Sledding did it's job!

I hate to see Christmas come to an end, but it was a wonderful night and I was excited for the kids the next day!

Snowman Challenge

A couple of weeks ago we challenged our fellow bloggers to a snowman building challenge. Well, so far the Haymore family is the only ones to successfully complete the challenge. Others (MindyMindy) tried, but had snowball forming failures. Perfect snow is a necessity. Keep trying! The Haymore's are now the ones to beat. They did have a little extra muscle power thanks to a few extra family members, but none the less they are the new winner. So, get building and knock them out of first spot!

Sledding on Christmas Eve

These posts might be a little out of order, but at least they are here. On Christmas Eve when most people are rushing about to get to family parties or dinners we were at home thinking of a way to have some fun, get out of the house, and most importantly--wear out the kids. So we headed out sledding. We heard of a great hill not too far away and grabbed our disks and went. It was a great hill, just right for the kids to be able to climb, but long enough to make the climb worth your while. It was not too cold so we were all happy!


The only bad part of the night was that Kris had the great idea to push me really hard down the hill and spin me at the same time. Off I went, spinning a billion times before I finally bailed and tipped myself over. I get motion sickness really easily so why either one of us thought this was a good idea is beyond me! I was ill for a couple of hours afterwards, I will not be spinning down any hills in the future!

Our plan was successful, we had fun, got out of the house, and got a little Christmas energy out of the kids!

Graham crackers, candy, and frosting...

Kris and I had plans to go out on a date tonight, but we got so much snow today it made leaving the house nearly impossible and very undesirable. So, what was supposed to be a night out turned into a night in. The kids have been waiting very patiently for a chance to make gingerbread houses and tonight proved to be a great opportunity.

Joshua was in a bit of a hurry for his to dry so he hooked up his trusty little fan to speed things along. It was actually great idea. For such a rough and tumble little boy he was very careful and precise with his building skills.
Mariah wished we could have made bigger ones, but maybe next year...
Samantha's little house was a bit stubborn and didn't really want to stay upright, but in the end she made a darling little cottage.
I don't know what to say about Gabriella during the whole process. First, she pulled the empty egg carton off the counter that still had the shells and yolks from the eggs I was using to make the frosting and dumped the yolks all down her shirt--yuck! Second, she climbed on the table and tried to dance on every one's house. I finally resorted to putting her in her high chair, and giving candy as she grunted and pointed to the one she wanted. She knows how to enjoy a party. Seriously, I think I am the worst mom ever. And yes, she did eventually throw up a bunch of the candy she ate:) Fun times...

Now that is a Snowman!!!

If you are going to go to all the trouble of building a snowman you might as well do it big! The kids and Kris had so much fun tonight building a huge snowman. Gabriella and I enjoyed the scene from the living room window. It is too bad there wasn't a lot of snow so he is a little dirty.

Here is our challenge to each of you:

Build a snowman bigger and better than ours and post it on your blog. Then leave a link to your blog on our comments so we can see what you came up with. Be creative, have fun and feel free to pass on the challenge to any one else you think would like to join in on the fun. We even gave you a few hints on how to put the body parts together if you are short on muscle power:) Happy building...

Upstate Hospital Christmas Party

Last night we went to a Christmas party for Kris' work. I think it is the first time I have been to a work holiday party--Wow, I feel all grown-up. It was a very nice dinner party. We got to get all dressed up and enjoy a free meal. It was a buffet style thing and I think Kris ate his weight! I guess I have been underfeeding him. Our friends the Haymore's are also doing residency at Upstate and so they came with us. Can't wait until next year:)

Photos courtesy of Mariah

I know I am making a weird face, but it is the only one we have of all of us.

Not much to report

We have had a quiet past couple of weeks. We have just been doing regular life things I guess. We had a fun Thanksgiving with a couple of other families here at our house. On the Wednesday before the kids and I spent the day in the kitchen cooking. Mariah made the cheese ball and green bean casserole (not the icky campbell's soup one--I am with you there Cianne), Samantha made the cranberry sauce from fresh cranberries, Joshua made the West family traditional green slush, and Gabriella emptied nearly every drawer in the kitchen. I loved having all 4 kids standing up on stools to the counter helping me mix everything up. It was one of those really sweet moments that you wish you could bottle up and keep forever! Thursday we had a very peaceful dinner and a fun time pouring through the black Friday ads. Kris had to go into work at 6pm so the kids and I finished cleaning up dinner and watched a movie in my bed and had a sleepover! What a way to spend a holiday, although we wished that Kris could have been with us the whole night.
We went to this cute little, tiny cabin near our house this weekend. It is actually a museum of sorts. It is two stories, but each floor had just one tiny room. They were having a holiday open house, decorated for the season is a very quaint, sweet way. A very good Santa was there to let the kids make requests. I was afraid the kids would brake him he was so gentle and frail. He had the most tender demeanor. I was glad my kids were able to visit him. They also treated us with cookies and cocoa. A very nice evening. Plus we had the bonus of smelling like campfire from the real wood burning fire place!
Gabriella loves to get into the cereal in the pantry. It is right at her level and so she just helps herself all the time. This time she spilled it on the floor and I am not sure if she was hiding from me under the high chair or if that was where the best cheerios were, but either way she made me giggle when I found her. In fact, she loves to run and hid from me. Behind the curtains is her favorite place. I love seeing her tiny feet peaking out from under the curtain. Usually she is hiding because I have told her we need to change her diaper. We love playing Sardines as a family, you know the opposite of hide and seek, one person hides and everyone else looks for them and when you find the hider you hide with them until just one person is left looking--we usually do it with all the lights off in the house--it is our favorite! She is getting very good at hiding!
If you don't have one, I highly suggest you get one. A nine year old that is! Mariah is such a sweet helper with the kids, they love her!