Christmas

We had a great Christmas this year. Overall it was pretty relaxing. Sarah flew into town and spent about 5 days with us, and Grant has just moved back after graduating. We spent most of the time at my Mom and Dad's. Payten had a blast. I am hoping that she will have discovered the mystery of Santa by the time she reads this (assuming she will), but I have to tell the story because it was too funny. For two months before Christmas, we asked her almost every day, what she wanted for Christmas. She would not tell us because she said the she didn't like Santa. She told us that he was a monster and wanted nothing to do with him. At one point she said, "Mommy, all I want is candy canes because I don't want him near me." So, we proceeded to buy her gifts that we knew she would like, and did not discuss Santa. Christmas Eve at around 8 pm, we were driving home, and she says, "I am so glad Santa is coming to see me tonight! I want a doll with a stroller, blankie and a binkie." Jon and I just looked at each other, because, of course of all the things that we had gotten for her, that was not one of them. I couldn't let her wake up and not think that Santa was real, so after we got home, Sarah stayed with the kids while we attempted to go out and find a doll. Nothing was open at that time, so we drove to a nearby town, and found a Walgreens that was closing in 30 minutes. Luckily we were able to find a doll with a stroller and a blankie. When she woke up Christmas morning, she was so excited that Santa knew exactly what she wanted! She even wanted to call him and say thank you.

Here is Payten after Church on Christmas Eve under Grandma's Tree
She likes to play the guitar liker her Grandpa
He loves playing the piano

This is the infamous doll
Playing in all the paper
She was completely in a zone after opening all the presents
He was the star of dinner
We were totally worn out
"Can you please leave me alone"
Here are the PJ's he got from his Great Grandparents

I like to clean!

I love how much kids love to help out at this age. Payten spent the night at her Grandma's, and was so excited that she was able to help clean. The vacuum cleaner was adjusted to be just her size.

Seth ventured outside.....

It is 3 days before Christmas, and it is almost 60 degrees outside. It feels wonderful! Jon and I had the backdoor open, so Seth decided that he would go out and explore. We sat and watched him for a while, and it was so cute. He made it to the grass, ate a few blades, and turned back around to head for his leaf. I didn't have my camera out the whole time, but I got a few pictures when he got back by the house.

Payten learned how to button

Here she is buttoning her Aunt Sissy's sweater too!
A few weeks ago, we were at my Mom's, and she taught her how to button a shirt. Payten was so excited about it that she practiced all the way home that night. She also layed in bed for an hour or so, buttoning and unbottoning her shirt. Needless to say, she was very proud of her new found talent! Here she is after she got it all done by herself.

Grandpa and Seth

One of Seth's favorite things in the world is playing Patty-cake. These are a few pictures of him sitting on Grandpa's lap while they played.

2 months later.......(I know, I am awful)

Okay, so, yes. It has been almost 2 full months since I have even thought about updating my blog. And, as you know, in 2 months a lot happens. Really though, November and December have been pretty uneventful other than normal holiday stuff. Thanksgiving this year was a little strange. Jon's family came into town and had a picnic out at the air force base. (Jon's Uncle Riley is a general in the air force.) I went out there for a few hours, and then the kids went home with his mom and dad. I spent the rest of the day with my parents. Jon had to work Thanksgiving, so he slept all day and went into work that night. (For any of you who don't know, Jon works nights.) It was pretty uneventful, and ended up being a pretty good day of rest for me.

We are trying to get ready for Christmas. It is a little hard to really get excited when your 3-year old let's you know in no uncertain terms that she wants nothing to do with Christmas. I am beginning to learn that she is pretty much frightened of anything that is not real. Yes, this includes Santa. Now mind you, she has never seen Santa in her entire life. Maybe that's the problem, but either way, she continually tells me that she does not want ANYTHING for Christmas. I have asked her at least 50 times over the past couple of months, and she insists that candy canes will be fine. Jon says we should count our blessings and go spend 20 dollars on candy canes and call it a day. I would feel like a pretty bad mom if she didn't have anything to open Christmas morning, so we are not going with his idea, although, it will be a pretty low key Christmas. Seth isn't really old enough to know what is going on, and he will probably be happy with a box and a bow.

Speaking of Seth, he turned 9 months old on the 12th of this month. He is doing some very adorable things these days. He LOVES to play patty cakes. All you have to do is say the words, and he gets a huge grin on his face and starts clapping. And his first word is none other than Mommy! I love it! Payten's first word was Abby (our dog), so I was excited about Mommy. I'm not so sure that he knows what the word means, but he say it all the time. Linda says that he never stops talking throughout the day. Payten is that way too....not sure where they get it from:)

As soon as I catch my breath, I need to sit and update my pictures, but until then, I wanted to at least write a little before it all escaped my head.