Christmas pictures

SPOILER ALERT:  Some of these photos made the cut for our 2011 Christmas card.  Read on only if you're okay with a sneak preview of what's headed to your mailbox!

One of our friends from church was kind enough to agree to take some pictures of our family during the Christmas season.  I was hoping to get a few shots for our Christmas card, and I thought maybe I would get larger prints of some photos to hang in our living room as well.

Sherry wanted to get a photo of the entire family.  So we tried... but some of us don't seem too happy about it!  (That's actually because some of us - ahem, P and C - don't love standing still for photos.)



Once we got to some more casual shots, P and C were more cooperative didn't realize they were being photographed.

This Christmas it is really enjoyable to watch as both of the boys are thrilled with all of the decorations and special events of the season.  Here, P shows off his favorite ornament.

With a tree full of decorations, it was hard for either of them to settle on just one favorite.

We had better luck with a family photo when the tree was providing a distraction of sorts.

C finally decided that the angel was his favorite decoration on the tree... at least for the moment!

I love the expression of wonder and amazement on C's face in this picture.

We have spent lots of time around our tree as a family this month.  (And no, we don't always get someone to photograph it. :) )

I hope you and your families are enjoying preparing for Christmas as much as we are!

preschool PJ and cookie party

Last week at school the boys' preschool held their annual PJ and cookie parties.  The kids (and teachers) wear their pajamas to school, and the classes head to the fellowship hall to hear a Christmas story and then each student gets to decorate - and then eat - a cookie.

The parties are held in groups of three classes.  It just so happened that P's class was one of the classes that had their party during the same time slot that C and I were scheduled to attend, so the three of us got to attend together!

I tried to take a class picture in front of the Christmas tree.  Trying to get six two and a half and three year olds to look at the camera at the same time makes taking a picture of P and C together look easy.  Sigh.  At least everyone is in the picture.  C is wearing his Christmas pjs, but he didn't forget to wear his school uniform princess skirt, too.

 C was very invested in his cookie decorating.  His cookie was deliberately iced and sprinkled before he dug into his glass of milk and snack.

P was more, ahem, rapid in his decorating.  He was ready to get to the eating.  :)

And the milk.  Milk and cookies... what a combo!

One of the best perks of my job is that it allows me to enjoy special activities like this one with my boys.  I am so blessed to be able to work where they go to school!

From our family to yours...

Grandma Hen and Granddaddy Rooster visit

We were lucky enough to have Grandma Hen and Granddaddy Rooster come to our house and celebrate Thanksgiving with us.  We had a delicious turkey dinner and lots of time for fun and fellowship.

Grandma Hen brought a kit to make and decorate a gingerbread house, and the boys were thrilled to work on that project.  (They didn't mind munching on a few decorations as they were working, either!)

The day after Thanksgiving, the boys were ready to start celebrating Christmas!  We had already made plans to exchange Christmas gifts with Daddy A's side of the family on that day, and the boys were in full agreement.

All of the gifts were a hit.  P especially enjoyed his Transformers' fire station - loudly proclaiming, "Hey, this is just what I wanted!" as he unwrapped it - and did a great job of sharing it with his brother!

C was especially excited to open a new Dora game for his Leapster.

As soon as he had his game open, he went and got his Leapster and started to play.

I was pleased to see that they boys also enjoyed giving the gifts that they had chosen for their grandparents.

They were excited to see Granddaddy's and Grandma's reactions to their presents.

The present opening schedule - deemed "early Christmas" by P - was so popular with our households that we plan to make it an annual tradition.  I hope your holiday season has started off wonderfully as well!

Happy (belated) Thanksgiving!

C gets ready for Thanksgiving, preschool style

I know I'm late posting about Thanksgiving, but please indulge me here.  Before we celebrated the holiday at home, C did a little research in the classroom.

(The pink skirt C's wearing is from the dramatic play center.  He usually puts it on as soon as he arrives at school and doesn't take it off until it's time to go home... I told you he was in a princess phase!)

More Dollywood fun!

Before heading back home, we hit Dollywood for some more fun.  We did several of our favorite rides again, including the cars.



We made sure to stop and feed the ducks.

C had to get in a thrill ride (I think this is Dollywood's version of the Scrambler).

After a fun-filled Saturday, we loaded up in the car and came home.  We had a great trip!

Ripley's Aquarium and Gatlinburg

Last summer, while we were at Dollywood, we saw a brochure for Ripley's Aquarium in Gatlinburg.  When we saw that the aquarium featured a "Penguin Playhouse," we knew it was just the place for Grandma Paige!  Once P realized that there was a walk-through shark tunnel, he was hooked, too.

So in November the aquarium was on our list of stops.  There were lots of neat things to see.

You could even climb up into a cylinder to get a view from "inside" some of the fishtanks.

P posed as a "sea divin' guy".

Both of the boys enjoyed looking up at the sharks as we walked through the tunnel, and P was especially enthralled.  Here is a photo of the view above our heads as we walked.

There were areas for petting stingrays and a smaller touch tank for checking out some horseshoe crabs.

Of course we spent some of our time outside looking at the penguins.

When it was time for one of the penguins to head somewhere else in the aquarium, they turned him loose and let him walk through the crowd!  They asked that no one touch the penguins, but we were lucky enough to have one walk right past us.

When we left the aquarium, we decided to do a little shopping in Gatlinburg.  While we were checking out the fudge shop, P climbed into this sleigh and asked me to take his picture.  I was happy to oblige, of course!

C fell asleep in the stroller, but P was wide awake.  We passed a large candy store, and P asked to make one of those tubes of colored sugar... you know the ones - like a pixy stick on steroids.  Now, if this photo doesn't just scream "vacation" to a four year old, I don't know what does! :)

P was not allowed to eat the entire candy stick at once (actually, don't remind him about it, because he forgot about it and I threw it away before he had eaten much of it at all), and we headed to dinner at an Italian retaurant before heading back to our hotel.  We had a wonderful day!

Dollywood!

While we were in Pigeon Forge, we took advantage of our season passes and spent some time at Dollywood!

The first thing we did after we arrived was head for the Polar Express ride.  P and C stopped outside the entrance for a photo with the train conductor.

We made sure to stop and see Santa and Mrs. Claus as well, since they had a workshop set up inside the park.  Both of the boys were happy to see the couple, but I am finding it more and more difficult to get them to both look at the camera at the same time!

P and C requested a chance to drive "the cars," so we made sure to fit that in to our day too!

I was thrilled to see C happily wear his fuzzy bear hat and mittens.  I have a feeling that before long both of the boys will be reluctant to wear things that I choose for them!

We kicked off the Christmas season early on our vacation, and we had a great time!