Merry (belated) Christmas!

Our Christmas(es) was wonderful. We spent a bit of time with each of our families and got to spend Christmas Day just the four of us, so it was perfect.
On the 22nd we drove down to Rochester to have Christmas with my dad's side of the family. Paul and Tracy made some delicious food and were so happy to host their first Christmas in their new house :)

On the 23rd we celebrated Christmas with my parents, my brother, and Mandy. Since Ben just had his birthday a few weeks ago, he remembered how to open presents, but Colin still helped him out. He got a Little People airport.

 And Colin got a remote control Gator.

On Christmas Eve, we went to Kevin's parents' house. Ben got a fun xylophone.

 Colin got a(nother) farm. He likes it because it has a pulley for the hay loft and lots of little pieces.

 

Then on Christmas morning, Colin woke up and asked for a banana and Daddy's iPad just like any other morning. I asked him if he thought Santa came. He walked into the living room and it dawned on him that it was Christmas. He looked at the cookie plate and said, "Santa made a mess!"

Then I reminded him about his stocking and he dumped it out. This kid is happy when he gets new socks. Easy to please.

 Then he stared at the Chutes and Ladders game that Santa brought him for awhile.

Benny woke up soon after Colin and found the sled Santa brought him and pulled it around the house for a long time.

I managed to snap a pretty good shot of the boys in front of the tree. Ben, of course, in his sled. The tree decorated by a three year old. There are no ornaments until halfway up the tree, and they're all unbreakable to avoid disaster by a certain 1 year old. Perfect.

 The boys played with the shovels Santa brought them.

Then they dug into the presents we got them. We decided to go with: Something he wants (train cars), something he needs (alarm clock that shows him when its okay to wake up), something to wear (Jake and the Neverland Pirates tshirt), something to read (subscription to Zootles by Zoobooks).

Ben opened his presents in his sled, of course. We didn't really follow the rhyme this year for him. Something he wants ( - ), something he needs (Puddle Jumper), Something to wear (diapers), Something to read ( - ). He's too little to care this year.

The rest of the day we hung out, played outside, and went through the toys in the basement to get rid of broken ones and store the toys they don't play with anymore. They are far too spoiled, and we need to clean out what they aren't playing with. We also Skyped with Kevin's grandparents who are down in Texas for the winter.

This Christmas was fun because it was the first year Colin knew who Santa was, along with knowing about baby Jesus. It was so great to see his reactions and see the holiday from his perspective. This being Ben's second Christmas, but first one that he stayed awake for, it was fun to see his excitement as well.

We are so blessed to have family that gave us such a nice Christmas. Thanks for everything, families!

Ben: 1 year (including birthday party)

Ben is one year old now!

 

He is all over the place these days. He can walk pretty quickly and navigate backwards, turn, etc. He loves to play with a toy broom and mop set that Sandy gave him for his birthday. The day she gave it to him, he didn't let go of them. He passed out in the corner with the broom in his hand. At nap time, he lay down with the broom. Sandy tried to move it out of the way and he woke up screaming at her. So strange! :)

His favorite food is still meat. When he wants a snack, he opens the cupboard and I ask him what he wants. I show him a box/package and he either shakes his head "no" or grabs it from me if he wants it.

I feel like he has a great comprehension for being so little. At night time, we ask him if he wants to take a bath and he walks to the bathroom door. We open it and he tries to climb into the tub fully clothed. He loves taking a bath and splashes himself and has a grand ol' time in the water.

He likes to take his shirt off a lot too. He walks up to me, flapping his shirt up and down as if to say, "take this off for me!" and then when I do he's happy as can be. Look at that belly.

As far as numbers go, Ben has 4 teeth on the top and 2 teeth on the bottom. He weighs an estimated 33 lbs and wears 3T size shirts and 24m/2T size pants. His shoe size is a 7. He only takes 1 2 hr nap a day (he dropped the morning nap soon after starting daycare this fall).

Ben doesn't say many words yet. He says, "na na na..." for milk. He points and says, "na" and that means "take me over there" or "I want that." He was singing "more" but he doesn't really anymore, even though we sign it to him. He has said "mama" but not recently. Typical second child late talker. He makes a lot of noise though, and expresses his emotions through talking, screaming, etc.

Ben's birthday party

We had a birthday party for him on the 8th. Family came over and we had fun celebrating Ben's first year. I didn't pause to take a picture of my awesome birthday banner I made :( We kept it simple, like I usually do. We had pulled pork/beef sandwiches, chips, and a mixed fruit salad. I made cupcakes with homemade cream cheese frosting.

As eager as he looks to dive into his cupcake in this picture...

he didn't even have a bite of it. Instead, he shook his head "no."

He had help opening presents from big brother.

We asked for some Little People toys since they're so well-loved and we didn't have many.

After most of his guests had left or were on their way out the door, Ben started lying on the floor. It was perfect timing to end the party and take a nap.

Thanks for everyone who made Benny's birthday special. He felt very loved and likes playing with his new toys.

Colin's Christmas Program

The 3 year old, 4 year old, and Kindergarten Sunday school classes had a Christmas program. It was pretty much adorable.

Going in, I expected Colin to not participate, and to possibly cry or refuse to stand up in front. We were pleasantly surprised when I did as he was told :) He didn't sing, but I'm okay with that!

And then the kids played Silent Night on handbells, which was too freaking cute. He did a good job of ringing his orange bell when he was signaled to ring it. In between his turn, he looks around to watch everyone else ring their bells. Watch the video. That mouth stretching thing must be a nervous tick or something. He does that sometimes.

So much to say, I don't know where to start (plus also...Ben's 1 yr pics!)

I've been super busy--Ben's birthday party, piano lessons, piano recital--and I have pictures to upload but can't find the cord. I will post soon. I might post-vomit all over here this week. Watch out!

For now...a peek at pictures that Leah took for us a few weeks ago at the Conservatory at the Walker Art Center...Love 'em! Thanks again, Leah :)

 Could his cheeks BE any squishier?

40%

Today we officially paid off Credit Card #2 in our debt snowball! ::cue happy dance:: This means both of MY credit cards are paid off and we can move on to Kevin's. The next one is slated to be paid off in February, and the other 2 by August (calculated using conservative numbers). Now that the cards are getting paid off, it's so fun to see them drop off the radar FOR GOOD.

2 down, 3 to go! = 40% paid off

How are we making it happen these days?
-Cloth diapering
-Breast feeding
-Grocery shopping at Aldi with $80/week budget, and no we are not starving ourselves or our children!
-Emeals for meal planning
-Not spending money just to spend money
-Not eating out (unless we have a gift card)
-Buying clothes that are on sale
-Selling stuff we don't need
-Teaching summer school and piano lessons
-Couponing (a little bit here and there)

2013 is our year. 30 days left until it starts :)