Letters to Santa

I just wanted to document the kids letters to Santa this year. Jake did his completely on his own; I love how he sounds out his words! Tess told me what to write for her letter to Santa. We have a cute felt envelop addressed to Mr. Santa that we put on the Christmas tree and on the night of December 5th (which is when St.Nicholas comes in Germany) one of Santa's elves comes to pick up their letter. Jake checks every morning to see if his letter is gone yet!

Jacob: Dear Santa,

I want a glownuh the dark litesabrh

Jacob

Tess: Dear Santa,

I want a walking pet, not a real one but just a pretend.

I gave Daddy hugs and kisses when he came back from anything so,

I've been a good girl. Oh, and I want a fire truck with Blueberry,

so Strawberry Shortcake has a friend.

Have fun at the North Pole. We will make some cookies to surprise you!!!!

Tess

P.S. Abby has broken 4 ornaments so far, the tree has been decorated for a grand total of TWO days!! I thought we put the ornaments up high enough. One day I will have a beautiful (evenly) decorated tree, but for now I am enjoying a tree that is partially decorated.

P.S.S. I love Christmas! And I LOVE being a parent of small kids at Christmas!!!

A Happy Birthday on Thanksgiving...

Six years ago Dan and I decided not to go to the beach to celebrate Thanksgiving with family and ended the day with a beautiful baby boy, Jacob.

We started his special day off right...

Here is what happened when Dan sat down to help Jake build with Legos. Everyone wants Daddy!

We watched a bit of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and made Jacob's birthday cake amongst all the dinner preparations. This year I wanted to try a new recipe for the turkey, Alton Brown's recipe that a bunch of friends recommended. One of the steps in cooking the turkey was to roast it at 500 degrees. Well our fire alarm kept going off. So, for the entire 30 minutes we had to do this...

All windows were open and we fanned the alarms with pillows. Poor Abby had quite a rude awakening from a very short nap!

The Warner family joined us for dinner and a fun cousins sleepover.

Dan "conquered" the turkey!

Jake's birthday festivities continued into Friday morning at CHUCKY CHEESE...squeels of delight as we turned into the parking lot. Jake was grinning from ear to ear the entire morning.

Happy 6th Birthday my sweet little man! We love you so much!

Abby at 15months

Abby is 15 months old today. She is still really easy going and happy. She is quite the talker and is learning new words so quickly. She naps best in the morning and would take 2 naps in the day if our schedule allows it. Last week Abby was really cranky and clingy. After a day or so of this behavior I noticed that she had FOUR of her top teeth broken through...no wonder. She has only had three teeth on bottom for months and months. The tantrums have started. It is kinda funny to see her roll around on the ground moaning about not getting something. Her pout and sad cry is one I have a hard time not giving into!

She LOVES sweets!

She want to be involved in everything we do. She loves to play with Daddy when he comes home and climbs where ever she needs to in order to be where Jake and Tess are.

Family Movie Night

She has become very attached to her pacifier and "moo-moo"; especially during this past week of teething.

She is such a girlie-girl. She loves to do her hair, put shoes on and off. She insists on wearing a bow when I am doing Tess' hair only she pulls it right out! I can't wait for pig-tails!!

This week she brought me one dress after the next to put on her. I think I might have to buy one that actually fits!

It seems like just yesterday she was as little as baby Samantha (friend of mine's baby girl)!

Tess' Turkey Song

Tess has sung this song for me over and over and I think it is absolutely adorable! Each time she sings it her movements gets bigger and bigger. She puts a smile on my face!

Tess learned this song at preschool with Mrs. Hicks. I can't say enough how much I love and appreciate Tess' teachers at DCP. We lost Sally (Tess' stuffed doggy and best friend in the whole wide world!) for over a week. During that time she told her teachers at school and they very lovingly let her pick out a new stuffed doggy to help her feel better. Sally is happy to have a little playmate; the stuffed chihuahua's name changes from Harmonica to Christmas and back again!

"STUFF"

FHE Activity: see how many cotton balls you can move from one plate to the next using only your nose (sticky with petroleum jelly). The kids LOVED this game! Even Abby had her turn. Thanks Samantha for the great idea!

THANKSGIVING COUNTDOWN

Jakes birthday is almost here!!!

Cuteness...

My Cute Walking Girl!

WE NEED A YARD!!!