Joy to the world! the Lord has come;
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare him room,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven and nature sing,
And, heaven, and heaven, and nature sing!
May your Christmas be filled with joy, love and peace! Rejoice—our King has come!
The elves and I have had a lovely little week together this week! School has been out for the Christmas holiday (although there has been concern from the boys about whether their poor teachers are just sitting at school with empty classrooms!) . . . we’ve had two Christmas parties, two doctors visits, ordered a new washing machine (which is still not installed in my home yet), and the biggest news of all is that our Nonna and Pop Pop both sold their house in Maryland and have purchased a home nearby!! The New Year brings promises of great fun with both sets of grandparents and some extra babysitting for mama and daddy, too! EXCITING!
Despite the lack of regularly scheduled activities, we’ve managed to stay busy around here. My elves and I have been hard a work. In case you were thinking that I was one of those people who carefully measures out ingredients into adorable little glass dishes before making things, I will show you these pictures of the chaos that is my three children and me making tasty treats for Daddy’s office friends:
We made some tasty flavored butter for Daddy’s office, and I walked out of the room to grab Anna and when I returned, I found this tower created by designer Hudson Reppard: (yes, those are GLASS jars)
His brother then followed suit. Please look at my kitchen floor . . . one cookie cutter, a tiny man, a take-out menu, an empty butter box, and who knows what else!
This is random, but I’m not sure if these curls will last . . . or where they came from . . . but I love them!
And, my tiniest elf has new shoes on both feet . . . the soles make a clacking noise when she walks on the wood, so we’ve been calling her “clip clop.” W keeps asking about her new tap shoes! And, she knows she makes noise and loves it . . . you can’t stop her!
Go on, Sister!
May every heart prepare Him room . . . get ready . . . Christmas is coming . . . God is near!
we came home to many, many boxes. so, some of them immediately became a tower, of course . . .
there was some pre-nap playtime on the tower, and I had strict instructions not to touch the tower during naps . . .
I love watching these boys play together! (like william’s solid blue ensemble? this was round two of his pants because he got his first pair muddy playing outside in the rain . . . and our washing machine is broken . . . oh well!)
And snuggly sissy was ready for a snooze. I love this little bug!
are you ready for Christmas? we’re not . . . not yet . . . but the arrival of the boxes does help our cause! ha ha! night!
We had a crazy-warm day last week and met some friends at the park. It was so much fun! Here are our little pink ladies. We didn’t mean to color coordinate them, but they did look very cute!
And, the pink ladies with their big brother “bike gang.” These boys are so fast on the bikes! I love it!
And, a beautifully detailed feathered friend who had no fear of us . . . The colors on this peacock are so amazing. My picture does not even begin to do it justice!
And, we had our annual Siddons Family trip to see Santa last week. Despite my boys telling me: “I will cry if I sit on Santa’s lap,” they did great. William kept saying “Merry Christmas, Santa!” over and over again, and Hudson asked Santa to bring Anna a baby doll. It was so sweet! The boys had a first on our way out . . . as soon as we got to the car, they had to go to the bathroom, so Daddy gave them some tips and took them over to the rock pile/construction site nearby . . . nevermind the fact that Broad Street was on the other side of the pile o’ rocks! oh, these boys!
Huds and I found Sister half-way up the stairs screaming “MA MAAAA!” the other day. She giggled and then booked it up the rest of the way as soon as we saw her. This little love is quite independent!
Our annual Siddons Family cookie baking party/stuff-your-face-fest was today. It was so fun! The boys loved it, and Sis even had a cookie once she stopped running laps around the house!
Say “ICING!” (please note the “wreath” cookie on the plate in front of Huds)
And, last year:
Can I just stop and have a moment to say: I CANNOT BELIEVE HOW BIG MY BABIES ARE! I would cry about it if I weren’t so tired right now. I mean, look at those cheeks! Oh, MY BABIES!
and “SPRINKLES!” (Check out his plate! WOAH sugar high!) The boys have perfected their cookie decorating and cookie inhaling a bit from this time last year!
And, flashing back:
I cannot even talk about how big and sweet and independent and rascally, and loud and precious this tiny little love has gotten! She was on the move so much today, I don’t even have a picture of her!
oh, babies . . . and cookies . . . I love them both. Lots!
nighty night!
Little Missy has had quite a week. First, on Monday, she and I went and got (her) some new shoes on both feet. She was tromping around the house and entered the kitchen . . . I’m not sure what happened after that . . . she may have slipped on food on the floor (which is all too common around here), she may have tripped on a toy/magnet/random bowl that had found a new home in the middle of our kitchen, she may have just lost her balance . . . but, she fell and she split her little lip.
{Yes, she climbed up there herself. She has been watching The Experts, you know. I feel certain they taught her this skill. She cannot get down by herself. And, she has no fear.}
And, wouldn’t you know that it was TUESDAY when I went to give Anna her paci, and I realized that she had also chipped two of her front toothies during her spill on the kitchen floor. Not good. There was some panicking on my end and multiple calls to Hatch about the emotional trauma of chipped teeth on little girls . . . he was not too concerned seeing how it took us almost 24 hours to even notice this new injury.
{Don’t you think that ruffled bloomers and lacy socks make most anything better?}
Later that (tues)day, she managed to thrust herself (while strapped into her high chair) from the grown-up chair (onto which the high chair was strapped) down, face first onto the hardwood floor. Scream and Scream and Scream, she did. We decided to call the pediatrician and after answering several questions, they recommended that we bring her into the office to evaluate her for head trauma. While I was concerned about her, by the time we got to the doctor, she was talking and giggling and playing peek-a-boo, so I wasn’t completely panicking. While we were there, the doctor had her walk to be sure she was moving okay . . . and, walk she did. Then, he said to me “is that how she normally walks?” And, laughingly, I said “well, yes. she does tend to just thump around!” Thankfully, sister is doing just fine and she has a nice bruise on her noggin’ to show for it!
Here she is thumping down our sidewalk . . . I love her stance!
The Mama is realizing that Sister gets herself into trouble quickly . . . she has learned many a trick from the brothers, she has a great sense of adventure and she lacks some basic instincts of fear at this point. I have a hunch that we are in for it with this one!
Night night, and thank you, LORD, that tomorrow is Friday!
SECOND: Please forgive the lack of blogposts. I now remember why there are never any posts in December on my blog: December tips the scales from crazy to total insanity in my little world. I go from normal life right back into a crazed survival mode. Nothing says Christmas like this kind of chaos, right? I am praying that Jesus will prepare my heart and help me to rest! ALSO, in a moment of total insanity, I agreed to do host a booth at a local craft show last weekend selling my embroidered dish towels, bibs (Birthday and Christmas) and some of the wreaths I love making . . . we had a great, great time, but I did nothing but sew last week. Laundry? No. Cook? Unh-uh. Clean? Are you kidding? Do I have Christmas gifts? I think NOT. Blog? NOPE. Am I glad I did it? Absolutely. But, this week is even crazier than the last . . . so, here we are . . . bear with me as we catch on up!
THIRD: In my head, I had written this lovely blog post about my children and how I adore them and what I love about them, but as I sit here, I am so tired I can hardly think. So, for today, pictures are all I’ve got! And, with that: Onto the Birthday!}
My babies are THREE and I really cannot even believe it. They are just so big. I know that however old they are seems “SO BIG” to me every single time . . . but, it is true. I imagine this is how it is with your first one two, in my case! So, for their big day, we wanted to do something low-key so we joined Cousin Charlie’s November Birthday Celebration and had a big family party!
Aunt Katie was the hostess with the mostest, and my job was to provide the cakes . . . I made the boys’ cakes, and they helped me make Charlie’s cake!
Vanilla Cake with Chocolate Chips and Oreos on top
Banana Cake with Oreos on top
Pumpkin Spice cake with chocolate shavings on top (and gluten free at that!)
The lighting wasn't great, but here is our digger line-up!
Despite my two phone calls and me stalking the firemen who were eating in the mall food court, I still couldn’t get anyone to come to the boys’ party with a truck. But, guess who did? Sugie! That Sugie marched her cute little self over to the fire station and knocked on their door . . . and wouldn’t you know that we surprised the boys as a massive fire truck backed down Aunt Katie’s street for some toddler birthday fun!
Birthday Boy Hudson
Birthday Boy William {Unkie was there for it all—what a special day!}
Birthday Boy Charlie!
I love W’s little smirk in this one!
We had been to a firetruck party this fall, so my boys new the routine and were reservedly thrilled!
I attempted a birthday trio picture, but I wasn’t having great luck getting the tot-sized firemen to look my way!
Of course Little Miss came to the party, and she had a great ole time with Miss Ashhhhhh {please note the chub in this sweet girls’ legs—her tights really bring out those rolls!}
I was with Hudson for most of the firetruck exploration, and it was so fun to watch him figure everything out . . .
Our tiny little family party hosted a brood of our cousins!
Don’t tell him, but we’re considering having a fire truck come for Bumpa’s next birthday, too!
. . . and, we know what we’re getting Aunt Valerie for Christmas! I mean, who doesn’t like to play dress-up?
Our best attempt at a family shot: Could the boys be any more excited? ha ha!
Watching the boys dig into their cakes was a highlight for me!
Who needs a fork when you have TEN different fingers?
Oh, my big ole boy!
The diggers were a HUGE hit. And, upon our arrival back home, Daddy removed the batteries from these loud lovely little toys.
For their special day, Daddy and I took them to see a movie! They made it through the WHOLE thing—it was impressive!
Then, we had their favorite meal: hot dogs and potato chips at Sugie and Bumpa’s house! There was a very cute gift-giver there handing out prizes . . .
There was cake to be had by all . . . and that was a good thing, because William was very insistent upon having cake on his actual birthday!
Uncle Bretty did his best to break through the Zoolander Trap and feed Sissy!
And, I just love these!
Hey, Blue Eyes!
And, some big boy birthday snuggles with their Nana! Look at these big ole boys!
The Happiest of Birthdays to you, my tiny, big loves! Your Daddy and your MiMi adore you, boys! What three wonderful, wild, and very full years we’ve had! We love each one of you dearly. From the giggles to the wiggles to your stinky little toes. I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU ARE THREE.
Happy Third Birthday, My LOVES!
