Little Lukey is One!

On Tuesday, March 17th, Luke turned one.  The kids were all very excited about his birthday. Since March 17th is also St. Patrick's Day we got everyone new green shirts. Normally, I just make them find something green in their drawers, but the day has definitely taken on new meaning. They all looked so cute I decided I needed to take pictures before school.  Only, I hadn't gotten Luke dressed yet (he often goes to the bus stop in his pajamas).  I took a picture of the older 3, but it seemed wrong not to include Luke on his birthday.  I quickly got him dressed and snapped a few pictures.  We literally had to run to make the bus, but it was worth it.

As is our first birthday tradition, Thomas took the day off and we took Luke to Build-A-Bear.  Our first stop was lunch at Cafe Rio, where Luke got to experience chips and cheese quesadilla for the first time.  He was very happy, although a little less so when he realized I forgot his cup.  From there, it was on to the main attraction.  Thomas' mother sent us a gift card to Build-A-Bear when the twins turned one. We decided to take them on their actually birthday, so that their special animal would have the same birthday as them--just one year later.  We did the same with Kara.  They all still have their toys and they like knowing that it was something we made together on their first birthday.  Luke emphatically chose a "Camo Bear."  He actually did show a definite preference.  We would show him the options and see what he reached for.  I encouraged him to chose a cute elephant, but his mind was made up.

I am not sure what happened to his shoe, but here we are putting in the bear's heart 

We got home in plenty of time to greet the kids at the bus.  It was a beautiful day and lots of kids (I counted 13 at one point) ended up in our backyard.  Jack drove Luke around in his car for a while. And the older girls, as in the third-graders, decided to play house and asked if Luke could be their baby.  Kara helped him practice walking in the yard and many other kids came up to him to play peek-a-boo, or something similar.  He was definitely well-entertained and much loved.

He wasn't so happy in this picture, but he really did have a great time playing outside

Since Luke likes eggs so much, we decided to do breakfast for dinner. We had french toast, eggs, and sausage.  Then, we went for a walk around the neighborhood and came home to sing and eat cupcakes. His presents were a little tunnel, his bear, and a noise popper walking toy.

At his one year check-up, he was 21 pounds and 29 inches.  However, at his 9 month check-up, he was 29.3 inches, so something is definitely wrong.  (I measured him at home and got 30.5, so I think the 29 from this visit is off).  He was very cooperative, which is indicative of his personality.  For example, he was babbling away and then the doctor put her stethoscope on him and he instantly became quiet and curious.  Luke is still happiest when there is lots to look at and examine.  He cried for about 20 seconds with the shots.  I really hate that part, he looked up with me with the saddest, most betrayed eyes while I was forced to hold his little hands.  I was glad that it didn't last long.

He doesn't say very many words, just mama, dada and An-Na (which I think he uses for kids in general).  He understands many, many words.  He walks pretty well and has a great appetite. He really likes adult food and will no longer tolerate any baby food.  About a week ago, he started screaming when we tried to feed him from one of the leftover baby food dinner jars.  If he can't feed it to himself, he doesn't want it.  I was convinced he was allergic to milk.  Fortunately, I was either wrong or he outgrew it already. He got hives after eating yogurt around 6 months and then around 10 months, he got hives after eating macaroni and cheese, so it was reasonable for me to think he had an allergy.

As mentioned, he has an excellent temperament.  He is generally very easy-going.  Although, he did bite Kara the other day when she held him too long in a tight hug.  He still adores his brother and sisters.  I think the highlight of his day is going to the bus stop, he loves waving goodbye to all of the kids and is always happy when they come home after school.  He also loves it when Thomas gets home from work and will excitedly greet him. Right now, his favorite game is to knock over the towers I build. I stack a few toys, pretend to try and keep him away, then he invariably makes it to the tower, knocks it down and laughs hysterically as I dramatically cry "nooooooo" (repeat x50).  He also enjoys emptying out the kitchen cabinets and taking the shoes off the shoe rack.

He is just starting to sleep through the night (knock on wood!).  But, his wake up time is irregular which can be frustrating when I try to plan our day.  His nap schedule depends on what time he wakes up, which can be anywhere from 6-730.  He really likes to be out and is pretty patient when we go shopping or on other errands. He is a decent traveler, falling somewhere between Anna, who would simply fall asleep whenever she was in her carseat, and Kara who would simply scream anytime she was placed in her carseat. He loves people and being part of the action.  He is a very sweet and very cuddly baby.  I love him immensely and am so glad he is part of our family!

Major Catch-up

I always thought I wrote this blog for myself.  But when I made it private and realized no one could read it anymore, I stopped writing.  I am not sure if I am going to make it public again or not. Regardless, I need to write.

The biggest news is that Thomas' mother died of lung cancer on February 11th. I believe that she was only 64 (incidentally, the same age my mother was when she died). We got the news after the kids were asleep and debated on whether to tell them on the 12th, which was Kara's birthday.  I kind of wanted to hold off so that we didn't ruin her special day. Thomas felt it was important to tell them right away.  Ultimately, I realized that my line of thinking was selfish. So, we told the kids. Although they hadn't met her, she always remembered their birthdays and Christmas and they had spoken to her on the phone many times.  They all cried when they heard the news.  We still had Kara's birthday meal (lasagna), cake and gave her her gifts.  Her party wasn't until the 14th, so it was a small family affair, which was appropriate under the circumstances.  

My own mother died shortly after Jack and Anna were born, so now they have no Grandmother, which I find incredibly sad. I lost my last Grandma when I was in law school and Thomas lost his last Grandma in 2013.  So, we both had our Grandmothers growing up.  It seems wrong that our kids won't have the same experience.  Hopefully, nothing happens to their Grandfathers for a very long time.

As I mentioned, Kara turned 6 on February 12th.  I baked her a giant cupcake as her special cake. She got sick on the night of her birthday, so she missed her class Valentine's Day Party, which was on Friday, the 13th.  She was very upset about missing her party.  I think I was proclaimed a terrible, awful mom, because despite throwing up all night, she insisted she was completely fine.  We were worried she was going to be too sick for her party, but she made it.  Once again, it was at the gymnastics center.  She knows a good thing when she sees it.  She is taking gymnastics classes there right now so she was happy to show off all she is learning.  She got a bike from us and lots of her friends gave her money (I suggested $5 to anyone who asked me what to get her so that she could combine her money and get one big gift from her friends).  She ended up with over $50, but she still hasn't spent it.  

Her blurry "birthday girl" photo.  Same shirt as Anna got, just a size smaller.

She wouldn't tell us what she wished for  :)

Kara was a little grumpy because she wanted to be the one to hold Luke. 

It has been a very cold, dreary winter, at least since January.  In fact, as I write this there is freezing rain outside and icicles hanging from the deck.  The schools have used up all the built-in snow days, so we are hoping that the snow and ice is over.

I am so tired of the snow.  I think even the kids have had enough.

In other big news, Thomas and I submitted our paperwork to resign from the Reserves.  The main reason for me is that I don't want to be deployed and no one who isn't willing to deploy should be a reservist.  For Thomas, it was a combination of not wanting to deploy (again) and being sick of losing weekends with the family.  It is a significant source of income for us, but we believe it is worth it.  I will miss the occasional use of my law degree and feeling like I bring a financial contribution to the family.  Oh, and being able to shop at the commissary and use the base pool. But, none of that is worth having the possibility of being sent away for 6-12 months hanging over my head.  

I think that is it for the big news.  Well, Thomas applied to transfer to Orlando, but we are still waiting to hear back, so that is just the possibility of news.  And, obviously, there have been lots of changes with Luke.  But, with his first birthday just 2 weeks away, I will save his news for then.  I will end with a couple of bonus pictures.

Jack and Anna had their well-visit in January and were pretending the exam room table was a boat.  Jack is looking for land while Anna paddles.

Luke likes to "sing" too.  Karaoke is still a hit for the whole family.

  

2014: Final Thoughts

It seems like just yesterday I was writing about closing out 2013 and my thoughts on being pregnant. Now, there is a very active 9-month old playing at my feet and another year has come and gone. Obviously, the most eventful thing was going from a family of 5 to a family of 6.  It has been an adjustment for all of us, but honestly, I think it has been the hardest for me.  I sometimes find myself thinking about how close I was to being home-free or at least having a lot more free time.  But, I quickly banish those thoughts, because really, I am so happy to have Luke.  It has been wonderful to have just one baby to focus on.  All of us love watching him learn and grow and it has been fun seeing the older kids in the role of big brother/sister.

Fortunately, there were no (long) periods of separation this year.  There were also no big trips.  But, we did enjoy a few mini-vacations.  We went to Pennsylvania and enjoyed Dutch Wonderland.  We spent four fun days in Williamsburg.  There was a night at Great Wolf Lodge.  And of course, we took our annual December trip to Norfolk.  Then, there were tons of day trips to local historical sites, most often relating to George Washington.  We even rolled eggs on the White House Lawn.  Hmmm, when I write it out, it seems like we did more than I realized.  Probably the best thing was having visitors.  We were very fortunate to entertain Marta and Elizabeth (although, their trip was more of a working one, since they came to help us when I had Luke).  There was a great summer visit from my sister and her family and Grandpa Kurk came for a week at Thanksgiving. I hope that 2015 brings much of the same!

And now for our yearly summary of the kids.  Thomas I did not confer before coming up with our 3 words. From youngest to oldest this time:

Luke:  He is a great baby with a fantastic disposition.  Even when he is crying, he often can't help but laugh if someone merely says the words, "peek-a-boo".  He adores his siblings and really just about everyone he comes into contact with.  He does not like being left alone.  He likes to be where the action is.  He still doesn't crawl, but can scoot himself wherever he needs to be.  He likes to pull himself to a standing position and I wonder if he may just skip crawling altogether.  If I had to describe Luke in three words, they would be: happy, determined and curious.  Thomas used: fun, curious and mellow.

Kara:  Our little Kare-Bear.  She started Kindergarten this year, but wants to be able to do whatever Jack and Anna do in first grade.  She especially likes to do their math worksheets and is very anxious to be a fluent reader (she knows many words and can already read simple books).  She likes to play outside and is an equal mix of tomboy and girly-girl.  She loves to put together outfits.  Her latest thing is to put something long-sleeved under her summer dresses with pants and boots (she loves boots).  She also loves playing with Littlest Pet Shop.  Kara wants to be a "grown-up doctor" when she grows up and her favorite show is Littlest Pet Shop.  She behaves perfectly at school (her teacher told me she was one of her 2 best students!) and has been anxious for winter break to end because she misses her friends and teachers.  She still reverts to whining and crying when she doesn't get her way, particularly when she is arguing with Anna or Jack.  She is usually nice to her friends, but does not hesitate to take action when she doesn't get her way (unless she's at school of course).  She is a fantastic big-sister who absolutely adores Luke.  For Kara's three words, I would use: smart, sweet and stubborn.  Thomas said sweet, volatile and caring.

Jack wants to be "someone who helps the community" when he grows up.  His favorite show, at this moment, is Liberty's Kid (probably because that is what he is watching).  As anyone who reads this blog knows, he is extremely interested in history.  He is very smart, in fact, he is almost as smart as he thinks he is (confidence is not an issue for Jack).  He is something of a first-grade ladies man, with two girls fighting to make him their boyfriend.  Yes, those are terms that first-graders use, heaven help me! Fortunately, he has told them both he is much too young, although, he admits that he does like one of them because she has such a "cute smile." Because a lot of things come easily to him, he gets frustrated when he has to work at something.  His temper has greatly improved, but he still has his moments.  He is a home-body and has probably inherited our introverted personalities, although he is not the least bit shy.  He often asks to leave parties early and does best when he is in a smaller group.  He enjoys school and adores his teacher.  His three words are: interested, kind and bright. According to Thomas, he is sweet, eager-to-learn and tough.

Anna is very precocious.  We were at Kohls yesterday and after looking at the toys, she wanted to see the make-up. Fortunately, she still enjoys playing little-girl games with Kara, especially Littlest Pet Shop.  She is really fun to have one-on-one; I am always happy when she wants to accompany me on errands.  She loves wearing footy pajamas and sometimes will change into them immediately after getting home from school. Unfortunately, she does not enjoy school.  She does fine academically, but always seems to feel like she isn't where she is supposed to be (which is not the least bit true).  She likes to be contrary, by her own admission she sometimes disagrees just for the sake of disagreeing. She enjoys dancing and singing and looks forward to her weekly dance class. When she grows up she wants to be a stay-at-home-mom, because she "likes taking care of people." Her favorite show is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and she also likes Hotwheels (which apparently we checked out from the library at some point this year--I have no recollection of them ever watching it).  I would describe Anna as imaginative, fun and sassy. Thomas described her as: smart, helpful, and dramatic.

I am so thankful for all four of my children.  At times, each of them can be challenging, but I am sure that is true of all of us.  I am also very thankful for my wonderful husband.  As I reflect on the year behind us and the one ahead, I pray that I will remember to focus on the things that truly matter.  I hope that we will end 2015 the same way we started: healthy, happy and together.

Christmas: The Main Event

Finally, it was Christmas morning.  We told the kids that we would go downstairs when everyone was up, but no earlier than 7.  Luke was awake shortly before 7 and when I went to get him, the girls were sitting in their doorway.  After I fed Luke, I told them they could come into our room and hang out with us until Jack woke up.  Jack slept until 7:30ish.  I wonder when kids start waking up at 5 on Christmas morning?  Not that I am complaining.

I went down first and plugged in the tree.  The kids came down excitedly behind me.  Thomas tried to capture it on video, but for the second year in a row, the video did not come out.  So, just picture what you think of when you hear the expression, "like a kid on Christmas morning" and that is what our kids looked like on Christmas morning.  We opened up our stockings and then I went to make breakfast.  The kids had decided they wanted breakfast casserole. We had already told them we were going to do a prolonged Christmas morning.  Instead of opening our gifts all at once, we were going to open a present every 30 minutes.  We told the kids this would give them an opportunity to enjoy each gift they opened and they were (surprisingly) on board.  We were going to cut back this year, and I guess we sort of did, but the kids still had about 17 presents each.  Many of those were small and that includes the gifts from relatives, but it was still a bigger number than we really wanted for them.

Anna's first gift was a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle blanket.  Jack opened some Minecraft figures and Kara opened a Littlest Pet Shop toy (don't worry, I'm building to a point here and don't plan on writing about all 70ish presents).  Anna spread her blanket on the floor and sat on it and Jack and Kara immediately began playing.  We picked our second gifts and Anna opened a largish lego set, Kara got an Elsa costume, and Jack also got legos. Anna wanted to open her legos and play on the family room floor.  We told her that she would need to go into another room because there just wasn't enough space to play where we were opening gifts.  With nothing to play with, she then muttered the best line of the day, "well, I guess I will just go sit on my blanket then." She stated this in a very droll voice and with a perfect sarcastic lift, knowing it was going to be another 30 minutes until the next unwrapping.  I am not sure it translates, but Thomas and I found it absolutely hilarious! That will be the new line we say to each other whenever we are not pleased with how something is unfolding.

Anna asked Thomas to swaddle her in the new blanket

Thomas set the timer on his watch and we continued unwrapping every 30 minutes.  We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast, Skyped with my sister and her family, ate way too many cookies, and just generally enjoyed the relaxed pace.  Around 3, we sped it up to every 15 minutes and then at 4 we were ready to see what Santa brought.  Each child had two gifts from the Big Guy.

Jack opened his first Santa gift to find a Lego Castle set.  He took it and literally ran into the basement. We didn't see him for another 2 hours and that was only because we made him come up for dinner. He had no interest in his Kindle, the "big" gift from Mom and Dad, or his new Wii game, which surprised us.  Anna got her requested game of Operation and some Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle dolls and Kara got the Doc Mobile and a Leap Pen.  Everyone was very pleased.

Of course, Thomas and I also got some great gifts.  Thomas is a fantastic gift-giver, it is one of his many talents.  He always manages to get me something very special.  This year it was a book called, "What I Love About You," filled with many happy memories, some funny and some sappy.  As an example, I just turned to a random page, which says:  Kori is sweet as Caroline Ingalls, strong like bull, smart as anyone, and brave as Mel Gibson in "Maverick" (he who runs away, lives to fight another day). What an awesome gift!  He also gave me a beautiful ring, earrings, the fitness watch I wanted (see, New Years Resolutions Blog--coming soon), and lots of other awesome stuff.
I gave him an old US Map (from 1793), a pen carved from a tree planted in 1770 at Mount Vernon, an old comic book and some smaller stuff.  We joke that Thomas' Christmas list is that of a ten-year old boy: comic books, baseball cards and legos. Fortunately, his mom sent him baseball cards and he got some legos from both the kids and me, so he was happy.  Whoever says Christmas is for the kids does NOT live in our house.

That brings us to the youngest member of the family.  Luke was not too impressed with Christmas. He managed to rip some of the paper, but not when it was the paper you were asking him to rip.  He was not very interested in his presents, although he seems to like them now. Overall, I would say he was mostly upset about all the changes in his routine. He was up a bit earlier than normal, missed his morning nap and had his play area overtaken by the rest of us.  Fortunately, he is a good-natured little fellow, so he has bounced back.  And, since it was his first Christmas, a few bonus pictures of the little Elf.

The last two presents were addressed to the whole family.  One was from Twinkles and was the game Parents Versus Kids, Disney Edition.  There was also a present from Santa, but no one was very interested, at least not at the same time.  Jack was busy with his legos and the girls were playing their Kindles.  It did not get opened on Christmas day.  On the 26th, the girls woke up and immediately wanted to play the Kindles.  We told them they had a few days of unrestricted use before the limitations began and they are taking full advantage.  Jack woke up and ran to the basement, shouting that he was "heading down to build."  It was 10 before anyone mustered any interest in breakfast.

On the 27th, we made them go outside and play for a while and then we finally opened the last gift. It was a karaoke machine with a microphone!  We immediately put it to use with an awesome impromptu concert.  Seriously, it is so much fun!  Jack is the least interested, but Thomas got him to sing along to a Weird Al song, The Saga Begins.  Anna and Kara and I have all had a "rehearsal" in preparation for tonight's show.  It is so much fun (so true, I had to repeat)!  Also, Luke clapped last night for the first time during the karaoke show.  I guess he was waiting for something profound to display this skill.  I guess Thomas rendition of "Achy Breaky Heart" was the push he needed!

Singing some Weird Al

Favorite gifts:
Anna: Operation and the Karaoke machine
Jack: Legos and Kindle
Kara:  Doc Mobile & everything
Kori: the aforementioned book
Thomas: the map & pen

Twas the Week Before Christmas

I have been a true blogging slacker this year.  I haven't written very often and I feel as though what I have written has not been very good.  I'm not sure who to blame, certainly not myself, so I will just say it was the fault of those pesky kids.  Of course, the year is not over, so if I were to do two blogs a day for the last week, I would be almost on goal.  This seems more appropriate for my New Year's blog, than my Christmas blog.  So, I will leave it at that for now.

Ahh, Christmas.  How I love you.  To wrap up the Holiday adventures we went to Mount Vernon's Family Christmas on the 20th.  We had a great time.  One of my favorite parts of the night was when one of the workers asked Jack if he knew anything about George Washington. Jack responded, "of course," and proceeded to rattle off more facts than I am guessing many of the grown-ups knew (i.e. he was born at Pope's Creek, he also lived at Ferry Farm, he was a great General, the first president, John Adams was his vice President, etc).  When he was done, the man praised him and asked, "have you heard the story of the cherry tree."  Jack responded, "yes, but it didn't really happen, some author just made it up."  Thomas was very proud of his history protege.

The kids were taught part of a 18th Century dance, we ate barbecue on the front lawn, listened to carolers (Anna is convinced her two student teachers were part of the group, but she wouldn't go up to them to confirm), toured the house, saw Aladdin, the Christmas Camel, and enjoyed the fireworks. They had troops showing what a winter encampment might have been like and troops riding around on horseback.  George, who should be addressed as Mr. President or General, and Martha were out and about.  On the way home, we stopped at Krispy Kreme, thus making it a perfect evening,  The only drawback was that poor Luke was very cold.  When I went inside to feed him, his legs were like ice cubes.  We had him in jeans and a blanket on top of him, but in retrospect, I should have put layers on his legs like I did for the rest of him.  Because it was dark, we didn't take any pictures.  So, here is a random one of Twinkles, our Elf on the Shelf.

We relaxed the rest of the weekend.  On Sunday, Thomas was outside playing with the older kids when Jack ran in to get me.  He told me that Thomas needed me right away and that he was hurt.  I assumed it was some sort of a trick, but Jack was insistent. I later learned that Jack also assumed it was some kind of trick and made Thomas confirm his seriousness before he came to get me, which I think must say something about the kind of tricks Thomas is known to play.  Although, in his defense, I don't think they usually involve injuries, he is not that kind of jokester. I followed Jack outside and saw Thomas writhing on the ground in obvious pain.  He had been running when his ankle simply collapsed with a "crunch" underneath him.  He refused to go to the hospital. We did the ice and elevation and hoped for the best.  Monday, he could bear a little weight, so he decided it was probably just a bad sprain.  Fast-forward to today, Saturday, and he is still in pain.  It is still swollen and bruised and he is still refusing to go the doctor.  However, he has said he will go on Monday if it does not improve significantly.  So, stay tuned to see whether or not his procrastination was reasonable.  I just took these pictures for the blog, so the bruising is how it looks on Day 6.  I wish I had a picture of the swelling and bruising on Day 3.  That was an (awful) site to behold.

Monday was the kids first day off from school.  We did some holiday baking and wrapping and Anna resumed her dance classes.  She had been missing dance, so I e-mailed the studio owner and learned a new class had just started.  Anna was a bit nervous to go without Kara and was very excited when one of our neighbors turned out to be a classmate.  Tuesday, was more more of the same.  Each night we watched a Christmas movie. I tried to convince the kids to go look at lights, but they just weren't interested.  It was pretty funny to watch them watching, "Home Alone."  Jack just cackled the whole way through, at one point, exclaiming, "it's like a real life Tom and Jerry!!!"  We also watched Elf and The Santa Clause.

On Christmas Eve, we did our traditional Christmas cookie baking.  Like many families, my mother always did rolled sugar cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve and I am happy to pass on the tradition. Thomas joined in and even Luke enjoyed sitting at the table with us, especially when he got his hands on the floury spatula.

I wasn't pay attention to what I was doing while making the frosting and instead of locking my mixer into place, I turned it on and the sugar went everywhere!  Despite my  best somewhat lazy efforts at cleaning, the floor is still sticky.

Because the kids were so good all day, we let them open one present each.  They all chose a present from their Grandma Kathie and Grandpa Dave.  We had received a huge box from them a couple of days earlier, that was filled to the brim with gifts and they were anxious to get to them.  After all that excitement, we read The Night Before Christmas and called it a day.

Anna opened a headband maker

Jack was thrilled to receive Lincoln Logs

Last, but not least, Kara with a Littlest Pet Shop toy

Stay tuned for the Christmas morning post!

Holiday Fun (Photos Galore)

Like just about everyone, we LOVE the time between Thanksgiving and New Years. This year, we had every weekend accounted for with some great activities.  The first weekend, we took our annual Norfolk trip.  This year, we went down for Thomas' drill weekend.  Unfortunately, that meant he had to work during the day.  But, there just wasn't enough time to make the trip twice in December.

We left after shortly after the kids got out of school on Friday and arrived around 8pm. Thomas checked us into our lodging and we headed to the apartment.  When we got there it appeared as though the apartment was already occupied.  Thomas went in and saw that they had given us a single room in a shared apartment.  Can you imagine that with the 6 of us? Fortunately, it was just a mix-up, and we were back in our $76/night home about 30 (stressful) minutes later.  We had a nice 4-bedroom apartment.  It was exactly like the one we stayed in last time, so everyone ran up to "their" rooms.  We had to adjust a bit because of Luke, so Anna and Jack happily decided to bunk together. Kara was thrilled that her room had a chair and a laundry basket. She decided that meant her room was like a hotel room in and of itself and was thrilled with the arrangement. She insisted on using the laundry basket and invited everyone to throw away their trash in her trash basket.  Ahhh, the little things!  It was very sweet.  The weather greatly interfered with our plans, on Monday morning we went out to breakfast, took Thomas to work and headed to the Children's Museum in Portsmouth instead of the zoo.  We were going to just go for the morning and meet Thomas for lunch, but the kids were having too much fun.  We ended up staying until Thomas was done for the day.  That meant no naps for Luke, but he is always so happy to be out and about that he was fine.

Anna surrounding herself with a giant bubble in the bubble room

Kara loved pretending to drive the bus

"Fishing" was Jack's favorite activity.

Hanging out in the music room

Luke helped to check Jack out in the grocery store

Jack playing on the stage while Anna and Kara manned the lighting

The massive train room

Luke loved playing with the train tables

Faces of Jack.  I loved this thing.  I want one for our playroom.

Kara and Anna in full profile

We went to Chick-Fil-A for dinner and then did the Botanical Gardens drive through lights.  As always, it was completely amazing!  We read that they have been nominated as one of the 10 best in the country.  There were a few new elements and even with the drizzle, it was still great and everyone loved it.

Sunday was another rainy day, which left me with few options.  I thought about taking them to a movie, but wasn't sure how Luke would hold up.  So, we did something I swore we would never do. Chuck-E-Cheese.  I told the kids I had a surprise for them and as I was driving looking for it, the girls noticed it and Jack said, "Mom, isn't taking us there.  She would NEVER take us to Chuck-E-Cheese!" It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be, but my threshold was really, REALLY, low.  We still have a bunch of tokens left, so I am even willing to try the one out near us.

Luke and Chuck

Thomas got off a bit early and we headed home.  It wasn't nearly the trip we've had in previous years, where we have gone to Christmas Towne at Busch Gardens or other Williamsburg activities, but it is always nice to go and show the kids where they were born and we do love the Botanical Gardens.  

The next weekend, Thomas and I had a date night on Friday.  We went out to dinner (Texas Roadhouse) and then went to Sotterley for Christmas by Candle Light.  They have people act out what was happening on the plantation in years past.  It was a nice evening away.

Saturday, we were back at Sotterley for their family event.  We did a tractor ride down to the river, saw the animals in the petting zoo, walked around for a while and did several crafts.  It was a lot of fun.  Saturday night was the Darrow's annual Christmas party.  Alecia and Josh always do an awesome job. We built gingerbread houses, ate delicious food, played a Christmas themed game of Family Feud and another game where we had to sing and then did the white elephant gift exchange. We brought some candles that Thomas was really reluctant to give-up.  He wanted them back, but despite our best efforts, they kept getting stolen away.  We ended up with an iTunes gift card and some toffee.  A fun time was definitely had by all.

Making a bird feeder at Sotterley

Sunday (we are up to December 14th!) we went to Cookies with the Clauses in Solomons.  It was fantastic!  We decorated gingerbread cookies (they were from a local bakery and were delicious), made crafts and then Mrs. Claus read us a story.  After that, Santa called up each child by name and gave them a small gift.  It cost $8/person and I felt like they must have spent more than they made. .  Mr. and Mrs. Claus were very personable.  When a kid asked for electronics, they talked about a waiver parents have to sign and how kids have to be in the top 5% to even qualify.  They were just really funny and clever.  The kids and the parents were all very entertained.  Luke even made a friend!  There was another baby there that was just 2 weeks younger than Luke.  They kept grabbing each other and laughing.  We all had such a good time!  The place was beautifully decorated and they even had fake snow blowing as you walked in.  Really, I just can't say enough good about it.

Decorating

Kara's finished product

Luke and friend

Luke's first visit with Santa

Four cute kids

This week in school has been full of fun for the kids.  The first grade had cookie decorating parties on Wednesday.  I went in to help Jack's class.  Because of his food allergies, I like to be in his room when there is food around.  Thursday was Kara's Kindergarten sing along. Her class sang "Must be Santa" and "Rudolph, the Red Nosed Reindeer."  She did a wonderful job and loved getting dressed up.  I even let her wear my Christmas lights earrings and necklace.  Today is pajama day for all their classes. They get to watch the Polar Express and eat popcorn.  Everyone was eager to go to school all week long.  Earlier in the week we made treat bags and some gifts for their teacher, 17 gifts, of varying size, in total. They really enjoyed playing Santa and handing things out to their favorite school personnel.  

Pajama Day!

This weekend we are going to go to Mount Vernon for their evening family event and we are hoping to go to the Christmas Village, a new activity at the county fairgrounds.  Every night we do our Christmas countdowns, Advent Calendars, and the Naughty or Nice ornament (which almost always unfairly tells Kara she has been naughty, at which point she almost always gets very upset).