Happy New Year's Eve! 12/31/12

Although very few in our house will likely make it until Midnight to celebrate the New Year, we had a fantastic family day on New Year's Eve!  We woke up in the morning to the start of an all-day snow!  Unfortunately, Daddy had some work to do so the kids & I had lots of fun play time upstairs in their play room.  They loved baking cookies and opened their own bakery.  Luckily, they only charged $.45/cookie - a bargain these days!

After rest time, Daddy took a break so we could all go out in the snow.  This was Peyton's second snow to play in this year but Garrison's first - really the first time he has ever played in snow!  He wasn't totally sure about it at first but had a great time sledding with big sis and running around the driveway & sidewalk while we built our first snowman!  Peyton LOVED decorating the snowman Daddy helped build (ok, Daddy did most of the building...).  Peyton was very excited to see that her snowman was still there when she went to bed!

And what is New Year's Eve without a toast.  We got out our crystal stemware for a toast of sparkling grape juice before bedtime!

We had a fantastic 2012 - one filled with lots of family time, fun activities, lots of learning/development for both kids, vacations and a new home - I can't wait to see what 2013 brings for our family!!

Weekly Happenings - 12/24 - 12/30

1.  On Christmas Eve, Tinkerbelle landed next to our nativity to pray beside Baby Jesus on the night before the celebration of his birth.  Peyton was very excited!

2.  This year we celebrated Christmas with Grammy & Grandpa on Christmas Eve.  We started our celebration with a tasty lunch at Will Jenny's followed by presents at our house!  We were so happy to have Grammy & Grandpa celebrate at our new home this year!  Peyton & Garrison both really got into the process of opening gifts and Peyton insisted on trying on most of her clothes (a new leotard & wet suit) as soon as she opened them!  They loved all of their gifts but favorites included Peyton's new ironing board and Garrison's new paint brush toy.

3.  To make sure Santa & his reindeer were taken care of, Peyton spread lots of reindeer food in the front yard (check-out the thick winter coat & rain boots!) and both  kids put together a great plate of cookies for Santa!  As Peyton was carrying the plate of cookies over to the cabinet, a few fell off.  Peyton just put the plate down, told Daddy, "they just keep jumping off of the plate" before picking them up and placing the plate for Santa.  She is hilarious these days!

4.  Wow - Santa must have realized we have GREAT kids as he treated them very well on Christmas morning!  Peyton woke up around 5:45 and we were able to get her to watch a few cartoons in our room to let Garrison sleep until 6:30 (early for him!).  Peyton loved her Princess Castle and Garrison had fun driving his Tonka dump truck.

5.  After we got through all of Santa's gifts we opened our family gifts.  Highlights included "an American doll" for Peyton - she named her Piocano, Garrison's Mickey barn, Amanda's new scuba gear & clothes for vacation & Chad's new robe and iPad Mini!  We had a wonderful Christmas morning that was capped-off with Christmas mass.  We didn't think the kids would make it through Christmas Eve mass so we opted for Christmas Day instead.  It was a beautiful mass and a great way to spend part of our morning, celebrating the birth of Jesus!

6.  After lunch we drove to Grandma & Grandpa Todd's to celebrate with Daddy's family.  The kids were excited to see their stockings full & lots more presents to open.  A few favorites included Garrison's Rockin' Mickey Mouse & Peyton's sparkly vest and matching boots!  After the presents were all opened, it was time for dinner.  After that, we didn't see much of the kids - they were all too busy playing with their new toys.  Garrison tried his best to keep up with Peyton & Whitney (and their many tea parties & games).  Every once and a while, though, he would come back and check on baby Morgan Clinton.  Check-out his "gentle touches" in the picture below!

7.  On Wednesday, Grammy came up to do a little after Christmas shopping with me!  We surprised Peyton by picking her up just before lunch and let her choose where we went (as long as it wasn't McDonalds!).  She looked at me and said, "It's okay, Mommy, I wasn't going to choose McDonalds anyway.  I want to go to Freddy's."  Such a big girl!  After lunch we went to the mall to wrap-up our shopping - it was a bit crazy but we had a fun girls day!  Peyton also enjoyed showing off all of her fun new things to Grammy after our shopping trip.

8.  On Thursday, Grandma & Grandpa Todd came up to visit and to see all of the kids' goodies!  Garrison slept through lunch but Peyton enjoyed a special treat of McDonalds as a break from playing. I hear, though, that Grandpa almost lost his title - Peyton once told him if he went downstairs he wasn't going to be her Grandpa anymore!  Guess she means business! ;)

9.  On Friday, Grammy & Grandpa came back to the city to pick-up the kids for a sleepover as I wanted to get some organizing done with the kids' new toys and clothes and Chad had a lot of work he had to get done before the weekend.  Plus, we had the chance to go out to a tasty "adult" dinner at Bonefish to celebrate New Years a bit early!  Everyone wins!

When the kids arrived they found Santa had made a stop by Grammy & Grandpa's too!  On Saturday morning, we joined the kids at Grammy & Grandpa's for our Mintun Christmas celebration.  Peyton had been busy helping get the meal together and we enjoyed visiting with everyone while Garrison had a nap.  After his nap, we opened gifts - well, the kids opened everyone's gifts for them!  Then we gathered around the table for a tasty prime rib dinner.  With this celebration we wrapped-up Christmas - always tough to have the season come to an end but we had a GREAT couple of days!!

  

Weekly Happenings - 12/17 - 12/23

1.  Rarely do you find all three of our "kids" sitting peacefully together so I had to get a picture - this was on Tuesday morning while Mommy & Daddy were still getting ready for work.  Of course, I had just taken Garrison's paci away and he wasn't too happy - Peyton wanted to stick her tongue out for the picture - hey, can't win them all!

2.  On Tuesday, Grammy came up around lunch time to meet me at the house and head to Lidia's for a tasty Mother-Daughter lunch!  It was very spur of the moment (which for those of you that know both of us well know this is rare!) but we had a great time enjoying a quiet, nice lunch - just the two of us!

3.  Then on Wednesday morning, Peyton asked me if she could wash her feet.  Seemed innocent enough to me so I said yes.  I went into the bedroom to get dressed and less than 3 minutes later walked back into the bathroom to find this....

Um, Peyton, you are a little too big for a bathroom sink now, sweetie!

4.  Garrison loves yogurt, always has.  Recently he has taken to feeding himself his yogurt.  This, my friends, is what happens when Mommy turns her back for a quick second.  He was quite proud of his mess!

5.  Thursday brought our first snow of the year and it was enough to actually play in this year!  Peyton begged to play outside all morning but the wind was still blowing pretty hard and it was COLD!  After lunch, the wind died down so we bundled up and played outside making snow angels, sledding in the back yard - we even had a snow ball fight!  After our fun in the snow, we warmed up with a tasty cup of hot cocoa!

6.  On Friday, I took the day off to spend with my favorite little girl!  We started our day with breakfast from Chick Fil A with Daddy since he was working from home.  Then we went down to Crown Center.  We visited the Gingerbread Village, Crayola Wonderland, had lunch at Fritz's (Peyton was SO proud to get the food from the train all by herself!), went ice skating and played on a lot of the outdoor vehicles (Peyton's favorite was the rocket ship where we flew to the top of the huge Christmas tree right outside).  We had a fantastic day of just relaxing and spending time together - wouldn't trade it for anything in the world!

7.  Tinkerbelle, our elf from the North Pole has been visiting for almost a month now.  Most days she finds a spot in the house to keep an eye out on the kids to make sure they stay on the "nice" list!  Every once and a while, she has a trick up her sleeve.  One morning we found her with a tissue folded up as a pillow and another as a blanket.  Peyton's response - "Tinkerbelle shouldn't use Daddy's Kleenex's, she should give them back!"  Then, Tinkerbelle got into the M&Ms to leave Peyton a message that Santa would be coming in 3 days!  Peyton's response, "Tinkerbelle shouldn't be playing with our M&Ms."  Guess we have taught Peyton good manners.  She eventually came around to think both were fun ideas but it took some convincing!

8.  Our daily Advent activities have continued, Saturday we made reindeer food!

9.  Saturday evening was our first family holiday celebration - we met with Daddy's extended family to celebrate Christmas.  Before and after dinner the kids enjoyed playing in the gym and after dinner, a special visitor from up North brought gifts to all of the kids.  Garrison was less than thrilled to take his gift from Santa but Peyton walked right up to get hers!

10.  On Sunday, we spent the day with Spidergirl!  Peyton has really taken to playing dress-up and was thrilled that we let her stay in her costume all day today - she went to Home Depot, delivered Christmas treats and even had dinner at Olive Garden as Spidergirl! :)

11.  Check-out Peyton's shorter hair in the pic above.  We got the kids' hair cut on Saturday and Peyton's request was to have hers "cut like Mommy's because I want to be like Mommy" - melted my heart!  We cut a big chunk off and she loved it!

12.  While reading books one night this week, Peyton picked out "The Christmas Story."  She told me, "Mommy, we need to read this one tonight because it is almost Jesus' birthday!"  LOVE that she knows the true meaning of this season!

Weekly Happenings - 12/10 - 12/16

1.  This week we had the kids' holiday parties - I started in Peyton's class room and after they had their snacks, Peyton joined me at Garrison's party!  Garrison was excited to have us both there!  We managed to miss Santa at both parties but tracked him down before heading home a few minutes early - a nice Friday treat!

2.  On Saturday, Grammy & Grandpa came up for a visit.  Daddy & Grandpa went shopping for Grandpa a couple of new golf clubs while the rest of us played in the kids rooms (a new favorite of the kids!).  Then, while Daddy & I went out to a super tasty dinner, Grammy, Grandpa & the kids had fun playing and making a rice krispy wreath for dessert - yum!

3.  Bright and early on Sunday morning, Mommy, Daddy, Peyton, Garrison, Grammy & Grandpa all drove to church for mass & Peyton's Christmas program.  I wasn't sure Peyton would sing but man, I couldn't have been more wrong!   Peyton was pretty much the loudest singer in her group and she did a great job of singing, dancing and smiling the whole time!  Wow - what a performer!  After the end of the program, Santa came for a visit!  What a special day!!

This is the class I teach - they were so well behaved waiting for the program!

Away in a Manager

4.  Shortly after the program, we drove to our nephew's baptism & reception.  We didn't make it quite in time for the baptism but enjoyed the reception and a visit with Grandma & Grandpa Todd before heading home for the evening.  Peyton loved getting to hold baby Morgan Clinton!

5.  Peyton is definitely her father's child!  Right before bed the other night she went potty and came back to watch some more TV before bed.  Daddy asked her if she had pottied - she said yes, Daddy said he didn't hear a flush.  Peyton ran back into the bathroom, flushed, ran back and said, "Did you hear it now?"

6.  Peyton is getting very expressive.  While Daddy was hanging Christmas lights and getting ready to plug two strands together, Peyton exclaimed, "DON'T DO IT!!!!"  She is quite the jokester these days!

7.  Garrison has officially learned where the snacks are kept and has started bringing us a bowl and his goldfish.  He is now not only signing "more" but saying it too!  His vocabulary is expanding and he is becoming more independent every day!