Making Ice Cubes

Last week we learned a little bit about the letter I. For dinner we decided to make Red Raspberry ICE CUBES to put in our lemonade. Braiden added the red food coloring and we then put raspberries into each of the ice cube slots. Braiden thought they were awesome. I thought they tasted delicious. Daddy enjoyed the ice cubes as well.

Braiden's Reward

Braiden has a sunshine reward chart. He has 5 things that he needs to do everyday including brushing his teeth, picking up the toys, and listening and obeying. When he does the things he needs to do, he gets sunshine's to put on his chart. If he only misses 5 or less sunshine's for the week, then he gets to choose a reward. He either gets to do something with Daddy, something with Mommy or something with the whole family. Last week he earned something to do with Daddy. He of course chose riding the snowmobile. We didn't have much time and didn't have as much snow as we would have liked, but luckily our backyard was big enough for the adventure. JT and Braiden went out for a ride. Braiden loved every minute of it, as did JT. They would live on the machine if you would let them. Gavin and I got a little of the ride on video. Every time the boys would come up close to the window, Gav would wave and yell at them. It was so cute. When I went to get him on video, of course he wouldn't do it. Oh well. I love my boys.

The Car Show

Every year around this time there is a car show up at the South Towne Expo Center. Since J.T. loves cars and is around them all of the time, we get tickets to go. He invited his Dad to come with us. We had such a fun family night. Braiden thought all of the cars were so cool. He loved getting new books full of cars. He wanted to sit in a lot of them. Gavin got tired of sitting in his stroller, so I let him down for a few minutes. He would take off. We mostly played chase while the other boys looked at the cars. We had a great time and saw some pretty neat cars. We then stopped at Cracker Barrel (our favorite) for dinner. It was delicious. We had a great night. We will remember it for a long time.

The Birth day!

The next day was Gavin's real birthday. Since is was Sunday, he opened his presents from us in the morning and then had a party with my side that evening after church. He was not quite awake when we had him open his presents. He got a rocking horse and some blocks. Braiden gave him a ambulance that he can push around. It was a pretty good day. Then the next party began. Gavin was spoiled rotten this weekend. We are so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends. We had a zoo themed cake. I tried a little harder to make it presentable. I also got this new cupcake stand that I think is fabulous. Gavin loved all of his presents and he even smashed his cupcake everywhere. He did eat some, I think. He was such a good boy for the parties. It was so fun to celebrate. On to another year. I can't wait.

{A Weekend to Celebrate!}

Yes, that is was. Guess what happened last weekend? My baby turned 1 year old?!? It is crazy to think that a whole year has already flown by. I love it! Even though Gavin is walking, climbing, and eating everything (he is not supposed to) I love the stage that he is at. He will wave, clap, smile his cheesy smile, show he is one, and say Mama, Dada and Braid. I love this little guy. He is so sweet and kind. He is also very sneaky. I find him in various places all the time. He loves his brother and his brother loves him. I LOVE that. It is so fun to have him around. I am so blessed to have this sweet little boy.
On to party #1. Since Mike's birthday is just a few days before Gavin's, we celebrated together at Mike and Alex's. As you will see, even Stewart got into the festivities. Happy Birthday Mike and Gavin. We had a great time. Gavin looked at his candle and got some really fun things. Thanks everyone for everything.

Trumann, Ed, and Braiden

Mike

Gavin with his cake

The party hat

Ellie relaxing

Stewart all ready for the party

Learning about the Letter H

We have started learning about our letters again. We continued on with the letter H. We had so much fun this week. We made a HIPPO HAND puppet, a HARMONICA, and HATS made out of newspaper. Braiden really got the HARMONICA to work pretty well. Gavin would not keep his HAT on for more than two seconds. I am lucky to have a picture. We love finding new fun things to do. It is so fun to watch them learn and grow.

Christmas Morning

We had a fabulous Christmas morning. The boys slept in until around 7:10 am. That was perfect. I went out and got the lights on, the music going and the camera rolling. At this point in time Gavin was walking. They both walked right in and weren't quite sure what to think. Braiden immediately wanted to go to his stocking. That is really funny because both JT and I would do that first when we were at home as well. We are so very blessed. The boys both got bikes. Gavin can use his as either a push walker or a bike. They both got some new clothes and books. We were so excited that Santa came to visit. The boys are going to be good this next year, so he will come again. It was so fun spending time with my little family in the morning. I love them so much:)

Christmas PJ's

Each year on Christmas Eve, we always got to open a new pair of pajamas to wear. We have continued that tradition on with my kids. They were so excited for Santa and Christmas. They opened their pj's and then we read our Christmas story we got this year. We then put Baby Jesus and the star up on our countdown nativity. It was really fun. We also put straw in a bed for Baby Jesus every night. He had quite the bed by Christmas eve. We had a great holiday season. We couldn't wait for the big day:) It was almost here.

Christmas Eve at the Roach's

I can't believe Christmas has come and gone already. Each Christmas Eve we go over to my Grandma and Grandpa Roach's house. It is always so much fun. We eat dinner. (of course) We always have little appetizers before and then enjoy a very yummy meal. We then have all of the grandkids and great grandkids act out the nativity. We had plenty of actors and actresses this year. Kyson even got to be the new baby Jesus. It was so great:) Grandpa then always reads us The Night Before Christmas. My favorite part of the story is when my Grandpa says, "A bowl full of jelly." I love how he says it. It always makes me smile! We then open presents. Gavin and Braiden each got such a fun toy. Thank you everyone for making the night so much fun. Grandma and Grandpa we love you and thank you for all you do for us!

Festival of Lights

The ski jumper

Santa and company

Gavin waking up just as we got home

Braiden all ready to see the lights

We had really wanted to take the boys to see the Festival of Lights. How fun was it when the Harrison's sent us a fun Christmas story and the treat to go to Festival of Lights. Thank you Harrison's! We had so much fun. Unfortunately Gavin slept the entire time, but Braiden loved, loved, loved it. The line was forever because it was the Monday before Christmas. Hello Family night. It didn't take very long though to get into the park. We drove around listening to the Christmas music and enjoying all of the fun lights. The pictures all turned out a little blurry, but that's OK. We did have so much fun. Next year hopefully Gavin will be awake and be able to enjoy them with us as well!

Allan Family Christmas Party

Ellie

Gavin

Trumann

Edward

Some of the group listening to the program

We had to Allan family party the Sunday before Christmas. It was at my sister-in-law, Jenny's house this year. She got her family room finished in her basement right before the party. It was beautiful. They did such a great job. It worked perfectly. We were able to all eat upstairs in the dining room and then go down for the gift swap and program. We sang songs and heard the story of baby Jesus. The gift swap was fun as usual. We all had a really good time. Thanks to Brad and Jenny for having us over. We had a great time.

All ready for church

Each year my boys get new church clothes to wear the Sunday before Christmas. This year JT got a matching tie as well. Don't my boys look so handsome. I love them so much. I am so blessed to have such wonderful boys!

Peterson Christmas Party

Gavin with his reindeer antlers

Maddox and Braiden

Braiden showing off one of his prizes

Cortlynn

Gavin with Grandpa Bryon opening his prize

We had such a fun time before Christmas at Grandma and Grandpa Peterson's house. We always enjoy a yummy dinner. This year was no exception. We had turkey, ham, potatoes, and Grandma's delicious homemade candy. We were so lucky to get some:) We then play BINGO. It is so much fun to see everyone yelling BINGO. There are a few of us, so it gets a little crazy sometimes. When a few people have BINGO, it seems Grandma and Grandpa are running around everywhere to get everyone their prizes. I love going to my Grandma and Grandpa's house. I am so grateful for all they do for us. We had such a good time with our family. Thank you so much for the fun party. We love you!