Hey, is all this turbulence from Santa and those 8 tiny reindeer?

December was full of excitement for us.  We took a trip to the dentist which wasn't all bad but Adri is sooo going to need braces.  Our furnace broke which is surprising since most of the stuff that makes our house comfortable tends to brake right before my mom comes to visit, but we got it fixed the next day without much hassle.  I turned 33 and actually remembered my birthday this year - a big accomplishment for me.  Jason won the fantasy football league in his family this year which is no small feat, just ask Jarom.  We had a nice quiet Christmas and topped things off with a trip to IKEA where the kids got to eat free and spend time in Small Land, and I got a great deal from the as-is section.  I'm not sure how 2013 can compare to that.

Just one more?

Christmas was busier than usual for me this year since I decided it would be a super awesome idea to MAKE a whole bunch of presents by hand.  All the gifts turned out great and I had a swell  time making them but it was a whole lot more work than I had originally thought it would be.  I made a birthday calendar, three lace crowns, a few family trees and what can best be described as a felt board nativity.  It was originally from the December 1977 issue of The Friend, my mom copied it to make one that we have used in my family for years.  This year I made one for my sister and it was totally worth it (featured at the bottom of this post).  Other great gifts from this year include my new dresser from IKEA (my socks have a home now), trucks for Luke, shirts for Jason, and dolls clothes for the girls.  Oh, did I mention we got a piano? We totally did (thanks, Gramma).

Crowns

Family trees

Piano!

 

Charlotte is getting bigger but is definitely making sure that we all still recognize her as the baby.  She is very insistent on feeding herself now, which would be great except that she makes a huge mess and barely eats anything in her bowl.  The baby in her still doesn't understand the basic concept of yes and no so, in Charlottese, "no" means yes and "aaaahhh!!!!" means no.  She is now over 20lbs so we put her in the forward facing car seat but she has suddenly decided that she needs to suck her thumb and carry a blanket with her all the time.  She quite often resembles Linus, although a much cuter version.  And to make sure we don't forget who's in charge she has perfected her pouting skills and also loves to give every mother in the grocery store a heart attack as she angrily tries to jump out of my shopping cart.  For sure she is not my easiest baby but she's still pretty dang cute.

This is pretty much how is it morning, noon and night.

Luke tried to get in as much outside play as he could before it got too cold.  He loves to play in the dirt with his trucks and would happily to do it barefoot it I'd let him.  He's been a real trooper accompanying me to various craft stores and other boring mom places, so we've made sure to visit the museums more and we even took a detour to Chuck-E-Cheese once.  He is very much in a construction car phase right now and loves watching Dinosaur Train again now that we found the DVDs at the library.

Juliet is just adorable and so easy to please.  For Christmas I got her a scooter like the one Adrienne got last year.  She got some other items that were very cool but if you ask her what she got for Christmas she will undoubtedly say, "I got my very own jr. mints!"  I put them in her stocking and after everything was unwrapped they were still her favorite - although I can't blame her, they're very refreshing!

These cups are from the set Jason and I got when we were married and this is honestly the first time anyone has ever used them.

Adrienne was recently introduced to the game Catch Phrase (Alixa, you might remember it better as the game you broke when you met me for the first time).  She has quickly mastered it and, even when presented with a word she is unfamiliar with, will find a way to make you say the sounds that make up the word.  Jason was much impressed with her skills and they constantly play it in the car and during the evening at home.

 My birthday party involved pizza and an intense game of pin the beard on the Santa.

  No, Cat, it wasn't me who arranged the cups and bowls like this. 

 I'm sure it was someone related to me though.

 We got our first snow of the year on Christmas eve and the kids spent the evening outside enjoying the weather and their new sled.

 

 

 As usual Luke has a hard time deciding just which truck is his favorite

Now why didn't I take a picture of her with her jr. mints?

 Our traditional meal of snow, although this is actually from the second snow of the year since all the stuff from Christmas eve was gone by Christmas morning.

Quotes:

 

 

Annie:  Luke, don't jump on my bed!

Luke:  I'm not, I'm jumping off your bed.

 

Luke:  Where's Mom?

Jason:   She's teaching her class.

Luke:  She's holding a cat??

 

Annie:  Juliet, good job on that yoga move!

Juliet:  Thanks, but it's not really my job.

 

Juliet:  I love you.

Annie:  I love you, too!

Juliet:  And I love drinking water.

 

Annie:  Where is this Christmas ornament?

Adrienne:  Oh, I know!  I kicked it just a minute ago.

Annie:  You kicked it?!

Adrienne:  I mean I moved it out of the way with my foot.

 

Luke:  Dad, that's a nice shirt. Does it talk?

Jason:  No, does your shirt talk?

Luke:  No, my self talks.

 

Annie:  My neck feels better because I've been stretching it out.

Juliet:  Don't stretch it too much, it might fall off!

 

(Previous quote: Napoleon Dynamite, Winner:  Carolyn)

 

 

Now, this may not seem like much but I love it and will probably make another set for myself.

 

Jesus, Asleep

 

This is Mary. 

This is Joseph. 

This is the donkey gray. 

This is the town of Bethlehem where they would like to stay. 

This is the stable. 

This is a manger by a cattle stall. 

This is Baby Jesus, the Savior of us all.

 This is a shepherd.

 

 

This is an angel. 

This is a brand new star. 

Later would come the wise men, traveling from afar. 

This was the very first Christmas that anyone did keep,

In honor of Baby Jesus--

Shhh!  He's fallen asleep.

 

 

 

The kids liked it, too.