Advent Activities - I think I bit off more than I can chew.

In November, I posted my list of activities I had hoped to do with the family throughout December. I'm pretty sure I bit off more than I could chew. It was a great plan, and we did get some of it done, but as you know December tends to be busy all on its own. Here are a few pictures of the things we did get done:

Cookie Decorating w/ the neighbors

Feeding the reindeer w/ reindeer food that was made at a neighbor's house :) (Thanks, Jill!)

Each of the kids wrote letters to Santa. Gene, our elf, typed them up nice and pretty for the kids to mail off to Santa.

We also made paper chains to count down to Christmas.

There were a few others that we accomplished, too, but not all of  them were documented with pictures. We'll try to do better next year. :)

White Christmas? Yes, please!

This year, we had a white Christmas. I can't remember actually ever having a white Christmas. I'm sure I've lived through one in my younger years, but this was so much fun! We even got to have a snowball fight Christmas evening.

I don't think Donny remembers playing in the snow a couple years ago. He thought this was great! I think he thought it was frozen milk all over the place. At one point he even said, "It tastes like milk." :)

Even Aunt Amy got in on the fun. She got a surprise attack from her big brother, but she got her revenge, too. :)

I got to throw things at my kids FOR FUN! It doesn't get much better than that. :)

And, of course, you can't have all this snow around and not make snow angels. They're a thing of beauty!

We missed Grandma W this year. It was our first Christmas without her. I liked the thought that Aunt Amy said earlier Christmas Day - Nelda (Grandma W) now has an 'in' with the Big Guy and asked him to make it snow. She got the white Christmas she always wanted.

Christmas Morning

Just a quick post to remember what the kids got for Christmas this year.

These were the kids' big gifts this year.

Donny got a keyboard. He loves playing the piano at Grandma and Grandpa Drummond's house, and he enjoys playing the organ at Grandma J's and Aunt Amy's house.

Braelyn got a guitar...a real one. You can see from the picture how much she loves it! Now, we just have to find someone to teacher her lessons.

Saying "Good-bye" to Gene

We had a lot of fun with Gene this year.

He did a lot of fun things this year such as:

* brought snow donuts straight from the North Pole

* decorated the tree with toilet paper

* went fishing in the toilet with goldfish crackers

* brought us a new book about Jesus and Christmas

* brought us new Christmas movies

* sat in a bowl of Cheerios - he even made a mess on the counter for Mommy to clean up!

* napped in the cake tray because he was sick :(

* sat in a bowl of marshmallows and took a bite out of one of our sugar cookies

Just like last year, he got permission from Santa for the kids to give him one hug and kiss each to say 'good-bye' before he had to leave Christmas Eve. We can't wait for him to come back again next year!

2012 Advent Activities

**Updated on Jan. 4, 2013 to note which activities actually got completed

Dec. 1 - Make a paper chain to count down to Christmas; Christmas Parade & Tree Lighting (done)
Dec. 2 - Write a letter to Santa (done)
Dec. 3 - Adopt an Angel (done - we adopted 2)
Dec. 4 - Make Smores
Dec. 5 - Indoor picnic by the tree (done)
Dec. 6 - DQ Peppermint Blizzard (done)
Dec. 7 - Take goodies to the neighbors (done)
Dec. 8 - Go out to dinner - kids' choice (done)
Dec. 9 - Pictures w/ Santa (done)
Dec. 10 - Make paper snowflakes to decorate the glass door
Dec. 11 - Make ice cream sundaes (done)
Dec. 12 - Play a game
Dec. 13 - Nighttime walk to look at neighbors' Christmas lights
Dec. 14 - Get new Christmas PJ's (done)
Dec. 15 - Cookie decorating w/ neighbors (done)
Dec. 16 - Buy a gift for your teacher (done)
Dec. 17 - Breaksfast for dinner (done)
Dec. 18 - Hot chocolate w/ marshmallows & sprinkles (done)
Dec. 19 - Hunt for chocolate kisses while listening to Christmas music
Dec. 20 - Read a Christmas book (done)
Dec. 21 - Neighborhood hayride/kids' gift exchange (done)
Dec. 22 - Christmas movie w/ treats (done at a later date)
Dec. 23 - North Pole Express train ride (SOLD OUT) :(
Dec. 24 - Make reindeer food to sprinkle in the yard (done)

This is the first year for us to do something like this. I'm so excited about it! Do you do this with your family? I'd love for you to share your ideas. :)

Adventures in Potty Training

Conversation with Donny:


Me: Donny, go potty.
Donny: It came out by itself.
Me: Then go change your pants.
Donny: By myself?! (in shock that I would even suggest such a thing)
Me: Yes. You're big enough to know better, so you're big enough to change your own pants.

And, yes, he did change his own pants. Thank you.

Some things NEVER get old

Donny has been telling me on almost a daily basis, "Mommy, you're the best mother ever!"

Yes, he really uses the word 'mother'. :)

Isn't he sweet!?

State Fair 2012

Why do you go to the fair? The rides? NO!! You go for the ridiculously overpriced fried food. Does it surprise you that our first purchase of fried food was chicken fried bacon? If you know the Wiest family at all, it shouldn't surprise you one itty bitty bit! :)

My favorite fried food was the FRIED OREO...YUMMY!! Totally worth the 50 billion coupons it cost. Ha!! Lucky for my weight that they only served us 4 fried oreos and there are 4 of us...so we each only got one. :)

The kids killed some time while we waited for Don to do some shopping by making grass angles ... in fake grass. :) I'm sure people nearby thought we were nuts!

And what better way to end the day at the fair than to add a few things to your "I'm never going to own this," wish list. :) Check out this spa/hot tub. It's large enough to swim in, and according to Don, it will fit PERFECTLY on the side of our house in the backyard. One day...maybe...

Pumpkin Patch 2012

There simply aren't enough words to express how much I love these two babies.

They're growing up WAY TOO FAST!

Donny was being silly, and this actually ended up being one of my favorite pictures. It makes me laugh -- just like he does EVERY single day!

I think I say every year that these two can't possibly get any cuter...and every year I'm proven wrong.

We got to feed the animals. The big ones aren't too nice to the little guys. They really do push them out of the way just to get at your cup full of food.

Don't they look like they're having fun?!

Donny loves giving hugs and kisses!

HAPPY FALL, Y'ALL!

A child's innocence...

This post will be short, but I don't want to forget this...

Tonight, Braelyn chose for me to read part of her Toddler's Bible (it's time to upgrade to a big girl Bible for her) before bed instead of one of her normal books.

She said it was because she wanted to know what Heaven is like and what her Grandma W is getting to experience.

Sweet girl.

Heartbreaking

We've been dealing with the loss of Grandma W (Don's mom) since August 9th.

While we know she's in a much better place, probably enjoying the view with Don's dad; we are missing her.

Donny is much too young to grasp what's happened.

Braelyn...well, she's just old enough to understand, but at the same time she has a lot of questions (and hopes!).

For example, a few days after Grandma W passed away, Braelyn asked when she'd be back.

Grandma W has been a major topic of discussion for Braelyn and me every day after school. Today, Braelyn asked what all Grandma has gotten since she's gone to Heaven. She also mentioned how cool it would be if people who die could come back to visit for every major holiday...(YES, THAT WOULD BE COOL!). Her last hope for today was that we had a "really, really, really, really tall ladder that reached all the way to Heaven." She wanted to go visit for just an hour today. Lord, wouldn't that make things easier!

Grandma W, we sure do miss you.

Things that make your heart melt...

Best part of my day -->




Me: "Donny, you're my favorite boy."

Donny: "And you're my favorite girl."



Awww...totally makes all those hard parenting moments worth it!

First Day of School

 August 27th was our first day of school - Braelyn started 1st grade! I cannot believe it. This year was tougher on me than Kindergarten. There's something about her being a first grader that made me realize, she's no longer a baby. :(

 Braelyn made us both pose with our new lunchboxes. Aren't they cute? (Thirty-One bags in case you're interested!)

 I love Donny's expression. It says,"I'm way too cool for this picture taking stuff."

Here's Braelyn with her 1st grade teacher, Mrs. Kristi Williams. We're looking forward to a great year!

Pierced Ears

Braelyn got her ears pierced!!

I know a lot of moms usually take their baby girls to get their ears pierced when they're little, but I decided to wait until Braelyn asked for it. My own ears were pierced when I was little, and I rarely wear earrings. I wanted to make sure this was her choice.

 She was all smiles when they were putting the dots on her ears.

 Here she is waiting so patiently:

 Sweet & Sassy did a great jot piercing her ears. I absolutely loved the way they did it, too. First off, they did both ears at the same time. Second, they told her they'd count to 5 and then pierce. Well, it surprised us both when they pierced at 3 instead of 5. It's a good thing I already had the phone out and ready for pictures, or else I would have missed it! Believe it or not, there were no tears. She did a great job!

 Look how cute they are:



Braelyn's B-day Celebration

This year, I decided to skip hosting a birthday party and allowed Braelyn to choose 2 friends to go have a girls' day with. BEST IDEA EVER!

Braelyn chose a couple friends she doesn't get to see nearly often enough.

Kaitlyn is on the left, and Makayla is on the right. Makayla and Braelyn have been friends since birth - Makayla's mom and I grew up going to school together. Braelyn and Kaitlyn met in daycare when they were 2. It's so much fun watching these girls grow up together. Aren't they gorgeous?!

We started off the day by going to lunch at Chuck E. Cheese. The girls had a LITTLE pizza and spent the rest of their time playing games. Afterwards, we went to Sweet & Sassy for a manicure. Braelyn even surprised us all and asked to get something done - more on that in another post. We ended our girls' day by getting some yogurt at Yogurt Cup. Yum!

We had a great day! I'm hoping Braelyn will go for this kind of birthday celebration for the rest of her birthdays. Fun AND easy!

Braelyn is 6!!!

Braelyn celebrated her 6th birthday on August 1st.

For some reason, this birthday has been the hardest of them all for me. There's something about my baby being older than 5. This was even harder than her first day of school.

Maybe it's because it makes me feel old???

We woke the kids up early again for some birthday donuts. I'm not sure 7 candles will fit on that donut next year. :(

 Braelyn got a necklace from her Grandma W. It's hard to see in the picture, but it's 3 heart charms on the chain.

 She also got some more craft stuff from her Grandma W, Grandma J, and Aunt Amy. Now, if I could just convince her that she still needs some adult help with these things!

Grandma W also sent a preserve making kit for Braelyn's birthday.

Don and I got Braelyn a new JB poster. This is her 3rd poster that's now hung in her room. I'll be honest, this one kinda freaks me out when I got in her room.  (No, this isn't all we got her. It was just one of the things we allowed her to open that morning. She also got a clock radio/iPod docking station for her bedroom.)

We can't forget Donny. Look how grown up he's looking, too!