Gingerbread House

Our new neighbors gave the kids a gingerbread house kit before Christmas and it was a hit! I really lack in creativity and craftiness so the kit was perfect....easy to put together and fun for the kids to decorate. It would have had more candy but they sampled some along the way!

Another visit with Santa

There was a Christmas party at our church the week of Christmas and Santa came!!
He was so cute with the kids.

Alumni Basketball Game

Jeremy participated in the high school alumni basketball game a few weeks ago. They played to raise money for the athletic department. The spectators enjoyed it as much as the players. A lot of parents and families came. We saw so many people that we hadn't seen in years!

Leah visited Daddy on the bench. They divided the group into two teams, the old timers and recent grads. Jer played for the old timers team. Yikes!
Jeremy, jogging back on defense. He had a few good shots but wasn't able to score. That was pretty much the whole game in a nutshell. They could move the ball pretty well and get open shots, but noone on the old timers' team could score. At half-time, they reset the score so the teams were tied (to make the game interesting!). The in-laws enjoying the game.
Aunt Kelly with Elliot
Elliot passed out in G-ma's arms. Jeremy, second from left in the front row.It was fun to reminisce and talk to some people we hadn't seen in a long time. I always enjoyed Jeremy's sporting events in high school. It was sort of a different thrill now watching him play while sitting in the stands with our kids rather than my friends. Still a really good time!

Christmas Concert

This post is very past due. Carter and Leah had their Christmas concert at school. Leah wore a dress from G-ma...I had to get a picture with the hat.

Carter's becoming an old pro at these concerts and was so laid back about it, he was leaning up against the altar railing looking very uninterested. We'll have to talk about his enthusiasm before his next performance. They looked so cute wearing their Rudolph antlers.
Kate and Leah both stayed up and sang without any tears from Leah this time. Kate is also in the two's class but goes in the afternoon. I would have posted some pics of them singing, but they turned out pretty blurry. Here they are in front of the tree after the show.
Congratulations on a great performance!

Cooking with G-ma

The kids really enjoy watching and helping people cook. It usually means a messier kitchen but it's good for them to learn and fun to teach them. Jeremy's mom is an especially good cook and we were there for dinner the other night, so the kids joined her at the stove. Here's Leah telling her that the perogis are shaped like triangles. Way to go Leah (we've finally mastered triangle and circle).

She had to help stir
And they took a taste to make sure everything was turning out alright.
Thanks for letting us help G-ma!

A Visit With Santa Claus

We took the kids to see Santa this past weekend at "Holly Hall" (also known as Town Hall the rest of the year). To give you an idea of how seriously Carter is taking Christmas this year, we walked in and there was a nice lady offering cookies to the kids. She asked Carter to take a cookie and his response was, "No thanks, I need to talk to Santa.". I love it....a man on a mission not even tempted with cookies. He went first, asking Santa to bring him a dragon and boots.

Then, it was Leah's turn. She must have noticed Carter being given a candy cane after he was done. When Santa asked her to come up and see him, she walked quickly, snatched the candy cane and turned around and walked off. I think she was a little scared. We talked her into sitting with him. She told him she wanted a princess, a pink one.

We had the kids shop at Santa's store, where all gifts are under 7 dollars. They bought eachother a little gift and then we enjoyed some cookies and hot cocoa.
Elliot was pretty into it too!



We then crossed the street to mail the letters written to Santa. He leaves a special North Pole mailbox in the park.


Oh, Leah, you can't reach??? Let me help you with that. Santa's watching right? This counts for being nice to my sister!!!We can't wait till Christmas morning. The anticipation as a parent is almost as good as being 4 again. Seeing their faces and watching their reaction will be wonderful!

Elliot's 1st Haircut

Welcome to Jen's Barbershop. Sadly, Jeremy and I decided to cut Elliot's hair, just the sides. He has some sweet curls, but they were getting too long around the ears.

Here's the before...looks like Daddy could use a shave too (the face, that is)

Here's the after

And here's Elliot after his bath. Looks like Daddy even cleaned up a bit.While we're at it, let's give Leah a trim too!

As you can tell, she was not thrilled and it took some bribery to get her to sit still.

Noone even tipped me afterwards! Oh well.. Don't worry Mom, I saved some of the curly locks for his baby book.

Thanksgiving Holiday

Thanksgiving was a two day event this year. We really enjoyed it because we got to spend an entire quality fun-filled day with each family, rather than run around like crazy. Thursday, we spent the day with the Williams side. My brother's family was up from SC which meant 14 grandkids running around my parent's house. The kids spent a lot of time outside sledding.

Here's Tom hanging out with Carter. He has a dinosaur stamp on his forehead.

During the week of Thanksgiving, my parents came over with David and Matt one night. Here's Grandpa with the kids. Leah's in her underwear...all part of potty training!
Here's Kel with Jacob. The twins are getting so big!!Tommy with Elliot. He's really good with the kids and they adore him.
Leah, getting swung around on the sled
The adults even got in on the sledding. Here's David.

Uncle Matt with Leah
Carter and Julia
The next day was Thanksgiving with the Kler family! More fun in the snow. Here are Oliver and Elliot with Pop-pop, watching the big kids sled outside.

Jeremy and Steve went in the hot-tub with Jeremy's parents. For a thrill, they decided to climb the snowman in their bathing suits.
And go sledding......before jumping back in the hot-tub
So, it was a wonderful Thanksgiving this year. We have so much to be thankful for, our family, our friends and our health just to name three.

Elliot Turns 5 Months

I wanted to show a few closeup shots, showing Elliot's hair. To my mothers' dismay, we've decided to give him a haircut. The curls are adorable, but just getting too long.

Elliot is now eating cereal and starting on different baby foods. Time flies! So far, his favorites are carrots and sweet potatoes. He loves the exersaucer!