Chuck E. Cheese

We met some friends at Chuck E. Cheese on Tuesday. Max was able to enjoy watching everyone this time, and I even found a game he could play! Macy liked holding him during the Bob the Builder ride. We'll probably wait until they are older before we go back so they can play more of the games, but Jesse and I found lots to do ;)

5 months old

On Tuesday, Max celebrated his 5 month old birthday, the same day as Bumpa's birthday. The girls

were into singing as we called and sang to Bumpa earlier in the day, so out of no where, I heard them singing "Happy Birthday." When I came around the corner, I found them singing to Max after they placed his "birthday hat" on! How sweet! I love the outfit he was wearing from my friend Jenny. It looks like a prince crown! Max was hoping for a Badger win as a gift, and although he was already fast asleep, he got what he wished for :)

Xmas songs

While cleaning up all of our xmas decorations, Jesse brought up my old keyboard. The keyboard was out of batteries and we were 1 short, but that didn't seem to stop them. I guess you can say that the girls were still in the "mood," because they sang Feliz Navidad all night long!!!!!

Christmas

After opening up gifts from Santa, we traveled to IL to see Jesse's family. We had a brunch with Aunt Judy, Uncle Tom, Great-Grandma and Grandpa Monte. We then traveled to Great-Grandpa and Grandma Phillips house to see all of Jesse's Mom's relatives. We had a lovely time visiting all the relatives and the girls enjoyed all the cookies. The weather actually held up for us, and we made it home safely. My parents came up the next day with their gifts. Besides a collection of polly pockets, they gave them a disney dress-up chest! They have enjoyed trying on all the new outfits, including earrings, necklaces, and new shoes. They have actually been good about cleaning up, too, which makes it even better! Now it is time to find a home for all of these great new things in the house! Wish us luck!

Santa

Santa was too good to our kids this year. Max got all of his gifts in a large bag, and was all smiles! The girls found an easel with a letter on it from Santa! He thanked them for the milk and cookies and told them he'd be back next year. Mojo the elf had said hello as well! The girls got so many neat toys, and as we left the house, they found a Barbie power wheels jammin' jeep in the garage! He couldn't bring it inside because it was "too heavy" and an outside toy. Unfortunately, they'll have to wait a little bit before they can test drive it. I hope they continue to be good even though Santa won't be back for awhile!

xmas eve eve

We spent last Weds. night with our good friends celebrating xmas. We had a nice dinner and then the girls were able to help decorate sugar cookies. It was so hard for them not to eat while decorating! They exchanged their little gifts before we went home. Their friendship is the best gift of all :)

xmas eve

We were at home on xmas eve and opened up our gifts from each other. Max really enjoyed his new things (even the girls liked his toys)! Macy loved her new angel wings, slippers, wand, and tiara from Madison, and Maddie loved her Bitty Baby's new ballerina outfit from Max (Macy's got a swimsuit outfit).

Friends

We went to the Wilderness a couple of Fridays ago to visit Jesse's best friend from High School, Barry, and his wife and son, Jaz and Wyatt. Here the kids are watching a movie and eating popcorn in Wyatt's room. We were able to see them Christmas day as well. The kids really enjoy playing together, and we look forward to seeing them again soon!

Xmas at the School's

We started celebrating xmas last weekend at Grandpa School's house in Kaukana. We stayed overnight at Aunt Alice's house Sat. night. We were able to visit my friend Christine and her family - Sullivan is 3 days younger than Max. Sunday we went to Aunt Barb's house for xmas with my Dad's family. Busy weekend, but we love to see our family and friends!

Madison's Christmas Program

Madison had her first xmas program for preschool last Friday. Jesse and I were able to leave work for the hour and meet up with Robin and the kids to watch. She looked so sweet and was super excited. She loved her wings that they made and was happy to know she got to keep them forever! Max kept moving when I was taking the pictures so they turned out a little blurry. Luckily we have the whole thing on tape, and we were able to share it with relatives last weekend at our family xmas celebration. I took a few short videos from the camera to post on here, so it will give a little glimpse of the program. Enjoy!

New window seats

Last year, we had someone custom make window toy boxes for our dormers upstairs. Our friend, Kristi (on her maternity leave), made cushions for them so the girls could read in there. They were very excited, and we know that this will be a favorite place to read in the future.

More parties!

We had our annual party at our friends house, the Krieski's. Santa paid a visit and brought puzzles for everyone! Macy loved her Brown Bear puzzle, and asked for it right away the next morning. Santa talked about hearing how the girls were doing from our elf, MoJo, and that Madison would soon earn her Ariel doll! The little guy, Tyler, was born in Oct. Another great friend for Max! We are truly blessed with so many great friends!

Play Date

We had some friends over last Monday and the snacks were a big hit! Poor Maya couldn't

eat all of the choices we had, but Keely was prepared with puffs!

Our little elf

As I was typing in the last post, we have an elf named MoJo who reports to Santa every night. Well, here is a pic of our little elf!

Breakfast with Santa/Bumpa

Last weekend was a busy one for us. We went out early Sat. morning and got our Christmas tree. The girls enjoyed decorating it (of course in dress-up clothes)! Madison and I went to The Princess and the Frog movie with our friends Madelyn and Tara. She enjoyed her first big screen and said it was as big as a house! Then Bumpa came to watch the kids for us while we attended a holiday party. Sunday morning we met our friends out for Breakfast with Santa. The girls enjoyed the breakfast and it was even better with bumpa and Santa there. Bumpa and Nana also got them Elf on a shelf. Mojo is now our elf and reports to Santa every night

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Party

We had a family xmas party to attend last Sun. The La Valle staff got together for a couple of hours. It is so fun because many of us have young kids, and they all play so nice toegther. The girls got to wear their fancy coats and picked out a dress, and Max wore his new St. Nick outfit. The girls especially liked decorating gingerbread cookies (and eating them) with their buddy Braden. They also got a little present box filled with goodies before they left. Thanks again Jenny for hosting and Shirley for helping her!