Christmas Eve Eve

My family has a tradition of going to downtown Seattle on Christmas Eve Eve (as we like to call it). We first got on the light rail and rode it to Westlake where we looked in a toy shop and enjoyed our morning coffee (or hot chocolate) and the paper before we headed out on the town.

Our next stop was at the Sheraton Hotel, where every year there is a gingerbread house display with the most amazing gingerbread houses. The theme this year was train stations around the world and they had The Polar Express playing while we stood in line.

Then we went on the carousel. Andrew had lots of fun, but Josiah was not too sure about it.

Christmas Presents

This year I made most of the Christmas presents we gave. I started in the summer, so I had plenty of time to prepare them all. If you are interested in finding the directions for these, most of them I found on the internet and posted on my Pinterest boards. We picked marionberries from our garden and made them into jam for our neighbors.

I made some Christmas tags for presents for the women in my MOPS group.

I sewed some hot pads for my mom and sister-in-law.

I also sewed a sandwich cozy for them.

The sandwich cozy can then be used as a placemat for the sandwich.

Preschool Packs for my nieces. I found the pages to download and print from 1+1+1=1.

Headbands for my nieces using the hem of a t-shirt and some felt flowers I cut out with my Big Shot die cutting tool.

A car cozy for Josiah that I found on homemade by jill.

Tool belts for the boys. Micah even made them a little workbench (I'll need to take some pictures and post it).

Advent Activities

This year I found many great ideas on the internet for fun things to do with the boys for advent. One of the things we did was read The Christmas Tree Parable by Liz Curtis Higgs, and then we made our own Christmas trees using sugar cones, frosting and candy. Andrew loved eating his after he decorated it. We also wrapped up Christmas books, and had the boys unwrap one each night (I had no idea I had accumulated so many Christmas books). Some of our other activities were: making and decorating cookies, driving to look at Christmas lights, watching Christmas movies as a family, and having a movie night with our friends Michael and Lyndsay and their kids. We all enjoyed celebrating the birth of our Savior by doing things together as a family.

Kids Quest Museum

Back in October we went with our friends Bob, Patti and their little guy, Caleb, to Kids Quest up in Factoria. It was a fun place to let the boys explore and play. They have all sorts of activities for kids to do. Andrew's favorite thing was the capes they had for dressing up. He was going around pretending he was "Thunder Head" the superhero. Bob even took him over to the face painting station to put thunderbolts on his cheeks. Josiah liked the area they have for toddlers where they can play with light switches, trains, etc. We also put Josiah in the superhero cape, although he had difficulty walking while he was wearing it.

Fall Fun

A little while ago it was sunny outside, so we decided to do some work/playing in the backyard. Micah mowed the lawn, I raked the leaves and the boys had fun playing in the leaves. Andrew had lots of fun jumping into the piles I made for him. Josiah liked watching Daddy mow, and enjoyed pointing at him.

Happy Halloween!

Sunday, before Halloween, we went to the Cove in Normandy Park for their Halloween party for kids. A few years ago Micah's cousin, Laura, gave us this cute dinosaur costume and now Andrew finally fits into it. Micah thought it would be cute for Josiah to be a dinosaur egg so we made him an egg costume, but I never got around to making his hat. Oh well. At the Halloween party they had different games for the kids to play. The boys were a bit young for most of them, but I think they still had fun. And it was nice that when they finished a game they got a prize (a little puzzle, playdough, etc.)

After the party we came home to carve pumpkins. Andrew ended up falling asleep on the couch before we carved his. I guess he was tuckered out from the party.

Josiah loved the glowing pumpkin!

Monday nights are when our Missional Community (church small group) meets at our house, so we decided to combine our MC and trick or treating. Micah put up a "big screen" and hooked up a projector in the garage and had Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkin playing. We also had hot chocolate and apple cider. We were able to visit with some of our neighbors, and we had a fun night.

Josiah at 12 Months

Here are some recent pictures of Josiah. Recently I let him try out using a spoon to feed himself. He loves it, and does pretty good for the most part. If he is really hungry he gets frustrated that he can't get the food in fast enough. He also tends to make a big mess, so I pick and choose what I am willing to let him get all over the kitchen floor.

The other morning I came in to get him, and he was sitting like this. I thought it was so cute I had to get a picture, but of course he got mad since I didn't get him out right away. I am still nursing him just for his morning feeding, and he wants to eat right away when he wakes up.

A week after his birthday he took his first steps, and now he is walking all over the place. He can even go long distances. It amazes me how balanced he is, for only walking less than a month. Some cute things he has been doing lately are: giving open mouthed kisses, clapping when he is excited, saying, "nigh nigh da da" (night, night daddy). He is such an adorable little guy we love him so much!

Preschool Homeschool

At the beginning of October I started doing preschool homeschooling with my friend Lyndsay. Her boys are 4 and 3, and Andrew is 3. We have been doing it twice a week for two hours a day. Each week we learn a new letter and its sound. We are also doing some math activities, holiday projects, Bible stories, calendar time, and songs. It has been fun to see the boys improve and want to learn more.

Fun with Pipe Cleaners

A little while ago my mom gave me some pipe cleaners she bought for Josiah's birthday cake, but didn't end up using. At first I had no idea what to do with them. Then I found some fun things on my new favorite website, Pinterest. We made glasses, a dinosaur, and then a cool hat. It was a great way to play with the boys.

Josiah's 1st Birthday

Our little squirt turned 1!

My mom made this whale cake; she makes awesome cakes for us!

We had a much smaller party than we did for Andrew's 1st, which was a good thing since it was rainy outside.

Josiah loved his cupcake, and really enjoyed eating it.

My friend Lori knit him an adorable sweater!