Merry Christmas!

We hope that everyone out there had a wonderful Christmas!

We sure did! My parents and sister came down to spend Christmas with us this year, since we are unable to travel. We all had a great time. We did a little shopping on Christmas Eve as well as Robin and I getting our nails done. My dad read The Night Before Christmas for everyone before bedtime, with Ryan cuddling right up to him to hear it! We opened some gifts that night too - and got a Wii! Something we totally didn't expect!

On Christmas, we opened gifts for over 2 hours - we all got way too much. My mom wasn't feeling good, so she ended up sleeping most the day, but the rest of us played with all the new toys and had a great turkey dinner that Kris made.

My dad and Robin took Ryan to the movies to see Alvin and the Chipmunks the day after Christmas. He loved it and has been quoting it ever since. We were impressed he did so well. Kris and I even got to see a movie too. Then we all went out to celebrate my dad's birthday. Sadly, my family had to leave today to go home and back to work (at least my mom and Robin do).

We thank everyone for the great presents that we all received. Everyone was way too generous and thoughtful! We all hope that everyone enjoys everything they received from us as well and had a wonderful holiday!

Zoo and Museum Trips

The one nice thing about having all your Christmas shopping done and wrapped early is that you finally have time to do some fun family things. This past weekend, we went to both the zoo and the museum.

The Cincinnati Zoo holds their Festival of Lights every Christmas season. Ryan and I went a few years ago when Toyota was having a holiday get together there. Unfortunately, that was when Kris was travelling to Mexico and his flight was delayed, so he didn't get in on time to join us. We've been members at the zoo for 3 years now and this was the first time Kris had ever been there (I actually got a single parent membership knowing this!). It was cold out, but we enjoyed the Christmas lights everywhere and the lights that danced to music. There were a few animals out that we got to see, but mostly enjoyed spending time together.

On Saturday, we went to the Cincinnati Museum Center. They have a holiday train display that we went to last year (but Kris had to leave early, so he didn't get to see the trains) which the kids loved. They were able to push buttons to make trains and other things move, as well as ride a little train. We also went to the Children's museum, playing in all the little areas. Emma got banned (by me) from the water table after putting too many things in her mouth and trying to drink the water. But we all had fun and were exhausted by the end of the day.

Ryan's Christmas Program

Thursday was Ryan's preschool's Christmas program. And as last year, he ended up getting sick that morning. I think it was more his cold and phlegm, but he was feeling bad for a little bit and then better as the day went on. Although, I didn't send him to school, we took his up there to sing with his class and play for a little bit. Nana had driven down (second year), so we really wanted to see him sing. Kris even took some time off work to come and see him. His class sang 'Santa Claus is Coming to Town' and all the classes sang a few songs together. Ryan didn't look all that well, but he sang a little and had a great time with his friends playing afterwards. Emma even joined his class. We were so proud of him and he now has a very favorite Christmas song!

Breakfast With Santa

We went to have breakfast with Santa this morning. I'm not sure how they can call it breakfast when they give you (each child) 2 donut holes and an ounce of juice. This year, they doubled the price from $5 per child to $10 so you would have thought they might give out a whole donut - but no. While it's still cheaper than getting a picture at the mall, I think there are plenty of free places around here to do it and we probably won't next year.

In the past, Ryan has been way too freaked out to go near any of the people there, especially Santa and tears were usually involved. This year, he was hesitant, but did sit on Mrs. Claus's lap, while Emma got off Santa's lap and ran back to me within a minute. Ryan got more comfortable with the other characters as time went on and eventually joined a group dancing with Frosty. Emma hung back, not sure what to make of anything and found that playing with the balloons was the most fun. Unfortunately, I think my thumb changed the setting on my camera, so the one with Santa was blurry (also could have been a 1 year old charging me). But here are a few of the pics.

Lately...

For the last week, we've been unpacked and back to normal from Thanksgiving and getting ready for Christmas. Emma helped me unpack, as you can see.

We started to get our Christmas stuff out of storage and Kris is putting up lights as we speak. We've had our friends over for St. Nick night and cookie decorating. Ryan LOVED decorating the cookies. He must have sat there for almost an hour putting frosting and sprinkles on the cookies. I'm just sorry I didn't get any pictures of him doing it. I was amazed at his concentration and ability to stay with a task. He had helped me bake the cookies the day before too.

Last night, we went to a local tree farm and cut down our first family Christmas tree. We have a cheap fake from Big Lots that we have used for the past few years since we are never here for Christmas. But this year we went all out. It is a beautiful tree, which is now sitting in our living room completely bare! Tomorrow, I plan to do the lights and then have the kids help decorate on Wednesday.

As for me, the pregnancy is going well. I'm at 33 weeks now and as tired as I can be. Chasing after 2 kids is exhausting at this stage (plus keeping my pants up). I finally had Kris take another picture of me and the difference is enormous, as you can see. Kris and Ryan decided to show off their bellies too. Ryan says he has a baby girl in his belly, but he doesn't have to go to the hospital to get the baby out. Emma will be his doctor, he says. But I'm working on cleaning out the closets upstairs to move Emma. Her new room was a great junk room, in which all the junk needs to find new homes! I don't think I did too bad today and hopefully should have it empty by the end of the week.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We just got back from our whirlwind trip for Thanksgiving. We drove to MI on the 21st. We were able to visit with Nana, Buppa and Aunt Robin for a few days. The kids love being there, especially playing with them! We went to the Zebrowski Thanksgiving at Sondra and Mike's house on Sunday, playing and visiting with everyone there. We had a great time! We also had our Christmas pictures taken while we were there (view them here) and got to go out to dinner with the McCarthys!

After our time there, we travelled to PA. We had Thanksgiving lunch/dinner with Kris's mom and siblings. The food was great as well as the company. We had a Harper Thanksgiving on Sunday and in between spent the time relaxing. Ryan loved being at the farm and getting dirty. He loved helping Daddy out picking corn and fixing the corn picker, plus playing in the yard and seeing all the animals. Both the kids especially loved the baby pigs.

But, alas, we are home again and getting back in the swing of things. I am the idiot who turned off the DVR instead of the tv before we left and am now stuck trying to catch up on all my shows on the internet instead of the tv. Today, we managed to get to my doctors appointment and get both the kids into the pediatricians for their second H1N1 vaccine. So now, Kris and the kids are all immune - but not me!! Still have to find that! Now, it's off to laundry and to do list.

Outside time

We've had some back and forth weather here (as you can tell from the pictures). One day last week, the kids were out with coats and hats and yesterday in short sleeves. Either way, they are enjoying their time outside. Grandpa George bought Ryan a tire swing for his birthday and Kris put it up this weekend. Ryan really enjoys it and can play on it by himself (finally something). Emma likes it for about 2 minutes.

Emma was sick this week. She ran a fever Friday and Saturday, so her and I stayed home both days. Luckily, she's feeling better now. A little crabby and a slight ear infection, but nothing thats going to stop her! I'm just happy it isn't H1N1.

Happy Halloween!

We had a Happy Halloween here and hope everyone else did too!

Yesterday, I took the kids trick or treating at the library. They got to hear some stories and sing songs before making a funny trick or treating pattern around the library to collect candy. They both enjoyed the day. Emma loved walking through all the people and hitting them with her wings! And Ryan really paid attention to the stories. They were both excited to get to do it again today. Yesterday, they both got about 5 pieces of candy - and thought that was great! Little did they know.....

Today, we got all dressed up after dinner. Daddy really enjoyed dressing up like the Man with the Yellow Hat. It even involved a trip to Goodwill. I think he looks pretty good. He (and Ryan) asked why I wasn't dressing up - but it's hard to find something with a big belly!

Our subdivision was very quiet this evening. We might have seen 5 other people trick or treating. Ryan kept asking if we were getting 'more candy?' Of course, we could have stopped after 2 or 3 houses with as much as we got. Emma did well for most of the time, her bucket got a little full and she started to spill it with every walk after a while. We did finish our whole sub though - and made it home before 8!

Since we got home, we've divided up the candy into what we'll eat and what we won't eat. There is a local dentist that buys back candy for a $1 a pound and sends it to the troops. We ended up keeping about half of it - and I'm sure most of it will end up in my belly! The baby will be such a sugar junkie!

Nana and Buppa's House

We were at Nana and Buppa's house (my parents) for 10 days over the last two weeks. We all went up for Kyle Beachnau's wedding and the kids and I stayed because of Amy Johnston's baby shower. Kris and I had a great time at the weddding and were actually the last to leave! It was so nice to see a whole bunch of the TX guys again, especially the ones that live so far away. We also had a great time at the shower. We left Ryan home with Buppa, but Emma was a hit. She did amazingly well since it went well past her nap time. Above are pictures of the TX guys at the wedding (with Stephanie, the bride) and a picture of Amy and I. She is due 3 days behind me.

We all had a great time at my parents for the week. We were stuck there without a car for two days while everyone else worked. But the other days, we visited Grandmama, the Scramlins and the Hopes. I also had a small chocolate party at the McCarthy's house. The kids loved the visiting everyone and getting to spend so much time with Nana and Buppa. The pictures above are from the trip - Emma with pudding face and Ryan's self portrait (he got a hold of my camera one morning before anyone got up and took a bunch of pictures).

We were definitely glad to come home and get back to our normal schedule though. It's rough on the kids to not have that set schedule. The picture above is from Monday. Emma was so tired that she fell asleep at lunch while I went to answer the phone!

And below is one of two videos that Ryan took the second time he got ahold of my camera. Most of them were 2 seconds of the bed. But this one was pretty good.