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Showing posts from January, 2017

Pics by the Tree

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I love this pic of Charlie! Something about it just captures who he is. Such a sweet and fun guy! My sweet girl. Such precious kiddos! The days leading up to Christmas were so much fun with these guys.

First Grade Christmas Lunch

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SG is still a little disgruntled that they don't really have parties in first grade. She did enjoy having a special lunch with Christmas treats! Her friends at her lunch table were a funny bunch and all seem to enjoy each other! Sarah Graves and Charlie have actually known each other since before they were born. We have gone to church with his family for nearly 10 years. Charlie used to be in the nursery with our Charlie and they were known as Big Charlie and Little Charlie. I still think of him as Big Charlie! Doing their Home Alone impressions! These are a bunch of little deers!

Fun Sunday

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We had a fun Sunday with Grancy and Gramma. Sarah Graves performed in the choir and we were happy for them to see her do such a great job! Charlie posed for some cute pics while the choir warmed up! She does such a great job and really enjoys ringing the bells! After church, we all went to lunch together.  Charlie kept Pops and Gramma laughing at his end of the table! Sissy was happy to be by Grancy. These kiddos are so cute together! SG and Charlie love being with Olivia! We came home and the kids were eager to start baking! They made gingerbread men and Grancy's delicious chocolate pie! This year it was a lot of fun to let them make cut out cookies and the pouches of pre-done icing made it fun for them to decorate the cookies all themselves. They did a lot of it on their own and I felt proud when SG knew that the dough was rolled too thin to make a good cookie! So sweet to see her reading to Grancy!

Christmas with Grancy & Gramma

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Grancy and Gramma came for a quick visit before Christmas. It was a lot of fun to do Christmas with them and they got to see the kids open their gifts. We also did some fun Christmas activities.We packed a lot into just 2 days! SG and Charlie were very excited to open gifts! SG made the logical argument that we should open gifts first so that Grancy and Gramma could see them enjoy their gifts! Lots of excitement as they opened gifts! After they enjoyed their gifts for a bit, they were ready to decorate gingerbread houses! They had been anticipating this activity for some time! I should have videoed Grancy squirting icing into his mouth! He was so funny and just cackled every time! She made her house just the way she wanted it and was very proud! By late afternoon we were ready to get out and show Grancy and Gramma Holiday in the Park. The weather was mild and it was a great night to be there. The kids loved showing Grancy and Gramm

Christmas with Pre-K

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Charlie and I had a fun time at his class Christmas party. They kept it pretty low key having lunch and letting the kids decorate Christmas cookies.  He enjoyed his apples and chicken nuggets for lunch! Decorating the cookie was by far the best part! Parents helped with icing, but the sprinkles and such were all the kids' doing. I love getting to be there with him. He is the sweetest thing!

Advent

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Despite the silly picture, I was excited by how much the kids got into Advent. They looked forward to lighting the candles each night and looked forward to blowing the candles out even more! They also liked talking about how lighting another candle meant we were getting closer to Christmas. It was a nice way to bring the conversation back to why we really celebrate Christmas.  One night, the conversation shifted to Easter. Charlie asked Aaron why Jesus had to die on the cross. Aaron really likes theology and started by saying, "Well Charlie, many people have asked that question and there are different beliefs on that." Charlie looked at him in all seriousness and said, "just tell me what you believe, daddy." I love how honest Charlie is. 

Relaxing Holiday

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In an effort to keep the holiday time relaxing, we made time to watch Christmas specials on TV. Sarah Graves was really excited to see the Elena of Avalor Christmas special!

Feast of St. Nicholas

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Our church makes a fun celebration for the kids on the Feast of St. Nicholas. When we started attending it a few years ago, I was nervous about how Santa, St. Nicholas, and baby Jesus would all come together. It actually works very well and nicely brings Santa and the idea of giving to the birth of Jesus and why we celebrate Christmas.  The kids love wearing their pjs to church, having pancakes, and making some fun crafts. All the kids with St. Nicholas.

Teacher's Helper

Tonight Sarah Graves and I were talking before she went to bed. We were talking about her birthday party and who was coming. I was asking about some specific kids that I haven't received an RSVP for yet. Me: What about M, has she said if she's coming? SG: You know I don't like playing with her. Today I told her it was time for her to pass out the snacks and would you believe that she just said, "I don't want to right now." Me: Why did she have to pass out snacks? SG: Because it's her job and I'm teacher's helper this week so I have to tell her it's time pass out the snacks. Me: Oh. Is passing out the snacks a bad job to have? SG (very excitedly: No, I love it when it's my turn. I go to each table and I tell all my friends hi! Me: Maybe tomorrow you could offer to help pass out the snacks with M. SG (looking like I'm a little crazy and speaking very matter of factly): I can't do that. If I'm helping her, how are the kids

Santa Portraits

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We went back to Bullock Hall for our meeting with Santa. To make sure that we didn't create suspicion about Santa, we made sure to keep the exposure low and visit just once with Santa. We decided this was a lovely way to talk with Santa and have nice pictures done. Charlie got a little nervous and Sissy did fine. Olivia was definitely not a fan of the guy! This picture really sums up how they ere feeling! Love this one! This one of Livy with her paci looking at Santa is by far the closest she got to him without getting upset! Poor baby just couldn't take that guy! My man was nervous, but he hung in there and made sure to tell Santa about some of the things he wanted. These playful shots made it easier for them to be themselves. This precious girl was eager to talk to Santa and does such a nice job of being a big girl and trying to be so sweet in these situations. I love these pictures and know we will put them out at Christmases to come and