Presents - Round 2 (the last xmas post)

We drove home on Monday.  When the kids woke up from nap/rest time, we had another Christmas with the presents from my side of the family.

The biggest hit was a doll stroller from Gramme.  Hannah played with it nonstop until dinner time.

We had a wonderful Christmas, and we hope you did, too!

Misc. Indy Pics

Micah and Caroline invented a fun game called "bury Uncle Scott". 

                           I love the mischevious look Caroline has in this shot.  I also love that Abby is staying out of it by sitting on the couch reading C.S. Lewis.

They are so proud of their work.

Hannah found it exhausting.

Abby just being cute

Hannah had no fear of the cats.  She would squeal and chase them.  (They were wise to run away from her.)

Caroline "helped" Scott and I play a game.

the grandchildren's present to Nana

For Nana

Nana made Luke 2 into a rebus story so that Micah and Caroline could help read it to everyone.

Presents - Round 1

Micah played the role of elf and trash collector.  The hardest part was being patient while people opened their gifts.

Hannah had fun, but eventually got a little overwhelmed with all the commotion.  She took a little rest in bed and came back ready to go again. :)

Micah the fireman

Abby got a kitchen and lots of play food

Caroline got a dollhouse!

Jingle bells!  (I know you moms are all screaming "choking hazard!" right now.  Relax, she could not fit the whole thing in her mouth, and we took it away anyway right after this picture.)

Micah picked out a bubble-maker as his gift to Hannah.  I was proud that he picked out something that he genuinely thought she would like.  And he said, "I can show her how to do it and make bubbles for her." 

Indianapolis Children's Museum

On Friday the whole gang went to the Indianapolis Children's Museum (Grandpapa, Nana, Uncle Jack, Aunt Julie, Caroline, Uncle Mike, Aunt Laurie, Abby, Daddy, Mommy, Micah, and Hannah). It was fantastic! Here are a bunch of pictures, and they are only a fraction of what we did.  All the kids were having immense fun and still being very well-behaved.  We stayed until the little ones were falling over from exhaustion.  :)

water table

sand table

hand-crank train

story time

Grandpapa and Micah

Nana and Micah waiting for the carousel

Hannah and I beat Uncle Mike and Abby by a foot.  :)

Micah said the clock was one of his favorite things.

Hannah's favorite part was probably the playscape area because there were a LOT of things to climb.

What's wrong with this picture?

Look carefully...you may not see it at first...there's something not quite right in this picture....oh yeah!  It's the baby on the dining room table!  People, this is what I mean when I say "she's a little crazy."  She was just hanging out up there, working on a puzzle.  You have to keep a close eye on that girl!

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Last Week

Last week went to the Kent library to use their "early literacy center". I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was actually great! They had a room set up with toddler-appropriate activities. It was all free-play, so each of the kids could choose what they wanted to do. And the door to the room was kept shut, so I could enjoy playing with the kids without worrying that one of the little ones had run off to pull books off the shelves. :)

Notice: the colors are in the order of the rainbow.

Speaking of pulling books off shelves...that same day I was in the kitchen when it got a little too quiet.  All I heard was a crinkling sound, so I assumed that "Thing 1 and Thing 2" were into something they shouldn't.  I felt bad that I had jumped to such conclusions when I turned the corner and saw them both sitting sweetly, reading books to themselves.  "Aw, how cute," I thought.  I took one step to get the camera and turned back to see that the moment was over and Jackson was dumping all the books onto the floor.  Oh, well, they're still cute.  :)

Fashion Statement

It's a bold move to wear nothing but a diaper and a hair bow, but I think she rocks it.

Gingerbread

On Friday, Micah, Carter, and I made gingerbread men. Carter decorated his methodically and carefully. Micah covered his with as much sugar as possible. :)

I love their looks of concentration!

Then Saturday Micah made a gingerbread house.  Unfortunately, he accidentally knocked it on the floor.  I, of course, painstakingly "glued" it back together.  He took one look at my masterpiece and said, "Can I eat it now?"  Then he started taking it apart.  Good grief.

15 months

Hannah is 15 months old today! She is talking more.  Among other things, she says:  hi, bye, Dadda, ball, thank you, down, and "mmmma!" (which means "please"; I don't know why). Her favorite song is "Wheels on the Bus". She'll say "beep beep" with you, and she does a mean windshield wiper. Her current favorite activities are books (especially ones with sheep) and pushing/pulling things around the house (especially if one of the boys will do it with her).

She's getting better with a spoon. Yes, this is better. You should have seen her when she wasn't so good!

Oh yeah, she says "done", too.  :)

She has her well-visit tomorrow, so we'll find out if our little pipsqueak is gaining any weight.  Tomorrow will be our second trip to the pediatrician this week.  We also went yesterday for Micah.  For several days he was having trouble hearing.  (More than just the typical selective listening of a toddler.)  I asked him multiple times if his ears (or anything else) hurt, but he insisted that he felt fine.  I made the appointment anyway, and - surprise! - double ear infection.  Good grief!  Once again, I'm thankful for the blessings of doctors and medicine.  I can't wait to have conversations with him at a normal volume again!

I got the idea for this "flannel board" tree from pinterest.  Carter made most of the "ornaments".  Jackson and Micah each made one, too. Jackson and Hannah like taking the ornaments off and on... mostly off.  :)