Hansen Christmas Party

We had an unexpected gift at our Christmas party with the Hansens .... another tooth for Brendan.  Our morning was quite busy as Jackson had Christmas program practice and then Luke and I stayed in town checking out mini vans (yes we are seriously looking at one!) so Brendan didn't get much of a morning nap.  As we went through the day, he hardly napped, was super fussy and didn't want to eat (shocking for him!).  This morning, we discovered that new tooth had appeared.  Should've known! 

Despite the crabby kid, we had a great time with the family.   The kids had a blast playing together and Jackson was super tired by about 5pm and was crying (and wheezing a bit) so we packed up and headed home.  Before we even left their driveway Jackson was sound asleep and he slept until 6:30am this morning!  Brendan enjoyed getting home and playing with the new toys and Mom and Dad.  What a difference a year makes  - it sure if fun with two little guys who love to play!

Lots and Lots of Boxes

It has felt like Christmas here at our house for weeks now as we keep getting packages delivered.  I have discovered that even though I absolutely love shopping the day after Thanksgiving with my dear from Lori, I sure do love online shopping.  And that also means there are lots and lots of boxes for the boys to play with.  Luke stayed home on Friday with them and they had some extra fun play time!

Santa!

Yesterday we went to see Santa.  Jackson is completely into everything about Santa this year and was thrilled to get to see him.  He was practicing what he wanted to say to him on our way there.  When we got there he went right up to him (which is VERY unlike our shy little Jackson!).  Brendan wasn't so sure of Santa but we managed to get 1 picture before he started screaming.  I am absolutely loving Christmas this year!!!!

Christmas Pictures

Taking the picture for Christmas cards always seems to be difficult for us!  Looking back, the first year we took a picture we had included our new dog, Rudi, in the picture.  It took us forever to get a picture where Luke, Rudi and I were all looking at the camera.  The next year I was pregnant and honestly didn't care too much because I was ecstatic with the expectation of a new baby.  From then on, we had kids to deal with.  First it was Jackson and now Brendan and Jackson.  Kids don't have the patience that Luke did with pictures and they certainly are hard to get to smile at just the right moment.  However, we did manage to get a picture and despite the one posted, we did get them to look like they truly do love each other and enjoy having pictures taken.  Now we have another year before we have to attempt it again!

The Christmas Tree

We had our annual tree cutting on the day after Thanksgiving (after Black Friday shopping of course!). This year we found a new place near our house where we could take a wagon ride out to the field and then cut our own tree (Clark Griswald Style). Lee and Betsy and the kids came with us and I am pretty sure that it'll be more fun next year when the two youngest are then 2. Jackson and Lauryn loved it but Evan and Brendan weren't such big fans. It was so cute how Lauryn wanted to be in our family picture (love that girl!). When they were shaking the tree and then wrapping it, Lauryn and Jackson were completely amazed. Afterwards when we got it home, Jackson felt it was his job to cut all the strings off. He was so intent on doing it that he didn't realize he wasn't helping too much. It was a lot of fun watching him help with the tree though - this year he is absolutely in LOVE with everything Christmas!

2nd Birthday Post and Thanksgiving

What a year to be thankful. I remember so well how last year we were still "homeless" and living with my parents but had signed for our new house (which exactly one year ago we first walked through the door with our key!). There's so much that we are thankful for and really I have to say that the Lord has blessed us immensely!

We had the Hansen's and Ford's over for Thanksgiving this year and it was such a great time (as it usually is when we're all together). It was my first experience hosting and despite two little boys who wanted me to play rather than get things ready, it went pretty well. We also celebrated Evan and Brendan's 1st birthdays because we had cancelled their party the week before because Brendan was sick. Our two little red-headed birthday boys did so well and it still amazes me how they could pass for twins (maybe not identical but they do look like siblings!).

Happy 1st Birthday Brendan!

This will be the first of a couple of blogs this week for Brendan's birthday because we really haven't celebrated his birthday yet. Our little guy turned one on Thursday but we had to cancel one of his parties on Friday because he had the flu! Thankfully we didn't have any of the vomiting involved with it but I'm definitely glad that we're nearly done with it because I was not enjoying doing laundry every day.

We did end up having a little celebration on his birthday (because I couldn't just let his first birthday pass by without any fun!). My parents came over for dinner and we attempted to give him cake, which he definitely did not want (the first sign that he really wasn't feeling well because he hardly ever refuses food!). So we will reattempt party 1 with Luke's family on Thanksgiving and then party 2 with my family on Sunday.

I still can't believe that he's one though - this year has just flown by. Brendan continues to be a happy little guy and a "go with the flow" kind of guy. When he wants something though he's sure to let us know ... he can be quite vocal at times. He's creeping around everything and will take steps between the furniture but refuses to let us help him - he wants to do it all by himself! He loves watching his big brother play and my favorite thing is to watch the two of them in the bathtub laughing as they play together. We certainly were blessed with this little guy!