The Five Year Old

 Adelaide Turned 5 in December, She was so stinkin excited about her birthday, The kids are REALLY party people they just can't get enough of it.  Since the kids birthdays are so close to each other and so close to Christmas we decided to do a joint party again for their friends the week before their birthdays (more to come on that) and then on their birthdays they each had a little family gathering of fun. Above is Addy on her special day, with the Birthday plate and her favorite foods eggs, pancakes and sausage I also made her orange juice which is her favorite drink. For her special gathering we went to Grandma's house which is one of her favorite places to go with two of her favorite people in it, Grandma and Grandpa. Grandma was kind enough to make dinner and a Birthday cake for Addy as well as decorate the room all party like.

 Addy noted that all she wanted for her Birthday was a Fishing pole which she had shown to my parents in October, She got it and was so thrilled. Her birthday fell on a Sunday which was a bonus for her, she loved going to church on her birthday and having such a special day all around.

 A little about her at this age Adelaide is our compassionate child, she is very aware of others and their needs and very in tune to promptings, she will often tell me someone needs flowers and we should get some for them, or she will make cards to take over to others, she always stops and visits with people in wheelchairs, or with broken bones/ casts of any kind and will wish them well. She talks to everyone she sees and tells them whatever may be on her mind of recent that would be our vacation that is happening this summer she can't wait. She loves going to preschool she goes to a Lutheran Church and just can't get enough of it. She still struggles with her developmental delays but is one of the hardest working kiddos I know she try's so hard even to overcome the really hard stuff, I am always amazed at her drive and willingness to keep going. Her hard work is paying off she is closing the gap and now falls within normal range of development in a lot of areas and is even above in some areas. She does music class and gymnastics and can't wait to start swimming again. She adores her little sister and says James is her Best friend. Her favorite foods besides those already mentioned are still  artichokes, green beans fruit ropes and new to the list hot dogs. She isn't super girly, but she does love pink, She loves Dragons, and fairies, Peter Pan and Pirates, Imaginative play is her thing, a Dr, A pirate, a teacher, playing College or kiddos, Super hero's all her cup of tea, never no never a Princess is she. She loves to play board games and laugh. She is very tall for her age and is still just growing like crazy, she wears a size 8-10 in girls but is proportionate just for the size of an 8 year old not a five year old. She wears a size 1 shoe.  She has already lost 3 teeth and two are almost grown back in  Her favorite music is still the Sound of Music, Her favorite show is Dragon tales and her favorite book is Any in the Magic tree house series that we read at bed time. She is such a funny and creative girl. She is generally happy and obedient and finds joy all around her in all that we do. She is such a blessing to our home and our lives, I would not be half the Mom I am without her constantly helping me be a better person and Mom.  Her favorite thing to show people is how she can walk up the wall and her new bed Doug made her (pictures coming) How we love our Adelaide.

Christmas 2013

 We really celebrate all month long, the joy and excitement of Christmas, The birth of our Savior and All the peace and Love that brings to us as a family having a relationship with each other and Him makes life worth living, it is such a wonderful time of the year. This year at the beginning of December the kids and I sat down and made a list of all the things we wanted to do this Christmas Season, We got around to doing most of them and just enjoyed the entire season We did things like go out together and look at the Christmas lights and sing carols, pick two Christmas songs to memorize and sing, We wrote  letters to Santa and visited him at Doug's office, the only TV we watched were Christmas shows, and this year everyday in Dec we opened a Christmas book as our Advent calendar, the kids loved that. The got to ride the Christmas train at the mall with Grandma We made ornaments and decorations We made goodies and took them to friends and sent them to loved ones, we drew names as a family and tried really hard to give something thoughtful to that person, We Watched the Christmas Devotional and made Gingerbread houses We read the story of Christ's birth and learned all about the nativity set, we went to quite a few Christmas Parties and we enjoyed giving to others without their knowledge. Even after all that we still managed to make Christmas Eve and Christmas day stand out! On Christmas Eve the kids woke up to letters and a small present sent straight from the North pole, the letter was from Santa and was to let them know if they made the naughty or nice list, This year was particularly funny, Addy opened hers and helped Audryn open hers they both made the nice list James envelope was sitting there and Addy says " I am not going to touch that one" Why I asked " He may be on the Naughty list and I don't want it to rub off on me"....LOL we were all on pins and needles down to the wire to see if James would make it on the nice list, and he did, but Santa did encourage some change in certain behaviors over the next year before he comes again.... Santa's elf left a microphone for the kids to sing into that changes your voice into an elf voice, it was a hit all day long the kids were occupied, and joyous and not so anxious about opening the presents under the tree. We did Christmas Dinner on Christmas Eve, and then we had a little program where we talked about the real meaning of Christmas, We told the story of Christ's birth Again, and then we talked about the most important gift we would be giving at  Christmas which Is the gift we give to Our Savior it obviously cannot be tangible, but he has a stalking all the same so the kids get the idea. We opened 1 present each, this year we all got Jammies, and new this year we were given reindeer food to sprinkle on the lawn so that Santa would be able to get to our house easier.  It was so much fun

 This year my parents stayed the night, so they could be part of all the Christmas fun with the kids, we so love having them here with us and all the joy they add to the festivities. This year for Christmas the kids asked Santa for skates and skateboards, which they got, I thought for sure they would also be getting broken bones, but they are actually starting to get the hang of it. They are both just thrilled with their gifts Santa brought, we cleared out the garage so they can practice in there.

 This was Audryn's first Christmas she slept through us opening our Gifts and was angry she opened presents before getting a bottle when she did wake up, but she was loving all the Christmas excitement, the music and all the people being around when she was fed.

 No Doug did not get a new bike, the kids did to share, it is like a hot wheels but the back wheels turn in full 360 circles, so it is crazy and takes skill to drive, Addy loves it, Jim likes it if we let him ride it in the house, which only happened on Christmas day.

 Hugs before heading to bed Christmas Eve

 Audryn in her elf giddy up Christmas Eve, she is too cute

 Making Sugar Cookies for santa and singing songs, he is such a happy boy when he is singing and cooking

Addy's certificate of Nice from Santa

Our Tree lit up

 Both kids making cookies, they loved cutting out the cookies but got tired when we frosted them so only half or so got decorated,  more then enough for Santa though

 James and his certificate and the elf microphone.

 How we love Christmas time and all the Joy it brings, we are particularly busy this time of the year with added birthdays, but everyday seems to just be exciting and Christmas eve and Christmas day feel magical and filled with so much love one might think our home would burst, but we just all absorb it all and know that it is truly a wonderful time of the year.

Snow Play

 The week of Christmas Doug had the week off and the kids and he took every advantage of that they could playing in the snow nearly everyday, They have mastered sledding and love it so MUCH!!! Jim would like to try his hand at snowboarding now, just what I want my three year old doing, LOL They started sledding in the back yard we taught them how to hold on to the sled, how to lean to direct the sled and how to bail off the sled, after a week or two of that, Doug took a day and got off early to take them to the sled runs at the park near our house then he took them every day during Christmas Week, they had so much fun, then on new year's day they begged him to go again, their was enough snow to make a fort in our yard so they did and played in it for hours. We have also done lots of snow ball throwing at the fence for target practice, lots of snow men and lots of snow angels, if I didn't know better and know they are water babies I would think they were snow men, We have had a blast with all the snow this year!!!