Christmas 2012

 We had a wonderful Christmas filled with fun activities, lots of family time, visits with Santa, a school play, church, and lots of new toys to bring joy all year long!
Teddy is NOT a fan of Santa-any Santa.

 Nora, still loves Santa.

 A picture of the kids Christmas morning. I love this because Teddy always wears this dr. kit toy around his neck-always, and it's a great picture of the kids invested in something interesting to them.

 The craziness behind trying to get a good Christmas card picture. This was clearly not the chosen picture

 Nor was this one.

 THis one made it.

 Not quite

 Not it either.

This one made it.
Merry Christmas to all!
And, Thank you to our wonderful, caring family and friends!

Nora's Christmas production

Nora had her very first Christmas performance this morning!  We are so very very proud of her.
All of the children in her class did a great job. Nora seemed to thoroughly enjoy being on stage.
Honestly, we had no idea how she would do going into today. We put on "performances" at home almost every night just goofing around, but didn't know what would happen with a room full of adults staring at her and her classmates. Clearly, we didn't need to worry too much.
This is a long video, but I don't really know how to edit it, so you may want to fast forward if you care to watch.
-T.J. taped the performance, it is a bit shaky at the beginning, if I taped it, it would have been much worse.
-When the video starts, the voice welcoming everyone-is Nora. She seemed to feel the need to echo everything her teacher was saying.
-You will notice the little girl next to her was trying to quiet her. I like that Nora carried on. We are proud of her for the confidence she exhibits at this stage of her life. I hope she continues to have a strong sense of self and confidence.
-Teddy can be heard in the video as well. He is the one screaming in the background. Newsflash- (We have LOUD children).

-Also, you will enjoy TJ's voice in Jingle Bells.

 Our little Shepard girl. We are so proud of you Nora. We love that you had fun during your play.

Nora's preschool teacher.

Catching up

 These sweet babes of mine are changing by the minute and becoming more and more independent! Not quite sure if I like that, or hate it. I do however, thank God every day that they are healthy and happy. I was driving home today and 99.5 had their annual St. Jude's fundraiser going on. I was crying a good portion of the drive. When people are healthy, they are truly, truly blessed. I wish I could have given each one of those parents that share their stories a huge hug.

 Nora found a mask of mine that I had up in the closet. I haven't worn it yet (sorry Lesli), and Nora discovered it as I was cleaning a basket out. I told her it was very fancy, and it's like a spa when you wear it. She played with it for a bit and I didn't think much of it. UNTIL, she went to bed. She insisted that she wear her mask. This became part of her routine for a good 2 weeks when going to bed. DRAMA!

 This handsome little guy enjoyed Thanksgiving day! He is such a sweet little guy. We went to my parents for Thanksgiving. TJ's parents and sister came in for Thanksgiving. The kids had so much fun! I had two root canals-so my break was not such a hoot. I felt much better after they did the second root canal-on the CORRECT tooth!!!

 Aunt Lesli and Nora relaxing after too much Turkey.

 We took the kids to the circus over the break. Nora was pretty surprised!  TJ was pretty impressed too. :)

 Teddy is changing so much. He is able to communicate better each day. His word bank is growing and he points to what he wants often. He has started to run/walk really fast, which is super exciting. I want to pad our entire house. He falls all the time. He mimics everything Nora does including trying to sit on chairs, go up the stairs, climb the crib to get in and the list goes on. I love watching him attempt new things, while holding my breath that he doesn't get hurt doing so.
He has become more interested in books which is adorable.
Lately, he has been getting a little upset when I leave the room or the house, but he seems to recover quickly.

Teddy and his "bills papa", as Nora says. :)