New Pierced Ears

Ever since Erika turned 7 and got her ears pierced, Laurel has been anxiously waiting her turn to be 7 and get her ears pierced!  We went a week early so that Grandma could go with her before she headed to California to spend a late Christmas with Jacob and his family.  She was beyond excited!

 

 

She chose a small, pretty pair of red earrings as her first earrings.

 

Then, asked Erika to hold her hand while the ladies pierced her ears at the same time.  It was super fast and a great idea to do them together!

 

She was surprised that it hurt more than she had anticipated, but she did awesome!

 

And, after a celebratory piece of chocolate and an Orange Julius, her ears magically didn't hurt anymore!

 

Christmas Day

This is the first year our kids didn't ask Santa for anything....they kind of figured out it was just a magical story and fun to pretend, but they didn't feel like the needed to involve him in their gift choices.  But they still got some unwrapped, surprise presents under the tree on Christmas morning.  The girls got items for their American Girl dolls (a salon set for Erika and a camping set for Laurel) and Levi got a remote control helicopter.

 

 

Magazines, candy, toothbrushes, gum and a small toy turned up in their stockings.

 

A break with traditional cinnamon rolls.

 

Unfortunately, some of us were feeling pretty crummy with a cold.  Laurel didn't feel great, but powered through and enjoyed her Christmas day!

 

The kids opened the few presents from Matt and I and then we awaited the arrival of the "good presents" from Grandma and Aunt Sarah.

 

And it looked like a gift explosion once they arrived bearing gifts!

 

It was a great Christmas!!  Lots of outfits for the girls' new dolls, Legos, Mi World doll sets, remote control car, stomp rocket, Star Wars books, and lots of games.  We spent the rest of the day playing games and having a great time with the new toys!

Christmas Eve

We started Christmas Eve off by making gingerbread houses.  The kids really like decorating their houses, but not so much eating them.  So we just make small ones!

 

 

In the evening, we went to Aunt Sarah's house where the kids got new Christmas jammies and some toys....items for the American Girl dolls and Levi got a Star Wars set.

 

After some pizza, a lot of fun playing games, and some cookie decorating, we went home to sleep and get ready for Christmas Day!

Christmas Parties

I helped plan and put Laurel's class Christmas party together on Friday.  The kids got to wear pajamas to school and at the end of the day, we had a fun filled hour to kick off Christmas break!  We started by playing marshmallow toss.

 

 

Then, had hot chocolate and donuts.  Levi got to come to the party with me and was super excited to be an honorary first grader!  Erika also had a party in her class....she got to watch the Grinch and had hot chocolate and cookies.  I didn't get to go to hers as I was downstairs in Laurel's, but she claims it was a lot of fun!

 

On Sunday, we put on our holiday best to attend our church's Christmas party.  It is always a lot of fun with games, cookies, Santa, and a craft.  This year, the kids got to make wood boxes and take them home.  Erika already has a bunch of treasures in her box!

 

Levi was pretty worn out by all the excitement by the end of the night.

Christmas Pageant

Our third and final time of watching a Christmas pageant performed by the children of Wee Care Christian Preschool occurred last week.  Levi was one of the three kings who brought gifts to baby Jesus.  He took his role very seriously and practiced saying his line "what a beautiful baby" over and over again at home.  He did an excellent job and was the most adorable king!

 

 

He spent most of the time in between songs waving at us.

 

I love how the kids sang in a round, although that was not planned.  Kind of makes it more exciting to listen to!

 

 

 

 

Christmas concert

George Fox University music department puts on an excellent Christmas concert!  Matt and I went last year, and we thought the kids would have really liked it.  So, this year, we brought them, my mom, and my sister.  It was beautiful once again!  The kids did really well, sitting through 90 minutes of choral and orchestra performances.  Although, at one point, Laurel asked when halftime was!  It was a great afternoon and I would love to make this a Christmas tradition!

Early Christmas Presents

This past Saturday, we told the kids we were going to downtown Portland to look at the big tree they put up in Pioneer Square.  Little did they know that they were in for a huge surprise!  A new American Girl store opened at Pioneer Place this past fall.  Erika and Laurel had been asking for an American Girl doll most of the year, so Matt and I were excited to indulge the girls. 

We braved the pouring rain to walk into the mall.   We still hadn't even told the girls that the store existed, but when Erika say it, her mouth dropped open and she begged us to go inside!  The girls headed into the store, thinking they were just looking around, and then I asked them if they wanted to pick out a doll to keep.  I took a video, so enjoy!

 

 

 

Levi also got to pick out a little dog.  They were very happy children!  We were very glad to let them have this special treat!

Levi's Birthday Party

Levi had a great 5th birthday party!  He invited friends from his preschool and his buddy from church to join him for lunch at McDonalds.  Burgers, play time, presents, and Darth Vader cookies were a huge hit!

 

Later that night, he celebrated with his family.  His birthday dinner request was pizza.  We paired that with a blue Star Wars cake.  He also requested party games such as Pin the Satchel on Chewbacca and a Darth Vader piñata.  Then he opened up even more presents.  He was a very happy little guy!

 

 

Chewbacca cake he requested