Christmas 2010

When I placed the presents under the tree Christmas Eve day, I was overwhelmed with the blessings of God. We have so much and some people have so little. I was filled with gratitude and a since of unworthiness. We are so blessed.

Christmas was such a wonderful time of fellowship and fun. Mom and dad spent the Christmas weekend with us and we were able to webcam Christmas evening with Jimmy, Amie and Savannah and Eugene, Sheryl and the boys.

The kids had a hay day opening presents. I wasn't expecting much from Levi, but he tore into the presents! Haven ended up enjoying his presents as much as hers, so there were times of "Haven that is Levi's Christmas present". By far one of Levi's favorites was his new guitar. He and Haven played with it all day. It was loud and annoying at times, but I am glad they enjoyed it!

 Haven loves to "talk to each other", so she received four puppets so that we can talk to each other anytime she wants.

 Dad and Jonathan went downstairs Christmas Eve afternoon to put this little car together. We thought it would be a few pieces you just snap together. Little did we know that both of them would be down there for a VERY long time. Apparently there were a ton of screws and it was much more complicated than you would think.

Both kids loved this toy too! We broke up a few fights over it :o) Levi can only push himself backwards, so he still has a bit to learn. He would invite us to get in. Can you imagine an adult in that thing? 

 Haven was excited to get a "new" doll house. Thanks be to God for providing a doll house this year. I really wanted her to have one, but they were so expensive. A lady from church had one that she wanted to get rid of and called us a month or so before Christmas asking if we wanted it. YES! It has been a big hit. Jonathan and I had the toothbrushes out a couple of nights before Christmas making it look brand new. She also received a doll she can strap to her feet and dance with it.

 Here is Jonathan modeling his new shirt. It thought it went well with his pajama bottoms ;O)

 Baby Hannah received some early gifts too. This will be my first baby that is born in the pure cold time of the year. So these sack gowns will be so nice to have for nighttime sleeping. They were adorable.

 Haven and I baked some chocolate chip cookies on Christmas day. It was quite a funny experience. She dropped an egg on the floor and then....

 She turned the mixer on a bit high after we put the flour in. She was about to cry and I was laughing my head off. Flour was EVERYWHERE! She got a new set of baking duds to cook in.

 Her expression was cracking me up. She had little splotches on her face.

California Vacation - Part 6 Misc Final Chapter

Here is my last CA vacation post that is full of Misc pictures. 

Grandma Young with the two big girls.

The girls decorating Christmas cookies.

And Lily longing for just one little itty-bitty lick...mmmmm.

Haven drug out Michael's beanbag and so we had to try and make both kids happy while sitting on it. We put it away after a compromise could not be made for long.

Haven got a sparkly dress for Christmas and her and I were on stage performing.

Four generations of Young men!

This picture cracked me up because it looks like her head was put on wrong.

Saying goodbye at the airport. It is tradition to get a picture in this spot right before we leave.

California Vacation - Part 5 Outdoor fun

The weather turned out to be really nice while we were in California. We found out towards the end of our two week stay that the weather in Missouri was not so nice. We were having upper 60 lower 70 degree weather and the folks back home were having zero degree temps.

It was nice to have good weather because it allowed us to spend some time outdoors with the kids. They would get their wiggles out before nap time.

Here is Uncle Jonathan holding Lily.

 When the kids weren't playing in the bouncy house, they were playing with the wagon. Levi the bruiser was pushing people around :o)

 Grandpa Young did a lot of pulling too.

 It was a blessing to be able to spend quite a bit of time with Jonathan's sisters.

 Levi was trying out for a new Olympic event...Grandpa pulling.

 Haven was "planting seeds" and watching her flowers grow, while Kaleb just liked playing in the dirt or laying on the grass. He's an outdoorsman!

 I really don't think Levi ate any dirt, but his face sure makes it look like it.

 See the puddle next to Kaleb, well he didn't sit next to it for long. He had one wet bottom when he was finished playing.

 We went to a park to feed the ducks. Video below. It was quite a story. We were accosted by geese and ducks and I think Haven is scarred for life :o) It is quite the funny story. We were lucky to make it out alive with all fingers in tack. 

This park also had a playground that was a bit less threatening. 

It was VERY windy and cold on the bridge where we took refuge from the attack geese and ducks. So a lot of time you will hear the wind, but it was amazing how many ducks gathered to eat our bread crumbs. They were loud!

California Vacation - Part 4 First Real Haircut

Jonathan's sister Melissa is a wonderful hairdresser, so I wanted to take advantage of her expertise and so I asked her to cut Levi's hair. It was his first official boy haircut. I had trimmed it a few times, but nothing like a big boy haircut. All the curls came off. We kept him still with a banana and cartoons. He did really good! There was a bit of hair in the banana at the end, but other than that it was incident free.

 Haven hadn't had a trim in a LONG time, so Aunt Melissa trimmed up her hair and gave her a few long layers to help her curls curl up.

California Vacation - Part 3 Cousins

Joanne, Kaleb and Lily came and spent a week at Jonathan's parent's house and that allowed the cousins to get to know each other. Judy was able to visit after school a few days a week and Haven had a playmate close to her age. Kaleb and Levi are only a few months difference in age, so it was interesting to see how they interacted with each other.  It was a blessing to have all the cousins together.

California Vacation Part 2 - Bouncy House

Jonathan's sister Joanne brought a rockin' awesome bouncy house for the kids. Kaleb got it for his birthday. It was a hit all week long! It was a blessing that the weather was so beautiful the week Joanne was there. Playing outside kept the kids and adults from going crazy. It got their wiggles out before the afternoon naptime.

 Michael loved the bouncy house also. Haven did not play in the house very often when Michael was in there. She didn't like how she couldn't control where she bounced :o) He was a definite wild man and had a blast.

California Vacation Part 1 - Arrival

We arrived in California to some really nice weather!  We fly into Burbank because it is a smaller airport and much easier to manage. We ended up juggling a ton of carry-ons. I learned my lesson for next time. Tons of carry-ons plus two kids equals to much stuff!

Levi loved pulling the small carry-on.

Thanksgiving in Branson 2010

Thanks to mom and dad's generosity, we really enjoy our new tradition of staying in Branson with mom and dad over the Thanksgiving holiday. It feels like a mini-vacation! 

I couldn't get both kids to look at me at the same time. At least Jonathan cooperates.

 The place we stayed had an indoor pool, so this year we took the kids for a swim. Well, Jonathan and mom did. Dad and I watched from the sidelines. I didn't have a suit that fit my prego body and dad was just a wimp and didn't want to get cold :o) Haven still hates water on her head. Towards the end she got brave and went under water once and cried coming up because the water got in her ears, but she sure loved swimming above the water. She would say look mommy I swimming FAST!

 Levi on the other hand could care less how wet he gets. He loved swimming with daddy and grandma. I thought grandma would appreciate me not posting a picture of her swimming :o)

 Isn't this the cutest idea? My dad made the face and feathers! After a while he got tired of a plain pumpkin and carved the face.