A Very Merry Christmas

I'm not going to lie, I woke up this Christmas before the kids did and laid in bed for twenty minutes waiting for Christopher to come wake us up. I was so excited for Christopher to see Santa's present via Grandma and Grandpa :)


He has consistently said Santa is bringing him asked for a big race car he could ride in for over a month.



So Mike and I were really excited to see his reaction when he saw it.


Both Mikayla and him jumped in it and were all about the radio.



Mikayla was ready to go for a ride, but Santa did not get a chance to charge the battery for the required 18 hours so we had to wait until we got back from Grandma and Grandad's house.


Mikayla got a tricycle and a play kitchen.


Christopher hopped on his plasma car from Uncle Seth and family. He calls it his helicopter scooter.



Dad got matching Hester jerseys for Christopher and Mikayla.



We were then off to celebrate Christmas with the Redding family.


It was a very merry and blessed Christmas for the Reddings.

Gingerbread House

Ever since I saw the Gingerbread House Kits at Target I was excited to build a house with Christopher.  Last night we decided we would give it a try.


We were all ready and started with the "glue."




Mikayla even helped out by eating the gingerbread snowman.


So our first attempt to erect the house, was unsuccessful.



Our second attempt, was also unsuccessful.




Christopher was not amused by my failed attempts, so he turned his attention to the gum drops.


I finally was able to get the house to stick together! Christopher was a little disappointed because this meant he had to stop eating the gum drops and use them to decorate the house.




We had fun putting the lights on it.


Christopher did a great job painting the door red.



He even put the door knob on.



And then, as we were painting the roof, it collapsed.  You can see Christopher running for cover in the top left of the picture.



Maybe next year we will be more successful ...

Denver

For Mike's 31st birthday I surprised him with a trip to Denver to see the Broncos v. Bears game.  It was our first trip away from both of our kids and a much needed little vacation.




We have some good friends that moved out to Denver the day Christopher was born and they were great hosts.  They took us up to Breckenridge to see the mountains.





Mike pretended to ski.



It was an amazing time. We tried tons of local beers and strange flavored vodka.




We also scored great seats to the Bears game. It was such an amazing view and a great game in the end ... if only they would have won.

Belated Weekend Wrap-Up

So anyone who regularly check's out our little blog may have thought that I decided to stop blogging after Mikayla's first birthday ... not so much. There have been wonderful things to blog about, like Mikayla getting a stomach virus and being home all last week and then Christopher getting that stomach virus this week and being home all week.  This has meant for a very busy time for Mom and Dad trying to juggle staying home, working and finishing up our Christmas to do lists.




On to the good news. I have officially but all bottles in the basement. Mikayla was refusing to drink milk out of anything but a bottle. I guess a week of Pedialyte in a bottle was enough motivation for her to ditch her attachment to it when we presented her with a sippy cup that had milk in it.



Christopher and Mikayla cuddling in the basement on our "Stay in our PJs" day on Sunday.




This picture is a lie, it is not from this weekend, it is from when Mikayla was "sick" this past week. She doesn't look sick and didn't act sick - until you saw inside her diaper - I know too much information. But, if we have to suffer through it so do the three people that read this blog.




And then we finished out "PJ Day" watching TV in our matching chairs.

Mikayla's FIRST Birthday

I can't believe how fast this year went. It seems as though I can remember the time so clearly of when we were preparing to become a family of four - and now we have completely settled in.



Mikayla is definitely not letting us forget that we are now 4 instead of 3 or anyone else for that matter.





She is such a happy, spunky girl. She loves her big brother sooo much, but she is definitely not afraid to let him know how she feels at any given point in time.





We are certain that no one will be pushing this little girl around. She will definitely be holding her ground and hopefully teaching her brother a thing or two about sticking up for himself.




Because as much as we like to think we are the bosses of this family.




I'm pretty sure Mikayla is the one calling the shots around here.




When we decided it was time to move on from the bottle, Mikayla had other plans.




When we put Mikayla in her high chair, she had other plans.



She only lasted a bite or two and then she was climbing out.


What can I say, this girl knows what she wants when she wants it.  Happy Birthday sweet little miss Mikayla!