Our little ham

covered in spaghetti
This is her new favorite goofy face. Anytime she sees a camera especially. Christmas photos ought to be interesting!

14 months

You have a little something, right there.

Teresa is hilarious lately. She & Rebecca just run around squealing & giggling most of the day! They dance in the kitchen, sing Christmas songs, & talk to all the puppies outside. Here's a semi-quiet Little People moment.

Comb anyone?

I never realized how handy a combine header could be.

She's done an absolutely AMAZING job of sleeping through all the commotion downstairs. Hammering, drilling, sawing, general banging...ZZZ. She's also just started using a pillow & wanting to be covered up when she lays down. But, of course, first there's the obligatory game or two of peek-a-boo with the blanket. When did she get so big?

The Best Gift

My amazing sister Cara gave us our favorite St. Nicholas day present, a new nephew & cousin. Nicholas Angelo was born on December 6th.Taylor with his boys
I guess we finally have to stop calling him "baby" Jonathan, because he's the big boy now!
A whole swarm of us were able to witness his Baptism. Here's Andrew with some of my sister Melissa's adorable kiddos.

Rebecca usually takes a good half an hour to warm up to almost any situation. Not the case that day! Here's cousin Max on the chase.

Got her!

Oh, little Peter, you're a sweetie.

The new family

Can you see his soul shining?

Nicholas with Red Grandma

***

We're so glad to welcome you baby Nicholas!

Thank you Cara & Taylor for a handsome new nephew. The best gift!

St. Nicholas

He came! (Good thing those candies are well-wrapped or I don't know if I'd eat those out of Andrew's shoes.)
My parents have been such a great inspiration for celebrating the feast of St. Nicholas. This year they even sent each of the kids a special ornament with him on it. We read a new book about him, watched the movie about him we got last year, & enjoyed the new statue (from Mom as well) of Santa holding the baby Jesus from his Nativity set.

They were so giddy with excitement, it was hilarious to watch how intensely they had to focus to open the ribbon on these gifts!

They also started to make decorations for their tree. Notice how even they have to have everything 2 1/2 feet off the floor! Doesn't leave much!

Here's the reason. ;) This is the first hat she has both willingly put on & left on for more than 10 seconds. Hope that you had a happy feast day!

Read this out loud

Andrew:

Look, Mom! I'm sleighing Teresa & Becca!

For the love of literature

& Red Grandpa & Grandma
These books are two of my favorites; The New Teacher is one we had growing up about a bunch of hedgehogs that never gets old to me & Mortimer's Christmas Manger is a gift from my sister Denise who has fabulous taste in children's literature. I highly recommend both!

Photo shoot

Or with Teresa it's more like, "Take a photo. Shoot! She's gone again!" This is the most still I could catch her... with the camera case... hiding under the counter. That girl's a mover!

The big kids
Andrew is still just in love with his baby sister. No matter how rough he can be with Rebecca or sassy he gets with me, he's always got a smile & hug for Teresa. We're trying to build on that. ;)
It fits! Here's Rebecca in my old dress from my Godmother Aunt Cele.

She even wanted me to pull her hair back just like mine in the picture. Cutie pie.

Up close & maybe too personal

Eek! That's one crazy jack-o-lantern face!

***

One of Andrew's favorite parts of school is "buddies". Each Kindergartner is paired up with a 5th grader that they get to play with at least once a week. Last time they did a science/art project together! They traced the little kids on paper, colored, & cut it out. Then they added a variety of organs to their bodies. Andrew was telling me all about it.

"My brain is here inside my skull. Then there's my heart & lungs behind my ribs. Down here is my liver & stomach. Then it's my big testament & my little testament."

Getting closer

It's coming along! Rebecca's kind of interested in the construction but mostly giddy to have Green Grandpa here so often. They are good at making eachother laugh. :)

Warm smiles for a cold day

Preparations

For Advent our GodTeen freshmen decided to make Christmas Care Packages. They each signed up to bring something that they had made or bought to add.

Andrew & Rebecca got in on the card making action, too. Everyone picked two people, then they made a Christmas card including a spiritual bouquet of how they will/did pray for them.

Didn't they turn out so cute? Father delivered some to the homebound in our parish when he went on First Friday Communion calls. We'll give the other two big boxes to our retired priests & beloved Pink Sisters when we go caroling there this weekend.

What a fun, generous, & creative group of kids! I love being a part of their lives.

Nuts

Me: Now that it's Advent, we can get out your little Nativity to play with & we'll get out Mommy's big Nativity to put out one new piece every day.
Rebecca: Yay! ...Can I play with the nuts?
Me: What nuts?
Rebecca: And shake the can of nuts?
Me: Huh?
Rebecca: Can I play with the nuts from the "nut activity"?

A Work in Progress

Two down...

eighteen to go! Thanks to Meg for the fabulous idea of sticking lost teeth in a ziploc baggie & taping it to the wall... the Tooth Fairy hasn't missed one yet. ;)

A Thankful Heart

"...is a happy heart. I'm glad for what I have, that's an easy way to start. For the love that He shares 'cause He listens to my prayers. That's why I say thanks everyday!"

Good question

Rebecca: Do baby butterflies have butter in them?

***

I've wondered myself, do "baby" butterflies really even exist? I wonder if they grow once they change from a caterpillar. Are they already an "adult"? How long do they live? I could probably Google it, but I'd love to tap your the wisdom first.

Creative Flair

After Andrew took a toy that she wanted...
Rebecca: Banana cartwheel!
Andrew: Name caller!

Joy

4 years old in the dress that I hope Rebecca can wear this year

That was almost my name 32 years ago (my sister Melissa wanted to name me Jesus but that didn't win out either). Mom reminds me of that occasionally & I try to make it my goal to be joyful even if my name isn't Joy. ;) It was easy on my birthday this year.
"Gimme that delectable flower of frosting..."

Andrew awoke me to "Happy Birthday! Is there something on the table?" Unfortunately, there wasn't. So, he set out to take care of it. He gathered a few half-inflated balloons from the basement, my present, & my cake to adorn the table for me. What a sweetheart. I wish I had gotten a picture! Darren whipped up some eggs & toast, then we all enjoyed a nice breakfast together. I opened my present with fun drawings from the kids & a beautiful print entitled Kissing the Face of God. LOVE IT. Thanks, honey!

We dropped the kiddos off in Wahoo for some fun time with Green Grandma & Grandpa after school was out & ventured up to Omaha. We shopped at Fat Brain Toys... kid Heaven!... & looked around the new Village Pointe Mall. It's been a while since Darren & I were shopping together anywhere besides Hy-Vee, Wal-Mart, or Menards. :P Then we had a yummy dinner at Firebirds. I'm so thankful for a wonderful day, a beautiful family, so many thoughtful friends, & the gift of faith that I've been given. Thank you, Mom & Dad for bringing me into this world & loving me so generously. God is good!