Christmas Fun So Far

We may only be halfway through December but Eloise & Preston are having tons of Holiday Fun! We started off the Christmas season with a North Pole Breakfast celebrating the return of our Elf on the Shelf, Ms. Lyla Zig Za.  She brought Christmas pajamas, Advent calendars, Donut ornaments (because she knows Preston & Eloise love their donuts), some Christmas frames and candy.  The breakfast was a huge hit with the kids.  I love making the magic happen for Eloise.  She absolutely loves all of this!

Next up was Donuts with Santa at St. Mike's the first Saturday of the month.  This is the first year that we have gone to this event at our church (we got married here & both kids were baptized here) and what will be Eloise's school come next Fall.  It was great!  We have met a few families in the past few months from Soccer & Gymnastics that are also St. Mike's families and Eloise was excited to see some of those familiar faces there too.  Eloise was so excited to meet Santa and tell him what she wanted for Christmas - Barbie House & Barbies.  Preston was super freaked out by Santa so Eloise told Santa what she thought Preston should get for Christmas - trucks, cars & boy toys.  After seeing Santa, we all enjoyed some donuts, Christmas crafts and games.  

 Eloise to Santa: "I want a Barbie House and one Barbie to put inside it"

Later that day, Eloise helped me finish putting the ornaments up the tree.  It's true what they say that you never know how much of a control you are until you are pained by watching your kids put up ornaments.  I'm did a lot of editing after the kids left for a special outing.  Preston & Eloise were treated to a ride on the Polar Express by Grandma Sandy & Papa Mike.  They had a blast! 

And then the morning of a at-home photo shoot, we had our 1st snow.  They were thrilled!

I set up cute little Christmas bed scene in our guest room/craft room for some fun Christmas pajama- themed photos.  I won't spoil the surprise from some of our family members with all the photos I took in this setup but here are some favorites of Eloise & Preston. 

Santa made his annual visit Eloise & Preston's school last Friday.  The event starts with Santa's arrival on a fire truck from the local Fire Department followed by a parade back to the school.  My mom was able to sneak away from her clinic to join the fun.  Eloise couldn't believe that Santa even knew Grandma Carrot! 

Preston was still freaked out but tolerated Santa long enough for me to snap the best photo ever.  Don't worry, I printed this one and framed it immediately.  I may have also made it the background on my phone.  It is epic! Eloise was so excited to get a Christmas Barbie from Santa.  She told me that he really listened to her when she saw him a few days earlier and decided to bring her an early gift because she has been "so good."  Preston got a cement truck and he loved it!  It makes an authentic beeping noise when it backs up and he loves it.  

We had some friends over for a little Holiday dinner party this past weekend.  We threw out all Christmas traditions and opted for making pizzas for the kids,  ordering in delicious Thai food, and having the kids decorate store bought Christmas cookies for dessert.  Oh yeah, I also did a little mini photo shoot for one of the families that came.  What can I say, I can't help myself!  Claire & Caden were so cute!  Kudos to their mom Amanda for wrangling them between shots!

 Eloise & Claire wanted to take a BESTIE! photo. 

Preston: 18 month update & Thanksgiving Fun

Happy 18 months Preston Bradley!

Here we are at another milestone age.  At your 18th month appointment, you weighed in around 30lbs and 32.28 inches long.  When it was time for those dreaded shots, the nurse commented on how strong you were.  Good thing Mommy has been trained to restrain unruly patients because those skills come in handy when the nurse asks me to hold you still.  Kidding...not kidding.  

                             

You are all Toddler Boy, all day!  Every 5 seconds, we hear, "No!" or "Mine!"  You are trying to figure out how to communicate with us more and more every day.  You do a lot of pointing and saying, "Dis...Dat...Dis." You officially moved up to the Young Toddler room earlier this month and you were more ready!  Now that you are playing with other kids your age and a little older, I can only expect your vocabulary to expand greatly.  

It was a hard transition to leave Ms. Tee who was his teacher since he was 12 weeks old.  He loves her so!  Last winter when Preston was battling ear ache after ear ache, Ms. Tee would hold him many days during his entire nap to give him some extra TLC. Every day since he left her room, he will walk past the door and stop to give her a kiss.  Ms. Tee will always hold a special place in our hearts for the way that she loved on Preston.  

There's a good chance that Preston is going to left-handed.  I have noticed on more than one occasion that he prefers to color and paint with his left hand.  You know who else is left-handed?  Professional athletes & Presidents.  Just sayin'...

This picture is a perfect example of the dynamic between Eloise & Preston.  He literally just wants to do everything that she does.  

 

As part of a project that the whole daycare was participating in, the kids each had to decorate a puzzle piece that reflected their personality and the things they loved.  Here were the final products:

 We started a Thanksgiving celebrations a little early this year.  We had some of beloved family in from California so we decided to do a proper Thanksgiving during their time here.  We used all of Great Grandma Fitz's recipes for the meal.  She happily watched over the final preparations. 

 Auntie Lo, cousin Emily and Eloise made custom Thanksgiving vests & headdresses for everyone.  Eloise loves to pick out her clothes every day and often walks down our stairs saying, "Mommy! Look at me!  I look so fashion!"

 3 Indian Princesses

 Preston is still smitten with Aunt Patti.  

He was playing doctor here and giving her a checkup.  

Of note, Eloise is not getting a new pet.  A girl can dream!