Decorating a Gingerbread House

A few years ago, I found an elaborate, boxed gingerbread house set on clearance at Michaels after Christmas.  It was such a good deal that I couldn't pass it up and so I quickly bought it, brought it home, and tucked it away in my kitchen pantry.  And then I promptly forgot out it.  Each year, Christmas came and went and we didn't assemble it because I never seemed to remember it during the holiday season.  So this year I promised myself that I would remember about it during the month of December and, luckily, I did!   So for F.H.E. tonight, we gathered around the kitchen table and had a grand old time decorating the gingerbread house together.  In fact, I'm actually glad that I didn't remember it until this year as Logan is finally old enough to participate in such an activity and really did a good job.  We put Logan up on the table and the four of us gathered around the gingerbread house and each decorated one of the sides while Ella crawled around on the floor.  It was one of those rare moments when everyone was happy and working side by side.  It really was a fun family activity and I hope to keep this tradition alive for many years to come!

Logan working hard on decorating his side of the house.

Logan taking a brief break to acknowledge the camera and me.

Lia was also in charge of decorating the gingerbread men that came with the set.  She promptly turned them into gingerbread women and did a great job making them pretty and colorful! 

Working hard under Ella's supervision.

Logan and Lia admiring the finished product.  Please notice Logan's "smile" that he currently flashing us whenever we ask for one.  Oh dear.

A close-up of the finished product.

Losing Her First Tooth!

Lia has been watching her friends lose their teeth for two years now.  Her best friend, Kaylee, lost her first tooth really young during their Pre-K year of school and many of her friends have followed since.  Poor Lia has waited and waited and waited for her turn to come.  I kept on telling Lia that it is because her teeth are so "healthy" that none of them have fallen out yet.  I don't think that this was much consolation to her.  Regardless, Lia's time finally arrived a few weeks ago when she approached me claiming that one of her teeth was lose.  Since she has done this MANY times before, I honestly didn't believe her, but decided to check more closely when it looked like she was really wiggling a lose tooth.  After closer examination, I not only realized that her tooth was indeed lose, BUT that her adult tooth had popped through behind the baby one.  I couldn't believe it!  And so the wiggling began.  Lia wiggled everywhere she went and talked about it nonstop.  It was a major deal in the Hartland.  And after days and days of this, it actually popped right out of her mouth this morning while Lia was watching TV and wiggling on the couch.   Here are the pictures we took after much celebrating!

Lia showing off the fresh hole in her mouth!

Lia showing off her tooth.

And a close-up of the tooth.

Congrats baby girl!  All of your waiting has finally come to an end!

Ella's 8-Month Photos

Ella and I made it into the photo studio this morning for a quick photo shoot for her 8-month pictures.  Normally a super happy and smiley baby whenever attention is directed her way, Ella was very reserved today and barely cracked a smile.  I think this was largely due to the fact that I accidentally scheduled the appointment during her morning nap.  And although she wasn't cranky or fussy at all, she only smiled for the first few pictures and then promptly stopped.  No matter what the photographer or I did, we couldn't get her to smile again.  Oh well.  I'll just be grateful for the first few that we got--after all, I only need one to enlarge and frame!

Attacking the Dishwasher

Just like her older siblings, Ella discovered the dishwasher a few months ago when she started crawling.  Whenever Ella sees the door is down, she seriously makes a beeline for it with turbo-crawling speed.  She goes straight for the large handled silverware in the basket which is normally the knives and has recently learned how to pull out plates, too.  I must admit that this is one of my least favorite activities of my babies (especially when the dishes are dirty), but we always seem to get through it unscathed...so far.  So, here are a few pictures of my dishwasher-diving baby that I took of her this morning.  Isn't she so cute?

Fantasy Lights for FHE

Tonight we went and did the perfect Family Home Evening activity with little children while it is cold and rainy outside--the Fantasy Lights at Spanaway Park.  We get to stay all toasty and dry inside our car while driving around the park oohing and aaawing at the Christmas Lights!  The kids stay warm and happy which keeps Ron and me happy.  This is the first year that Logan has been old enough to really appreciate it.  His excitement is so contagious!  And Lia enjoyed it from her backseat in the van and Ella tolerated the event.  Overall, I'd say it was a success!  Here are a few pics of our outing.

Ella checking my camera and me out from her car seat.

Logan (covering his eyes from the camera's flash) and Ella as we head into the park.

Lia from her perch in the back.

Some of our favorite lights included the guitar-playing dinosaur,

the Santa pirate ship,

the choo choo train,

and OF COURSE the dump truck!

Here is a blow-by-blow of Logan pointing out some of the lights.  First he points at the lights out the window,

then he turns to me to point them out,

then he realizes that I am taking pictures of him and tries to grab the camera,

and finishes off with that darling smile!

Some more favorites--the lady watering the flowers 

and the gingerbread house!

A Weekend of Santa Claus!

Lia had a busy weekend full of some fun Christmas activities that included Santa.  On Friday evening, she was invited to a little Christmas party hosted by one of the girls in her first grade class.  The kids decorated sugar cookies and sipped hot cocoa while watching a holiday movie before being surprised by a visit from Santa!  They couldn't believe it.  Santa came in and told some stories before giving them the chance to sit on his lap and tell him their Christmas gift wishes.  What fun.

Here is Lia and her friend, Addyson, decorating their cookies.  

Lia sitting on Santa's lap.

Tonight Lia got to be in the Santa Parade for a second year in a row with her new Girl Scout troop.  Her leaders decorated the float in a Winter Wonderland theme and did an amazing job.  Lia dressed up in her snow gear with antlers and a flashing snowflake necklace and had a great time with her friends while I walked along side the float.

A close up of my snow bunny.

The float in all its glory.

Lia waiting for the parade to start with Sienna and Addyson.

These girls love posing for silly pictures!

When we were first moving to the starting line of the parade, we passed one of my favorite parts of the Santa parade--Mr. and Mrs. Claus riding in an old fashioned fire truck.  Since we no longer get to watch the parade from the sidelines, we didn't get to see them last year, so it was a treat to spot the two of them on our way out!

Mr. and Mrs. Claus all decked out in their finest!

Decorating the Tree!

Although we went out and bought our Christmas tree as a family on Friday night, we didn't get around to decorating it until yesterday morning.  Both Lia and Logan were so excited and waited so patiently until the moment arrive to "dress the tree!"  Lia was a huge help and put up all of her ornaments and helped me with many of the family ornaments.  Logan narrowed in on three specific ornaments at the very beginning and proceeded to hang them up and then take them down to play with over and over again.  In fact, these three ornaments have since gone to bed with him and joined him on his high chair tray during every meal since their discovery.  So, needless to say, he wasn't much help, but it sure has been cute to watch his enthusiasm for Christmas this past weekend.  I just love it when our kids get old enough to finally enjoy all of the magic and excitement of the holiday season.  And the season has officially begun!  Here's to many more fun and festive activities in the weeks to come!

Lia hanging another ornament with her crazy brother in the background.

Logan carrying two of his three favorite ornaments--a jingle bell Christmas tree and a stuffed, snowman riding on a sleigh.