It's almost birthday time!

I just wanted to show off the invite that my friend Windy made for me.  Isn't it great?  We only have family over, but I still like to make an invitation.  I still can't believe that he's almost three years old!  He's not a baby any more.  

Christmas at my Parents

Christmas at around 10am we headed for my parents house.  We were going to open gifts with my family.  Iva wasn't there as she was out of town, and Kayla was spending the morning with her family, but the rest of us were there.  Ethan got a ton more presents and I think he was starting to get overwhelmed with all the opening.  He just wanted to "play".  But, we got them all opened, and he loves them all.  

Then we decided that Ethan needed a nap.  He was quickly falling apart, and he's a kid that still needs his two/three hour nap each day.  That took forever, but he finally fell asleep and there was no way I was waking him up to eat dinner, so he slept through.  The pictures with Ethan at the table is him eating after everyone else had finished.  

It was a wonderful Christmas and I'm sad that it's over.  Oh, well birthday next week!

Christmas morning

Christmas morning was so much fun!  I do admit that I was so excited to see Ethan's little face that I was up a lot that night.  Here is our tree and presents.  We had other family gifts under there, so they weren't all for us.  Ethan loved his gifts, especially that Yellow Baby.  He kept going back to it!  It was cute.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve is always spent at my parents house.  We have a yummy ham dinner and then go to church service.  We come home and surprise! Santa has filled the stockings.  Ethan was very excited about his "sock" that Santa filled.  It was a late night and we didn't get home until 10pm.  But, it was a lot of fun!

Christmas activities

   So this year I was determined to actually make some cookies.  One of my favorite Christmas memories was making cookies with my mom.  So I decided that Ethan should have that memory also.  With my new apron from Bianca, we made cookies and even took some to our neighbors.  They turned out really well, even if I did have to borrow a rolling pin from my mom!  We also made a ginger bread house! It was fun, and I'm not sure who had more fun, Dan or Ethan.  How am I kidding?  Dan had more fun!

Birthdays and Christmas in Chattanooga

So we went down to Chattanooga to celebrate Clark's 4th birthday, and Dean's 2nd birthday.  We also had our own little Christmas while we were there.  We had so much fun, and I've posted about a million pictures to prove it! Ethan had so much fun he didn't want to leave and ran and hid from us.  Then we had to carry him out of the house crying.  He fell asleep about five minutes into the ride home and slept the entire way.  He was worn out!

The entire family after opening all our gifts.  The kids weren't really cooperating, but what else can you expect with four kids at nap time?  

Me, Dan, Ethan, Eve, Dean, Bianca, Clark, and Matt.  (in case you don't know everyone)

My adorable apron that my SIL Bianca made for me.  Don't you love it? Oh, and she sells them also! If you want one, let me know and I'll place an order for you! (I'm going to start promoting your stuff Bianca! It's adorable!)

Ethan's robe that Bianca made for him for Christmas.  Ethan loves his robe and always wants to wear it!

Ethan and Eve, playing in Eve's room.  

Opening presents.  The birthday boys had a great time opening their gifts.

The birthday boys getting ready to blow out their candles.

The cake! Okay, so it is very cool and better than my dinosaur cake that I made last year! LOL 

Ethan wearing his birthday hat!  He's ready for his birthday.  He's had to watch people having their birthdays a lot lately.  (Grandpa, Uncle Eldon, Dadda, Clark, Dean, and Haley)  He keeps asking when his birthday is.  I tell him it's after Christmas, so he's patiently waiting.

We played Dinosaur relay.  Look at the dinosaur feet!

Pin the tail on the dinosaur......

Dan's 32nd birthday

Okay, so I've been a blog slacker!  But, I'm going to attempt to get caught up!  Dan turned 32 on December 6th.  We had a good day.  Ethan was so excited for it to be Dadda's birthday that he opened all his presents for him! It was so cute!  

Thanks Oma and Opa!

We LOVE the Christmas Card!! Ethan has been playing it and dancing all evening!  (I may have to hide it for my sanity!)  But, he really loves it and thinks it's the best "book" ever!

Putting up the tree

We had a lot of fun putting up our Christmas tree this year.  It was what we did first thing on Saturday morning.  Ethan was so excited to have his own Christmas tree.  

Fantasy of Trees

We went to the Fantasy of Trees again this year.  Our school creates and donates a tree, so because I help out, we get free tickets.  We always have a great time when we go.  It was so much fun this year because Ethan was so excited about everything.  He's really getting into Santa, Christmas trees, and the lights.  Every time I looked at him he was saying "wow" with a huge smile on his face!  

We went to see Santa.  Ethan had no problem sitting on his lap.  When he was done, I asked what he said to Santa.  Ethan replied with "I say I want a bus and baby!"  So cute!

Giving Daddy a hug while waiting in line to see Santa. Creating a Christmas ornament!  Getting his face painted for the first time! Daddy and Ethan! Mommy and Ethan! It was a great way to start the Christmas season.  We put up our tree the very next day and that was an exciting process this year also!