Enjoying my time off

We had some plans for New Year's but between us being a little sick and some of our friends being a whole lot of sick, we just stayed home by ourselves.  Since the holidays we have mostly just been relishing that I haven't had to go to work.  Since I do have the time off, it's the best time to get the kids dentist and Dr.'s appointments done.  Grant's Dr appointment was first and he did fantastic.  He had to get his shots for school and it didn't bother him a bit.  He sat perfectly quiet and still for his shots.  Then both kids went to the dentist together.  It was Grant's 2nd dentist visit and it was Grace's 1st.  Grant went first and did great.  Then Grace went and did just as good as her big brother.  Her 3yr Dr appointment is in a few weeks.

 
Other than that that we have been continuing to get the house put together and enjoying the Buffalo weather.

 
Today we went with some friends on our first family ice fishing experience.  It was cold but the kids weren't fazed by it.  We didn't catch any fish but we did have a great time.

Here comes Santa Clause

On Christmas Eve the kids exchange presents with each other.  Grant got Grace a loofah, Hello Kitty body wash, and Hello Kitty candy.  Grace got Grant penguin chapstick, a penguin ornament, and a chocolate penguin.  They also gave each other a light-up globe (chosen by us) that said I love my sister/brother.  

And then it was Christmas morning...which with little kiddos is amazing.

Gracie absolutely loved (& still does) the big Hello Kitty.  We didn't quite get the same reaction from Grant when he opened his big Batman toy.  However, he really likes it now!  We should have known, even if he loves something his first reaction isn't usually happy and excited.  His overall favorite toy was the light-up sword in his hand.

 

 

And then around noon it was off to Grandma and Papa's to celebrate with all of Lara's family.  We had dinner, did our gift exchange, and left the next day.  It was a great Christmas celebration.

We had such a perfect holiday season this year.  It was great that we got to celebrate with everyone and all were healthy and happy. 

Merry Christmas!

Our first Christmas celebration was with my family at Jase & Heather's.  We spent 3 nights there and in addition to celebrating Christmas with them and Papa Jim, we got to see Cody and Carly in their church play.  We also went to see the Christmas lights at the Columbus zoo.

 

Then it was on to celebrate Christmas with Aunt Peg and Aunt Connie which is a visit we always look forward to. 

And then it was back home to get ready for Santa.

Christmas is coming!

Aside from getting settled in our new house, we spent December getting ready for Christmas.

We got our tree at the same local country store that we did last year.  It is only a few miles from our house.

We visited the store a few times throughout the season.  We saw Santa there and this year they also had some baby reindeer.

The kids had a great time decorating the tree and the house.

 

The Hetricks made it up for a visit to see the new house and to bake some Christmas cookies.

And of course, we had to make some gingerbread houses.