We have had a wonderful year with lots to celebrate!
Our baby Jason Daniel (Jase or J.D.) was born in June. Learning to parent three littles was definitely a huge learning curve but we love it. Jase is such a charmer. He smiles and laughs all the time. Even when he's tire, he'll smile at you. When he smiles, his whole face smiles. It's pretty adorable and we are so in love.
Ryan started joy school this year. He loves talking about things that rhyme and counting. He did swimming lessons twice and is more comfortable in the water now although he seems to love swimming out of the water, talking about it, more than he loves being in the water. Ryan had his tonsils and adenoids out this year. Breathing is easier for him now and we like that! ; ) Ryan loves so many things--animals, airplanes, space ships. He is getting excited for a sports class he will be taking in January.
Max graduated from pre school and joy school and is in kindergarten this year. He loves it and he loves riding the bus. I love hearing about all that he is learning and that he loves his teacher and friends so much. He played tee ball, had swimming lessons and and afterschool athletes class. He has developed a LOVE of legos. I don't think they have surpassed his love of airplanes but they are getting up there.
I (Deb) love being a busy stay-at-home mom. I love going on adventures with the boys and learning,exploring and creating social and growing opportunities for them. I also love working with the kids at church. Being a court appointed special advocate (CASA) was a fun challenge. This year the last little girl that I was a CASA for was adopted. Having Jase made it difficult to give that volunteer opportunity as much time as I would like so I've decided not to take any more cases until I can dedicate a bit more time to that.
Tony's intense school schedule came to a glorious end. His dedication and hard work paid off and he is a certified airplane mechanic. We are so proud of him. he continues to work at Boeing on the P-8, a sub-hunter for the Navy. We love having him home in the mornings. he can spend time with the boys and I. We can take turns running errands or run them together. He took a swimming class with Ryan. It's awesome. Now on to the next adventure. He's been accepted to Embry Riddle and will be registering for their online program so he can earn his Bachelor's Degree in Aviation Management.
It's been a busy, fulfilling year. Now we're looking forward to spending Christmas in California. We hope everyone's Christmas holiday is filled with love and laughter. Our Savior, Jesus Christ brings peace and love and we are filled with joy to celebrate His birth and life!
Monday, December 17, 2012
Gingerbread People, Santa and the Train
The boys made gingerbread people and kept wondering if any of them were going to jump up and run away like the story. None of them did.
Then we went and rode the little Christmas train.
And then we saw Santa! The boys were so excited and then totally star struck and shy when they were on his lap. Jase was sleeping and didn't get to meet him this year.
Max asked for a trumpet again. Oy!
Then we went and got fun holiday cupcakes.
The boys got to have a Grandma date while Tony and I went to a Christmas party. Then Sunday was extra special. I sang in the choir and Max sang a song with the primary choir. The music of Christmas and the true meaning of season fills us with the most happiness. There may not be photos to express how much we love celebrating the birth of our Savior, but those are the moments most precious.
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Our Elf on the Shelf
Santa sent one of his special elves to check on the boys and see if they are naughty or nice. The boys named him Jingle and he is always up to mischief.
He switched out the stockings for (clean) underwear).
He built a model of Santa's workshop out of the boys' blocks.
Max's reaction: "I've ALWAYS wanted to know what Santa's workshop looks like!"
Yesterday he was using one of our kites as a hang glider and today he wrapped the tree in wrapping paper. The boys love waking up to see what he's done.
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Saturday, December 15, 2012
Rub a Dub Dub
So I haven't been good about taking photos of everything. The boys have been invovlved in a lot of Christmas fun. They've made cookies and caroled, gone to a church party, decorated pointed ice cream cones with frosting and candy to make Christmas trees, baked gingerbread cookies, looked at Christmas lights, made crafts, etc., but, here's the pictures I remembered to take. ; )
The 3 brothers take their first bath together.
Getting dressed.
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| From December 14, 2012 |
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| From December 14, 2012 |
Max's School Christmas Concert
I didn't get any still pictures this time. Max's school put on a lovely program of holidays around the world. Some children sang in other languages. Every grade sang one song. The kindergarteners sang, "Up on the Housetop". The video is so shaky but here's Max in his cuteness. He is in the front towards the middle on the left side.
This is Max doing an encore performance later that night.
This is Max doing an encore performance later that night.
What Did Christmas Look Like at Our House this Year?
For our future selves: ; )
Here is the window Grandma Kate painted. So cute!
The tree with a cute boy under it.
Fist pump!
My favorite decoration.
My favorite nativity that I got on my mission in France.
The boys loved setting up the Nutcrackers.
Door hanging
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Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Happy Half Birthday Jason!
Jason turned 6 months on the 8th! Time sure does fly (well, now it does; not so much in the first few months). Our little peanut is growing and doing and is such a fun boy. He laughs and giggles all the time. He smiles at everyone. Even if he's super tired, you can get him to smile. When you pick him up to hold him, he wraps both arms around you (well as much as he can) and holds on tight. He's a total snuggle bug. Jason is rolling in both directions but not really rolling to get anywhere. He mostly rolls from side to side and reaches for things and grabs his feet. He loves his jumper (the jumper of doom as we call it). He saw the doctor and here are his 6 month stats. He is 26 inches (50th percentile) and 14 lbs. 5 oz. (5th percentile).
Here is a repeat picture but I love it so much because it captures his personality.
He is only waking up once (around 4am) which is so much better than before. He loves his brother and they love him. Sometimes I wish they'd love him less noisily but they love to make silly noises to make him laugh. I just have this strong love for Jason. I know that he is such a special boy and will do such wonderful things. He is so happy it's contagious.
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| From December 2012 |
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Christmas Fun Nights and Lights!
Tony worked the graveyard shift once this week so we were able to do some family activities at night! We visited the Garden D'Lights at the Bellevue Botannical Gardens.
I love these lights because they move like falling rain.
A froggy for Ryan
Then we went to the mall where Snowflake Lane would be. It has a Lego store so that was a necessary stop.
And then to Snowflake Lane.
The "snow" falling.
The first video is long but they capture our memories of a fun night, dancing to drummer boys and carols and catching snowflakes.
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Then we went to the mall where Snowflake Lane would be. It has a Lego store so that was a necessary stop.
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| From December 2012 |
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| From December 2012 |
And then to Snowflake Lane.
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| From December 2012 |
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| From December 2012 |
The "snow" falling.
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The first video is long but they capture our memories of a fun night, dancing to drummer boys and carols and catching snowflakes.
Christmas Crafting
The boys and I have completed a few Christmas projects. We made cinnamon ornaments that I found out about on this blog.
We used the little bit of dough that was leftover to start a Christmas potpourri that a good friend/roommate showed me years ago. It's just orange peels in water with some vanilla and cinnamon. MMMM! It makes me think of Christmas.
It also makes me think of my friend who happened to be having her baby that same day!
And then the boys worked on snowflakes.
And Jason cheered us on.
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Thursday, December 6, 2012
Pretty Pictures!
We attended a Creche activity with some friends. There were over 500 nativities on display including a live nativity. I was pretty much in heaven looking at all the nativities from around the world. I love collecting nativities from different countries. There were some intricate and unique creches that were just beautiful. We also were able to dress up and take a picture as a family.
When we came home, we started working on window paintings which we've done pretty much every year. This is something that Grandma Kate did when daddy was a little boy so we like it when we get her help. She did the first one in our South Tacoma home. First Grandma helped the boys.
First you take a dry erase marker and draw the picture. Then you paint over the marker with black to create a darker line. Then you fill in the picture with colors. You just use craft paint. It's super easy clean up too. You can take a straight-edge razor to scrape it off and then clean your window like normal.
Now they work on Max's painting.
Jase didn't paint but he played and showed off his cute outfit.
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