Going Through Life One Blog Post at a Time
I wandered downstairs this morning to find Laura reading to John. Her book of choice was “There’s a Fly Guy in My Soup.” It was so fun to watch the two of them. At the end of the book, John said, “Thank you Laura for reading to me. I like that book!”
(By the way, I think I *might* be enjoying Laura’s American Girl Doll, Lauren, just a bit… All these ridiculously cute matching outfits, other clothes, and accessories are too cute! Just yesterday, I ordered school supplies for Lauren’s backpack. I think I might be hooked!)
While at dinner at Romano’s Macaroni Grill, I asked John to write his name. I wanted to see if he would write his name for me, because I know that he can even though I have never seen him do it. He grabbed a crayon and went right to work. I watched John write his name and it was even written in the “school way,” meaning the first letter is capitalized followed by lowercase letters. I was very impressed! He is doing so well and learning so much at his new preschool!
A couple of minutes later, Laura says, “Mommy and Daddy, look at this!” Not to be outdone by her little brother, she had written her name in *cursive.* I think I can safely say that Andy and I are very proud parents tonight!
After a lunch of pizza at our house, Andrea and I decided to take the kids to Going Bonkers! for a couple of hours of fun. Both Laura and Kathryn were off to climb, play, and slide the minute they got their shoes off. On the other hand, John was still a little freaked out about climbing all the way up to the top and going down the “big slides.” I asked him if he wanted me to go with him down the slides. He was leery, but said he would if I took him, so up we climbed! On the way to the top, he was actually hurting my hand because he was squeezing so tightly. John was scared when we got to the top, but he sat down next to me and we slid down the first big slide. He was laughing by the time we got to the bottom of it and wanted to go again. As we headed to the next slide, he was much more confident about climbing around so high off the ground. He loved the second slide as much as the first. At the bottom of the second slide, we ran into Laura and Kathryn who asked John to join them on their climbing adventures. He turned to me and said, “I’m going with them, Mommy. You go back down.” Once back on the ground, I texted Andy to tell him that John had finally conquered this fear. He was just as excited as I was. Another check off of John’s list!
Merry Christmas! Christmas Day started rather late for us. Laura and John must have been *really* tired because, for the first time, all four adults were up and waiting on them to wake up. Finally, John wandered upstairs just a little after 7:00 am. Andy asked him if Santa Claus had come and he mumbled, “I don’t know.” John didn’t even notice the piles of presents as he stumbled past the Christmas tree! Laura was up less than two minutes later, and we all heard the excited squeal followed by her running up the steps. It was obvious that *she* remembered to look! It was just so much fun to watch the kids open their presents. One of Laura’s big gifts was a camera from her Daddy and me. She was so excited to see it and couldn’t wait to take some pictures with it.
One of John’s favorite gifts was an Angry Bird stuffie. He was so excited and was showing it off when I snapped his photo. My son…the Angry Bird!
In addition to lots of presents from us and Grandpa and Grandma, the kids got lots of presents from Santa. Laura’s gifts from Santa were all things for her American Girl doll. She now has “Honey” (a pet dog), a dresser, lots of outfits and accessories, and a hair styling kit. Lauren is now a very well-dressed doll.
John received all things Hot Wheels from Santa. His favorites were the track pack and the T-Rex Takedown set. I think many, many hours of building tracks and racing cars is in his future!
The rest of the day was spent with the kids playing with all their toys and the adults relaxing, eating, and enjoying the day. It was a fun, family Christmas! We all had a great time, which is just exactly as it should be.
Merry Christmas Eve! It was a day full of Kassel Family traditions. First, Grandpa Ken and Grandma Marilyn arrived to spend Christmas with us. The kids were *very* excited to see Grandpa and Grandma! We had a relaxing afternoon that was followed by a delicious dinner of Marilyn’s Lasagna. Next, the kids and I made Reindeer Food, a mix of oatmeal and red and green glitter, to spread on the driveway so that the reindeer could snack while Santa Claus delivered presents to two kids on the “Nice” list.
After making Reindeer Food, the kids took a bath and got dressed in their Christmas Pajamas. Then, it was time for Daddy to read “Twas the Night Before Christmas.”
After a short nap for John and non-stop talking by Laura, the kids waved goodbye to Chippy, our Elf on the Shelf. We will miss Chippy, but he will be back next Christmas season! We then headed outside to spread the Reindeer Food on the driveway. Santa’s reindeer will be happy and well fed after visiting our house!
The kids decided they wanted to attend Christmas Eve service at church this year, so we headed off to church with the kids dressed in their Christmas pajamas much to the amusement of the other church goers. It was a great service and the kids were excellent! They loved being able to light and hold the candles at the end of the service. Upon arriving home, the kids had a small snack and then helped us prepare the cookies and milk for Santa. We put them downstairs by our Christmas tree and put the kids to bed. After an exhausting day, the kids were ready for sleep! Andy and I relaxed upstairs with a nice glass of white wine until we heard some noises downstairs. By the time we got downstairs, the cookies were mostly eaten and the milk was all but gone.
Our stockings were stuffed…
…and presents for Laura and John were by the Christmas tree.
Santa Claus had come and gone! Finally, Andy and I climbed into bed because Christmas morning would come quickly.
I took a few photos of the kids in front of our Christmas tree today. They must be getting used to me snapping all these pictures because they did not protest and I had no bad photos of them. Here are a few of my favorites:
Laura looks so grown up!
John cheeses big to show off his “AWESOME” Christmas sweater.
Two beautiful kids in front of our Christmas tree.
