Merry Santa from Hayden

Hayden gets the Merry Christmas part mixed up, but it is cute nonetheless. :)

Santa Came

Santa knew how much Hayden likes to play with dry oatmeal, rice, and water so he got Hayden a sand and water table.

We are going to put it in the basement and fill it with oatmeal for Hayden to play with in the winter and take it outside in the summer. I may even fill it occasionally with water for him to play with. Hayden LOVES doing the dishes and playing with water in the sink, so I figured this way he can do it as long as he wants in the basement, and we won't have to fight over the kitchen sink.

Hayden got some wiggles movies, bubble bath, candy, and other goodies in his stocking. He was excited. He doesn't quite get the Santa thing yet. I can't wait until next year.

Right now the table is in our living room filled with Oatmeal. I vacuumed 4 times already and am thinking it will need to head to the basement soon. Hayden played with it all day and loves using his tractors to push the "sand" as he calls it.

We went over to our neighbors for supper tonight. We ate soup and had a great time. Nancy's house is FULL of collectibles and fragile pretty things, so we have to keep a close eye on Hayden. Hayden got a sheep, shirt, and a cool barney bag from Nancy. Joey and I got a few things as well. We are sooooo blessed to have such a great neighbor.

Day After Christmas

Bev and I woke up at 5:15 to go shopping. I went in to Bev and Joe's room to make sure Bev was up and treated Joe to my rendition of "rise and shine and give go the glory glory" complete with clapping and other animations.

We hit Younkers and Target. We had a fun time and found some great bargains.

Joey's sister and family arrived and we enjoyed an awesome pork chop dinner. Then we had our grab bag exchange. We also found out that Joey's sister is expecting their 4th on August 3rd (Hayden's birthday). We are excited for them!

After all of the fun we headed out. We had to make it home in time for Santa to come to our house. He didn't feel like hauling up all of Hayden's things to Waterloo. :)

Merry Christmas

Christmas day was a low key event for the most part. We got up late and relaxed. Joey and I made breakfast. We had eggs and ham, blueberry muffins, and sausage.
Bev made a turkey for dinner. As we were getting ready to eat the doorbell rang. Joey opened the door and in walked his grandparents and aunt and uncle from Wisconsin. They surprised us! Luckily we had a ton of food. It was a great surprise!

Christmas Eve Recap

We had another fun drive up to Cedar Falls thanks to the weather. It was slow going but we made it just in time to eat Brunch and Grandma and Grandpa M's house. I mad an egg casserole. It was a great brunch.
Mom and I ran to Ace hardware to get a snow rake for Raleigh. We made it just in time as the store was closing. We are glad we got it before they left to AZ so they could get all of that heavy snow off their roof.
Then we met the Paricka's at the Vineyard for Christmas Eve Service. It was a great service and Hayden was impressed with the live animals.
Then we went with my parents over to visit Grandma Goodie. Joey missed seeing her last week because he was trying to get the car started. We visited for a while. Joey and Hayden had fun taking grandmas scooter for a spin.
We ended up at the Paricka's for Christmas Eve appetizers and presents. The highlights of the evening for Hayden was his John Deere Tractor and the awesome bubble bath Aunt Darliene made for him. When Joey took the tractor away at night Hayden kept saying "no barn". He didn't want the tractor to go in the barn for the night. He wanted it to sleep with him.

Christmas Eve

We are gearing up for our Christmas celebration. Joey's last day of work was yesterday. He goes back January 5th. AND he finished his class and is now done with that until Jan 12th. I am sooooo excited. We haven't had this much family time for a LONG time. He always gets this time off of work, but usually goes from one class to the next. He rarely gets a break from classes.

Last night Hayden got to open 2 presents. He got a constellation night light and a big magna doodle. He loves the constellation night light and loves the fact that he can see the moon. He loves finding the moon outside.

Today we are headed to my parents to have a late brunch and visit one last time before they head to Arizona. Then we are meeting the Paricka's at the Vineyard at 3:00 and then over to their house for the traditional Christmas Eve appetizers. Then tomorrow we are having a turkey lunch and then headed home, I believe.

I am kind of sad Christmas is here already! It seems to have sneaked up on me. I feel that I haven't fully enjoyed the season yet, and it will be over before I know it!

More pics from family Christmas

Grandma and us.

Hayden, August, and Niall

Hayden and his uncle Rob

Trying out his new potty chair from aunt Becky.

Christmas parties 2 and 3

Enjoying a Kinderegg from his Advent calendar that Aunt Ingrid sent from Germany

Cole liked his gift from Hayden

Playing pool and Grandmas

Ellie using Hayden's new potty chairs as a seat

We had a great Christmas weekend. We ended up celebrating in the hotel. With the blizard conditions we chose not to celebrate in Dunkerton. So we all made our food in roasters and crock pots and had a fabulous meal.
After supper Uncle Rob took Joey and Hayden out to do some plowing. Hayden AND Joey had a blast pushing all of the snow. Well Hayden watched as Rob and Joey played I mean plowed. :)
After the festivities Joey and I went to a party at our friend Kyle's parents home. We had a blast and it was so good to see him again and meet his new girlfriend.
Sunday we all met at the nursing home to celebrate with Grandma S. She got showered with gifts and gave way too generously to her great grandchildren.
Joey had to miss out on the celebration on Sunday because our truck would not start. I am sure the way below freezing and blizzard conditions had something to do with it. Joey's brother helped him and after 5 hours they got it started. Oh the miracle of heet. I wouldn't be surprised if Santa leaves Joey a case under the tree this year.

Picasso in training

Eagle Ears

Hayden, or eagle ears as we refer to him, was up at 3am because he heard the snow plows and insisted on watching them at work out the front window. Then he wanted to talk about what he saw for a 1/2 hour.
I can say that this is the first time he woke up in the night and stayed up chatting for an hour. He has never done that before. He does wake up sometimes, but is back asleep in a few minutes.
The love of trucks runs deep. :)

1 down 4 to go

Hayden, Carver, and Kinnick.


Hayden and I just got back from our first Christmas party this season. Our friend Shawna had a little get together with a lot of my former co-workers. It was so nice to see everyone, and introduce Hayden to a lot of them. I have not seen many since I was 9 months pregnant! Hayden was shy at first, but he warmed right up. He had a blast playing with Shawna's boys. Hayden got smooched and tickled sooo much tonight it was crazy! The adults couldn't keep their hands off of the 4 little ones there. Hayden met some new friends, Kinnick and Carver. They are 18 month old twin boys. We took a picture with Hayden, Kinnick, and Carver. It was cute! I am so blessed to have such great friends / old co-workers. When you leave a place you assume that they forget about you. It was nice catching up and seeing them all love on Hayden!

Joey went to the hospital to visit his dad. His dad had a knee replacement yesterday. Hayden and I went yesterday and sat with Bev while Joe was in surgery. When we got there Joe was all hooked up and Hayden did NOT like seeing his grandpa in the hospital bed. He was a little nervous and refused to get out of his stroller. Bev stayed here last night and tonight. Hayden is so happy to have Grandma here. Joe is doing well and is expected to go home tomorrow. The surgeon said that his knee was bone on bone and had a lot of arthritis. He will be a new man now!
Tomorrow I have my Bunko Christmas party. Saturday we have my family's Christmas, and a party to attend in Cedar Falls. I am excited to see friends and family this weekend.

We are supposed to get ice and snow tomorrow. They are saying as much as 6 inches now, which means probably 2-3 inches. I have a few things left to get and then I will be done. Any suggestions for teacher gifts? I forgot to ask you Sara when we were on the phone the other night. Well I guess you might have some good suggestions as well Dawn!

Checking in

This past week seemed to fly by. Christmas will be over before I know it. This time of the year always seems to fill up.
My parents arrived back in Iowa from Germany Monday night to ice and snow. They stayed with us Monday night and headed home Tuesday mid morning, after Hayden woke up. Which was at 9:50. I was shocked he slept that long.
Thursday my parents came back down and we had a power cookie baking session. Hayden was at PDO so we got a lot accomplished while he was gone. We attempted to roll out cookies when he got home. He LOVED helping grandma roll out the cookies, cut them, and eating the powdered sugar that she rolled them in. He has been talking about it all weekend.
Friday Hayden and I ran a ton of errands. I got most of our Christmas shopping done that morning. I am not good at getting it all done before December hits.
Today I hosted a scentsy party for my friend who just started selling it. We just hung out the rest of the day. The temp warmed up. It is going to be 41 tonight, 45 tomorrow, and 12 on Monday.
Next week will be a busy week as well. Tuesday I have book club, Wednesday we have a Christmas party, Thursday I have my Bunko Christmas party, Saturday we have Christmas with my family, and Joey and I are going to a party in CF at our friend Kyle's house. I am excited for the week and looking forward to spending time with family and old friends!

Gingerbread House

Last night for advent Hayden mad a gingerbread house. I built it out of graham crackers. Hayden helped pipe the frosting on and decorated it himself. He loved it. It turned out pretty well. I was impresed with his careful placement and thought he put into some of the decorations.
Today we ran some errands. For our activity today we are going to read Night Tree and decorate a tree outside for the birds.
It is very cold today. It is currently 19 degrees and feels like it.
We are looking forward to a cozy weekend inside together.

Snow and Advent

Hayden showing his candy cane.


It snowed 3 inches yesterday. Hayden loved looking out the window at the tractors clearing the driveway across from us. Joey was excited to use his snowblower. He didn't get a chance to last year. It is so nice to have one this year. Shoveling our long driveway was a chore last year.

We stayed in the whole day and organized toys downstairs, upstairs, and just played. We made taco soup in the crock pot. Something to warm us up on this snowy day. I love being home on days like this and watching the snow fall, listening to Christmas music, and playing with Hayden. We had a great day.

After supper we made oatmeal cookies. Hayden did a great job stirring the dry ingredients. He did get a little bored toward the end and wanted to play in the bowl, but he lasted longer than I expected.

For advent Tuesday we read read John 3:16 and sang this little light of mine. One of Hayden's favorites. Last night we read the legend of the candy cane, Psalm 34:8, and enjoyed a candy cane. "Taste and see that the LORD is good" Psalm 34:8

This weekend is going to be spent at home. We don't have anything planned yet. We are going to attempt a small gingerbread house. I hope to start some Christmas shopping.

"Hayden where did baby Jesus go"?

I have a feeling I will be saying this a lot over the next 25 days.

Our first advent activity every year is preparing the manger. The past 2 years Bud Saul (Joey's old, now Hayden's cabbage patch) plays baby Jesus. I figured that wouldn't fly this year, because everywhere Hayden goes Bud Saul goes. I found a foam nativity craft set at Michaels. I figured easy to assemble, and virtually indestructible. Well, it was a more involved process than I thought. Luckily Joey stayed with it and finished it last night.


However, Hayden loves to move baby Jesus out of the manger. Last night baby Jess was kicked out and Bud Saul took his place in the manger. (He must remember from last year?). It was quite the sight, Bud Saul laying in a 3 inch manger.

Today it took me a good 4 hours to locate baby Jesus and Mary. It looks like baby Jesus loves John Deere construction tractors as much as Hayden does.

First Snow

This long weekend flew by. It has been so nice spending a lot of time with Joey the past 2 weeks. Now we are back to the grind. I was sad to see him go back to work. I am looking forward to his time off over Christmas and New Years. He gets no time off of school, but I will take what I can get. He will be done in June, so the end is in sight!!!
Friday I managed to go shopping with Sara Blake. We got some bargains, but more go for the spectacle than anything.
Saturday Joey went shooting with his brother and dad.
I worked on our advent activities for the month. It took me 4 hours, but it is something I love doing, and I love the challenge of finding new age appropriate activities to add each year. I am looking forward to a fun month.
Sunday Joey took my parents to the airport. They are off to visit Ingrid, Rorek, and Andrew. They had a long delayed day, but eventually made it.
Sunday we played in the snow for a few minutes. Hayden loved his new hat from Aunt Becky and crew, but refused to keep his gloves on..... so inside we came.
The house is all decorated. It looks and smells like Christmas and I love it!

Happy Thanksgiving

Hayden helping with the pumpkin pie.

Hayden testing the pumpkin pie

Our Meal


We had a low key Thanksgiving this year celebrated with just the 3 of us. I was feeling sad that we were "alone" this year, but we all enjoyed it.
We made a ham int he crock pot, mashed potatoes, corn, green beans, and pumpkin pie. Not to shabby for an impromptu Thanksgiving feast!
What a treat for your first post flu meal to be Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Plans

Our Thanksgiving plans have changed. We were supposed to go to Marshalltown to celebrate with my cousins and Uncle. I have been sick since Monday, so we are staying home. I am so sad to miss seeing Dawn and Rachel. Dawn and Scott are back from CA.
I got the stomach flu Sunday night out of no where. I was down and out all day Monday. Thankfully Joey could stay home with Hayden, so I could rest all day. I was feeling better Tuesday, and took Hayden in to get his flu shot. I think I over did it because Tuesday night I started feeling bad again, and have been moving slow all day.
So we are going to hang out here. Joey picked up a ham for us. Hopefully I can enjoy some Thanksgiving food tomorrow.
I am also hopeful I feel better Friday to get some shopping in. Sara Blake and I went for the first time last year, and we had a blast. We have been looking forward to going again all year.
We also hope to get the tree and house decorated for Christmas.
Fingers crossed I will feel like a new woman tomorrow.

We are back!

We woke up to a dusting of snow yesterday morning. I loved it!!

We had a great time. Hayden did awesome at my parents house. Once we get settled in here I will post some pictures.

A week before we left Joey ran into some battery electronic thing in the basement by his work station downstairs. His foot bruised up very bad, but he was able to walk on it. He was sure he broke it, and I said he probably didn't. Flashback to the football vs. finger incident in Colorado. He was able to walk around all vacation, and I never heard him complain.

He went to the walk in clinic yesterday and low and behold, it is broken! I guess the lesson here is if I tell you your appendage is not broken, it likely is. :) Oh and Joey can fish for a week with a broken finger and walk around Florida with a broken toe!

Love this weather!

So, I may be the only person not complaining about the cold dreary weather or the fact that there is Christmas music playing on the radio already. :) I LOVE LOVE LOVE this time of year and the weather that goes along with it. Colorado was probably a little better weather wise because it would snow 2 feet and then melt in a few days, but I won't complain. Usually the excitement of the cold and snow wears off around February.
We are gearing up for a trip to Florida on Friday. The Bellows family (minus children) are meeting us down there. We are excited to get away for a week. We are all leaving our children at home with grandparents. I am excited for the trip, but a little anxious to be away from Hayden for a week. But, I do think it is a week we all need to re energize and refresh! We are planing on doing a lot of relaxing and laying by the pool, we will have to see if we stick to that plan.
Toady Grandma P came down to play with Hayden while I went to MOPS. He had a great time and didn't sit down the whole time I was gone I was told. I brought home lunch, and we ran to the store to get Hayden 2 balloons and some candy. Grandma loves to spoil Hayden and he was sooooo excited to get an Elmo and Thomas the Train balloon and M&M's.
Not much else going on this week. I have bible study tonight, packing, and the arrival of my parents on Thursday evening to start their babysitting duties Friday morning!

Turker Killer

This is why it doesn't pay to have fragile seasonal decorations in the house.

And for his punishemnt he had to wash the windows in the porch. Just kidding. I washed the windows and he helped.

Election 2008

We make a big deal here about voting. We love researching all of the candidates and planing our voting strategy. I know I know we are dorks! We love it.
We also love taking Hayden along with us. He has gone with us to vote every time we have gone since he was born, and we plan to take him every time until he can vote on his own. Hopefully he will appreciate the right to vote when he is 18.
We walked up to the High School to vote. Unfortunately we didn't have to wait in a long line. I was hoping we would!
We cast our ballets, got our sticker, headed home, placed our stickers on the turkey, and ate dinner in front of the tv to watch the election coverage!
My hope for the next 4 years is that there will be an end to the hateful rhetoric we have all witnessed the past 8 years. I hope people who disagree with Obama would show him more respect than Bush had to endure by his critics.

Happy Halloween

Hayden had fun on his first trick or treating excursion. Joey, Aunt Darliene and I took Hayden our around Joey's old neighborhood. Joey talked to a lot of old neighbors. Hayden refused to wear his costume. Fortunately his spider shirt worked. He filled his pumpkin with candy! It was an absolutely gorgeous evening! Many people were sitting in their driveways with their firepits!

We ran into my Dad's old secretarys sisiter. It was great chatting with them for a while and remenescing.
After all the fun we went back to Grandma and Grandpas to eat cake for Uncle Johnnys birthday. It was yummy!
Then Darliene, Johnny, Joey, and I went to a halloween party. We had a blast! It was great haning out.

Saturday we hung out. Hayden helped Grandpa move some dirt and had a blast riding around on the lawn tractor. Bev and I went shopping for new clothes for the birthday party that evening. We had fun finding lots of cute things for her.
Saturday evening Grandma and Grandpa M watched Hayden, while we went to Johnny's birthday party. We had a great time chatting with everyone.
Sudnay we got up and headed home. It was a busy and FUN weekend!