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!