Bill and Miss (plus three)

On December 15th Jacob had his first Preschool Christmas Program.  He was one of the 3 wisemen.  He was one of about 5 or 6 kids that had a line in the program.  He had to say "We followed the star" and then another line in unison with the other 2 wisemen.  He looked so adorable.  Bill got it all on tape.  In the beginning he was sitting next to this HUGE kid and was getting hidden behind him.  But he made is way in front of the kid so that we can see him sing and do all of his hand motions. They sang several songs, but Jacob's favorite to sing was the "rum pa pa pum" song (aka Little Drummer boy).  He had been practicing that one a lot.  I actually thought that was the only song they were going to sing because he never mentioned the other songs they were going to sing.  He had the hand motions down and all.  I have to admit I got a little teary eyed watching him up there.  He is such a big boy now and he is really thriving in preschool.  He is really wanting me to help him to learn how to read.  So at the beginning of the new year we will tackle that task.  Anyway, back to the program.  He was so proud of himself.  Our family was all there and Nani and Papa joined us too.  After the program, Nani bought him a hot chocolate with marshmallows, but he didn't get to drink it all because it was really HOT and it was late and we had to go.

The play was originally going to be held outside at the site of his school, but it was REALLY cold that day and actually ended up raining that night.  Fortunately at the last minute the school changed the location to a local church.  It was nice that the little kids were able to be there and that Nani and Papa were too.  They were going to stay home with the little ones if it was going to be held outside.

During the daytime that day Jacob was able to celebrate his birthday with his class.  One of his friends, Alexander, has a birthday on the 26th so his mom and I got together and got the kids chick fil-a for lunch and brought cupcakes and juice and apple slices for them all.  Jacob and his friend were excited to celebrate their birthday at school and their class sang Happy Birthday to them.  It was extra special because daddy got to be there too!

Friday, December 17th Jacob had a small Christmas party at school.  He gave a candy cane to each of his classmates and they had a book exchange.  Jacob picked out a Curious George book to give and ended up with a cool Christmas book that came with finger puppets.  He was excited about the day and I think he had a good time. 

so until next time...mommmy and daddy love you!

This morning Bill had surgery on his shoulder.  Thankfully his surgery was a success.  The doctor said it wasn't as bad as he thought it was going to be.  The kids stayed with Papa in the morning and then Nani came at noon to help out.  When we got home, Nani and Papa took the boys to the Mission Inn to see the Christmas lights and then they were going to spend the night at their house.  I can't wait to hear all about their adventures.

The kids have all been sleeping in till about 7:30/8:00ish.  It's wonderful to have them sleep that long!  Braden is doing much better at night as far as sleeping through the night.  The other night he actually slept all through the night (but he did have a difficult time falling asleep).  Aubrey is really good at night.  She falls asleep at about 9pm and then wakes up sometime between 2 and 4 for a bottle and then wakes up about 7:30 or 8 in the morning.  She is drinking about 6 4ounce bottles during the day and she gobbles down all 4 ounces.

Aubrey started blowing bubbles out of her mouth about a week ago.  It is so cute to see her do it, she is in a playful mood when she does it.  Everytime I lay her down to change her diaper she gets a big smile on her face and she starts blowing her bubbles and makes the cutest noise when she does.  I've been laying her down on the floor a lot more and the boys love to lay next to her and talk to her while giving her lots of kisses.  I love that they love her so much.

Braden and Jacob love to play together (most of the time).  Their favorite thing to do is run to the end of the kitchen by the oven and then race into the family room to jump into the pile of couch pillows they've piled up on the rug.  It drives me nuts to have my couch pillows on the rug all the time, but they have so much fun that it's hard to get mad at them (but I have to admit I do sometimes).  The also love to wrestle with eachother.  Another favorite activity of theirs is to have dance parties.  We turn on the music and they dance away.  Braden is at that stage that whenever he hears music his little body starts moving.  He twists at his waist and his arms start moving back and forth.  It's adorable!

Jacob is really into coloring/drawing and writing right now.  He likes to make birthday cards where he writes Happy Birthday on them and then signs his name.  He loves to draw and he's actually pretty good at it.  He draws bullet trains, alligator heads, dinosaurs and lately he's been drawing snowmen.  It is so cute to see him working so hard on his projects.  We have TONS of drawings around the house.  It's so hard for me to throw them away, because he's worked so hard on them and I know he is proud of his work.  I've thrown a couple away and of course he asks where his "whatever" drawing is.  I don't know how he knows these things. 

So it's Christmas time and Jacob is really into it this year.  We made an advent chain and on each link we wrote the name of someone he likes/loves.  Each night at dinner he pulls off a link and he tells us what he likes about the person and then says a prayer for them.  It's cute because at the end of his prayer he says "and let Santa bring them lots of toys" no matter who the person is, young and old.  He is very curious about Santa this year.  I told him that Santa is always watching and he quickly told me that he can't because he can't see through the roof.  Smart kid.  So I told him that he can look through the windows which is why I always keep the blinds on the sliding glass door open.  I also told him that Jesus can see EVERYTHING and that whatever Santa doesn't see, Jesus does and that Jesus will talk to Santa about kids being naughty :)  He understands that Christmas is a celebration of Jesus' birthday and is excited to share his birthday with Jesus. 

tomorrow is Christmas Eve and I can't wait to celebrate with family...

so until next time...mommy and daddy love you all!

On Monday December 6th Aubrey had her 2 month check up.  She is healthy and on target developmentally.  She weighed in at 12lbs. 6 oz. (90th percentile)  and was 22 1/2 inches long (50th percentile).  She was a good girl during the check up, but she did NOT like drinking one of the vaccines and SCREAMED her little head off when they gave her the 3 shots.  I felt so bad for her.  It definitely was an adventure getting in the doctor's office.  Trying to get her and Braden anywhere together without the double stroller is very difficult.  Braden is not the child that can be trusted to walk next to me or even hold my hand, so when we are out and about he is either in a stroller or I have to hold him.  So there I was by myself, pushing Braden in a cheap-o umbrella stroller and carrying Aubrey in her carseat.  It's kind of difficult, but I do what I have to do.  The double stroller doesn't fit in my doctor's office.  Kind of a pain, but I'm used to it now.  We have been to the doctor's office 3 weeks in a row now.  Twice with all three kiddos. The first time I had to take Aubrey and Braden because they were both sick.  Acutally they both just had colds which was good, but Aubrey sounded so congested, I felt so bad for her.  Since then she has cleared up, but Braden has been sick on and off since Aubrey was born.  It's so frustrating and I feel bad for the little guy.  But his spirits are always up and he never seems sick, which is a good thing. 

Next Monday I take Braden in for his 15 month check up.  We'll see how he's growing and developing.

So until next time...mommy and daddy love you!