All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth!

After going toothless for the entire first year - Little Ethan finally has some teeth!!
Not only did he get his two front teeth for Christmas - Santa really delivered, and sent 6 front teeth!! He has two on the bottom (which you can barely see in the picture), and then four on top.

I call him our little vampire baby because his front teeth on the sides (the fang ones) started growing in first, so he looked like a vampire. At first I was a little nervous those were his front teeth, and I was beginning to think he was going to have some seriouse orthodontic issues - but Jen (who is a dental hygenist) let me know that the side teeth can grow in first sometimes, and that helped me feel a better. :) The top front teeth are slowly beginning to make an appearance now.

The boy is SO darn cute!!

Happy Birthday To My Hubby!!

Chris is now 30!!! The big 3-o! And he is as handsome as ever!
Because his birthday is on Christmas day, we had a suprise party for him on Dec. 19 so his family could be there. I wanted to have a special day that was all about Chris without any "Christmas Stuff" mixed in.
We did a pretty good job of pulling off the secret, until I had to let the kids in on the secret the day before because they were helping me run errands for the party. It was just a little too much excitement for the kids to hold in, and though they did a great job on keeping the BIG secret, they did end up divulging a few minor details to Chris - but not too bad.

So HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEETIE!! Thanks for all you do both in the home as well as at work and in school for me and the children. Thanks for keeping us laughing through it all. What a wonderful husband and father! You know the kids and I all adore you - and is it WELL deserved! Love you! And by the way - 30 never looked so good!

And another "Thank You" to Jen for letting us use her house, for all those who helped in any way, and everyone in the wonderful Horton family who was able to be there - we missed those that couldn't be there. It was a lot of fun!

Merry Christmas!!

Christmas this year was wonderful! We had a great time together on Christmas Eve. The kids all drew names, and then we split up and the kids went shopping for eachother. They had a lot of fun choosing gifts for eachother and then coming home and wrapping the gifts while keeping the secret of what was inside. Chris and I had a great time watching them!
For dinner on Christmas Eve, Chris made a FABULOUSE dinner with salmon, roasted potatoes, and roasted asparagus. It was DELICIOUSE!! Next it was on to all the family night kind of stuff for Christmas Eve.
The kids all had a wonderful time! It was fun to see them all get so excited about Santa, and of course Christmas morning was a blast!
We put together a little video about our Christmas. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Little Ethan!!

Ok, so this post is SOOO late - but better late than never, right? :)
Little Ethan had his first birthday! It was on Dec. 10. We had a lot of fun! Little Eaf is such a fun boy, we are so happy to have him in our family. His happy-go-lucky personality definately makes anyone smile! We Love You Eafies!

AND... Here is the birthday movie! This is why the post was so late - I was too busy getting ready for finals - but that is all over now, so I finally was able to get the movie done!

Dear Santa...

This is pretty good!

Christmas Tag!

Jen (Chris's sister) sent this our way, and I thought it was fun - so here goes.
1. Wrapping paper or gift bag? Wrapping Paper

2. Real tree or artificial? Really, Really, Really want an artificial - But also really like the smell and atmosphere of having a real one. Can't wait until the kids are big enough to go cut our own tree down.

3. When do you put up the tree? Because it is always a real tree, we have to go with the first couple weeks of Deccember and hope that the tree lasts till Christmas - it rarely does.

4. When do you take the tree down? Sometime between the day after Christmas and New Years Day - whenever I can get to it.
5. Do you like eggnog? LOVE IT! A total weakness of mine - even worse, I like it straight up man! I love the thick texture to it. Last year when I was out of commision from having a c-section with Ethan, my mom stayed with us and would make the BEST eggnog shakes! Totally not a good way to get started on losing the baby weight... :)

6. Your favorite Christmas gift as a child? The Popple I still have and my children now play with. THANKS SANTA!

7. Hardest person to buy for? I have a hard time buying gifts for most anyone. Shopping for gifts is not really my forte. :)

8. Easiest person to buy for? Any of the kids. I get have ideas for their gifts and am generally done shopping for them way ahead of time because they are so fun to shop for.

9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes. A small one Debbi gave us. I would love a bigger one, but I am having a hard time finding one that is not hoky and that is still relatively kid friendly.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I don't have one, but one year for Chris's office Christmas party Chris gave a ratty, old, used toothbrush away - seriously disgusting, but it turned out to be pretty funny. :)

12. Favorite Christmas movie? The Christmas Story - love it!

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Usually around September-ish. This year I actually had the big gifts for all the kids from Chris and I done in July. NOt too shabby!

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Not that I can think of. Wedding presents on the other hand...

15. Favorite thing to drink at Christmas? EGGNOG - I am a glutton for punishment. :)

6. Lights on the tree? Yes, white

17. Favorite Christmas song? I like all Christmas music, but I love the softer, more spiritual ones like "Oh, Holy Night", "Silent Night", ect.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Stay home. I love just being with the kids and Chris all day, just a relaxing nice and cozy day at home.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? No, but I heard a funny joke about them from my dear friend Lesley who just moved to Arizona. Here it is...

According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, while both male and female reindeer grow antlers in the summer each year, male reindeer drop their antlers at the beginning of winter, usually late November to mid-December. Female reindeer retain their antlers till after they give birth in the spring. Therefore, according to EVERY historical rendition depicting Santa's reindeer, EVERY single one of them, from Rudolph to Blitzen, had to be a girl. We should've known... ONLY women would be able to - drag a man - in a red velvet suit - all around the world in one night ....and not get lost!

That is pretty good! :)

20. Angel on the tree or star? I would like an angel, but I have had a hard time finding one that is not hoky-looking.

21. Open the presents Christmas eve or Christmas morning? Pajamas Christmas eve and rest on Christmas morning

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Tacky Christmas music.

23. What do you want for Christmas this year? Oh, I havn't even thought of that - as long as I get A's in my classes I am good to go!

Ok. Now I tag all the lovely ladies who are reading this - Deb, Jo, Sarah x 3 (Sarah is a popular name), Rachel (and Rachel is just a darn good name) , Meagan, Becca, and mom - and anyone else who reads this!

Finally - A Christmas Tree!

Hurray! We finally got our Christmas tree up! Though I would love a fake tree, Chris loves real trees, and since Christmas day is his birthday - I lovingly oblige. The trees are always BEAUTIFUL for the first week or so, but then it all starts to go south, and by Christmas day, it is clearly evident that the tree has gone the rounds with 5 curiouse and excited children.

A New Room, And Old Toys.

Along with all of the other fun stuff we did over Thanksgiving weekend - somehow we were also able to repaint the boy's room! The goal was to get it done over Thanksgiving break before we got back into school, and we did it!

I have been wanting to paint it for them for a long time, and the boys have been eager for it to be done as well.

There was a big rush to get it done before Christmas because the boys bedroom plays a key part in one of the most AWESOME Christmas presents we got for the boys! The boys are totally into anything about outerspace, the stars, and the planets these days. So, right now we are in the middle of painting the boy's ceiling the same navy blue as the bottom of their walls, and I bought them an inflatable solar system to hang from their ceiling, and we are going to put glow in the dark stars all over their ceiling as well. I am SO excited! I know they are going to absolutely think it ROCKS!

So on Christmas Eve we always have a family slumber party downstairs (so Chris and I can go upstairs and be Santa's helpers after the kids all finally fall asleep). So this year we are going to put the solar system up and wrap their bedroom door on Christmas Eve so they will have to "unwrap" their bedroom! AWESOME!

And while we were repainting the boy's bedroom, the kids had the job of going through their toys and deciding which ones to give away. The kids had a hard time at first, but with a little coaxing (sinced I happen to be in cahoots with a little guy named Santa, and I know they are going to be replenishing their toy supply come Christmas day) they finally were able to clean out their toy boxes and part with a lot of the toys they no longer play with anymore. Then it was a trip to the DI. In the picture the kids are working going through the girl's toy box. They had a fun time doing it.