Christmas with the Jones' and Hayes

The day after Christmas, we celebrated the holiday once again, this time with Barrett's parents, Tim, Susanne, Roger, Elijah and Gracie Beth. Let's just say that it was a little bit busier than the day before! In our small house, there wasn't much space left after all the presents were brought in. We had fun celebrating with them even though it was a short visit. You can tell what a warm Christmas we had based on the kid's summer clothing they are wearing- yes, we live in Florida! Caleb got his own remote controlled flying helicopter to match the one he and Isabelle got for daddy, as well as a cool pirate ship and other neat toys. Isabelle maxed out on dress-up clothes (I don't think there is a princess costume out there that she doesn't now own) and more dolls (we will need to add on an additional room soon to accomodate them). Thanks everyone for making the trip to our house again this year!

Princess clothes!

Caleb and his pirate ship:

Grandaddy and Elijah:Grandmamma, with Gracie Beth and Caleb:Isabelle in a fairy costume:Caleb getting his very own remote-controlled helicopter and airplane set:

Video: flying the helicopter (click on the start button to watch)

Christmas morning

*(I am still playing catch-up with our blog, so sorry for the belated entries)

This was our first Christmas day that was just us and the kids. It was definitely more laid back and quiet, but it was nice to have the time to spend together. We enjoyed watching the kids' faces light up as they saw the presents under the tree and what Santa had brought them in their stockings. Caleb and Isabelle received a letter from Santa in their stocking, and it was especially fun to watch Caleb's intrigued expression as he listened to what Santa had to say. Since I share my birthday with Christmas each year, Barrett was sweet to offer to cook dinner that evening. I chose a grilled steak meal and he even made homemade red velvet cake for dessert- yummy!

Hair glitter- yeah!

Santa's letter

Opening the big presents: suitcases!

Video: Opening stockings: (click play button to watch)

Caleb got his remote controlled car:

Another doll!

A moment of sweetness...

Christmas with Grammy and Pappy

We celebrated Christmas with Grammy and Pappy in mid-December when they came to visit. They were here when we celebrated Isabelle's birthday party, too. We had lots of fun with them and they made a gingerbread house with the kids. They loved helping to decorate it and especially tasting a few of the candies in the process! It was a whirlwind of a time as we celebrated Christmas as well as all our birthdays! I guess we're used to that, though.

School Christmas Program

Caleb and Isabelle participated in their preschool's annual Christmas singing program right before school let out for the holidays. It is held in the sanctuary and each class gets up and sings a song or two that they have worked on for the parents. It was so cute to watch them and they all did a great job. I wasn't sure how shy Isabelle would be, but she sang and did all the movements for her song. It was adorable. Caleb sang his song, too, and did some of the movements. He did a lot better than last year! Barrett was able to take that morning off from work so he could attend as well. Click on the pictures below to watch a short video clip of each of the children.

Caleb's song:

Isabelle's song:

Isabelle's 3rd Birthday

We celebrated Isabelle's 3rd birthday as a family on her actual birth date (with a small cake and presents from us), and then had her party with her friends on December 13 at our house. She had a Princess Party and invited just little girls. They all dressed up in their princess costumes, and Isabelle wore her new Snow White costume that Caleb gave her for as a birthday present. We made bead necklaces and played "pin the princess in the castle" as some extra activities, but the game didn't go ever too well. Most of the girls either didn't want to be blind-folded or just didn't want to participate, and Caleb ended up being the only person to play it correctly! I guess that is what you can expect from a group 3 year olds! Isabelle picked out her cake for the party, which consisted of a large group of chocolate icing cupcakes in the shape of a princess crown, with her favorite princess figurines on top. It was a fun day and Isabelle really enjoyed having all her school friends to her house to play.

Santa at School

Santa Claus visited Caleb and Isabelle's preschool before Christmas and gave each child a present. All the children sat around a large cirlce waiting for Santa to call their name and give them thier present. I was amazed at how Isabelle sat so patiently. The children sang "Jingle Bells" as loud as they could as a welcome song to Santa.

Jingle Bell Run

We ran in the Fort Walton Beach Jingle Bell 5K race on December 6. We borrowed our friends' double jogging stroller and Barrett pushed the kids. I just concentrated on running :). It was my first city road race, and we had a lot of fun! It was not intimidating at all since there were so many people there, and a lot of them were there for fun or to walk their dogs. I was happy to finish the race and not come in last place! The kids did great, and they had a "Santa Chase" for the kids after the race. Caleb was out there running as fast as he could, and got some candy for participating.