Lincoln's Christmas program

Lincoln's class had the cutest Christmas program a few weeks ago.  He wasn't super into it in front of everyone but his teacher did say he was the best singer in their class when the practiced which doesn't surprise me since he sings all the time at home.  He loved the cookies afterwards and so did Ainsley :).

Ainsley - 18 months

So I’m a little behind considering that she is almost 19 months at this point but better late than never J.  This little girl is such a sweetheart and has grown up so much.  Within the last few weeks she has really started talking much more than before.  She’s trying to repeat words and using her words much more than before.  She loves animals and can make lots of animal sounds and animal actions.  Her favorite being the dog and she loves all her stuffed animals and dolls so much.

She is still the climber and trying to keep her from standing on chairs and climbing up everything is pretty much impossible.  At least she’s a little more balanced and hasn’t fallen quite as much as before.  She definitely wants to be one of the big kids and pitches a fit if she can’t sit in one of the counter chairs like everyone else.  She is also still a super picky eater.  She seems to be more of a snacker than eating full on meals and it’s been a bit of a challenge to get her to eat things that she used to love but she is growing so we aren’t too worried.  She’ll just probably be a little peanut like Lincoln which is ok J.  Some of her favorites are breakfast sausage, yogurt and popcorn.  She loves being able to feed herself and most of the time makes less of a mess than her brothers.

 

 Ainsley is finally getting more teeth and has pretty much been teething nonstop since they seem to be coming in really slow but she has 7 teeth and a molar and a few others popping through.  Her mouth just looks funny right now since most of her teeth are on the right side so it’s a little off balance.  She’s getting them in the strangest order lol.

This little girl loves playing with her brothers and wants to be a big kid and keep up with all the time.  She also is such a sweetheart and will run to them and give them hugs and kisses anytime they get hurt or are crying. She loves baths and still loves her paci’s although we are trying to limit them to bedtime and the car.  She also loves hats and shoes and is always walking around with someone’s hat or shoes on and is the first kid to ever show interesting in my makeup drawers and jewelry.  I guess it’s just the girl coming out in her J.  We love this little girl so much and it is so fun to watch her little personality grow and develop even more each day.

Here are her stats from her appt: Weight: 22.9 lbs (23%) Height: 32.3 inches (63%)

Christmas Cookies

We made two batches of Christmas cookies this year.  The first batch I baked and had ready to go when the boys got home from school so they could all decorate.  Ainsley’s first time this year and I think she mostly just ate the frosting J.  Surprisingly the boys actually decorated this year without making too much of a mess and I think they turned out cute. 

 I had tons of leftover frosting so I decided to make another round using a different sugar cookie recipe.  The second batch I made during the day while Lincoln was sleeping so Ainsley got to help me roll out the dough and cut out the shapes then Lincoln and Wyatt both wanted to help decorate after school.  These cookies tasted much better, the perfect softness so I think I’ll stick to this recipe going forward.  Gavin even said it was the best cookie he’s ever had.

Gingerbread house and ornaments

More fun Christmas activities. I found a pre-made gingerbread house this year at Target which was a must have after the fiasco of last year J.  The boys had a blast decorating the house this year and sneaking bites of candy in between.  We even found the elf camping out in the house one of the nights which was a big hit.

One morning while the older boys were in school Lincoln, Ainsley and I also made salt dough ornaments for the first time.  They loved getting to pour and stir in the ingredients and play with the dough.  The perfect warm up for sugar cookies J. 

First Snow

Thanks to a lovely computer issue where I can’t easily download my pictures from my phone I’ve fallen way behind on updating the blog L.  But hoping I can get somewhat caught up in the next few days.

A few weeks ago we had our first snow!  It wasn’t much but the kids were so excited and had to get outside immediately and play in it.  It was a very wet heavy snow which is perfect for making a snowman.  Most of the snow was melted by the next day but the kids had a blast and Ainsley loved her first real time in snow.

Christmas Tree

Per family tradition we headed over to the Christmas tree farm to get our Christmas tree on Friday.  The kids had fun running through the fields looking for the perfect tree and helping dad saw the tree down.

We decorated the tree the next day and they all had fun adding on ornaments.  We had most of it completed by the time Ainsley got up from her nap but she was able to add a few and so far has done pretty well staying away from the tree.  We'll see how long that lasts :).  But she's loved all the Christmas lights and decorations around our house.

I tried to take a few pictures of the kids in their Christmas jammies next to the tree last night and they were not having it (mainly Ainsley) :).  I took a few earlier in the week that turned out a little better.

I love this time of year and am so excited for all the wonderful things coming the rest of the month!  It will be a busy one :).