Christmas!

Santa came!!
They nearly ran down stairs! It's all very exciting!

Stockings and the Stitch
The toy heaven!

Twas the Night Before Christmas....

Spreading the reindeer food out in the front yard so Santa will know to stop at our house. I think they got more in thier hair than on the ground.The before Bed shot.

All ready for bed in the cutest matching Christmas PJs ever!
Helping Brent pour a drink for Santa. He got Egg Nog this year, a new family favorite.

Christmas Time is here....

The boys were very excited to see Santa this year... They rambled off thier wish lists to him and even asked him what he wanted which tickled the jolly man. They were even good while we waited in line... Philip even signed his letter.

After seeing Santa we went and drove thru the Symphony of Lights in Columbia. The boys just loved it! They kept yelling, 'look on my side', 'no, look on my side' They have always loved taking the drive thru the neighborhood to see the Christmas lights.

The boys decided that we needed a few more decorations last minute, so Brent just before he had to go to work, Christmas Eve helped the boys add some extra lights to the bannister of the staircase. They even helped me make and bake this year. They couldn't wait for Christmas to come this year!

This was the 'mountain of fudge' that I made for Christmas. We also had Chocolate Chip Cookies, Spritz Cookies, Sugar Cookies, No Bake Cookies, Salsa, Cheese Dip, Guac & Chips French Onion Dip & Chips, The Full Taco Bar, Beans & Rice, Sasuage Cheese Balls and a few other things...We do Christmas eve bigger than Christmas Dinner, because we have lots of people over on the Eve and it's normally just us on Christmas Day. And in the grand tradition we play games and eat all night! And this year Santa's elves were NOT up all night wrapping for Santa!!! A major bonus this year!

And there's always something to laugh at! This hopefully will be the last year that the Santa apron looks like Santa! (Thanks Mia) And Jeff, our preacher came over in his sock monkey onesie. They were a riot!! And they also provided the Christmas miracle....ICE!!!

The Baker that Can't WIN!

This year for Brent's Squadron Christmas party I decided to make a Carrot Cake. Having never made a carrot cake before...I did a test run on Sunday night with our small group. It turned out really good! I made a few adjustments but over all was happy with the outcome. I even had a little helper when I made the entry cake. Michael was all to happy to help.

I was going to make fondant trees and snowmen...but I figured having never worked with fondant and being very preggo that it may not be a good idea...so I made these really cute paper piecings. I figured...carrot cake...snowmen...carrot noses. It worked. The trees were just for fun. My friend Melissa also had an entry, she made this awesome Oreo cake it looked just like an Oreo and tasted even better! Michael actually picked her's to win. What can I say chocolate...

But the moment of truth came....there were 3 entries...and let's just say...the Oreo & Carrot lost. So even though I worked on that cake the bulk of the afternoon, I still lost...and sorry to say will have to really be coaxed into making another masterpiece to enter in another one. At least with that crowd...

Baby Update....

Well, we had our last ultrasound the 9th at John Hopkins. Didn't know what to expect with why we had to go back...they saw in the 24 week ultrasound a dangingling chorriohid (I know I butchered that) but basicly the main 'tube' that feeds the spinal cord, spinal fluid was just a 'little to large' and by that I mean 'normal' is .40 and his measured at .46 they really worry at .60 so there was no reason to worry but we did. They looked at that 1st thing and the tech told us everything looked 'normal' so it fixed itself. We also got to see 'Anthony' practicing swallowing and his sucking reflexes which was really cool! He was nuzzled up against his placenta so we didn't get a great 3-d shot of his face but just knowing that he is ok was enough for us. He was weighing about 3.5-4 pounds. And at my last dr's appointment I was back down to 3 pounds. So we await his arrival in 8ish weeks.

Oh, Christmas Tree Oh, Christmas Tree...

The boys helped us again this year. I was laid up on the couch with my back out so I supervised and took pictures. They were very serious about where they put each ornament and there are multiple candy cane colonies again.

Thanksgiving!

This year the boys helped make the pumpkin pie, it was extra fluffy due to the fact that Michael whipped the eggs so well. They also helped Brent decorate the turkey cookies, half went up to the church and we kept the rest. They were wonderful taste testers of the candy corn!

The appetizers or light lunch

The Spread! Rolls, Cranberry & Apple salad, Corn, Sweet Potato Souflee, Stuffing, Green Bean Casserole, Turkey & Gravy, Mash & Mac & Cheese (not from a box as Davis would say) We also had an addition of Fried Chicken!The Dessert Table, I had a request for yellow cake with chocolate frosting.

We had about 10 people over and had a great time eating and talking and always laughing!

Baby Update!

Well, I'm now in my 29th week! 9 more to go! Yesterday I got a call from the Dr's office confirming my surgery date....Are ya'll ready for this!? It's Monday, February 9th! For any of you not knowing why that day and date are special to us already....Monday, February 9th is Philip's birthday! So we will be having 5 year twins! The only thing that stinks is that I have to wait until 2pm for delivery! But we have a birthdate and can't wait! We have our follow-up ultrasound the 9th of December and my next appointment is the 8th or 10th I can't remember... I'll keep you posted!

And for those counting I have gained....drumroll....4 pounds so far!