First... First Concert

It's been almost a week since I've blogged? Really? Sorry Gramma and Grampa!!

My absence doesn't mean there's nothing going on around here... there was big news this weekend at the Kreiser house, Alia had her first Christmas concert to participate in!

On Sunday evening she donned her Christmas dress and took to the stage! Ideally she would have sang... but somehow she picked up gum along the way (here's to hoping it was NEW gum, and not gum she found!!!!) and was more interested in chewing than in actually singing! But really... the kids job is to stand there and make all of us "ooh and ahh" about how cute they are, right? It's a hard job but somebody has to do it!!!

The pictures are horrible ("I will bring my tripod next time, I will bring my tripod next time, I will bring...") and we were sitting on the wrong side to get any good shots of Alia - but here they are. Ignore the horrible photographer behind the camera and focus on the cute kiddos in front of it!!

I HATE using the built in camera flash... but drastic times call for drastic measures, and wowsa dark and blurry probably would have been better!!! :)

At any rate... here they are waiting for their big break!

Getting all lined up (kind of!) and ready to begin!

Her "My God is So BIG!" fists!


At this point the singing has been replaced with Wow... look at all those people!

And... What are the other kids talking about?

I'm sorry what was that?



So there you have it!! I'm telling you... the kiddos really were just so super duper cute! They did their job splendidly!

Advent

There are many ways to count down the days until Jesus Birthday... but this year we went for an extremely simple, extremely cheap, YET extremely effective method.

The ever popular paper chain!


Alia had fun helping me make it, and she just LOVES opening up a new link after breakfast for the daily activity!


Here are some of the activities that are revealed each day!
- Sing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus
- Watch a Veggie Tales movie
- Sing a Christmas song
- Have an indoor picnic lunch
- Make a Play Doh snowman
- Give your sister a hug
- Have a special treat
- Take a snowy walk
- Read a Christmas book
- Go on a drive and look for Christmas lights
- Bake cookies with Mommy
- Have a special treat and share with your sister
- Take a snowmobile ride with Daddy
- Call G&G and tell them "I LOVE YOU"
- Color a Christmas picture
- Go ice skating
- Have a beach day with Mommy and Larren
- Have a piece of ribbon candy


The deer stand watch for those little fingers that would love to pull off five links at a time, or for those that would love to use our advent calendar as a teething toy... the deer are more protective than you might realize! But... if ya feed them mushy banana smeared Cheerios... you've got a friend for life! :)

Little Piggies

... at snack time!

Cookie Tasting... Saturday Morning Style

Cookie dough was meant to be sampled... that's the "bakers rule" we live by in this house!

And there's usually no hiding that fact!


But we can sure try...



THERE... Daddy will never know!

Good as new!

Entertainment Center

It's after moments like these... that I'm glad we've chosen not to buy our kids much for Christmas! Really, if they can have THIS amount of fun with a carseat... they will be pumped with the little that is under the tree!!

Jon needed the Explorer the other day, so we just brought the carseats inside... and it proved to be very entertaining!










Larren's little monkey grippers worked pretty well...

... there were no spills...

... UNTIL I mentioned the word "lunch". Then she just dove out and crawled toward her highchair as fast as her little legs would go.

WHAT?!?! It was pizza...

Ready and Waiting

After a sad... tears falling down her face... I miss you and just NEED to see you... phone call to Auntie Betty the other night, Alia was pretty excited to be getting some needed time with her! Alia was ready and waiting by the door with her coat, hat, and boots HOURS before Auntie Betty was coming to pick her up!

I explained... a few times... that it wouldn't take long to put her things on when Betty came, but she wasn't buying it! She didn't want to miss a thing!

And OH MY... what a treat it was, for ALL of us!!

Alia helped make soup and biscuits for supper, then the two of them got wild and crazy in the craft department... let's just say Betty is much braver than I am - glitter and glue make me cringe!
Larren hammed it up and thoroughly enjoyed being the complete center of attention for while!
And Jon and I were shocked and surprised to be reminded of how incredibly easy ONE child is! Goodness, we got some great conversation in... had some time to actually look at each other... enjoyed our supper slower than normal... got a few hugs in - it was an hour of "days gone by" that made me smile!

We were very glad to pick up Alia... and her glitter dove ornaments, her paper flower garden, her foam farm poster, and her colored pictures... but I'll admit, that hour and a half with just one kiddo sure did wonders for my outlook that evening! I can't say for the week or even for the day, because let's just face it... reality can hit pretty hard... but it sure was a huge blessing none the less!

Once again I'm thankful for the people who have stepped in as "family" here... but saddened that our families are missing out on so so much. And that... if we lived in Ohio this would be something that happened on a very regular basis - not just in a blue moon! BUT, before the tears come... I need to remind myself that... we'll be seeing them SOON!!! YiP yIp YiPpEe!!

Just a Little Commercial Break...

... reminding you to EAT YOUR BROCCOLI!

Please, please folks... for the good of mankind...eat your broccoli this holiday season!


Aaaannnnndddddd.... CUT!

House #10... continued

We still haven't found a new house... and with winter here, it makes our options even more slim. Soooo, as I mentioned, we are doing little things to make this house more manageable.

Jon put up a mirror above the deacon's bench... and it gives a little more dimension to our otherwise very boring square set up!



And he hung up the second row of hooks for the girls jackets. Alia LOVES being able to reach and hang up her coat by herself.


I know, I know... "that's it?!?" you're asking! These are so super minor... but we're trying! I'm already antzy, and a little cranky, about the fact that we're here another winter... so I'm looking on the bright side of things! And those just happen to include a mirror and more hooks! :)

Potty Training Celebration

Alia has surprised us with her potty training "story"... and really, my mom is the number one person to thank for that! (Thanks Mom!) Typically Alia's been more ready than we have been in the whole process and the night time dryness "chapter" was no exception!

We had very little intentions of trying big girl panties overnight until AFTER Christmas... but the other evening she asked US if she could wear them, so why not!

I fully expected getting up in the middle of the night to change wet sheets, and was SHOCKED in the morning when she was dry! So we started a little reward chart to keep the momentum up!


In a matter of a few days, she reached her "special surprise"... and guess who else gets to join in on the fun?!?

That little cuddly giraffe that our family has all come to know and love. Alia didn't stop with just Lukey... she thinks that every blanket and pillow should join in too! I think she will just be so overjoyed that her and Lukey get ice cream that she'll forget about bringing the whole kit and caboodle along!

Hopefully that is... I know don't about your Dairy Queen, but it's not normal to see people with blankets, pillows, and mattresses at ours! We'd SURE get some LOOKS! :)

Handles

Larren has found some new "handles" to hold onto while she's cruising around with Daddy!

It's like a bit in a horses mouth... tug on the right or the left to get where ya wanna go!

And Larren sure loves being perched up there in the "saddle"!


There's always a little time for trick riding though... her Daddy's "specialty"!


Look Ma... no hands!!



Oh looky there... she found a new handle for this trick!!

Ever the risk taker... that one!