Christmas Eve & Christmas Day

 

Christmas Eve 2014

 

Daddy read the Night Before Christmas and the girls set out yummy cookies they had decorated at the Karr's house for Santa. We had a quiet dinner at home together.  It is hard to be away from family on special holidays, but as the kids get older it is becoming more and more important to let them wake up in their own beds waiting for Santa's visit.  And as a family we are creating our own traditions. 

 

 

This year the girls got to open the gifts from one another on Christmas Eve.  They each picked out Calico Critters for the other and immediately wanted to play with them.

 

 

Daddy had a special surprise for Mommy & Finch.  The Tiffany Elephant piggy bank!  Clara & Janie both received the Tiffany bunny banks before they were born.

 

 Santa visited and spoiled our whole family!  Neither girl had a big wish list this year.  Janie wanted a set of Squiggs that she found at Marbles and Frozen cereal.  Clara had hoped to get a Fancy Nancy mermaid book and a specific outfit for her Josephina doll, a specific one that they no longer made.  Luckily Santa was able to track this outfit down leaving Clara overjoyed.  Santa also picked out a few additional items for each girl and left a new touch screen laptop for the family!  Very spoiled!!

 

 

Sweeties with stuffed stockings!

 

After our own family Christmas morning, we loaded up and headed to Quincy for Christmas Dinner and family fun.  And of course more spoiling for the girls and their cousins!!

 

 

One of the highlights of Christmas was watching Janie perform her Christmas tunes from cousin Zacs new sound system.  Without hesitation, she grabbed the mic and lead the family in every Christmas carol she could remember. Too cute!!

A few days later we went to Chehalis and celebrated with the Stevens side of the family.  More gifts, more silly time with cousins, more delicious food, more hugs and lots of Christmas spirit.

We feel so blessed to have such a wonderful extended family to share to holidays with.  We look forward to the blessings of 2015 and adding a member to our sweet family.

Holiday Fun

 

Our holiday season was full this year with lots of fun activities in our household like nightly advent & Christmas stories as well as visits from "Twinkle" our Elf on the Shelf.  One of our favorite traditions is spending an evening decorating the tree together and enjoying hot cocoa.  This year Clara & Janie has their own trees in their rooms but also loved hanging all our special family keepsakes on the big tree as well. 

 

 

Mama with "Finch" around 25 weeks

 

Janie's school holiday party where she sang her heart out to Jingle Bells!  So adorable!

 

Janie gave Mama a special gift she made in preschool wrapped with the precious handprint Santa.  It was a glitter candle holder similar to the one Clara made as a three year old!  Very special keepsakes for me!

~ Christmas Cousins 2014 ~

 

Grandma Jan's tradition of matching holiday PJ's continues! 

Halloween Pumpkins 2014

How cute are these little pumpkins!?!  How have they grown up so much!?!

 

The Halloween season this year has grown into quite an ordeal.  Each kid had a school party, the community held Green Halloween, the Keddingtons threw a big bash, we attended an event at the community center, and then of course Halloween night itself.  Luckily these girls have lots of dress up outfits and were able to sport a variety of looks through the season.  The girls sure had a lot of fun and enjoyed a lot of treats this year!

Janie's First Preschool Party - Halloween!

As a parent, one of the most fun parts about the preschool experience is attending these sweet little parties the class holds.  The kiddos, do an activity, sing seasonal songs, and have themed snacks.  We attended these sweet parties during Clara's years at the preschool and now get to experience them again with Janie.  The first party of the season is Halloween. 

The preschoolers went and trick-or-treated around the classroom with help from parents.

 

The class made cute decorations for their snack table and sang the cutest seasonal songs.  Just like with Clara's class the song presentation was hilarious!  As loud as Janie practiced the songs at home, in the car, at bedtime, and dinner time, on walks, etc., when the time came to perform, the entire class barely sang a peep leaving Mrs. Vanessa to lead to shy performers.  It was too cute!  And leaves Janie something to work on this year! 

 

Announcing Gender of "Finch"

 

This pregnancy we had the option to learn the gender of our sweet baby a lot earlier than with Clara & Janie.  One Friday afternoon, I received a call with the test results.  Kevin came home shortly and together we let the it all sink in.  The next day we surprised the Big Sisters-to-be with these special cupcakes!  Still not sure if they were more excited about the yummy cupcakes or the message.

 

 

Later that day, we headed to Chehalis and surprised Grandma & Grandpa Stevens with some cupcakes, too!  Grandma Carol got message via FaceTime from Clara & Janie.

 

 

On Sunday, we went to Grandma & Grandpa Swanson's house to celebrate October birthdays and we let Papa Bob make the announcement via a special photo in his birthday card to the rest of our side of the family.  It made for an exciting celebration! 

 

Grandpa & I had to have our annual birthday photo.  So thankful for each year we get to celebrate together!

 

Exciting News!! A BROTHER is on the way!

Clara & Janie are thrilled to announce that we will be welcoming a baby boy into our family in the early spring.  Adding to our family has something that has been in our hearts for a while but actually making the decision to go for it ended up being one of the toughest but most well thought out decisions of our marriage.  Admittedly, after going for such a long stretch without good sleep from Janie, we felt like we needed a while to rest up and then once we decided to try the road wasn't as easy as it had been with the girls.  Where Scout and Gem are 2 years, 7 months apart, "Finch" as we have decided to call him, follows Janie by 4 and a half years. 

Then recently, learning that we are having a BOY was a big shock, for me especially.  I assumed that we would be having a third girl, while Kevin remained open to the possibility of a son.  Now that it is sinking in, we are extremely excited about the change in our family dynamic.  Janie is over the moon to become a big sister while Clara remains fairly apprehensive remembering all to well how Janie changed her life. We question whether Janie's tune will change once he is here!  Even if there are a few growing pains for our family, the idea that we will have the love of another person to love is ultimately the best long term outcome. 

Janie turns FOUR!

"It's a small world" has been the theme for Janie's last year.  She wanted the dolls for Christmas, insisted on the song and/or book each night at bed time, and asked for her big girl room to have a small world theme.  It really came as no big surprise that when it was time to plan her birthday, she also wanted a Small World party.  Luckily her other demands were few and so we threw together a fun family celebration for our sweet little gal.

Like most Sundays from September through January in our state, it was a Seahawks Sunday so Janie shared the spotlight with her favorite team a little.  The weather was great so the kiddos had fun out in the back yard with squirt guns while the adults were glued to the game. 

 

At halftime, Janie blew our her candles and then got to make her big announcement.  "I'm going to be a big sister!"  She is so excited for what the year ahead will bring. 

We can't believe FOUR year have passed since we brought this snuggly, sweet baby girl home from the hospital and have been amazed and surprised by her every day!  She is so kind and considerate to others, she is already a nurturer always wanting to help and take care of us.  She has strong opinions and knows just what she likes, but her energy is infectious and fun! We are BLESSED!

Back to School

 

 Clara started first grade at Grand Ridge Elementary this year.

 

 

Janie had her first day of school at the Community Center preschool .  She only attends two half days a week, but this is a big step for our little gal.  She is so proud and immediately loved her teachers, Mrs, Vanessa & Mrs, GiGi, as well as her classmates.  We are so proud of how much Janie has matured lately and how eager she is to learn new things.  She will be one of the older kids in the class with her late birthday, but we hope that this creates a nice opportunity for her to step up and become a leader among the group. 

When asked what she likes best about school, Janie replied with "that my teacher is nice."