Christmas / New Year's Recap

It has been almost a week since I last posted and obviously there is some good stuff to catch up on! We spent a great Christmas at home enjoying our little hooligans. They received WAY TOO MUCH and now our house is truly filled to the brim. And the presents didn't stop coming on Christmas night...Grandma Pam came with more presents on Tuesday from back home!! The only thing Dane asked for from Santa was a skateboard. Although he is not yet 3 we decided to get him a skateboard...I mean, how could we not when that is the only thing he asked for from Santa??? It will be an inside toy for quite some time...

On New Year's Eve, Dane and I went to Stay 2 Play for a countdown to noon party for the kiddos. This is a place we go to quite often (actually the boy's birthday party is going to be there). We had no plans for NYE so it seemed like something really fun for Dane. Cameron and Kale stayed home so I got some QT with our eldest child. He had a great time and the party ended with a balloon drop at noon. I will stop my babbling and just leave you with a ton of pictures from the Christmas season....Enjoy!!

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Merry Christmas!!!

We wanted to wish all of our blog readers a very Merry Christmas and a safe & happy New Year!! I have found that anytime I think life is just going to pass by with no bumps, God has another plan. As a baby in our extended family battles cancer, I am once again reminded how life can change in an instant. Hold onto your family tight and tell them you love them every chance you get! Jarrett family...we pray for a better 2012 for you and especially for little Lilly!

And on a totally separate note...Barley & Roscoe are doing fabulous in their new home. I stay in touch with their new mommy and she sends me updates and pictures. I haven't visited even though I would love to see them...I just don't want them to be confused if I show up. Anyway, their new mommy sent me this hilarious picture of the boys for Christmas...this is the same way Barley always looked when we would dress him up (absolutely miserable)!

Gingerbread House

I have always wanted to try building a gingerbread house. This winter I have been trying to find activities for Dane to do inside. He gets bored so easily and he was so used to being outside all the time when the weather was warmer. The gingerbread house kit...best $9.99 I ever spent. Dane never does anything for longer than about 7 minutes, unless it's running laps and he spent a full hour putting together the gingerbread house. Part of the appeal was that he was eating the candy and the icing, but he was pretty into the decorating part as well. So...while Kale napped, Dane & I created a masterpiece (or at least a decorated gingerbread house that didn't fall down).

and on a side note....the counter is a landing strip for EVERYTHING and you get to see first hand how messy it gets. That is the only part of the house I allow to get a bit cluttered but it's pushing my limit at this point.

Kale's Dedication

Last Sunday we had Kale's dedication...finally! We've been trying to fit it into our crazy schedule and finally figured out a date. Thankfully, the entire family was able to make it just like everyone did for Dane's. It was the same schedule of events...big brunch with everyone and then onto the church for a private dedication. We again had to write a promise to Kale....
We promise to be protective
We promise to allow you to learn from your mistakes
We promise to be nurturing
We promise to introduce you to many unique experiences
We promise to be comforting
We promise to ensure you have thick skin for when life deals you a bad hand
We promise to be your biggest fans in life
We promise to make sure we bring you down to earth when you feel like you're invincible
We promise to be loving
And we promise to be the best parents we can!

Thank you to everyone who made it to this very important event in Kale's life!

Baby Jesus...you can't eat him!

Straight out of the mouth of babes. Dane often says absolutely hilarious things that I neglect to post on the blog. I really should because this is it...I don't keep a baby book or a book of funny things they say, just this blog. This past summer when Dane, Kale and I were taking a walk, Dane picked up a rock and with all the wisdom of a 2 year old said to Kale "see Kale, this is a rock...you can't eat it." This Christmas, I am making an effort to teach Dane the true meaning of the holiday and have been using our nativity set at home to explain things. Last evening we were driving through the Vernon Hills light show and when we were passing the nativity scene I pointed to it and asked Dane what it was. His response was "it's baby Jesus...Kale can't eat him." I am not quite sure what Dane's obsession is with Kale eating everything, however it made Cameron and I laugh and I thought it was worth sharing. Maybe Dane is just repeating what he hears every day when he gets a snack....I always tell him that "Kale can't eat it, he's too little." Ya think?

Exhaustion

So as you can see, I've been neglecting the blog a bit...or posting a video just so I don't have to do a post. How terrible is that? Many people have told me that I am in the "hard phase" with the ages of our boys. I don't know if hard phase is the correct way to put it but I will say this...I am exhausted by the time our boys are in bed and that last thing I really want to do is blog! Once the kiddos are in bed I don't move until I drag my body off the couch to fall into bed. But here I am to update about our boys because this blog does serve as our family journal and I owe it to our family to keep it up even when I'm tired!

Kale turns 10 months old on the 14th. He now claps, waves, climbs on the furniture and does a hilarious scrunchy face that you can see in the video below. Dane continues to mimic everything and now sings songs that he learns in school. Together, they are quite funny. Every morning when Dane wakes up, he runs directly into our room. This morning, I heard Dane wake up and come out of his room. I laid in bed waiting for him to come in and he didn't. Then in Kale's monitor I heard Dane say "there you are, Kale. I find you." Too bad that Kale was still sleeping soundly when Dane "find" him.

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Holiday shopping Spree Benefits Those in Need

I wanted to share this for 2 reasons....1. because a person I graduated high school with is the associate pastor at Mission Point Church and 2. because I thought it was a great depiction of what Warsaw is about.

Our Life in Pictures...

I don't have all that much to report...I was severely lacking in picture taking over Thanksgiving but Aunt Christy captured a ton of memories thankfully. Tonight Dane and Kale were playing on the floor and Dane picked up his football and chucked it at Kale's head. As Cameron and I both started to correct the behavior by scolding, Dane yelled "right in the kisser"...Cameron and I erupted in giggles and thankfully Kale didn't cry because we weren't able to correct that behavior through our laughter. That is all I have to share (aside from the pictures from the last couple weeks).

During blizzard 2011 in Indiana:Date Night!