Winter wonderland...

Before Christmas we had a great snowfall this year that turned everything into a wonderful, quiet, winter wonderland. The table shots are always good to show just how much it dumped!

The boys love to bundle up and go outside in the snow with Daddy. Brent had just bought a second little snow shovel for Gage that, to be expected, Gavin is the one showing off in this picture.
What a precious picture this is!

Notice Gavin's hat (actually Mama's) over his eyes in this shot. Looks like he was working on a snow ball here. I'm trying to remember if this was the day that it took Brent over an hour to shovel the driveway. If so, then it was Christmas Eve, and that was the day that my friend, Kari, and I snowshoed our normal running route for a fun change in the exercise routine. I wish I had a picture of that experience, but then I remember the very unflattering picture that Kari got of us on her phone, and maybe I'm OK without that one here. :)

Christmas tree decorating...

Thankfully, Brent and I still agree about getting a real tree. I feel like we're in the minority these days, but we still love the look and smell of a good fir at Christmastime. There's nothing quite like it. Gavin helped me pick out the perfect tree this year (just outside at King Soopers, though someday I think it would be so fun to go cut down our own tree as a family), and he really enjoyed hanging the ornaments with me, especially the ones that were his. It was strange for me to see so many of my childhood ornaments hanging on my adult tree (you know what I mean) and then consider that Gavin's little ornaments may hang on his own tree someday.

I felt grateful this year to realize that both of my boys really enjoy decorating the Christmas tree. I can't remember the last time this happened, but somehow we managed to get every single ornament in our two-tiered box up on the tree this year. Gage would dangle little ones on the very lowest branches--some that would nearly scrape the floor--and smile at me with so much pride when he was done. I'm sure that those moments may have given birth to the ever-popular "good job" that comes out of his mouth lately, too. It's so powerful, humbling, inspiring and challenging to know that our kids will always imitate the things they hear us saying, right?

New blue, purple, yellow park...

Oh my goodness, this was a cold day! My friend, Megan, and I were feeling ambitious, but we really had no idea what we were signing ourselves (or our kids) up for. The wind, on top of the already chilly day, made for a very short excursion to the new park near our house.

Of course, the kids could have cared less about the frigid temperatures and the brisk wind, but we mommies cared enough for everyone. I felt horrible that Megan had to walk home with her kids, and I tried to imagine how I could fit everyone (safely, though totally illegally) into my car. (We had come straight from school, eager to check out the new, revamped blue, purple and yellow park, not quite as easy to identify now as the former "red park.")

I guess maybe Gage does look cold here, so maybe he didn't complain too much when we said it was time to go. I love that hat on him!

This is Gavin with his good buddy and neighbor, Natalie. It's crazy for me to see Gavin on the "big" swings these days. He likes for me to push him, and occasionally he'll try pumping.

Pajama day at school...

There were rumors out about this day weeks before it happened, and we moms swapped stories about the particular renditions we were getting from each of our kids. Gavin's buddy, Callie (the one in purple above), told her mom that all of the kids were going to Mrs. Tonelli's house to watch movies and eat popcorn in the teacher's basement. But the real version wasn't that crazily different from everything we'd heard: The kids really did wear their adorable pajamas to school right before Christmas break, and they really did watch a movie and eat popcorn in the basement of the church. (Mrs. Tonelli even brought in a thermos of hot chocolate for the kids. Have we mentioned yet how much we love her?!) And the bonus feature was a surprise visit from Santa, which--funny enough--Gavin said nothing about until we saw the pictures later.


The kids were sweet and generous with one another before Christmas. Gavin decided that he wanted to give each of his classmates a penny, and then the day before his last day before the two week break, we came up with the idea of putting a little jingle bell on a ribbon (like a necklace) for each of his friends. I love to see my kids' genuine excitement when they have been kind and generous to others.

Christmas concert at Apple Tree...

Apple Tree had a Christmas presentation that the kids worked on for probably at least two months. We listened eagerly as Gavin would practice his songs and his sign language at home, and Mrs. Tonelli assured us that we would be completely teary-eyed the night of the show because some kids knew the words, and some kids knew the motions, but Gavin knew every word and every sign for every song. And she was right! He had even succeeded in teaching Gage the words and the signs, feeling the need to correct him when he was not getting it quite right. He was so excited and so ready for his show, and I could tell that he was even a little nervous when he took the stage. He flashed Daddy a picture smile at first, and then he took his spot on the bleachers. The kids were all so handsome and beautiful in their Christmas attire, and it was so fun to see what they had been working so hard on.

The hay from the stable must have been pretty distracting to him, because he kept brushing it off of his face and looking bothered and surprised by it. When he started to get bored (when they had to sit and listen to the older kids perform), he'd flash me these looks to see if I was paying attention to him. When our eyes would meet, he'd sit up taller and give me a funny smile. He managed to stay on task most of the time, and we were all very proud of him that night.

School time...

Gavin is really loving preschool, and we've been happy with Apple Tree this year. His teacher, Mrs. Tonelli, is just who God knew that Gavin would need. She's wonderful, and I really feel like she sees and understands Gavin's strengths and his weaknesses. We're so proud of him!

Boys growing up...

Every time Gage gets his hair cut he automatically looks about two years older, and if you add this big boy shirt to the equation, he's altogether too big to be my last baby boy.

And Gavin is SO big these days that even he seems surprised when I can still pick him up. He hopes that I can still do it when he's five...and so do I! He weighs about 40 pounds these days.

Gage makes friends...

One of my oldest and dearest friends, Amanda (Hipsher) Fox, was in town recently with her daughter, Avenly. It was so sweet for us to see the little ones playing so well together. Generally speaking, Gage did pretty well sharing his toys and being a nice host :) and Amanda and her husband, Aaron, said that it was one of the first times they had seen their daughter so interactive and engaged with another little one about her age. It was a strange feeling for me that day to realize that my dear friend had a child that I hardly knew; and, likewise, I have two children that she knows best from my descriptions of them on the phone or here on my blog. Oh, Amanda, how I wish that you guys lived closer and that we knew each other's kids better and that they knew each other. You are missed, and I treasure our visits when you're home.