We're having trouble uploading videos on our blog, so we uploaded a video to Youtube, but listed it as private. We figured this would be the easiest way for family to see some cute videos of the kids.
This video is of Jenna reciting Luke 2:11. Just click the link to view it on Youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zoOfi5Fqf0
Merry Christmas (Eve)!!
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Friday, December 23, 2011
So I figured I'd update the blog with December pictures before I'm overloaded with Christmas pics! :)
December has been a really fun month for us. I made an advent calendar last year, but Jenna was still too young to understand it. She's enjoyed it this year, but still doesn't have any concept of time (or days) so even though we tell her, "Only 2 more days until Christmas", it doesn't quite register. There are tins on the calendar for each day leading up to Christmas and inside the tins I printed off activities for us to do that day. I've really enjoyed having a planned activity to do with her each day and Jenna loves coming downstairs in the morning and learning what the activity will be for the day. Some of the activities included baking or cooking something Christmas related (snowman-shaped pizzas, Christmas cookies, Santa pancakes, a birthday cake for Jesus, etc), doing a craft project, reading the Christmas story about Jesus's birth, and more.
One of our activities was to go see Santa. We invited my parents and Grandma to join us, but first we stopped at McDonald's for dinner.
When we got to Santa's area, he apparently was on a break, so we waited a few minutes for him to return. While waiting we figured we'd get a family picture by the fence. Afterward the mall security guard came over and informed us that we're not supposed to take any pictures in the mall. Interesting...
Jenna and Grant looking at a Christmas book
One night I found Grant laying on the stairs hugging his Teddy. Jenna thought it looked like fun and joined him.
Love this little guy!!
She looks so grown up!
The final product! I thought it turned out pretty good. Jenna (of course) ate all the whipped cream, chocolate chips (on the eyes), and the strawberries, but didn't want to eat the actual pancake because it had "stuff on it". She's an interesting one...she eats her pancakes without any butter or syrup and spaghetti without any sauce.
Bailey's actually letting Jenna get closer to him now that she's older and more gentle. I grabbed the camera too late because just before this shot he was sitting on her lap, which is UNHEARD of.
On two separate days we baked cookies and took them to Jenna's great-grandparents. In this picture, we were delivering them to Grandpa and Grandma Shafer.
Here's the snowman pizza. I won't show you the finished product. It definitely did not turn out the way it looks below.
Couldn't resist taking a picture of Grant sleeping. He LOVES his teddy bear and snuggles with him all the time. Unfortunately for Teddy, Grant also likes to pull his fuzz, so he's starting to look a little worn. But he is loved!
This day's activity was to drive around looking at Christmas lights. We weren't sure if Jenna would enjoy it, but we were pleasantly surprised. She loved it and didn't want to go back home. Even now when we drive around town, she points out all the beautiful lights on the houses.
This day's activity was to have an indoor picnic by the Christmas tree. I promise we were sitting next to the Christmas tree...it just didn't make it in the shot. :)
This Christmas we've had the opportunity to start talking with Jenna about the birth of baby Jesus. It has been so neat to see her interest in it and her desire to see Jesus in Heaven. Obviously she doesn't understand what it all means, why He's in heaven, or how we get to heaven, but we LOVE seeing her interest in it and we pray that she continues to learn more. Each Sunday she brings home a card from her Sunday School class with a Bible story and memory verse on it. This week I started working with her on memorizing the verse. I was amazed at how quickly she learned it and that she was still able to say it from memory a few days later! The verse she learned is Luke 2:11 "Unto you is born this day...a Savior." Very special...
December has been a really fun month for us. I made an advent calendar last year, but Jenna was still too young to understand it. She's enjoyed it this year, but still doesn't have any concept of time (or days) so even though we tell her, "Only 2 more days until Christmas", it doesn't quite register. There are tins on the calendar for each day leading up to Christmas and inside the tins I printed off activities for us to do that day. I've really enjoyed having a planned activity to do with her each day and Jenna loves coming downstairs in the morning and learning what the activity will be for the day. Some of the activities included baking or cooking something Christmas related (snowman-shaped pizzas, Christmas cookies, Santa pancakes, a birthday cake for Jesus, etc), doing a craft project, reading the Christmas story about Jesus's birth, and more.
Jenna ready to open the 1st tin on the advent calendar. (Look at her posing...such a change from a year ago!)
One of our activities was to go see Santa. We invited my parents and Grandma to join us, but first we stopped at McDonald's for dinner.
When we got to Santa's area, he apparently was on a break, so we waited a few minutes for him to return. While waiting we figured we'd get a family picture by the fence. Afterward the mall security guard came over and informed us that we're not supposed to take any pictures in the mall. Interesting...
Jenna and Grant looking at a Christmas book
One night I found Grant laying on the stairs hugging his Teddy. Jenna thought it looked like fun and joined him.
Love this little guy!!
She looks so grown up!
Jenna's helping Daddy make the Santa pancake. I love the way she's looking at him.
The final product! I thought it turned out pretty good. Jenna (of course) ate all the whipped cream, chocolate chips (on the eyes), and the strawberries, but didn't want to eat the actual pancake because it had "stuff on it". She's an interesting one...she eats her pancakes without any butter or syrup and spaghetti without any sauce.
Bailey's actually letting Jenna get closer to him now that she's older and more gentle. I grabbed the camera too late because just before this shot he was sitting on her lap, which is UNHEARD of.
On two separate days we baked cookies and took them to Jenna's great-grandparents. In this picture, we were delivering them to Grandpa and Grandma Shafer.
Here's the snowman pizza. I won't show you the finished product. It definitely did not turn out the way it looks below.
Couldn't resist taking a picture of Grant sleeping. He LOVES his teddy bear and snuggles with him all the time. Unfortunately for Teddy, Grant also likes to pull his fuzz, so he's starting to look a little worn. But he is loved!
This day's activity was to drive around looking at Christmas lights. We weren't sure if Jenna would enjoy it, but we were pleasantly surprised. She loved it and didn't want to go back home. Even now when we drive around town, she points out all the beautiful lights on the houses.
This day's activity was to have an indoor picnic by the Christmas tree. I promise we were sitting next to the Christmas tree...it just didn't make it in the shot. :)
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Deck the Halls
The past few years we've gone to a local Christmas tree farm and cut down our own Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving. We both like that tradition of having a live tree and of going at the end of November. By the time Christmas if over, I'm typically ready to take down our tree, so I'd rather have it up at least a month to get some use out of it. Plus it really gets us in the Christmas spirit!
Jenna actually found our tree right away. We weren't there more than 3 minutes after she pointed it out. Of course she also pointed out the Charlie Brown trees, so I think this one was just luck.
Drew remembers from his childhood going Christmas tree hunting and then having hot chocolate and a snack. So we brought along the hot chocolate and some brownies. The kids definitely enjoyed that part of our trip!
This was the first year Jenna really enjoyed helping decorate the tree. She liked putting the star on the top...
...and putting ornaments on the tree. I though she'd put a few on and then get bored with it and move on to something else, but she actually stayed almost the entire time. She did a good job - we just had to do a little moving around once we were finished, otherwise one section of our tree would have been overloaded with ornaments while the rest sat empty. :)
At the end of November we had our first snowfall. Jenna was anxious to get out in it. She even tried to catch snowflakes on her tongue without my encouraging her. I'm guessing she must have remembered this from last year...which surprised me!
I tried to get a picture of our house all lit up.
Enjoying the snow together!
The next day I brought some snow up for their nightly bath time. Jenna mostly enjoyed eating it, although she did play with it some while Grant loved getting a handful and dropping it in the tub. Each time he did that he'd let out a little giggle. :)
The kid's holding hands on our way to the Christmas tree farm
Jenna actually found our tree right away. We weren't there more than 3 minutes after she pointed it out. Of course she also pointed out the Charlie Brown trees, so I think this one was just luck.
Drew remembers from his childhood going Christmas tree hunting and then having hot chocolate and a snack. So we brought along the hot chocolate and some brownies. The kids definitely enjoyed that part of our trip!
This was the first year Jenna really enjoyed helping decorate the tree. She liked putting the star on the top...
...and putting ornaments on the tree. I though she'd put a few on and then get bored with it and move on to something else, but she actually stayed almost the entire time. She did a good job - we just had to do a little moving around once we were finished, otherwise one section of our tree would have been overloaded with ornaments while the rest sat empty. :)
At the end of November we had our first snowfall. Jenna was anxious to get out in it. She even tried to catch snowflakes on her tongue without my encouraging her. I'm guessing she must have remembered this from last year...which surprised me!
I tried to get a picture of our house all lit up.
Enjoying the snow together!
The next day I brought some snow up for their nightly bath time. Jenna mostly enjoyed eating it, although she did play with it some while Grant loved getting a handful and dropping it in the tub. Each time he did that he'd let out a little giggle. :)
Monday, December 5, 2011
November
Boy, I'm on a roll! :) Random November pictures minus some holiday ones which I'll post next time.
I couldn't resist snapping a picture of this cute pose.
Whenever Grant hears the printer, he gets all excited and RUNS over to it. Then he'll bend over and peer inside to watch the paper come out, which is followed by him quickly grabbing the paper when it's done. Too funny!
New jammies from "B"! Jenna and Grant are definitely becoming good friends (most of the time) and enjoy one anothers company. They'll play together some, although Grant's still a little young for actively playing with others. Their favorite thing to do right now is probably chase each other around the house - from the kitchen to the living and back again. It's so fun to watch them interact and enjoy one another!
Aunt Cathy started this last Thanksgiving - pulling the kids down the stairs in the laundry basket. Don't worry, Drew was in front of it, pulling them down the entire time. They both enjoyed it and did it several times until the "biggest kid" got tired (ahem...Drew). :)
I absolutely LOVE this picture! Bedtime stories with Daddy. And have you noticed that Jenna's actually started looking at the camera and giving "good" smiles for us?! Before she would always look the other way or smile with her eyes closed and teeth showing.
This melts Mommy's heart...holding hands.
Our first snowfall of the season. The kids couldn't resist going outside and enjoying it for a little bit. Jenna immediately started catching the snowflakes on her tongue, which is funny because I haven't said anything to her about that this year. So I'm wondering if she just remembers from last year...??
A special treat - playing with snow in the bathtub. Grant liked dropping handfuls of it in the tub and watching it melt - which was always followed by a giggle. Jenna mostly ate it, but did play with it some by scooping it in her cups. A few times she tried putting the snow on Grant's bare skin, but Mommy put a stop to that...poor Grant!
Next up: Our Christmas tree hunt and decorating
Gram-Gram reading to Jenna - Jenna LOVES books and probably could sit all day long looking at them and being read to.
I couldn't resist snapping a picture of this cute pose.
Whenever Grant hears the printer, he gets all excited and RUNS over to it. Then he'll bend over and peer inside to watch the paper come out, which is followed by him quickly grabbing the paper when it's done. Too funny!
New jammies from "B"! Jenna and Grant are definitely becoming good friends (most of the time) and enjoy one anothers company. They'll play together some, although Grant's still a little young for actively playing with others. Their favorite thing to do right now is probably chase each other around the house - from the kitchen to the living and back again. It's so fun to watch them interact and enjoy one another!
Aunt Cathy started this last Thanksgiving - pulling the kids down the stairs in the laundry basket. Don't worry, Drew was in front of it, pulling them down the entire time. They both enjoyed it and did it several times until the "biggest kid" got tired (ahem...Drew). :)
I absolutely LOVE this picture! Bedtime stories with Daddy. And have you noticed that Jenna's actually started looking at the camera and giving "good" smiles for us?! Before she would always look the other way or smile with her eyes closed and teeth showing.
This melts Mommy's heart...holding hands.
Our first snowfall of the season. The kids couldn't resist going outside and enjoying it for a little bit. Jenna immediately started catching the snowflakes on her tongue, which is funny because I haven't said anything to her about that this year. So I'm wondering if she just remembers from last year...??
A special treat - playing with snow in the bathtub. Grant liked dropping handfuls of it in the tub and watching it melt - which was always followed by a giggle. Jenna mostly ate it, but did play with it some by scooping it in her cups. A few times she tried putting the snow on Grant's bare skin, but Mommy put a stop to that...poor Grant!
Next up: Our Christmas tree hunt and decorating
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Highlights from October
There's no way I can go back and completely catch up on the past few months-worth of pictures, so I'll just include some highlights from October.
The kids playing in a "sandbox" of corn kernels.
A mini-zip line for kids. Jenna LOVED it! Grant even got in on the action (of course with Drew holding on to him the entire time).
Cedarville's Homecoming Weekend - It was Drew's 5-yr reunion so we went down for the day.
We went to the men's soccer game, but only stayed part of the game because it was so cold out!
One of Drew's good engineering friends from Cedarville came down to visit us for the weekend. We always enjoy having Phil around!
Jenna painting a pumpkin at our church's Fall Festival.
She even got to ride a horse all by herself!
My cute little scarecrows!
Pumpkin carving time
We all helped clean out the pumpkin
Drew had a work party at Young's Jersey Dairy. We were able to do all the activities for FREE! Jenna LOVED the slide and went down it over and over and over...
Chilling with the pumpkins
The rest are just random, everyday pictures from October.
Baking pumpkin cookies (I went easy this time and just bought the pre-made kind). I let Jenna place them on the cookie sheet - notice how they're all bunched together. :) I did end up spreading them out before baking them.
Jenna displaying the finished cookies in her dress-up outfit. She's really gotten into dress-up more lately and loves putting on her different dresses and jewelry.
Pumpkin craft
Making homemade pretzels.
The finished product
Grant's "play" drawer.
The kids in their Halloween shirts
I kept tickling Grant trying to get him to smile and they both thought it was hilarious. :)
The kids watching Daddy make a smoothie. It's our new favorite breakfast food (or dessert!)
Grant is fascinated with belly buttons right now. Whenever he sees one he pokes it, which is the reason for the smiles and giggles.
Brumbaugh Fruit Farm
The kids playing in a "sandbox" of corn kernels.
A mini-zip line for kids. Jenna LOVED it! Grant even got in on the action (of course with Drew holding on to him the entire time).
Cedarville's Homecoming Weekend - It was Drew's 5-yr reunion so we went down for the day.
We went to the men's soccer game, but only stayed part of the game because it was so cold out!
One of Drew's good engineering friends from Cedarville came down to visit us for the weekend. We always enjoy having Phil around!
Jenna painting a pumpkin at our church's Fall Festival.
She even got to ride a horse all by herself!
My cute little scarecrows!
Pumpkin carving time
We all helped clean out the pumpkin
Drew had a work party at Young's Jersey Dairy. We were able to do all the activities for FREE! Jenna LOVED the slide and went down it over and over and over...
Chilling with the pumpkins
The rest are just random, everyday pictures from October.
Baking pumpkin cookies (I went easy this time and just bought the pre-made kind). I let Jenna place them on the cookie sheet - notice how they're all bunched together. :) I did end up spreading them out before baking them.
Jenna displaying the finished cookies in her dress-up outfit. She's really gotten into dress-up more lately and loves putting on her different dresses and jewelry.
Pumpkin craft
Making homemade pretzels.
The finished product
Grant's "play" drawer.
The kids in their Halloween shirts
I kept tickling Grant trying to get him to smile and they both thought it was hilarious. :)
The kids watching Daddy make a smoothie. It's our new favorite breakfast food (or dessert!)
Grant is fascinated with belly buttons right now. Whenever he sees one he pokes it, which is the reason for the smiles and giggles.
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