Don't eat the gingerbread man

It was girls day out at the Discvoery Musuem for their annual Gingerbread House decorating activity. The mommies got quite a lesson in creativity while the girls had more fun eating the candy off the house.

Andrea and Callen... notice how neat Andrea's house is.

The Eggert girls... old pros at this.

Big smiles for all the candy!

The finished product!! I must say by Christmas there wasn't a whole lot left on the house.

Makenzie's Chocolate Extravaganza

Makenzie turned three and she, I mean her mom, celebrated with a chocolate extravanza.

All the treats were delicious and the kids got to decorate their own cupcakes... a big hit!!

Madison took her cupcake decorating very serious...

Christmas at the zoo

For the last three years we have headed to the zoo around Christmas... they get a special delivery of some reindeer. This year since Christmas has taken on a whole new meaning for Madison she was very excited to see who were these creatures who were going to guide Santa's sleigh. Madison and Makenzie peeked over the fence and sang them a few Christmas carols.. the reindeer didn't move an inch.. they might have been sedated.

Madison didn't want Sadie to feel left out so she gave her some kisses. It's fun to see how Madison and Sadie have bonded and Jack and Makenzie have bonded.

The girls swinging high on the "big girl" swings.

This is the smile you get when they are bribed with a lollipop.

We finished the day at the merry-go-round and said good bye to the characters.

Reese's Baptism

On December 13, we celebrated Reese Brinker's baptism. Mark was the Godfather so it was especially special for our family. She wore the gown we were all baptized in and the same gown that now all her cousins have been baptized in.

Fr. Mario did the honors and did a wonderful job as usual. Jen and I spent most of the baptism in the corner trying to shove "crunch munch" in the Jack and Chloe's mouths so they wouldn't make noise.

Afterwards... we headed to the courtyard to take some family pics....

This was my parents Christmas picture this year... so fun!!

I love this picture and plan on keeping this until they are 13.

Is there such thing as a perfect Santa pic?

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You take what you can get..... It's a right of passage.. "everyone" gets dressed up and goes to see Santa, right? This may be true but it doesn't mean it's a pleasant experience. Here, we have "stoned" Jack who just wants the whole thing to be over... and Santa's strange hand placement on Madison. Probably wouldn't have been so strange if Santa hadn't just gotten done telling Mark and I how he got kicked out of 3 karoke bars the night before and "mrs clause" made him sleep in the doghouse because he smelled of booze. Not to mention he practically passed out on the kid before us.

On the second try for that perfect picture... Jack is just now thoroughly annoyed that he is on a strange man's lap who smells like a dive bar AND he has a combover AND his mom made him wear a white turtleneck!!

Broderick Street Christmas Party

Thanksgiving Dinner/Chaos

This year for Thanksgiving we were in Danville and had a great time. Everyone was there except the Fishers who were visiting John's mom in South Carolina. My dad did all the cooking and it was quite a feast. Mom made sure the girls were included and they had their own decorated Thanksgiving table complete with art projects. This was Jack's first year of getting to eat a real Thanksgiving dinner and he couldn't have been happier.... all that turkey made for good sleeping!!The dinner itself lasted about 20 minutes.. with 4 kids under 3 no more long leisurely dinners, but we did still manage to get in our Thanksgiving tradition of all going around the table and saying what we are thankful for. The Dunns had a very touching moment during this part as they eagerly await Baby Dunn. We decided to make it an extended weekend so we stayed out there until Saturday along with the Brinkers... yes I know they only live 15 minutes away but isn't it more fun when everyone stays together?? On Friday after catching a quick movie, Aaron and Mark helped my Dad hang the Christmas lights outside. The girls wanted a front row seat for all the action.. The lights turned into quite a project and everyone, including Jack got in on the action.
After the lights were all hung.. Gram (cruise director) decided it was time for a "night walk" in the red wagon.There was never a dull moment between the outside, the art projects, etc.. Gram and Poppo made it a wonderful weekend for everyone and we even got to sneak out for a little double date with the Brinkers.

Gymnastics party/Weekend at Bernies

If you ever saw the movie, "Weekend at Bernies" that is the best way I can describe Madison's 3rd birthday party. After 3 days of being sick and another trip to the doctor we decided to go ahead with her gymnastics party with all 18 of her friends from preschool. After calling every mom to alert of Madison's condition we were thrilled there was still such a strong turnout. Madison loves to jump, hang, climb so gymnastics has been a wonderful outing for her and Dad on Saturday mornings so we thought only fitting she should have her party there, complete with a jumpy house. But the party went south quickly when after a few minutes of physical activity Madison tuckered out.. still not feeling well. Mark and I literally had to hold her up and blow out her candles for her. It was a sad sight!! Hence the "Weekend at Bernies" refernece.I think all the kids had a good time and everyone enjoyed some delicious homemade cupcakes.. courtesy of Auntie JuJu (thanks again). The girls also enjoyed jumping around with their new batons that Madison of course had no interest in passing out so I had to.
Note to self... if your kid ever looks like this... just cancel the party!! We will all remember this as the party her mommy wanted more than she did!!