Christmas

(First of all, someone needs to teach me to turn on red-eye-reduction, or how to edit red-eye. I'm too lazy right now to figure it out because Thys is sleeping, and I have ten other things I want to do before he wakes!) Above is Thys and Annie on Christmas Eve. After this pic with our tree, we went to G & G's to eat, decorate Santa cookies, and read the nativity story.
Christmas morning was so much fun! The kids are at really great ages for Christmas. Annie is playing her piano from Buba and Mimi, and Thys is eating M&M's from his stocking--certainly his favorite gift, but not the longest lasting. He's had to opt for other gifts since he ate the whole tube of M&M's Christmas morning (it was Christmas, okay?)

Winter Fun

NOT flattering of some of us, but hey, the truth hurts, huh? The one warm night we've had in the last few weeks, we took the chance to ride Trax down to Temple Square with cousins. We had a blast, and the kids, including Thys, loved the lights. Thys ooo's and ahhh's at all of them.
We have a perfect sledding hill for little people in the park behind our house. Anna, of course, had no fear, and even took a jump--on purpose. Thys opted for no sled, and was not so sure what he thought of the snow. He didn't last long, but we tried!

Angels We Have Heard on High

Becky, our super-babysitter, has a Christmas program every year. Here are all the little angels this year. The program is the cutest thing in the world--if your child is in it, but I have to say, a bunch of 2-7 year-olds singing "Angels We Have Heard on High" is the most entertaining and endearing thing one can hear. The "Gloria's" are to die for!

Holiday Traditions

I love traditions! I stole a great tradition from one of my college friends. When her family would decorate the Christmas tree, they would all drag their mattresses out to the tree and sleep around it. I loved the idea, so here we are. (It used to be easier when it was just Mel and me in the little condo--we didn't have to move the mattress too far.) It was a perfect winter evening with a big snow storm. We decorated the tree, then we slept around it in our Sinter Klaas pajamas and read our favorite Christmas book.


Here's another tradition that began even before we were married. One of our first dates was making a gingerbread house. Here is Mel and Anna's creation this year. Thys also loves it, but he just wants to eat the candy. We did this last Monday for FHE, and the candy is mostly gone--thanks to Thys, the sugar fiend!

Sinter Klaas

Sinter Klaas is a great Dutch holiday that we celebrate. In Holland, Sinter Klaas comes by boat from Spain and leaves gifts and candy in the children's shoes. Somehow he also makes it to Sandy, Utah. For a few night before December 5, Anna and Thys got little gifts and treats in their shoes. Then, on Sinter Klaas Eve, he actually came to our house, knocked on the door, and left a bag of gifts. We love Sinter Klaas. The tradition also includes everyone getting initials made of chocolate or pastry with almond filling. Above you can see my attempt at "banketletters"--thank goodness I could make an "O." I'm not sure any other letter would have worked. We also had kroketten, a Dutch ragu-filled, deep fried. . . something. I have to say, they ended up tasting okay, even though I can only read and understand about half the recipe!!
Anna bringing in the bag of gifts.
Thys with his chocolate letter.(I think we ate it--mean, huh?)

Thys is Trying

Thys has been trying to walk, but he is going about in a rather difficult fashion. He refuses to start from furniture or from Mel or me. He has to be sitting, stand up without holding onto anything, then walk. Every time Mel and I try to get him to walk with us, he pulls his legs up and won't put them down. For a few weeks now he has looked like a little frog because he tries to stand up, but before he is all the way up, he tries to walk and ends up playing a little leap frog. He is finally starting to actually make it up and can take quite a few steps, but he will be proud to say he has done it entirely on his own!

Turkey Time

My sister-in-law started a tradition with her kids of taking a picture with my mom's turkey every year to show how much they had grown. I loved the idea, so now we do it too. I was too tired tonight to go find Anna's first turkey shot (maybe tomorrow--I think it's from back in the non-digital days), but here is this year and last year. They both have grown!!!!