Zoo in the Winter

Some of our best zoo trips have been in the winter.  It's a little cold, and we have to bundle up a bit, but we always see animals out and about that we almost never get to see.  This year was no exception, and we had a great time!

Sea Lions - one of my favorites!

From December 2011

The bears were awesome.  They were almost putting on a show for us.  All 3 of them were standing on their back paws and walking around a bit.  Do you think they were mimicking us?

From December 2011

Kissing giraffes

From December 2011

I am always disappointed when we don't see the ocelot in the Rainforest exhibit, which is nearly every time.  Yesterday, he was walking all around right in front of us.  Yay!

From December 2011

The zoo was also decorated for Christmas...pink Christmas trees, anyone?

From December 2011

Silly kids

From December 2011

Tiger faces - yup, even the lions and tigers were out!

From December 2011

The Last Christmas Party

Monday afternoon we had a party at Grandma's to see all of our extended family.  Jonas was loving getting to spend some time with his cousin Ben!

From December 2011

From December 2011

From December 2011

Some wind down time after all the excitement:

From December 2011

Christmas Day

We spent Christmas Day over at Grandma and Papa's house.  We are so thankful to have such a wonderful family, and Jonas loves being with his cousins!  And guess what?  More presents!

Jonas helped pass out the presents...

From December 2011

From December 2011

From December 2011

From December 2011

From December 2011

My Mom and Dad's main present for everyone this year was reservations for our Disney trip in June.  (Which I am INCREDIBLY excited about!)  To get the kids ready, they bought each of them their own Disney suitcase and filled it with small things to bring on the trip.

From December 2011

From December 2011

From December 2011

We were all pretty tired and silly by the end of the day:

From December 2011

Thanks everyone for a wonderful Christmas!  

Here Comes Santa Claus!

Santa knew that Jonas wasn't going to be home on Christmas morning, so he left him this note the night before Christmas Eve:

From December 2011

Jonas was super excited when he read the note.  He left some cookies, M&Ms, and milk for Santa, some reindeer food for Rudolph, and headed to bed.  He told me he was just going to pretend to sleep so he could see Santa come....and promptly fell asleep within 3 minutes.  Grandma and Papa came over early Saturday morning to watch Jonas open presents.  Here's Jonas when he first woke up - 

From December 2011 Videos

All Jonas asked for from Santa for Christmas was a blue stuffed bear...he got 4!  Now he has a little blue bear family.

From December 2011 Videos

From December 2011

And of course, he got many more presents that he was super excited about.

This ultra excitement is over some little capsules that turn into tiny sponge animals when you put them in warm water.

From December 2011

Wrapping paper angels!

From December 2011

Operation - love this game!

From December 2011

Beyblade battle with Papa

From December 2011

It was a great morning, and Jonas went to have even more fun with his daddy Christmas Eve night.  Merry Christmas, everyone!

From December 2011

Jonas Claus

Jonas was having some fun in his bubble bath making himself look like Santa Claus!

From December 2011

Festive Friday

Today was Christmas party day at school.  Which basically means super hyper children super excited about Christmas!  It's my favorite day of the year...here's a picture synopsis of the day.  Enjoy!

We start in the morning with some play time and gift exchanging.  This year I got each of the kids a light-up Christmas necklace and a fun Christmas headband.

From December 2011

From December 2011

Then we meet up with our Special Friends for a pancake breakfast in the gym.

From December 2011

Singing some Christmas carols

From December 2011

From December 2011

Santa came to our school!  He handed out all the presents to each of the children.

From December 2011

Jonas' special friend got him a really cute "lion monkey"!  Jonas loves it and has carried it everywhere with him since this morning.

From December 2011

The classic "Throw a wet paper towel at the snowman" game...needless to say, the kids loved it.

From December 2011

My adorable class

From December 2011

We made "reindeer food"...this is the kids doing the reindeer dance to mix everything up!

From December 2011

Decorating Christmas cookies

From December 2011

Story time with Mrs. Lindsay..."The Grinch"

From December 2011

Making wreath ornaments

From December 2011

Many, many thanks to Mrs. Lindsay and Mrs. Becky for planning activities for today.  We all had a great time!

Christmas Celebration

Jonas, Bethany, and Bekah participated in Trinity's Christmas Celebration last night.  They did an awesome job, and Jonas couldn't wait to go on stage!  (Mommy, when's it our turn??)  Can't wait till Christmas!

Hayden watching the festivities

From December 2011

Super handsome and ready to go on stage!!!

From December 2011

Bekah playing with her bells and nose instead of wearing them while she sings "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer"

From December 2011

From December 2011

The Kindergarten crew singing "Go, Tell it on the Mountain" and dancing to "Have a Holly Jolly Christmas"

From December 2011

From December 2011

When it was all over Jonas wanted to know if he could have another turn on stage...I kinda wish I knew what he would've done if I let him go back up there :-)  4 more days till Christmas, everybody!

Christmas Pageant

Jonas was an angel again this year in the Sunday School Christmas pageant.  Although Giraffee had to be with him most of the time for support for some reason, he did a really good job!  Unfortunately, I couldn't get very many pictures since I was directing the kids.  This will give you an idea of the overwhelming cuteness, though :-)

From December 2011