Christmas Day

On Christmas morning I got up and showered before the kids got out of bed.  But by the time I got out of the shower (7:30am) Macie was already in my room begging to go open presents.  She went in and woke Paxton up which didn't make us very happy, and Pax didn't appreciate it either!  She had already snooped as well and since Paxton's big present wasn't wrapped she knew what he got and wanted to tell him.  We made them wait a minute while we got dressed then we went down and opened presents.  Paxton had no desire to open anything.  We had to force him to open the first thing which was just a cheap box of matchbox cars...he was thrilled with that and just wanted them open so he could play with them.  Santa could have just left him those and he would have been just fine!  Macie on the other hand ripped through all of her presents as fast as she could, and considering that Santa doesn't leave a lot of presents we made it through present-opening pretty quickly.  Tony and Macie had to open most of Paxton's presents for him since he was not interested.

After, they got their stockings, and in the bottom of one was a letter from Santa and the first clue to find their "big" gift.  Even though Macie had already found them earlier she was still excited to find each clue until it lead them down to the downstairs living room.  Paxton got a train table which he LOVES and Macie got a new American Girl doll (Julie) which she was really excited about.  Tony and I didn't exchange any big gifts this year since we are putting all of our money into finishing our basement.  We did stockings for each other and Tony surprised me with a BEAUTIFUL cluster band ring for my right hand that I had wanted for awhile.  It's not expensive but it is exactly what I wanted.  Considering he doesn't buy jewelry EVER (I was lucky to get an engagement ring and wedding bands!) it was extra special!  :)

We got ready for the day and let the kids play for a minute then went over to my parents' house for breakfast.  Usually we go to the Davies but plans changed this year and since we open presents quick at our house we didn't want to sit home all morning.  Plus, Mom makes yummy omelettes so why would we pass that up?!  Ryan, Mackensie and the kids were a little late getting there which drove Macie crazy since she was so excited to open presents with them.  We opened gifts with them and hung out for a minute before we went to the Davies.

Macie with Mckenna and her new doll Julie

 

We headed over to Tony's parents' house around 1pm and opened presents with them and hung out there for a little while.  Once again Paxton didn't want anything to do with his gifts until Macie opened them for him...then he wanted everything opened out of the boxes and set up. 

Grandpa Dennis made all of the girls little baby cradles.

 

We headed back to my parents' house for dinner with all of my extended family.  We went over to my grandma and grandpa's house to open gifts with them and that's where Macie got the ONE and ONLY thing she had been asking for for Christmas....which was McKenna's (her AG doll) crutches and cast set.  She was SO excited!  Earlier in the day when I asked if she got everything she wanted she said she did, except for that, but that it was okay because she still has a birthday in a few months and maybe she could just get it then.  Pretty sweet for a 5 year old...especially since I see so many kids get super greedy, spoiled and bratty on Christmas.  I've really tried to do everything in my power to not let my kids get that way.  Of course it's exciting to get presents but we try to emphasize what the day is about...celebrating Christ and being together as a family.  Anyway, my grandma wasn't feeling very well on Christmas because her back has been giving her issues...I felt bad she couldn't be with us...but we all gathered around her bed and Tony and my uncle Michael gave her a nice priesthood blessing which was really neat. 

 

We had a nice Christmas.  My only complaint every year is coming home with WAY too much stuff and trying to find room for it.  We take "Boxing Day" (the canadian holiday the day after Christmas) very seriously and celebrate it to its fullest.  I have already donated 2 large bags of toys and other items and I have more to give.  Maybe because our house is small, but I get overwhelmed with toys!

Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve we always have breakfast with Santa.  This year we went to Millenial Falls for it.  It was fun, although, they were a little slow getting our breakfast out so we snacked on fruit, bagels, & hot cocoa.  An elf came around and made all of the kids a balloon animal/figure of their choice then Santa came around to greet the kids.  They sang some songs then the kids got their faces painted.  After we got our breakfast and ate the kids lined up to sit on Santa's lap.  I had to leave early with Paxton (my mom kept Macie) since he was up with a croupe cough all night.  After waiting in the doctor's office for an hour we got a steroid and he felt better within hours. 

For Christmas eve night, since my dad's family no longer gets together, we were planning to go see the lights downtown, but we got a HUGE snowstorm throughout the day so we wimped out!  Instead, we went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner, drove around to look at lights, then came home and read Christmas books and watched Christmas movies.  It was nice and relaxing.  Paxton went to bed at a decent time, but Macie was way too excited for Santa and it took her almost 2 hours to go to sleep!

Paxton was playing on my mom's phone when Santa came around and Pax wouldn't even look up.  Santa took the phone away and that didn't help since he already doesn't like Santa!

 

The kids' gingerbread houses...we forgot cookies and milk so we left these out for Santa to snack on as well as some cupcakes.

Davies Christmas Party

We had our annual Davies Christmas party the weekend before Christmas.  Santa paid us a little visit and brought the kids each a present.  It was a fun party as it usually is!  Macie sat patiently waiting for her gift...she was one of the last.  She got an art set which she was excited about.  Paxton got some digger trucks but I had to force him to sit on Santa's lap for a picture...he hates Santa!  I slacked on picture taking this year!  :) 

Winter Dance Recital

Macie her dance recital this month.  My camera battery was dead so I only got one pic with my phone and some video.  Macie started with a new dance company this fall and it is amazing to see how well the dancers perform...their technique is awesome!  I was very impressed.  Macie is on a competition team and goes 4 hours a week so it's kept us busy.   One hour a week is tumbling which is her favorite part.  

Anyway, she did really well at her recital.  They danced to "Almost There" from The Princess and the Frog.  She remembered it really well and did a great job.  And a lot of her cousins came to see her so she was excited to have an audience!  

Thanksgiving 2012

We had such a nice Thanksgiving this year.  Usually I get up and make cinnamon rolls or something yummy but I slept in a little and Tony made pancakes which was even better than me having to cook.  I got my Thanksgiving edition newspaper with all of the Black Friday ads and sat down with the kids and watched the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade (one day I'd like to watch it live.)  We kind of took our time getting ready and then made it over to my parents' house for dinner.  This year we had almost our entire Hofheins clan which hasn't happened for many years.  It was so nice having everyone together.  Mom made a delicious dinner and we all enjoyed each others' company for the rest of the day.  Black Friday started early this year (it should have been called Black Thursday since it literally cut right into Thanksgiving evening) so I wasn't as into it as I usually am.  It was still fun going with my aunts and cousin with us but I didn't buy nearly as much as I usually do and we didn't go to as many stores as usual either.  Plus, I was in bed by 2am which is unheard of for that day...oh well, I guess spending less money is never a bad thing!

I am so thankful for such an awesome family and such great friends.  I am reminded daily of how blessed I am when I see my kids' smiling faces and my sweet husband.  I am also blessed to have a home to live in, a career I love, a vehicle to drive, food to eat, a free country, a knowledge of the incredible gospel of Jesus Christ, and so much more.  I am so blessed and there isn't a person in the world, no matter how rich or famous, that I would trade my life with. 

Halle, Molly and Macie

Nancy and Mom

This little face literally melts my heart!



I had a few more pictures but I seem to be having the same problem that a few friends seem to be having as well, which is not enough space to upload more photos.  So until I work that out who knows!  Stupid blogger!

20 Week Ultrasound

Last week on Tony's birthday we went in for our 20 week ultrasound.  I always get really nervous for ultrasounds, but thankfully everything looked good.  Tony, the kids, and my mom all came with me.  I have been to a different place for each kid for ultrasounds and this was by far the very best.  The lady doing it took her time and explained what everything was and spent lots of time just watching the baby. We even got to see the baby in 3D and 4D which was so cool.  It was holding it's hand up to it's face and then later on it was grabbing it's toes...so cute!  It was really hard to not find out the sex but the lady was so good about that, too...Tony was bugged since he really wanted to find out but I held strong!  I watched the video later and tried to guess what I think the baby is...I have my guesses but who knows!  The kids loved seeing the baby, too.  Pax keeps telling everyone that he got to see our baby and Macie loved watching it the whole time and kept kissing me...they are so sweet and so excited for the new baby!

The 3D ones are kind of weird looking but when you're watching them live in 4D they are so neat.  It really makes it so much more real that there is a living human growing inside of me!  Part of me wishes I knew the sex but at the same time I am glad I don't know so I can be surprised with everyone else.  I am so excited for this baby...I'm already half way and it feels like it's gone so fast...but I'm really looking forward to having a newborn again.  So far I've felt really good, too.  I was a little nauseated in the beginning but mostly tired.  But now I feel great and I started feeling the baby move a couple of weeks ago which is so fun.  This is my favorite part of pregnancy.  I'm definitely showing so it's obvious that I'm pregnant but I'm not huge yet so I'm still comfortable.  And there is nothing better than feeling the baby move around and kick.  To think that this is most likely my last pregnancy is actually pretty depressing.  I'm just trying to enjoy every minute of it.



Glasses

Macie has told me for quite awhile that her right eye is blurry but I kind of brushed it off thinking it was allergies or something.  After not passing the eye test with her pediatrician and then again at school we decided it was time to get her into an eye doctor.  Turns out she has Amblyopia (aka "lazy eye")  Thankfully it's not the kind where her eye wanders so she looks normal to anyone looking at her.  But apparently her right eye can't focus on anything so it's always blurry.  It's one of the most common eye problems in children and we caught it very early so there is a lot that can be done.  This means Macie has to wear glasses (the right lens is as thick as they come!) to train her right eye to focus.  We'll have to go back in 6 weeks and see if there is any improvement, if there is then she'll just continue to wear the glasses, if not then she'll have to wear a patch on her good eye for 2 hours a day for up to a year in order to make her bad eye work harder.  So we're crossing our fingers that it doesn't come to that.  The doctor said that in a couple of years she can wear a contact lens in just the right eye and down the road she can have corrective surgery. 

I almost started crying when I found out she needed glasses.  I'm not sure if it was guilt for not taking her in earlier or knowing she has a medical issue that I can't fix right away or if maybe I was a little worried that she might get made fun of wearing glasses. 

Turns out she was super excited to pick out a cute pair of purple flower glasses and after our trip when we picked them up she has been so excited to show everyone!  And apparently it's the cool thing because all of her friends and cousins her age are totally jealous!  I guess I remember always wanting glasses when I was little...kids are funny...I'm just glad everyone has been nice to her about them.  Most importantly, she feels great about them.  I am a little concerned about how she'll take care of them, but we got them at Walmart and they will replace them at no charge for up to a year if they get broken so I'm sure we'll be taking advantage of that!

There are so many worse things that could be wrong with her so I am very thankful that this is just a minor issue and it can be corrected.  Also, it's a lot harder for me to get mad at her with glasses...not really sure why.  She's so stinkin' cute!  :)