Heidi's PCOE Christmas Party

Today we went to the Placer County Office of Education's annual Christmas Party. There were lots of kids there this year and Ben and Heidi had a good time participating in the activities and talking to Santa. Last year Ben would not get within 10 feet of him and this year he kept asking me to go back and talk to him some more. Heidi stared at Santa for a long time and then decided it would be okay to stand a little closer as long as she was next to Ben. Heidi's favorite part was the snack table and kept going back to fill up her cup with more Pirate's Booty. There was a little boy Heidi was playing with who also had in hearing aids and Heidi kept asking him, "Those Heidi's hearing aids?" I don't think he understood what she was asking, but it was good for her to see other kids wearing them. It's a really neat get together because there are toddlers with all kinds of disabilities and the kids don't even care; I wish they could stay that non-judgemental and innocent forever!

We have GRASS!!!!

Last weekend John made great progress on our yard project with the help of our dads and Phil to whom we are very grateful! On Friday, John came home from school and finished the irrigation before Luke's birthday party. He told me that we would have grass by the next day and I thought, "Yeah, right!" But we did! He cleaned all the Home Depots in the area out of sod and even drove up to Lincoln Saturday night after we got our Christmas tree to get the last rolls and then carried them all down the steps so he could finish in the morning. It looks great!!!

Costco Christmas Tree

Saturday was a very busy day! After a long day of yard work (for John), we went to Costco to get our Christmas tree. Grandpa and Grandma came with us which was great because it was really busy and it was nice to have some spare hands and eyes! Most of the trees were still wrapped so of course I made John unwrap one and then we ended up with one that was already open. The best part was that Ben got to help wrap it up! It's still in the garage and hopefully it'll make it in the house tonight, or maybe tomorrow!

Sweet Heidi

Heidi loves her babies and stuffed animals and is always very busy with them. She cooks for them, changes their diapers (with lots of Kate's wipes), feeds them bottles, puts them in Kate's swing tucked in with blankets and a bottle, puts them to bed, takes them on walks and talks to them constantly. She entertains herself well, and it is so fun to watch her play and see her pretend play developing.

Santa visits our neighborhood

Waiting for Santa on the firetruck

Ben was telling Heidi that she should get some lists ready to give to Santa

Ben patiently waiting

Heidi climbing up and down the stairs

Santa's finally here!!!

It is amazing to me that Christmas is already here! I was reminded last Monday when Santa visited our neighborhood in a firetruck. Our sweet neighbor down the street called around 6:30 to let us know that he would be coming sometime before 8. Ben and Heidi were so excited! We got them bathed and in their Christmas jammies, of course, and Ben even dug his Santa hat out of his closet. Had I known it would really be 8 by the time he made it to our street, I would have waited to tell them because Ben waited by the front window or outside the whole time! He insisted on waiting outside for awhile because he was afraid we wouldn't be able to hear him from in the house. Heidi must have climbed up and down the front steps 50 times while we were waiting. I finally made them come back inside because it was freezing. We cracked the windows so we would be able to hear the music. Ben had his lists in his hand the whole time to give to Santa, but unfortunately he was in a sleigh on top of the truck and did not come down, so we just got to wave. He was a little disappointed after all that waiting, but I assured him we could send the lists to Santa. Heidi was really mostly excited about her Santa jammies!

Ben learns to PUMP the swing!

We have been working with Ben for over a year to teach him how to pump himself on the swing. He usually gets really frustrated and upset, but on Sunday when we were at Allie's dedication party, Ben hopped on the swing and started pumping himself! Way to go Ben!

Allie

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to our family and friends. We hope that you had a relaxing day and time to reflect on the blessings in your life. We spent a great day with family starting with Run to Feed the Hungry, followed by rest at home and dinner at Grandpa & Grandma's house. We missed our family who were elsewhere this year! We are so thankful for the love in our family and the opportunity to continually see God working in our lives. We had a crazy, busy year, but it is hard to complain when I reflect on how truly blessed we are. We have healthy, beautiful children, loving family on both sides who adore our children, great friends, a neat group of people who we have grown close to at church, a wonderful new home in a great neighborhood, jobs that we enjoy, the list goes on and on.... Our lives are full and I am thankful for that!

Grandpa & Grandma's beautiful table

Uncle Mario and the girls playing the piano

Heidi-pop

Kate eating her Thanksgiving sweet potatoes

I didn't get a picture of Ben, but he spent most of the evening outside with Uncle Paul looking at fishing stuff and learning how to cast Uncle Paul's pole. We all had to go out to watch his new skill. Heidi was excited for him and after a good cast, said, "No way Ben!" She's started saying some funny things!

Thanksgiving Run to Feed the Hungry

Aunt Jamey was the organizer and got us all signed up to participate in Run to Feed the
Hungry this year. There were over 26,000 people in the "race" !!! All of us walked with the strollers except Aunt Vanessa- she ran the 10K! Way to go! It took the strollers 1hour50minutes to finish. We had a good time together and the kids did great considering we woke them all up early . Thanks for getting us all signed up Aunt Jamey! It was a fun way to start our Thanksgiving day!

Our whole group

Ben in his shirt ready for the race. He decided that Uncle Paul would win because he's so fast :) He changed his mind during the race and declared that Aunt Vanessa was the winner!

Jack, Frank & Vanessa

Our family getting ready at the starting line. Thanks for letting us borrow your fancy stroller VandenAkkers- it was great! Heidi was very excited to sit in Lukey's seat and eat snacks.

Baby Kate all bundled up

It was a little early for Heidi

Paul & Kelsey

Ben & Dad

Grandma & Grandpa

If you look really closely you can see Grandpa sprinting up to find the owners of a lost stuffed dog- he found them and saved the day!

Ben with his hero Uncle Paul & Kelsey

Check out all those people!

Heidi got a little antsy in the stroller


And then Baby Kate wanted out too

Ben rode part of the time when his legs got tired

Children's Discovery Museum Day Trip

On Tuesday we took a family day trip to San Jose to visit the Children's Discovery Museum. The museum was awesome! The kids had so much fun; there are so many things for them to play with and explore. We were there for about 3 hours and we covered a lot, but could easily spend some more time there. The water area was by far the favorite! Afterwards we ate a yummy Mexican dinner, and it was a nice surprise when we got to the restaurant because Tuesday was kids eat free night! We decided that next time we'll make an overnight trip out of it so we don't have to do so much driving in one day with kids who don't like to sleep in the car:)
Dad and the kiddos outside of the museum

Heidi loved this display where the balls floated above the air

There was this really cool wall that was covered in little pegs about the size of light brite pieces. Kids can stand on both sides of it and push on the pieces to make handprints. Ben kept going back to it and playing some more.

Heidi playing with a jumbo sized puzzle

This display had a video playing on how columns are designed and made and two posts with a bunch of pieces to try building your own. Heidi worked on it for a long time.

Dad and Ben working on something with circles

Baby Kate was a good sport riding around in her stroller

This was in the circle display also. There was two carts- one with wheels and one with a sled bottom. The kids could pull on the ropes to move them to see which one was easier.

Dad and the kids are sitting in a dome with a clear top that showed different kinds of rain

Heidi liked the art area

Ben & Heidi in the grocery truck


The bubble area had different tools for making bubbles. They especially liked this one with hoses that blew out air to make bubbles.

All of these pictures are in the water area which was by far the favorite. There was an area for bigger kids and another for toddlers. Ben and Heidi both LOVED it. It was the last area we visited and it was hard to get them to leave.