Belated Christmas photos

So here are some of our Christmas pictures. Sorry they are so late. Maddison woke us and James up at 6:00am when it was still dark and we opened presents. She was thrilled with the bike and ponyville. At 8:00 she wanted to go out and ride the bike but we told her she had to wait til the rest of the neighborhood was awake. James got a Handy Manny toolset that sings and bobs. He also got a bike but is still figuring it out. I got my Twilight series and new pots. Ryan got much needed clothes and a phone holder. I have to say I don't know what Christmas is without kids. They truly make it special.

Maddison and James fixing the bikes with the new tool set.

James first look.

Maddison's ponyville.

Best Christmas EVER!!!

Mrs. Claus cookies

On Sat we went to the Village Green behind Market Street and they had a program called "Make cookies with Mrs. Claus. It was such a great program! She was a ventriloquist and had puppets, they sang songs and the kids got to participate in a bell choir. Then they decorated cookies. It was a huge hit!

James enjoyed the icing the most.

Finished products

Bell choir

Front row seats!

New addition

No we are not having a baby but we do have a new addition to our family. After Thanksgiving, Sheri had brought her cat and Ryan saw how much the kids and I enjoyed playing with it. I have always been a cat person but we were going to wait. Well Ryan surprised us by getting a cat for me for Christmas. Although I think it is mostly the kids kitten right now. We names him Boston in honor of the Red Sox. He is a great cat and provides hours of entertainment for the kids.

Gymnastics farewell.

So I thought I would post a couple of pictures of Maddison at gymnastics. She loves it but I think this month will be her last. With all my working and her schedule she has starting acting out a bit. I think she is feeling overwhelmed. So I am slowing every one's schedule down to see if that helps. So her are a few of her at practice. So cute!

They always come at the end for a final "tah dah"

Balance beam.

My little monkey.

Halloween

Ok so I know I am really late in posting these but Ryan wants me to make sure everyone can
see James' awesome beard.
Maddison was Ariel.

James was Dustin Pedroa

Neither one wanted to hold hands or be near eachother. Oh well I tried.

Pumpkin Patch

Last Sat we finally made it to a great pumpkin patch. We were able to do so many things for free and the kids had a blast. Maddison got her face painted, pictures with the cut outs, petting zoo, and James Maddison and I rode on the train. They had drinks and food there that you could buy and lots of other things to look at, including a corn maze for toddlers and one for bigger kids. I couldn't believe that it was all for free. Especially since they were right next to one that charged for all of it. The only thing they asked was for you to bring a couple of cans of food to donate.

I love this picture of Ryan and the kids.

Need I say more?

James was so proud of himself.

Maddison had to be holding both their hands.

James loved the train.

Maddison showing off her pumpkin muscles.


Just as we were heading back to the car, with both kids exhausted, we walked by this huge haystack. I didn't think anything of it because of how tired the kids were. However, it was the hit of the day.

Bubbles and more Bubbles

One of James' first words after Mama and Dada was bubbles. He is obsessed with bubbles . We have the bubbles up high in the house and he just walks around saying "bubbles, bubbles," and pointing to the door. So while I was in Chicago, Ryan took the kids outside for a bubblefest. James tries so hard to blow bubbles but ends up drinking most of it. Then when his mouth is full of soap he will blow bubbles with his mouth. He thinks it is hilarious. He also loves it when the bubbles land on him and will say "pop." Maddison loves them too but not as much as James right now.