Our Stockings are hung...

The monkey house is all ready for Old Saint Nick!

Our stockings are hung by the chimney with care...


... our tree is all trimmed and we all did our share.

We have visited Santa and told him our wishes...


... and baked tons of cookies with minimal messes.

Our Daddy even decided to be brave this year...

... and tried out his hand at decorating HERE!

And a family tradition we changed just a bit...

This year we let the kids pick their special ornaments!

So all that we lack, at this time of year,

is some visions of sugarplums dancing up there!

:)

The countdown is almost over! Christmas is SO much fun through our childrens' eyes!

Derby Novice Tournament

Logan participated in his second wrestling tournament today. It was conveniently located in our home town : ) and he did super awesome!

His first round he went on the offensive and overpowered to poor boy right away.

• And though he didn't pin him, we won on points... 7 to 2.
  
  His second match he was slated to wrestle a team mate.... but after an odd start ( they danced mostly) he decided to bring out his "guns" and take the guy down. He won on points, 9 to 3.
  
  
  And had to celebrate his success by enjoying a donut that was almost the size of his head!
  
  

  His third match we knew was going to be tough. This kid had wiped the floor with all the other opponents and though Logan put up a good fight, this kids killer instinct was just too much for our little lover boy.

  He was sad to have lost his last match, but happy to have placed 2nd and earn an awesome medal. Good job, LOGAN!
  
  
  

One Year Anniversary

Today was the much anticipated ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY checkup with Logan's cancer doctor.

AND...

We've made it through

.

the all important,

.

very significant

.

first year

.

with out

.

a relapse!!!!!!

.

.

.

HOT DAMN!

.

.

.

To celebrate our wonderful news we took the kids to Wichita Gymnastics for open play time from 12 to 3 (and Eric and I were able to do some Christmas shopping while they played) then came home for a short break and headed out again. This time we picked up a pizza and drove to one of the area Christmas lights display and parked. We then commenced with a picnic party in the car while we watched lights. VERY FUN. Then we drove through a few neighborhoods and one more formal light display before heading home.

Now Logan gets to skip every other month for his checkups.

HERE'S TO ONLY SIX POKES IN 2011!!!

Too Much Of A Good Thing

Today at Logan's holiday party at school he was biting into a chocolate bar when...

HIS TOOTH FELL OUT!!!

I guess the dentist is right. Too much candy IS bad for your teeth!

HA!

Actually, his front tooth was growing in practically on top of the next tooth over. I'm pretty sure that was the real reason, but it was very exciting for everyone present (including my self, since I was helping with the party). His teacher gave him a super cute tooth necklace to put the tooth in and he put a tooth shaped sticker on the Lost Tooth chart in her room.

Then he had to show EVERYONE he passed is gaping, bloody hole in his head (really, just the size of a pencil eraser).

After much deliberation tonight, he decided to put the whole necklace under his pillow with a note to the tooth fairy to please leave the necklace when she takes the tooth. (if you are keeping track, the last 3 he hasn't put under his pillow because he wanted to keep them).

Weekend Review

We had a very busy weekend with Amanda's preschool Christmas program kicking off our weekend frenzy on Friday night. They sang 6 songs and each child recited a short poem.

Here is Amanda saying her poem:
"B is for berries,
I'll take home with me,
That I'll bake in a pie,
Or string for the tree."
Performing one of the songs... Se was the tallest in her class so she got VERY back row! (I just grow 'em big!)

Saturday morning we woke bright and early to be at Logan's first wrestling tournament at 7:30 AM! (Please pardon the grainy photos. We're using a loaner camera while mine is away being cleaned and I'm not an expert at using the proper settings for this one.) It was clear to us that this was not the other boys' first tournament! Apparently you can be a "novice" wrestler for two years... Not so novice if you ask me. So Logan didn't do so well this first time, but he's sticking with it (for now).

I was a basket case watching him wrestle... just like I thought I would be. I was so nervous that I had a hard time holding the video camera still and I'm sure when we look back at the tapes we'll hear some not so nice words being used. I hope this gets easier for me!

On Sunday Amanda and I had tickets to see the Nutcracker Ballet at one of the local Universities. Here we are all dressed up and ready to go.

We went with two of her girlfriends and their moms. We had a lovely lunch at Olive Garden before the program.

Amanda decided to spend some of her own money of a souvenir... a super cute ballet slipper ornament.

It was a great performance. We'll definitely be back next year.

Only 4 more days of school for Logan (and only two more for Amanda and me) before our nice long Christmas break.

A Holiday Tradition

It has become a holiday tradition in our home to decorate a gingerbread house in December. With only minor structural help from me, the kids decorated the whole thing solo! Logan and Amanda each decorated one front, side, and roof with absolutely NO squabbling!!!! I was very impressed with their team work. Here is their edible creation!

Logan's front:

Amanda's front:

Logan's side... with Amanda working on her side : )

Amanda's side... but mostly just Logan working on his side... : )

Since their dad is out of town (AGAIN!!!) they are waiting until he gets home to see their masterpiece before they begin the painstaking process of consuming their creation.

Holiday Avenue

Logan's school had their Holiday Avenue shopping event today. The Holiday Avenue is a wonderful program that provides small gift items for students to purchase and wrap for their family. This was Logan's first year participating and he was very excited to spend his own hard earned money to purchase some Christmas gifts. He was very thoughtful in his gift selections and can hardly wait until it's time for everyone to open them. It brings me such joy to see that my son believes in the old adage that it is better to give than to receive.

Our New Hobby

Amanda has decided that she wants to start making her own hair bows... and we all know that means I will be doing the bulk of the work! We went to the craft store to pick out some ribbon... here is our first attempt at a bow.

And the second...

The third...

And our forth!

It was lots of fun making these with her. Not the most professional bow you'll find, but made with love and that's all that matters.

Hell Hath Frozen Over!

Eric and I have been discussing the pros and cons of getting a cat. We are both not cat people... it's not that we don't like cats, it's just that we prefer the trainability of a dog as a pet. However, our children LOVE cats. The love petting, cuddling, picking up and caring for the little fur balls. We have also been lax in our dogs' training and they think cats are play toys (and small dogs for that matter). After much deliberation, Eric and I decided to adopt an older cat from the Humane Society. I guess the deciding factor was when I realized that my daughter asked for a "for real" kitty from Santa last year and Santa mistakenly thought she asked for a "Fur Real" Kitty (the stuffed toy that looks and sounds like a cat and moves). : (

So, meet the newer member of our family. We are still debating his name (since we didn't like the one he came with) but he's a very loving pure white cat with one green eye and one blue. He comes from a home that had both dogs and young children so he already knows how to handle both and so far has done a stellar job with both our kids and our dogs!

I was quite impressed when I carried him in the door this afternoon and he glanced at the SUPER EXCITED dogs immediately dismissed them and started looking around his new house. He even jump down to explore right in front of the dogs (I had them on a leash) and they "mouthed" him (like really wet kisses). He just slowly walked away... no running, no hissing, no clawing!!!! What a trooper! Hopefully the newness will ware off soon that the dogs will come to accept him into our family.

So there you have it! The Monkey House has a cat resident! I NEVER thought a day would come when I would willingly become a cat owner. Oh, the things we do for our loved ones! : )

Our Relaxing Saturday

As promised, I let the kids help me paint the master bath today. They were very patient with me and reasonable careful with the paint.

Then they entertained themselves while I finished the room. Logan even talked his dad into letting him take apart a computer. Looks like he'll be following in his father's footsteps in this department as well. : )

And we finished our wonderful day with a tea party!

Now I feel some baking coming on... see you later!