NEW YEAR’S EVE WITH THE MCCABE’S!

We were so excited to have Luke, Jessica, Dylan, and Brody come stay with us to bring in the New Year!

They got to our place on Sunday, just in time for the Bears game, and stayed until Tuesday, New Year’s Day.

We hung around the house, played games, and watched the boys play for those 2 1/2 days.  Everybody had a great time!  So great, that Dylan was in tears when it was time for him to go home.

Thank you, McCabe’s for coming to visit!

Brady (3), Tyler (5), and Dylan (3).  Jessica and I took the three big boys to my school on Monday so that they could get out and run off some energy!  Monday night, New Year’s Eve: Dinner for the boys and a special kiddie cocktail! The boys doing a ‘cheers’ with their kiddie cocktail! Happy New Year from the Reynolds’ and the McCabe’s!    And Happy New Year from the little Reynolds’ and the little McCabe’s!

And Luke and Jessica are adding to that mix—another baby due in May ‘13!  Can’t wait!Our two little party animals!  Brody (1) Dylan (3)Brady (3)  Tyler (5) The boys.

CHRISTMAS AT HOME

 Merry Christmas from our family to yours! Christmas 2012: Tyler 5 years-old and Brady 3 years-old.

We had such a wonderful Christmas this year!  The kids were so excited for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Santa, the reindeer, presents, all of it!  We said our good-bye’s to Chippey on Christmas Eve, as he would be flying back up to the North Pole and we wouldn’t be seeing him again until next Christmas season.  Chippey has been such a big part of our Christmas season this year.  Not just with Tyler, but with Brady as well.  Both of them were equally excited each and every morning to find Chippey, to talk to Chippey, and to spend time with Chippey. 

Both Tyler and Brady were certain that they heard the reindeer bells from the Reindeer and Santa’s sleigh on Christmas Eve.  They were beyond excited!

We spent our Christmas Eve as a family and Grandma Mary.  We played games, watched Christmas movies, and then left some cookies and milk for Santa and some carrots for the reindeer.  Tyler said to me that night, “Mom, you know how in that Mickey movie, they get to open up one present on Christmas Eve?  Maybe we can do that?”  So, with Tyler’s suggestion, we started the new tradition of opening up one (my choice, of course) present on Christmas Eve. Playing games.Leaving cookies, milk, and carrots for Santa and his reindeer. Their Christmas Eve present was a new outfit for their Build-A-Bear.  Brady’s was a basketball outfit and Tyler’s Spiderman.

And then Santa came! And because we don’t have a fireplace, we decided to hang our stockings from the foot of our bed.  This turned out to be great!  It required the boys to come to our room first in the morning before heading downstairs!Checking out the presents from Santa! Lee and Brady playing with the Castle from Santa. Tyler has a hold of his Skylander that he got from Santa.Tyler’s pogo stick and Brady’s Wreck It Ralph race cars. Playing Hungry Hungry Hippos Featuring Tyler on the electric guitar, Lee on the acoustic guitar, and Brady on the drums. A special Christmas hug for Grandma. Brady got his very own CD player for his bedroom and they both got new CD’s, so they had many dance parties throughout the day!We played a family round of Disney Headbanz Christmas night.  It was such a great day! It was an unforgettable Christmas!

Both boys were lucky enough to get their own Furby and Skylander from Santa.  They also got a big castle and 2 dinosaurs, a PaperJamz Guitar and PaperJamz Drums from Santa.

Some of Tyler's favorite gifts included a pogo stick, jump rope, Disney Headbanz, Heat Wave Transformer, and a switch and go dinosaur.

Some of Brady's favorite gifts included a CD player for his bedroom, a switch and go dinosaur, Heat Wave Transformer, Wreck It Ralph race car, and Hungry Hungry Hippos.

Lee and I must have been good as well, because Santa brought us a new TV for our bedroom and an I-Pad (for the family)!  And both of my parents stocked our freezer with meat!

CHRISTMAS IS FULL OF COMFORT AND JOY!

We are always very lucky to get to spend some time with family during the Christmas season. 

Since we have lived in Iowa, the past 5 years, we have been lucky enough to have all my family come to us to celebrate Christmas every year.  It’s just been easier for them to drive here than it has been for us and our little ones to drive somewhere.  Well, this year, it turned out that the easiest for everyone was a bit different.  The easiest to celebrate with my dad was to postpone until the roads were better and the easiest to celebrate with my mom was to drive to her house to celebrate Christmas rather than have it at our house.  The roads really weren’t that great yet on Sunday and it was easier for Josh and Liz to take the interstate to Iowa City than what it would have been for anyone to take the smaller highways to Newton or Cedar Falls.  And since Josh, Liz, and my dad had to turn around and head back home on Saturday after realizing that the roads were too bad, made it extremely hard for them to want to try to do that again the following day.  So, we quickly agreed to celebrate Christmas at my mom’s this year.  We had a great day full of tons of food, games, and present opening.  Josh, Liz, and us all stayed the night and just enjoyed all being together.  And I’m pretty sure my mom thoroughly enjoyed having us all there.

Our Christmas celebration with my dad was postponed until Wednesday, Dec. 26th.  He made the drive to us and was able to spend the entire day with us and stayed the night.  We all enjoyed the day together! 

Sunday, December 23rdTyler patiently waiting to open his presents at Grandma’s house.Waiting to open presents.Brady patiently waiting to open presents.

 

Cousins: Parker and Cali.  They were cuddled up on the couch together when they weren’t wrestling each other.  Cali loves Parker so much!  She even sat at the window and whined when Parker had to leave the next morning.  Brady loves their new kitchen!Tyler and Grandma playing his new game.  And as always, Grandma played game after game, gave the boys a bath, read stories, and put the boys to bed.  What the boys want is what the boys get!  :)

Wednesday, December 26th  Opening presents from Grandpa!The boys giving Grandpa a big thank-you hug! I-Pad time. And then wrestle time with Grandpa!  Not only did he have wrestle time, but then he gave them a bath, read stories, and put them to bed!  What the boys want is what the boys get!

FUN TIME IN THE SNOW!

After the snow storm, the kids have enjoyed playing and sledding out in the snow.  On Saturday, the 22nd, when the roads were bad and Grandpa Freese, Uncle Josh, and Aunt Liz couldn’t make the drive to our house to celebrate Christmas, we passed the time (and disappointment) by playing out in the snow.  Here’s some pictures from that day. 

We have a slight hill in our back yard, which is just big enough for the boys.  They love sledding down it and it doesn’t take them forever to walk back up! 

Me giving Tyler a push down.Zoom!  There he goes. And crash!Since he fell out, he might as well stay down for awhile longer to make a snow angel.Me giving Brady a push.   And Zoom!  There he goes!

The boys walking back up the “big” hill. And then I went inside to start dinner and Lee came out.  I looked out the window and saw this!  Not sure if it was the most safe sledding activity, but they didn’t end up with any broken bones and they loved it!

Brady all bundled up.Very pretty!