Snow and Cooking!

Oh the joys of snow--if I don't have to be out driving in it, I love it as well!  Snow is also not much fun when you are 8 to 9 months pregnant, but our kids love it!  We only had a half day of school before Christmas break and it snowed the night before!  So Caden and I went to school, had our Christmas parties and movie day, came back to Salina to eat lunch with Daddy, and then this kiddo bundled up and was out in the snow by himself for over 2 hours!  He had a stick, a shovel, and he was happy--even helped shovel our neighbors sidewalk which made this momma pretty proud!

Then New Year's Eve we wake up to snow again--and Caden woke up with a loud shout because--YES, it snowed!  Brynn joined the party this time and so did Daddy.  Mommy snuck out a couple times to get a few pictures and then watched the fun from inside!

 I think you can guess what is going to happen to poor Caden--yes, at times, I live with three children, but he was a good sport!

Daddy gotcha!

Layne made a few sledding ramps and took the kids sledding--I missed getting a picture of Caden, but Brynn ate it up--take a look at her face--one happy girl!

 

I love holiday cooking at Christmas, but I have gestational diabetes with this pregnancy and although I have a very mild case, I have to watch my sweets and carbs so my blood sugar does not get out of whack.  I made a few items, but thankfully I have a very talented husband who doesn't mind cooking, so he did a lot of cookies and fudge so we could each take some goodies to work with us and then I froze several containers of goodies so that after baby comes, we can have a sweet party!  My parents and a friend of ours from church made sugar cookies for Caden and Brynn to decorate and decorate they did--mom and dad helped them decorate cookies one weekend in December when they kept the kids overnight and decorating cookies took most of the day--mom had quite the array of decorated cookies and of coarse we had to have pink frosting and blue frosting--plus a few other colors and don't forget the sprinkles!!

My manly man who also cooks and bakes--when needed--thank goodness!

Gymnastics

We let Brynn do gymnastics for a month in December with 2 of her little friends--it was perfect-

45 minutes, once a week--she loved it and was so excited to go.  I was really proud of how well she sat and listened and gave everything a try!  She can't wait to do dance when she turns 4, but this was a great activity for her to do until then!  A few of these pictures were taken with our Ipad, so not the best clarity, but you get the idea!

Brooklyn, Brynn, and Tara ready to go!

Balance Beam

Smiles!

Blessed to have good friends and good mommy friends!

Christmas Decor

 George, our Elf on the Shelf, made an appearance again this year--he was a little late getting in, but he appeared one evening right before supper and Brynn could not take her eyes off of him--she would take a bite, look at George, take a bite, look at George--it was pretty entertaining!  Caden had the most fun finding him every morning!  

Here were a few of George's favorite spots around our house--he loves cashews--just like our whole family, he enjoyed riding with the snowman, and the kids loved that he sat on our reindeer!

George did not help solve all our problems, but he sure was a great reminder and always full of fun!

We did get a little bit of snow--so thought I had better grab a picture before it all melted away--I love the magic of Christmas lights!

Our beautiful tree---Caden added the chain--part of his kindergarten fun--so glad that it needed to go smack dab in the middle, but he was sooo proud--what could I do.  Caden and Brynn each got to put up their pink and white tree in their room as well--one of the best things I have ever bought them--they LOVE that they have their own tree!  So thankful for my husband who wrapped all our gifts--I got to lay on the couch and tell him who each present was for and he took care of the rest--no fancy bows, because our cat thinks bows are too much fun, but at least they are all wrapped and the celebrating can start! 

 Merry Christmas to all--we started the season off right by celebrating the Birth of Jesus today at our Children's Program at church--both of our kids sang their hearts out and said their lines well--proud of them!

Rooms!

About 2 weeks ago, we moved Brynn and Caden into their new bunk beds and into their new room that they are now sharing!  So far, so good!

Layne went and picked up the bed while we were at church Christmas practice and had them set up and ready to go when we got home and both kids were super excited!  Pink and blue were the chosen colors and it has worked out pretty good--Caden was a little nervous about being on the top, but he has done great and I am soo glad we got a full bed underneath for Brynn--it has made for a great place to do story time and is so easy to lay down with Brynn if we need to.  Caden likes sleeping with a little light on and Brynn likes it with no light, so it took us a couple days to figure that out--but after we tuck them in, they get the light on to look at books for about 10 minutes and then lights out and sleep time and they have made it through the night no problems!  Of course Caden has to throw a few animals down on his sister and Brynn likes to kick Caden's mattress from underneath, but welcome to the world of siblings!

Names even got put up and few decorations hung--might still add a shelf, but the majority of it is done--hooray!

The crib also went back up last weekend--so check, check--car seat out, base out, diapers and wipes are out and ready to go.  Getting closer....as of right now, we are scheduled to be induced on Jan. 16.  If my blood pressure goes up or something else medical changes, then it will be sooner than that!

Brynn and I were grocery shopping at Walmart last week and she MADE me buy a cute little Christmas shirt for baby girl--she picked it out herself and kept saying how this shirt is for my baby--this shirt is for my little sister!  Melted my heart--she held it the whole time we were shopping and all the way home--then we had to hide the shirt in the baby's closet so the baby couldn't see!

She has a great start on being a BIG sister!

My On-Line Christmas Card!

The Parry Family--2012

Brynn 3 and Caden 5

With Baby Parry due in a month or less, I decided I would send out New Year Cards this year instead of Christmas cards--so you will have to be happy with seeing our faces on the computer for now instead of in the mail!

Mindy helped us out again by taking some family photos of us--I wanted a few memories of the

 baby bump and we were able to get a couple cute pictures while battling the 1:00 sunlight!

I was around 28 weeks prego in these pictures!  

It has been a real joy to watch Caden and Brynn love on my belly--hope they are as nice to their sister as they are to my belly when she gets here for good!

We also went to see Santa at one of the banks downtown--they have a photographer come in and take Santa pictures for free if you bring in canned goods for the needy---it was a wonderful experience, great picture, awesome Santa, and they had juice, cookies, and candy canes for the kiddos after they saw Santa.

On the Christmas list this year:

Brynn told Santa she wanted a Pink Princess Umbrella and Caden said he wanted a Lightening McQueen Umbrella--works for me--I just hope the kids are not disappointed when they find out Santa did not bring umbrellas but Aunt Kristi and Uncle Caleb did!

 

A funny on Brynn--a couple days after we had seen Santa, Brynn asked if I could take her to see Santa again and get her picture taken again--I asked her WHY--she said, "I forgot to tell Santa that I wanted a Princess Book or a Christmas Book!"  I smiled and told her she could just tell George--our elf on the shelf and he would make sure Santa got the message!

Merry Christmas to you all--Hope you have a blessed Holiday Season!

Thanksgiving

Thank you to Mindy for rescuing me with blogger--hopefully I am up and running again!

Hope you all had a wonderful, happy, and relaxing Thanksgiving!

Did not take many pictures but these two pictures capture a few items I am thankful for!

Above--Caden and his cousins glued to the Ipad--and a cookie or two does not hurt either!

Below--Kristi and Brynn get some good snuggle time!

 

So my thankful list includes:

Wonderful family to spoil us, love us, and share in the joys and struggles of raising our family!

Awesome technology that helps my kiddos learn and also keeps them entertained, plus the camera and video camera are all right there and we can also do facetime with Aunt Nell and Uncle Jake!

My awesome husband who has been my rock and support these last couple weeks when I was puking from some yucky food, stuffed up with a cold, and my blood pressure was high--so thankful he gives me a break in the evenings and tells me to go lay down and take care of me--some days you just need to hear that!

Thankful for my amazing friends and co-workers who are constantly checking on me this third trimester, sending me positive messages, texting me, and giving me hugs to help me keep a positive attitude and to keep on trucking!

Where would I be without my faith in God--trying hard to trust in him and know that he has a plan for me--which is so hard for this control lady to do!

Thankful for the joy of the Christmas Season--I did not decorate quite as much as years past, but the tree, lights, and stockings are up and they just make me smile every day!

Hugs from my two kids and also my 1st graders can solve about any problem I have--so blessed to have what I have and try hard to remember that each and every day!

Happy Thanksgiving from the Parry's :)