Christmas

Sorry it has taken so long to post pictures from Christmas, but I am still getting used to being the one responsible for the blog. We had a wonderfully quiet Christmas. We decided to stay in St. Louis this year. Dave had two weeks off from school and work, so we had his undivided attention which I took full advantage of. If you know me, you know that I always have a project I'm working on and about fifty others that I want to try. So, since we had all this time, I had Dave working like one of Santa's elves for the first part of his break making gifts for Zoe. We made her a play kitchen. It was a group effort, but it turned out beautifully. Thank you to my brother Jeff and sister Korinne for putting the basic structure together for us, and to my husband who spent tons of time painting, welding, and coming up with ways to make the kitchen work like a real kitchen. Zoe absolutely loves it, and until I finally made her some felt food after Christmas (She got pots and pans for Christmas but no food), spent the next few day cooking her my little ponies and dolls.

The poor little doll!!

I sewed her a tee pee like the one I had as a child and loved, and made this little yo-yo bunny (you can see in the picture with her in the teepee) that I have had the pattern for for over a year and wanted to try.

She was so cute on Christmas, and so excited to find her stocking full, and presents under the tree. We had been trying to explain Santa to Zoe, but she didn't quite grasp it. Every time she saw a Santa she would point at it and say Grandpa. I am still trying to figure out which of her Grandpa's have the full white beard. But Christmas morning was amazing to her. She ripped open her presents throwing paper everywhere. It was fun to see her so excited, and having to play with every present for just a few minutes before she would open another one. Asher was still asleep through all of this, so we saved his gifts for later. Zoe had started to open them for him, but I stopped her saying that we had to wait for him to wake up. Not long after that he woke up, and as soon as Zoe heard me say that the baby was awake she was back over under the tree opening Asher's presents. She is always "helping" Asher in anyway she can think of.

Since we had two weeks with no responsibilities we decided to try and work in some family activities. We took the children up to historic St. Charles where they do what they call a Dickens's Christmas. They decorate the whole area to look like a historic Christmas, and they have people dressed up from that era, carolers, and even different Santas from different countries roaming the streets. It was a lot of fun. Zoe wasn't sure what to think about the different Santas, and wouldn't answer the questions they were asking her. She just stared them down. We also took in a movie on Christmas. Zoe loves going to the movies, but Dave has yet to come with us, so we decided to go as a family. She loved it, and the part she remembers the most is the popcorn she got to eat. It was all she talked about when we asked her about the movie. Asher wasn't as impressed, he just slept through it. We also did some after-Christmas shopping, went to the magic house (which is a children's museum that Zoe loves), and ate out at my favorite restaurant. Dave also received some discount coupons for Disney on Ice from the Boys and Girls Club where he volunteers dental work occasionally, so we took our kids to see it. It was a lot of fun to see Zoe's expressions as she saw some of her favorite Disney's characters up close. All in all it was a very fun two weeks, and it was hard to come to back to reality especially as Asher, Zoe, and I all caught a really bad head cold. What a way to welcome in the New Year.

Here are a few more pictures from our two week "vacation".

What a lucky girl Zoe was. Santa decided to take the time to write her a note after eating all the cookies she helped her mother make.

Here is Zoe ripping into a present in her cute little Christmas striped pj's.

Thought my dad would appreciate this one. Thanks to Dave's sisters and brother-in-law, Zoe is learning how to haul horses early. She loved this gift so much she had to take naps with it for the next couple of days.

Here's Zoe on a slide at the Magic House. They built a whole new addition that just opened up, and they have a fairy tale room that allows the children to dress up and play different fairy tales. This is Jack and the Beanstalk.

Asher hanging out in his favorite place to play. He is such a happy, giggly, content baby. He must have stolen the dose of laughter that Zoe rejected as a baby. I swear she didn't laugh or crack a smile 'til she was a year old.