Advent at Our House

Just last night I finished up our Advent Calendar!

I struggle calling this "Advent Calendar" an "Advent Calendar" though. We don't have a wreath or candles or liturgy to read every night - we're just going to have fun counting down to Christmas.

Similar to a lot of my friends, each day the kids will get to open a small gift/activity/craft/etc...

And every night they'll open an envelope to see which "Jesus Storybook Bible" story we read before bed. (Following this schedule.)

We've started 7 days behind so we have some catching up to do!

With this being our first Advent Calendar/Christmas Countdown Extravaganza, I'm just playing it by ear. I'll definitely need to remember to check the night before and make sure there's actually something in the next pocket!

Why John is the Superior Parent -

Yep, they get to ride the horse.... every time.   :)

Baby Beth Update

Baby B is 27 weeks today!

I scheduled my c-section (love) for March 1st which means she will only be an inside baby for 12 more weeks - Woah.

I am happy to report that I (crossed fingers) haven't had to take any nausea medications for about 2 weeks. On the other hand, evening heart burn can get pretty bad... BUT, I know the worst is yet to come, so I'm not complaining one bit about any of it!

Thanksgiving Day bump - 25 weeks. I'm a short girl, ok!  ;-)

In these next 12 weeks, I'm hoping to accomplish a few big projects:

1. Finish the playroom - almost done, pictures soon.

2. Start and finish turning the boy's room into a big-kid room.

I love these colors.

With (hopefully) cherry wood bunk beds that can separate into twin beds that look exactly the same. (I know, picky much!)

With maybe a little of the stripe/initial action here.

3. Turn the extra room into a baby girl's room.

The bedding (minus the blanket) - with our cherry wood crib and maybe a grey/purple for the walls. We'll see once I get the bedding.

And maybe some of this sort of stripe action (of course different colors). 

And of course a ruffle curtain!

4. Last but not least, potty train this little monkey.

12 weeks to go - shouldn't be that difficult, right?   :)

Brothers

A few nights ago, I went to check on the boys and could only get my arm through the door to snap a picture.  (Yes, Nate is sporting the green and black crocs over his footie pjs. That's how he rolls!)

Lake Kachess

 We just got back from a weekend at a cabin in the woods - aahhhh......

The cabin was over on Lake Kachess. It has the same feel and similar layout to our "dream cabin". John has owed me a trip here since he had a GUY'S WEEKEND here without the ladies. (I know, the nerve!)

This is the view of the cabin from down the hill. It looks out over Lake Kachess and the surrounding mountains - beautiful!

We went with our friends Nick & Renae and their three kids. 

The boys loved hanging out with "Uncle Nick" all weekend.

We took a drive into Cle Elum to look at properties - we're nerds like that. Oh, and we may or may not have been completely illegal in the car.

One of our favorite spots -

Back at the cabin, we took the kiddos for a walk down to the lake. 

The boys had so much fun throwing rocks and sticks in the water. 

The buddies - James and Nate ask to see Luke every day now.

Hi!

John and I took the long way home via Leavenworth.

Lunch at Gustav's -

Then a walk around Leavenworth - 

We watched the brass quartet play for a few minutes, then the boys had fun running up and down the small hill.

Best part of the afternoon - Santa and Mrs. Clause were walking around the street taking pictures with people. James saw them and asked "Who those red people were". Maybe it's time to at least show them a picture of Santa....?   :)

After walking around for a bit, the boys got their (very first) cocoa at Starbucks and we headed home. 

Oh, the rocks. Did I mention the rocks? There is a store in Leavenworth that sells the teeniest-tiniest baggie of colored rocks for an exorbitant price. One of us is a big softie and got the boys each a bag - of rocks. Such a guy thing. But the boys love their rocks.   :-)

I love that the boys are getting old enough to enjoy cool stuff... Makes Christmas a whole lot of fun this year!

She has a Name!

I am super indecisive when it comes to naming our kiddos. John and I both like short, easy to spell, "look good on a resume" type names - but with both James and Nate, we waited up to the last minute to completely decide.

James Ryan - I've always liked the name James, and we have at least 4 family members with James in their name. We tell each one that James is named after them! And we just like the sound of James Ryan. Other than that, Ryan has no specific meaning!

Nathan John - Nathan goes well with James, and again, it's another easy to spell/easy to say name. Middle name, John, is of course after Walter John the 4th (or 1st, 2nd, and 3rd!).

Baby Girl will be Bethany Michelle

Bethany - We had never talked about girl names before, but apparently both John and I have always really liked the name Beth. That, and I all the lovely ladies named Beth that I know are just awesome women.

Michelle - That's my middle name. Simple as that!

So that's that. We actually decided on a name WAY before baby's birth-day!

Can't wait to meet this wiggly little girl.

Is it too early for Christmas?

I'm usually a person who hates anyone who speaks of Christmas before Thanksgiving is over. It seems like sacrilege to skim over such an important holiday and skip to Christmas time.

This year is different for some reason. I can't wait for the Christmas season to be here. 

Partially because we're headed to the mountains right after Thanksgiving... because I've actually gotten a head start on shopping for gifts... because I'm doing an Advent Calendar similar to my friend April's - that I'm so excited about... because I saved my Christmas Pandora station from last year and very soon I can break it open... because our awesome friends are coming to visit the week after Christmas... And because it's just more fun as the boys get older and understand the season and what's going on!

So, not to blow through Thanksgiving 

- it's SUPER DUPER - 

but I'm really excited for Christmas.  :-)

New Toys for the Boys

Remember this picture from a couple months ago? 

Well, surprise!

When my husband - whom I love and adore - gets an idea in his mind, he doesn't stop until it happens. That means at age 2 & 3, James and Nate have their first dirt bikes!  (Insert subtle eye roll here.  ;-)

In the last week, John got some great deals on the exact same bikes. The boys were shocked - and love riding, looking at, "working on", being pushed on their new bikes.

The past few months, John and I have really looked at our hobbies and activities and narrowed down what we want to do and who we want to be as a family. Dirt bikes and the camper fit in that plan (along with cabin rentals and time shares for yours truly!), so I guess we might as well start 'em early with the bikes.

We've already had at least 3 "accidents" on the bikes as they just sit in the garage. The boys are learning not to climb up on the non-kick-stand side.  ;-)

We're thinking this spring/summer James will be ready to drive himself (with training wheels and safety gear). John will probably have to ride with Nate - but if you ask me, I don't think he'll mind AT ALL!