Merry Christmas, everyone!

We wish you a Merry Christmas!

Waiting to come down the stairs to see what Santa left her!

Thomas, Thomas and more Thomas!

Opening a present is serious work

Aiden's First Christmas!

BIG NEWS!!!

It's official - we're moving! The closing date on our Vermont house is January 11th, the kids and I are flying to Michigan on the 8th, Aaron will arrive with the animals late on the 11th, and we'll start our "pit stop" life in an apartment in Grand Rapids. Aaron's new job starts on January 28th and we'll be frantically looking for a new house as soon as we get there! We're very excited to live closer to our families but we are going to miss our lives in Vermont.

On to the next chapter!

Olivia sings the tunes!

Here Comes Santa Claus

He's almost here and we're almost ready for him. Here are the cookies that Olivia decorated especially for Santa.

Don't worry Santa, we also made peanut butter cookies, pecan cookies, and fudge for you. We'll shake these cookies off a bit, and then we will to put them on Olivia's special "Cookie's for Santa" plate, and then some milk out (you'll need it Santa) and put the treats for the reindeer on Aiden's special plate. We have lots to do before bedtime tonight!

We busted Aiden getting into the presents yesterday. Sneaky little guy!

8 Months Old!

Aiden is officially crawling! He's been doing it for a little over a week now. He can also sit up by himself, pull himself to a standing position on a couch or other taller object, and has 5 teeth! Yup, three on top and two on the bottom. We're waiting for him to even out the score on top! He's eating more and more food and every now and again will even eat some baby food, otherwise, it's very small pieces of carrots, pears, beans and things like that. He also has a new trick - he likes to pull himself to standing when he's in his crib! It's lovely. We're just waiting for him to climb out and crack his head on the floor. He is such a trouble maker!

It won't quit snowing!!!

Getting ready to go outside

Come on Santa, we're almost ready for you!

The kiddos are getting ready for Santa! Here's Aiden looking too good for his Santa hat. I imagine him thinking, "Hey Big Fat Man, where are all those presents I keep hearing about?!" Doesn't it look like his hand is out, ready for presents?

Here's Olivia at the library with her Rudolph nose on. She wouldn't let me take a picture of her with the reindeer antlers on! Too bad, it was quite cute.

Baking with Mommy in her way-too-cute-to-get-dirty-apron from Nana.
Coming to eat the camera. Seriously. 4 teeth now, with more on the way.
He seems to think that everything belongs in the mouth!

All Aboard the Santa Express!

On Saturday we rode the Santa Express and picked up Santa and Mrs. Claus on the way! Olivia was very excited to take her first train ride and was thrilled when Santa gave both of them presents! We took a two hour ride and had lunch on the train. It was lots of fun! Here are a couple of pictures of our trip!

A little nap on the train ride!

And now awake, but not happy about the Santa hat Mommy put on his head!

Getting ready to depart the station.

They just announced that Santa was boarding the train!!!

Standing in front of the train! (Do you see Santa in the background?)

A happy boy with his toy from Santa! (I mean Aiden, of course.)

Advent Calendar

We got a new Christmas decoration over the weekend! I've been wanting an Advent calendar for some time now, and Aaron found this one at my favorite place to shop in Keene. That's where we saw Santa (wow, he really gets around these days!) and Olivia and Aiden actually sat on his lap! We weren't expecting to see him there, so we weren't quite prepared - we didn't have our camera and the kids weren't dressed appropriately for their first time on Santa's lap, but since she was willing to sit on his lap, we jumped at the chance! The picture should be arriving in the mail later this week. I'll be sure to scan it and post it on the blog!

A Very Busy Friday

We started Friday off with a new playgroup here in Springfield. Then we met the Bertone kids at the Montshire and ended the night with the tree lighting and a visit with Santa in downtown Springfield. Here are a few pictures of our very busy Friday!

Aiden at playgroup

Aiden and Lorelei at the Montshire Museum

He's so close to crawling!

At the Montshire

It was a really chilly night at the tree lighting! Aiden went happily to Santa, but Olivia didn't want to get too close. She did, however, speak with Mrs. Claus and was more than happy to accept the gift she offered her!

Dancing with Ethan to the Christmas Carols!

Quick Aiden Update

Aiden had his second flu shot on Thursday afternoon and we had him weighed - 19 pounds and 9 ounces! That's about what Olivia weighed when she was one, I believe.
He is now eating people food too! He won't really eat baby food, but he will eat pears and carrots all chopped up. We think we see another tooth, but this time it's on top!
He's scooting all over the place and we think he'll start crawling any day now. He pulls himself around the house and gets into EVERYTHING! We've cleared the bottom shelves and Olivia is becoming an expert on what he can and cannot have. We just wish he'd figure it out too!

Decorating the Christmas Tree

Her best cheesy smile

He wants to help, but not with this on his head!

Getting ready for Santa!

You have to start with the tree first!

Tree Hunting

Aiden rides in style

We know it may be a bit early, but we're quite excited to have Christmas at home this year, so we already have our tree! (Although we will miss our families VERY much, Aaron's excited to NOT travel, I'm excited to do all the Vermont Christmas things we miss out on every year, and Olivia's excited to come downstairs and see what Santa left her!)

We went on Sunday to find and cut down our tree, and now it's just waiting to be decorated! Aaron had to cut a bunch off the bottom so Aiden won't eat it, and we put some presents under it already! Olivia can't wait for Santa to come to add more! First, we need to find a stocking for Aiden!

Going down the path to the trees!

Waiting on the cart

Watching Daddy cut it down

Daddy's Trumpet

Daddy found his trumpet in the attic and Olivia thought it was pretty cool! She loves musical instruments! We wonder what she'll choose to play...

Hello!

Aiden in the car