Celebrating Christmas (Part II)

Uncle Jeff lives in D.C. now, so he wanted to make the most of his time in Ohio and come visit with us! We went down to the Museum to see the Holiday Junction display.


They also have a "Toys Through the Years" exhibit and for some reason or another, the boys were enthralled with this (what some would call boring) video explaining how the toys worked.

Daddy and the boys on the last remaining Cincinnati street car.

Celebrating Christmas (Part I)

We began Christmas week on Friday the 19th when Daddy got off of work and his vacation started. We drove up to Grandma and Grandpa's house and the boys were all sorts of wound up with the decorations, treats, and piles of presents they saw!

All the family was together on Saturday and we did our annual picture in front of the tree.

Charlie opened his gift and he doesn't know that he has the right to tell his older brothers to back off! Being bigger, they thought it was their job to inspect everything he got to see if was neat enough for them to play with.

This is one of many times throughout the next week that Charlie put some odd thing on his head. He'll probably grow up to be the guy that thinks it's funny to put a lampshade on his noggin.

Louie & Benny each got a kid digital camera and patient Uncle Nick volunteered to get it started for them. They hovered in anticipation.

This quickly became Charlie's favorite toy.

Mommy & Charlie playing with the Little People house (with a "working" toilet!).

Charlie and Aunt Jill.

All's Well

I called the neighborhood heat & air guy, he came about an hour later and fixed our furnace!! I actually think it works better than before, which is great because our bedroom was usually like a fridge.

Kevin has a full day of work today and then we head up to Grandma and Grandpa's in Columbus to start Christmas Week. As you can imagine, the boys were ready to go when they woke up! Good news, though: my great friend Katie is in town from LA and we get to spend the day with her! The boys love her, so that'll keep them occupied until after rush hour :)

Christmas Art

Louie's Number Wreath

Louie's hand tree (I just love art made out of handprints)

Louie's Hand Reindeer ornament.

Benny was so proud of his manger scene. He went around all day telling people he made Baby Jesus.

(I'm having trouble getting pictures in the right direction today.) They talked about "'J' is for Jesus" and turned a candy cane into a "J" then pasted a Baby Jesus and star on it.

~Happy Holidays~

The day before the kids get out for Christmas break, the three classes put on a performance of the Nativity and then sing a few Christmas carols.

The thing is, they don't tell the kids about it until about ten minutes before they perform.

It's probably a good strategy, because I imagine there are some shy kids who may not show up, or some outgoing kids who would fight over being Mary & Joseph. Louie ended up being a shepherd, which he was very excited about, and Benny wore nothing. Well, no costume. He could have been an angel or a sheep (the 3-year-old options), but he refused to put on anything. No big surprise.

Grandma R. came with us to see the show, the only one where two Hess kids are a part of it. Of course as Murphy's law would have it, the battery for the camcorder was dead so there is no video to document the occasion.

Benny coming in, following Harper the sheep and Nora the angel is after him.

Pastor Pat with Joseph, Mary getting denied by the Inn Keeper.

This little girl worked hard for her job. She held the star up high during the whole show.

The Three Wise Men make an appearance. Is it just me, or does the one on the right look like a Dr.Evil in training?

Louie the shepherd is checking out the star that the Wise Men are following. His friend Jonah watches, too.

Charlie was annoyed that the show wasn't on a stage. Parents kept popping up, making it hard to see what was going on. Maybe his mommy should have come earlier to get a front-row seat.

Miss Sue, kindly helping Benny be a part of the show.

Merry Christmas to you all!

The Heat's Out

We woke up to a house that was 57 degrees and now it is 56, with the temperature outside being 30. Charlie and I just got back from the boys' Christmas program at school and we're not taking our coats off! I'm not sure what's going on, but boy, it's a bit arctic in our home.

My guess is that heating and air places are super busy this time of year and I wonder if we'll get someone to come out. My dream home has a fireplace in it and what better time to have one than now. Good thing is that our electric does work, so I may bring the space heaters out of the boys' rooms and into the living room.

Or, we could just go outside and start a bonfire in the firepit because I think the 56 that reads on the thermostat is very generous!

P.S. I'll post some pictures from the Christmas program later today.

Holidayitis

The boys are driving me NUTS!

After long consideration, the only thought I have is that they are so wound up over a certain holiday's impending arrival.

I want to blame it on lack of sleep, too many activities going on, the weather, but it is what it is.

Too much excitement = a bunch of crazies in the house. They scream, they wrestle, they refuse to understand what "Santa's watching!" means.

I'm not down on the Christmas season, I just want a manual on how to handle the five and under crowd for this time of year. Or a vacation.