Christmas!

On Christmas Eve we had a big pancake breakfast (and we decided that would be a new tradition for us in the years to come)  then, we took the opportunity to watch Joy to the World with the kids. It's a short five minute video that tells the story of the birth of the Savior. We knew it would hold their attention better than reading the story out of the Bible. After watching the movie, we went ahead and opened one present each-- we opted for the ones from my parents. All of us got a new Boeing shirt! After that, it was off to bed so Parker and I could get everything to set up for the next morning. Christmas morning started at 6:30 a.m. and the excitement for new toys lasted the entire day. Colton refused to open any toys until he got a good 10 minutes of play time with his new airplane-- that is probably the first and last time we set up a toy the night before! After presents we enjoyed some monkey bread (so good!) and Christmas morning casserole (a must on Christmas day). Parker had strep throat all week (the worst I have ever seen) and he seemed to finally be getting better half way through the day, which we are all grateful for! We enjoyed this beautiful holiday, particularly celebrating the birth of our Savior. I cam across this quote and thought it was fitting:


"The greatest man in History, Jesus, had no servants, yet they called him Master, had no degree, yet they called him Teacher, had no medicines, yet they called him Healer, had no army, yet kings feared him, won no military battles, yet he conquered the world, committed no crime, yet they crucified him. He was buried in a tomb, yet he lives today. He is the reason for the season."
-Unknown 


Merry Christmas everyone!

Here is Colton and Paxton opening their one gift Christmas Eve.

 The tree and gifts ready for Christmas morning! We decided to set up Colton's remote control airplane the night before because we knew it would take a few minutes to put together.

 Paxton didn't know what was going on at first but he figured it out pretty quick-- take off the paper and get a new toy!

 Sporting a new beanie and some yummy Christmas Hershey kisses.....yes, I know, not my best picture!

 We gave Colton some big boy underwear. We told him it's what you wear after diapers and he just laughed. It's not how I pictured it going... I was hoping he would ask to wear them. No such luck.

 Colton loves this new toy. The two circles spin in opposite directions so the cars do figure eights until they crash into each other.

Paxton's First Birthday!

Paxton turned one on the fifteenth. I know, my baby is one and I am still freaking out about it! We had a few close friends (which we were grateful for because everyone was headed out of town for Christmas break!) over to celebrate with pizza and cake. Paxton loved all the attention and really seemed to enjoy his first birthday. Here are the birthday boys stats:

Weight: 22.25 pounds (40%)
Height: 30.5 inches (75%)

At age one, Paxton can:
*Wave on command
* Make "the angry face" on command
* Clap on command
* Take 4-6 steps before falling
* Climb up anything
* Get into standing position from sitting
* Say "Mama" and "Dadda"
* Raise his arms so we know he is done eating
* Will laugh to answer yes, to a yes/no question

Ready for some pizza!

Colton insisted on helping him eat the cake...

I didn't want to take him upstairs for a bath.... we opted for the kitchen sink.

Kind friends brought fun gifts for the little man!

I took some pictures of my boys....

Happy Birthday to the cutest one year old I know!

Love you Paxton!!!

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

We got our first tree this year (we have always been traveling so we didn't need to get one)! I love having one, it makes it feel way more Christmas-ey in the house. I put black and white pictures all over the tree-- some may think it's odd but, I love looking at the tree and remembering other favorite Christmas memories.

Anyone need a Pilates instructor? I have two that work for 2 cookies/ an hour. Let me know.

The Children's Museum

While home for Thanksgiving, we made a stop at the Everett Children's Museum. Colton was over whelmed with all the fun things to do but he settled right in and had a blast. Paxton also had a great time playing with a few things but mostly being carried around by Grandpa and Grandma. If you live in the Everett area, going here is a must!

There was a huge table with all of these plastic tubes. I had a good laugh when I noticed my dad just sat Paxton on the table and let him go crazy!

They had a mini stage where you could watch yourself on TV. Colton controlling all the lights and sound effects in this picture.

Paxton was loving this giant sized Connect 4 game.

Biggest water tables I have ever seen!

I wish Paxton was looking up in this picture!

Driving the commuter transit bus.

    

Santa made an appearance and Colton gave him a high five!

Pax wasn't sure about the guy with the beard...

Grandpa's Work

Colton has been very intrigued by airplanes as of late so we thought it would be fitting to head over to Boeing's flight center. We had a great time learning more about Boeing and Colton was in heaven playing pilot in the mock cockpit.

Looking at Boeing field from the roof of the flight center.

Grandpa, Colton, Dad, Mom

 

Colton playing with the plane/car set.

 Paxton posing with Grandpa and Grandma B!

Enjoying the movie about Boeing's new Dream Liner.

We couldn't get Colton out of this cockpit.... perhaps he will be a pilot some day!

A new coat

The Rexburg winters are brutal and a good coat is a must have. Grandma and Grandpa Lybbert purchased this awesome coat for Paxton. I like that it makes him look extra chubby.

Getting packed

While I was upstairs packing for our trip to Seattle, the boys were having a free for all in the pantry...

The Robot

Colton has always been a dancer. Recently, he has picked up on doing the robot.... here is a taste of his sweet dance moves!

Plasma

I have been donating plasma to make some extra cash for Christmas (two kids is twice the presents!). After donation, they wrap you with an electric colored spandexy material to apply pressure where the needle was. EVERY TIME I come home, Colton runs over to me and says "Owwwwww-ey!" Then he runs up stairs and grabs a band aid for his arm so we can be twins.

Trick-Or-Treat

Because we live in Rexburg, trick-or-treating was moved from Sunday to Saturday. My birthday was also on Saturday so we didn't have tons of time to trick-or-treat but Colton loved every minute of it! He walked right up to every door and would say "tri or treaaaa!" he would then wait for the person to put a handful of candy into his bag. At the same time, he would reach up and attempt to take a handful of candy out of the bowl. It was a bit of a nightmare but he seemed to understand the knocking on someones door and get candy concept quickly.

Church Halloween Party

Colton and Paxton had lots of fun at our church Halloween party. They didn't have trick-or-treating for the kids which I was a bit sad about but they did have a cake wale, balloon animals, and face painting which all the kids LOVED. The highlight of the night was when they attempted to get all the kids to do a costume parade around the room. Colton had a different idea in mind, the second the music turned on he started jumping up and down and it turned into a toddler mosh pit. We all had a good laugh at the kids dancing hard core to Halloween music!

 My wild animals.

 The ONLY picture I could get with Colton wearing the hood.

 Colton waiting for the cake walk to start.

 Colton was super stoked about the balloon sword she made for him.

 A cute little lion trying to walk!

 This picture makes me laugh because you can see how BIG the lion head is in the back!