Christmas festivities 2011

 Merry Christmas!  This year, we flew to Kansas City so Doug could  go pheasant hunting with his dad,  we could attend the Putthoff family Christmas (last time we went Mary was 6 months old), to be Godparents and witnesses to our beautiful niece's baptism, and of course, to celebrate Christmas.    There was lots of food, lots of laughter and lots of family.    I learned that you can tell a 4 yr old and a 2 yr old that they can open 2 presents on Christmas morning and then they have to wait patiently the rest of the day until their cousins come to open the rest...and they do.   I learned that kids can make friends in a heartbeat, simply by playing.  I'm envious.  I learned that family is what's important.  Not money, not "things", but the love and craziness of family.

We had an amazingly relaxing Christmas...at least until 4:30-ish when the Shultes arrived.  I thought it was amusing to look around and see Brian and Doug on the computer, Carrie and baby Willa napping, Dad and I on our phones...and this was just the living room.  Upstairs, both Mary and Adam were napping in our bed and Mom was, well, in the sewing room, either handwriting individual Christmas cards or watching t.v. or checking the computer.     

Baby Willa got her Christmas bath and Godmother, Kendra just had to get a picture.  Not to shabby for the phone camera.  That is one beautiful little girl.

After nap, we took the kids to the playground at the elementary school near the house.  It was a beautiful day to kick a ball.

Merry Christmas!  

Kinda funny that Doug's the only one looking (and smiling) at the camera.  

The Putthoff Christmas 2011

One of the nice things about being in KC for Christmas is that we were able to attend the Putthoff family Christmas in Appleton City yesterday.  It was great to see so many relatives in one place.

Mary was so excited about her cousins Carli and Gus.  The two girls immediately started on an activity book.  I overheard Mary saying," Carli, you're so smart.  It's because you go to school everyday, right?"

 There was snacking.  (Doug with Aunt Jane)

 And talking...  (Bev, Natalie, Laura and Rita)

We saw ducks...in the back of a truck? 

 And more ducks,

and ducking under tables.

 Of course, there were presents and some super excited little kids.

 And there was just some good 'ole socializing.

 Joy-  Playing with a slimy goop that makes a "flatulence" sound.  

 Happy kids with their Papa.

 I love that they get along so well...at least at this age.

Mary had a great time running around with cousins Drew and Nate before we left.  When we got in the car, Mary said, "I really liked playing with them.  It makes it so much easier when they speak the same language.  It's hard to understand people when they don't speak your language."  How true.

 And finally, you know it was a successful day when Mary falls asleep in the car on the way home and Adam falls asleep on the floor in the hallway.

A day packed with excitement!

I can't believe my baby is 2 years old already.  It seems like just yesterday I was waddling around the neighborhood telling him his lease was up and it was time to greet the world.  That night, he decided to listen and came charging out and hasn't quit moving since.  Doug's out of town and so we decided we'll have a small family party with cake on Sunday, but since today is his actual birth day, I couldn't ignore it.  The kids and I had a great day.  Too bad Doug missed it, but to be honest, I don't know if he would have had the energy to keep up with us.  ;)

The day started off with a breakfast smiley face of sausage and french toast and LOTS of syrup.  YUM!

We then headed to the Children's Museum and let Adam pick where he wanted to explore.  Is it any surprise that we spent the majority of our time in the train section?  Mary was extremely patient even though she wanted to go to other areas.  

 We did have a fun time in the bubble room.  Mary's getting really good pulling the rope at just the right speed to be enclosed in a bubble.

 Adam liked it, but would always try to touch it and of course, it would pop.

 After a quick lunch and NO nap for either of them (Mary said they were just too excited about Adam's birthday), we headed to Chuck E. Cheese for some good ole fun and games...

 ...and can't forget the pizza!

 We walked away with some super cheap toys and some extremely happy children (and mommy, since I didn't have to cook).  Since today needed to be extra special and we didn't have a cake, we made a quick stop at the local DQ for a mini Blizzard.  It was so good, I couldn't get a non-blurry shot.  Oh well, you can tell he loved it.

 And just because I didn't want the wonderful day to end (and I wanted to make sure they'll go to bed early and fast), we stopped at the house down the street that actually has a sign:  Please park your car and walk through.  So we did.  It was amazing.  They even had Christmas music playing through speakers.  We were the only ones there at first, so I just let the kids run.  By the way, this is Doug's dream home.  It has a 2 car attached garage and a 3 car detached garage.  I swear the garages look bigger than the house...but the house is quite impressive too.  I guess when you have that much money, you need something to spend it on.  

 Mary said this is the only picture I'm going to get of her and Santa this year.  She's flat out told me she will not sit in his lap.  Thankfully, she wasn't scared of a doll.

Happy Birthday, Adam! You bring so much joy to our family.  We love you!

Ornament Art

When we first got married, we had no Christmas ornaments.  We spent the first few years collecting new and fun ornaments from places we travelled and lived.  For some reason, a large majority of those are breakable and once you have kids, you realize just how impractical that really is (at least when they're this young). Adam thinks every ball is meant to be thrown and Mary likes to touch and play with every single one.  I swear, I pick up and replace at least 4 of them a day.  Having a "Charlie Brown" tree is bad enough.  Having one with just a handful of ornaments is even worse.  This year, I decided that the kids and I would make some Gingerbread ornaments.  I originally thought making popcorn garland would be fun, but then I had visions of walking into the living room and finding Adam eating off the tree.  I got onto my new favorite website pinterest.com and looked up gingerbread ornaments (yes, I've never made them before).  Did you know that most of the recipes called for real gingerbread cookies?  Umm, how do you keep your kids from eating them off the tree?  Do they really last from year to year?  Once I again, I had nightmares of Adam eating them, but they would be stale and moldy and I kept picturing the emergency room visit and the projectile vomiting...not sure if it came from him or me.  Anyway, I finally found a salt dough recipe that couldn't have been easier.

1/2 cup salt

1/2 cup warm water

1 cup flour 

Of course, the wonderful "gingerbread" smell wouldn't be in this, so I added a bunch of cinnamon and a couple dashes of nutmeg.  I even used extra cinnamon sprinkled on the counter to keep the dough from sticking.  Perfect!

Mary had a great time helping me roll out and cut festive shapes.  Adam thought we were making real cookies and couldn't wait to try it.  Bless his heart (one of my favorite southern phrases), he spit it out quite quickly once he realized it tasted like salt.

Make sure you poke a hole in them before cooking them.  I used a toothpick.  Bake at 250 degrees for 2 hours, or until hard.  They don't expand, so you can actually fit more on the cookie sheet if you want.

They ended up having a cool pale brown, speckly color (and they smell wonderful), but I thought it would be even better if they were painted.  I still have lots of paint leftover from the alphabet project.

And if you're wondering what to do with the leftover dough, I rolled it up and had Mary make a hand print.  Darn, it turned out so well, I think I need to make another batch so Adam can do one too.  :)  They're really light as a feather, hard as a rock and salty as...well, salt dough.  I can't wait to string them up and get them on the tree.  This recipe made 27 small ornaments a one handprint.  And yes, I did catch Adam trying to eat one earlier...he was unsuccessful.  Whew!  

Don't be surprised if you find one of these attached to your Christmas present this year.