Christmas with the McClain's

On Saturday, December 23, we had our Christmas with Terry and Jody & Dave and Bethany's family. We let the little kids open presents, then made the yearly trip to GoJo's then came back for more presents and games!

Someone was excited to get her first LaLaLoopsy!

Courtney loves to try the chopsticks!

I'm so proud of her for trying and liking their soup! I haven't even tried it!

Countdown 1

Christmas eve is finally here! 32 days of counting down really made the anticipation for this day very exciting for Courtney! I'm not sure if I can do 32 next year...maybe 25. We'll see after a year's break. 

Today we made elf donuts and cookies for Santa and his elves. We also sprinkled reindeer food on the front year! Courtney had fun making the donuts. I made a simple icing of powdered sugar and water and then we speared Cheerios with toothpicks and then dipped them in icing and sprinkles. I have saved paper clip boxes since August (the beginning of school) for this project! They were the perfect size for teensy donuts!

The spread of goodies for all our overnight guests!

Sprinkling reindeer food on the lawn. She is VERY concerned they won't be able to see it. We came with all kinds of things to tell her including that Rudolph's nose would make it bright enough to see. She replied that Rudolph wasn't real!! I'm not sue why that came out of her mouth, but maybe just because an animal with a light up nose isn't real Santa is a person. He can be real. Hopefully that is how it will be for many more years. 

Countdown 2

Today we went to church and had Christmas at Steve and Leslie's. Our whole family was a part of the service today! Courtney was an angel and Dan, Ryan and I were Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus. After church we went to Steve and Leslie's to have dinner, open presents and Steve's tradition of decorating sugar cookies.

Countdown 3

Dan made Courtney Christmas tree waffles for breakfast! My treat of the day was getting to sleep in! Yay! He did a great job and they were super cute!

Countdown 4

New Christmas book!

Countdown 5

We had a snow day today!! Courtney was excited to play in the snow. We even let Ryan sit in it for a little bit but I was pretty cold and windy!

Since we were going to be home I switched up the order of our daily surprise and it was Christmas movie and popcorn day!

Countdown 6

 Courtney's grandparents Steve and Leslie wanted to take Courtney to Union Station and ride the train! What a cool idea and a wonderful experience for Courtney! We read the polar express before she left and then she watched the movie and had hot chocolate with them. They left Lees Summit and rode the train a little over an hour downtown. They went all around Crown Center and Union Station before coming home. Courtney had a great time on her REAL Polar Express adventure!

Waiting at the train station with Papa Steve and her hot chocolate!

Courtney is always meeting a new friend!

Papa and Courtney in Union Station. 

The fourth time seeing Santa!

Pretty lights. Pretty girls. 

Countdown 7

In anticipation of Courtney's real train trip we read "Polar Express"! Ryan loved it!!

8 months and photo shoot steps (at our house)

Ryan is 9 months old! He weighs 17 lbs 6 oz (7th %ile) and is in the 10th % for height. Even though he is a tiny guy, we get all kinds of remarks from people about how well fed and fat he looks! The doctor was completely fine with his weight and weight gain, so if she is fine, I'm fine! Ryan has started cruising. I even caught him standing all alone a few times! He likes to play with his big kitchen and pull up toys that make lots of noises. I started him on table food (bananas, bits of bread, carrots). Soon we will add more fruits, yogurt and whatever else we can think of! The kid LOVES to eat! I am still pumping 3 times a day at school and some days its hard to make enough, so after a long time thinking about it, we started him on one bottle of formula a day. I LOVE our time together to feed, but I sure am counting down the days until I get to stop pumping at work. 

Ryan still has NO teeth. I was for sure he was working on some right before Thanksgiving, but no. I though so again last week, but no.  I recently heard that that the later teeth come in, the better they are. Hopefully thats the case. 

 

Here is how monthly photo shoots go at our house. Momma gets everything set and in position with the camera. Dad readies himself with Cheerios. I tuck Courtney behind me to be silly and make Ryan laugh. On "go" Dad places Ryan in position with a few Cheerios. Courtney makes him laugh. Momma gets a few shots. Ryan crawls away. Daddy grabs Ryan.

 Dad places Ryan in position with a few Cheerios. Courtney makes him laugh. Momma gets a few shots. Ryan crawls away. Daddy grabs Ryan.

 Dad places Ryan in position with a few Cheerios. Courtney makes him laugh. Momma gets a few shots. Ryan crawls away. Daddy grabs Ryan. This goes on until momma is happy with a few shots.

I love this sweet boy!