from thanksgiving on, the end of the year just flew by at warp speed. we were so busy between wrapping up the building project, to decorating for the holidays, baking and cooking, shopping and getting ready for our oahu trip, we even squeezed in a 12-day pass at the alaska club to enjoy some swimming and water park fun. (i really need to invest in a waterproof camera.) watching the kiddos transform into underwater-breath-holding-fishies was quite remarkable! dylan has no fear (umm, scary to say the least) and even with my extra-cautious son, he still turned into a dare devil, holding his breath and swimming underwater for what seemed like several, several seconds. i think swimming lessons are in our near future...
baking. while i like to (usually!) spread out cookie making over multiple days, i found myself on Christmas Eve-Eve with bare countertops that should have been filled with plates of cookies! so we pumped out 4 different kinds: the token peanut butter blossoms, gingerbread drop cookies with white chocolate chips in the centers, pumpkin whoopie pies with super-delish cream cheese fillings and an amazing (and oh-so simple) thin mint cookie version of the girl scout gem. oh my. by night's end, i paid for this cookie making marathon. i could barely stand, let alone walk! but - totally worth the pregnancy pain, i should add.
jack helped roll the balls of dough in sugar for me.
he even had fun placing them on the cookie sheet.
because there's SO much empty space between baking times, we had to find something to fill the void. jb decided there weren't possibly enough toys out in the great room so he dragged out all their favorites. bella was quite appreciative of his effort.
speaking of the bean...
this is how she spends most days. the last of the bulldogs is getting up there in age. i can't believe she'll be NINE this year! i still remember the very day we brought her home. "mem-ries, like the corners of my mind..." she still has moments of friskiness, but for the most part, she's a great couch companion.
exhibit B
and, if you've ever heard the thing about dogs sensing a pregnancy???
...yeah, me either.
oooh, i had almost forgot! (no, surprise.) we spent the better part of november and december making homemade play dough for our friends! such a fun craft for all! the kiddos LOVED kneading out the extra warm dough, and ok, ok, i really liked that part, too. i can't even recall how many batches we made, but i had several store runs to grab more salt and cream of tartar because i ran out frequently. we made red, yellow with red glitter, white with a rainbow of glitter, green with red and yellow glitter, the bluish-green seen below. and, just when i thought i was out of ideas, we added kool-aid to the mix (instead of food coloring) and voila! we had super-yummy smelling orange and berry play dough! the possibilities are endless with this craft. we included alaska-themed cookie cutters and the recipe with our gift.
we spend many winter evenings rough-housing. ok, so when i say "we," i mean ben and the kids. that's my time to sit back and relax... and ok, cringe at the sight of them almost getting hurt. ben discovers new ways to almost break a limb(s), and while i have to look away initially, i find myself marveling at them all. he's the perfect dada for these wild and crazy miebs kiddos.
then, there's those tender moments that i spy out of the corner of my eye: the siblings, cuddled up together - smooching, poking eyes, giggling, picking noses, hugging, pretend sleeping. i'm so thankful for their displays of love. most of the time, they pick on each other until someone is screaming (dylan) or someone is crying (jack). i cherish moments like this.
through ben's work, they had this fill a backpack, fill a need program for the holidays. we thought this was an excellent way to make a child's christmas. we could choose the gender and age of the child, so naturally, we chose to shop for a 5-6 year old boy and a 2-3 year old girl.
when we brought our loot home, the kids helped us take off tags and place everything into the backpacks - scarf & hat sets, books, stickers, crayons and coloring/paint books, hair ties, football and matchbox trucks, super-soft blankies big enough to wrap up in and little figurine play sets. stuffed animals/dollies. bath bubbles, toothbrushes and toothpaste. it was so much fun putting everything together. i'm hopeful the little girl that opened this backpack was as excited about her gift as dylan was to help.
and, just as i love seeing sweet moments of my kiddos together, i have to thank my benji for capturing this gem. oh, jb, i love you so.
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