Christmas Time

We had a very nice Christmas this year at home. We were happy to not have to travel anywhere (although we would have loved to be with family), and we had some nice relaxing days.

For our Christmas Eve dinner we had a baked ham, potatoes au gratin, green beans and homemade rolls. Dessert was our traditional crunchy ice cream balls. We read the story of Jesus' birth from Luke chapter 2 and sang a few Christmas carols. Anwyn played the piano for us to sing Silent Night, as well as We Wish You a Merry Christmas. The girls are still young enough that they didn't really have any trouble going to bed on time, then Jared and I got busy wrapping presents.

Christmas morning we were awake at our customary 7 a.m. The girls opened their stockings, we had a quick bite to eat, and then it was present time.

I guess we didn't really take that many photos this year. We had a lazy morning in our pajamas playing with our new things.

In the evening we went over to our friends' house (the Kays). We had great food, the kids played nicely (with dress-ups, a new game called Zingo, and much running and yelling among other things) and the adults even got to play a few games (Ticket to Ride and Dutch Blitz).

Anwyn is 5!

Anwyn turned 5 years old on Christmas Day. Wow! It's hard to believe we have a 5 year old daughter already. She is such a joy to have in our family.

With a birthday the same day as Christmas, we have had to do things a little differently when celebrating her special day. This year we opted to do the family portion of her birthday on the 26th. We will be having a party with friends in a few weeks (after the Christmas rush).

She was quite happy with the addition of a suspension bridge to her train set, along with a CTR necklace and two Fancy Nancy books.


Anwyn chose ice cream for her special birthday treat. So we gathered up 5 candles for her to blow out, after we sang the birthday song.

Anwyn wanted to share some of the words that she knows how to spell:
Cat Hat Rat Fat Tat Dog Hog Log Fog Frog Do 12345678910 Anwyn Family

Advent Tree

Our Advent Calendar Christmas Tree. Anwyn opened all or most of the pockets and told us where she wanted the ornaments. Notice how duplicates are grouped together. She likes to keep things organized. :)

9 Things for 2009

As the year 2009 draws to an end, here are 9 things we did this year:

1. Lily turned 2 years old and started to talk.

2. Anwyn began taking piano lessons (from mommy) and started preschool.

3. Kristi did “mommy things” like feeding and reading and playing with kids.

4. Jared looked at a lot of brains.

5. We found out that a baby boy will be joining our family in the spring of 2010.

6. We spent a fun day at Animal Kingdom.

7. We cheered the Florida Gators and the BYU Cougars in their good football seasons.

8. We explored a lot of nature parks in Gainesville

9. We played at the beach on both sides of Florida.

From our family to yours, we wish you a very Merry Christmas!

The Firestation, a Program, and a Recital

We had a a few holiday based activities this week. Thursday morning we went with some friends to the Firestation. We sang Jingle Bells for the firemen, and then we got to see the big red firetrucks. The girls were pretty excited to have their own fire hats to wear.

Thursday afternoon was Anwyn's holiday party at her Preschool. Her class did a little play for all of the families. Anwyn was a chicken. It was cute and she gave us a great big bear hug for the conclusion of the play.

Saturday evening was the annual Christmas recital for my piano students. I have 10 students this year, and they all did a really great job. Anwyn played two songs, Baby Owl and Jolly Old Saint Nicholas. Here is a video clip of her Christmas song.

In an effort help my students recognize and be able to play quickly the notes on the staff, I started a One-Minute Club for my students. To be a member of the club, students had to name and play the 16 notes between Bass C and Treble C, using their flashcards (not including sharps and flats). Anwyn had the fastest time of all my students--39 seconds!--even though she is my youngest student. I can attest to the fact that she practiced hard to earn her membership in the club.

Christmas Colors

We are excited and getting ready for Christmas! The girls love the Christmas tree and its ornaments. We have to keep the breakable ones up away from Lily who aptly is described as a hurricane or a tornado, leaving a swath of destruction in her wake.

Here are some photos from today after church.

Can you find Lily? She is in the photo.

The girls were spinning around and falling down. We got this cute shot.

Big sister doing curls with Lily. Gotta work those biceps!

Can we just stick the girls on the tree as ornaments?