Christmas Programs

Last Thursday Makenna had two Christmas programs, one at her preschool, and one at her dance class. These were both firsts for Makenna, and I was so excited to watch, and see how she would perform. Would she be her normal loud, outgoing self, or would she clam up and be shy and nervous?

Her preschool program was first, and it was SO cute. She attends a preschool that is part of a large church, and therefore the program was very Christ-centered, which was great. Makenna's class was the first to perform, and she was right in the center of her group, next to her cousin Ellie. They performed 6 songs, and Makenna was so funny. She sang/yelled all of the songs, and was the loudest in her class! I was video-taping the performance, and kept shaking the camera because I was giggling almost the whole time. When she practiced the songs at home, she would sing loudly, but I wasn't expecting her to sing so loud during the performance. Afterwards my sister-in-law commented that we should get Makenna into the performing arts.

Since I was video-taping, I didn't get any pictures of the performance, but Makenna was happy to pose with 'baby Jesus' afterwards to snap a few.

Makenna and her cousin Ellie
Hudson joined in as well

John took the morning off of work so that he could be there to watch her program.

Later that same afternoon, Makenna's dance class put on a small Christmas performance for the moms and dads to watch. This is Makenna's first year taking dance, and she LOVES it. She is in the same class as her cousins Ellie and Olivia, and looks forward to going to class every week. Lucky for us moms, the teacher lined the 3 girls up right next to each other. (I am hoping they will do this come recital time as well!)

Makenna, Ellie, and Olivia

Makenna's class

It was so fun for me as a mom to watch Makenna in both of her Christmas programs. She did so well in both, and I can't wait to see many more programs in the years to come.

The Nutcracker

Last weekend my mom treated all of the girls in our family to tickets to see The Nutcracker. Makenna and I read the book beforehand so that she would be familiar with the story, and she was SO excited to go.



In front of the Orpheum Theater with my two sister-in-laws, and their 3 girls. The only girls in our family that were missing were my sister and her 2 girls who live in Phoenix. Hopefully they'll be able to come next time!

The 4 girls. Makenna has really enjoyed living close to her cousins.

And the woman who made it all possible!

The little girls seemed to really enjoy watching the performance. They are all taking dance classes, so they enjoyed watching all of the dancing. Although I think it was more about the beautiful costumes than the choreography...at least for this 4 year old.

Thanksgiving Recap

Wow! Is it already mid-December?? This really is a busy time of year! Well back when it was still November, we had the opportunity of travelling to Colorado to spend Thanksgiving with all of John's family. We were so excited that all 3 of his younger brothers and their wives were able to come too. John's parents were kind enough to rent a house for us all to stay in rather than splitting up between their house and hotels. The kids LOVED all of the attention they received from their aunts and uncles. Since Makenna and Hudson are the only grand kids on John's side of the family, they get to claim all of the attention for themselves. We had so much fun cooking, eating, playing games, swimming, watching movies, going bowling, shopping, jumping on the trampoline, etc. etc. We are already looking forward to our next Holiday with the Pawlowski family, and only wish we could see everyone more often.

Playing games on Uncle Dan's computer
Jumping on the trampoline

Aunt Natalie and Makenna being bounced by Daddy

The day before we left, we took a trip up to Estes Park. Apparently this was my second trip (I went with my mom and dad when I was a baby...I don't think that counts).
Watching a glass-blowing demonstration...a.k.a. the warmest store in town!

Family Birthday Party

Yesterday, my mom and dad hosted a family birthday party for the 3 grand kids who have November birthdays: Makenna, Hudson, and their cousin Lane. Makenna was SO excited to celebrate with all of her cousins. There were 14 adults and 9 kids total, so it was a full house. It was really fun to celebrate all 3 birthdays together. I think this will become a new tradition for us.

All of the presents

Eating dinner at a table set for 20! (Three of the older kids sat up on the bar stools on the island.)
Opening presents

After presents, we sang to each of the kids separately. My mom bought a cute little toy to put on the cake to represent each child.

First was Hudson with his 2 candles
Then Makenna with 4 candles
And finally Lane with 7 candles
Hudson didn't even eat any cake or ice cream, because he was too busy playing with his new trucks.

After running around for a few hours with her cousins, Makenna was ready for a little down time, which she found snuggling on the couch with her grandpa.

Makenna's 4th Birthday!

Nine days after Hudson turned 2, Makenna turned 4. She was SO excited for her birthday, and talked about it everyday for weeks.

We started the morning with some Lucky Charms, and silly faces.

Then we made and decorated cupcakes. Makenna very carefully put sprinkles on all of the cupcakes.

After Hudson's nap, we headed to the zoo, where John met us. It was the warmest day of the week, and as we went to the zoo during the last 2 hours that it is open, we pretty much had the place to ourselves. It was so fun to just let the kids run around and not have to worry about losing them in a crowd. It was also feeding time at the zoo, so we got to see a lot of very active animals. Our favorites were the bats that were flying everywhere.

After the zoo, Makenna picked McDonald's for dinner, and then it was time to head home for cupcakes and presents.

We bought Makenna a Leapster Explorer, which she absolutely loves. Hudson was pretty interested in it as well. I have a feeling that we may have to get him one also in a year or two. I love how the games are fun and educational. This is how Makenna spent the rest of her birthday night...playing her Leapster.

Hudson's 2nd Birthday!

Hudson turned 2 earlier this month, and we had a fun time celebrating. John was out of town on his birthday, but luckily 2-year-olds don't mind celebrating a few days early.

We started with some cupcakes.


And then quickly moved on to some presents. Makenna had fun picking out and wrapping 3 little cars to give to Hudson.
John and I got Hudson the Little Tikes Cozy Coupe, which he LOVES. Since it is starting to get colder here, we set the car up in our unfinished basement, where the kids have plenty of room to ride around.

The kids took turns riding in the car and the trailer.

Hudson is starting to talk a lot more on his own (not just repeating things that he is asked). He is also starting to say 2 and 3 word sentences. Hudson has also recently made the transition to a toddler bed, since he figured out how to get out of his crib. So far, he does a really good job staying in his bed at night, but sometimes ends up taking his naps on the floor or in the rocking chair. So far the 'terrible two's' have not hit yet, and Hudson continues to be such a sweet, happy little boy. We are so grateful to have him in our family.

Halloween Costumes

This year our family costume theme was from The Little Mermaid. I'll give you 1 guess on who decided on that theme...and no, it wasn't John. Makenna already had her costume, given to her by John's parents, so we added a red wig, and she was done. Hudson was originally going to be Flounder, but the only costumes I could find were either too small, or WAY too expensive (like $200+ !!). So, we decided to let him be the shark. He loves sharks, so this worked out well. Makenna wanted John to be King Triton and for me to be Ursula. I made/put together these costumes with the help of my mom and her sewing machine. We sewed and stuffed Ursula's tentacles, and then also sewed John's skirt...I mean tail, and fins. It was actually quite fun coming up with what we wanted to make. Thanks mom for helping me out!

We all wore our costumes to our church's Trunk or Treat.
Makenna was thrilled to see that one of her cute friends from church was dressed up as the human Ariel.
Of course the best part of it all was the candy.

On Halloween night, the kids were really excited to go trick-or-treating. My mom and dad joined us for a trip around the block, during which time the kids both filled their baskets.

When we got home, Makenna and I sorted all of her candy into piles. I use to do this every Halloween as a kid, so it was fun to be able to start this tradition with Makenna.