Christmas Pageant

Aaron and Helena starred in their first Holiday Pageant at church on Christmas Eve. Helena was an angel and Aaron was a Shepherd. They took their parts very seriously and did a fantastic job on Christmas Eve. It was so nice to see them dressed up and celebrating the birth of Baby Jesus.

Our little Angel, Helena

Aaron poses with Alex and Frankie (the older Shepherd who was SO good with the younger kids)

Aaron awaits his entrance

Helena sees the older girls singing in the choir and decides to join in

Daddy and Natalie ready to watch the Pageant

The North Pole Express

We were lucky enough to get tickets to The North Pole Express this year. Aaron loves trains and with the kids so excited about Christmas and Santa Claus, we were happy to be going. Aunt Kristie, Maya and Callaway came along too, and even though it was a late night, we had a fantastic time!

Maya, Callaway, Aaron and Helena pose outside the train

Helena and Daddy wait for our train to pull up

Aaron and Daddy make silly faces

Helena anxiously waits for the ride to begin

Callaway flashes a handsome smile

Hot Cocoa and cookies made by Mrs. Claus

Chocolate Mustache

All of the children received a special gift from Santa, a bell!

A visit from Mrs. Claus

Maya and Aaron

Santa stopped by too!

Gingerbread Houses

We decided to make Gingerbread Houses with all of the cousins this year. It was so much fun, the kids enjoyed spreading on the frosting and choosing their favorite candies. Aaron's favorite motto as he was making his selections, "One for me, one for my house."

Callaway intently works on his creation

Auntie Jill and Natalie observe from the side

Julian carefully places his licorice

Marshall joins in the fun

Maya carefully frosts her house

Helena samples the decorations

Lexi, Helena and Ainsley

Finshed products: Helena, Ainsleyy, Lexi, Aaron, Callaway, Maya and Julian

Little Cruiser

At ten and a half months, Natalie is quite the mover. She can move very quickly and is pulling up and taking steps, as long as she is holding on to furniture. Natalie loves to be near other children, she loves watching them play and likes to be right in the middle of all of the fun!

Here comes trouble...

"Look at me, Mom!"

Natalie plays with her new Nativity set

Tree Lighting

Thanksgiving weekend, we all bundled up and went to Niantic to watch the tree lighting. This is the second year we have gone and this year we participated in the snowball drop. Thanks to Uncle Adam we even caught a "snowball" and were treated to chocolate lollipops at the local candy shop. Aaron especially enjoyed watching Santa and Mrs. Claus ride in on the big firetruck.

Aaron and Helena stand in front of the tree

We ended up running into Aunt Kristie, Uncle Adam, Maya and Callaway

We are Thankful!

This year we have so much to be thankful for. We celebrated with our wonderful families by hosting dinner at our house. The kids had fun playing in our newly renovated play room and the adults enjoyed football and great company.

Aaron and Helena pose for a photo together

Mommy and Natalie

Mommy and her kiddos

Cousins: Lexi, Natalie, Aaron, Callaway and Helena - This was the best we could do

Natalie was exhausted by the end of the day

10 Months Old

Natalie is 10 months old now and she is really making her way around. She loves to be where all of the action is and can crawl just about anywhere she wants to go. On top of moving around quite a bit, Natalie is now pulling herself up on anything she can support herself with. She has several toys, waist level, that she pushes around and takes small steps while supporting herself. She loves following her big brother and sister around the house too! Natalie loves clapping and waving, although she seems to be going through a bit of stranger anxiety as of late, but most of the time she is a very happy girl!

Growing Fast

Natalie is growing so fast! She will be ten months old next week and she is moving everywhere. She crawls very quickly now and we have seen her pulling up onto her knees and even onto her feet once or twice! She loves playing with Aaron and Helena's toys and wants to be everywhere they are. Her new favorite place to play is the Tupperware cabinet. Natalie's final two baby teeth cut through last week and she looks so much older now that she has eight teeth!

Leaves

Aaron, Helena and Natalie had a great time outside playing in the leaves as we started our fall clean up a few weeks ago. We always have tons of leaves that fall in our yard, and it helps that the kids have so much fun playing outside while we get a start on cleaning up!

The kids play in the leaves

Yard Cleanup

Helping Out

Halloween and the Stomach Bug

This year Aaron and Daddy celebrated Halloween with Stacie's family by going Trick Or Treating with cousins. Unfortunately, Helena came down with a stomach bug Halloween morning and was not able to join in the fun. She was such a good sport and was feeling well enough by the end of the evening to visit a few houses on our road for treats.

Grandma and all of the kids: Lexi, Landyn, Ainsley, Marshall, Aaron and Julian

Aaron shows off his bat wings

On Saturday we joined cousins Ainsley and Marshall for pumpkin painting and Trick or Treating on Main Street in Manchester. The girls had lots of fun together!

Marshall, Ainsley, Helena and Ainsley