One last Christmas

Over the weekend we had one last Christmas. It was suppose to actually happen before Christmas but because of the nasty weather it got postponed. Jennifer of course thought it was great to be with everyone. She got to see her cousins and go swimming all in the same weekend. To her nothing could be better. Jennifer has been wanting to go swimming for about the past month, even swimming in the bath tub a few times so to actually go swimming was a thrill. It took her a few minutes to get in the water but once she got use to the tube she was in it was great. She was kicking her feet, splashing us and just floating around the pool.

Each year we set up the cameras and get a picture of the whole family. I think the best part for everyone is getting the cameras set up and running to make into the picture. What a big happy family we are!
My brother and sister-in-law have a Wii, so after the presents were opened it was to the basement for a little competition. Jennifer of course had to get in on the action. If you are familiar with Wii fit there is a game where you have to hit soccer balls with your head, which is what Jennifer is playing here, I hate to admit it but she beat me! She was kind of good at it.

This picture just makes me laugh. Each year our family gives out gifts from an aunt who doesn't really exist. I know it doesn't make a lot of sense but it is a long story. This year one of the gifts to all the girls was a very cool hat along with some really big glasses. Here Jennifer is showing off my set. She just looks so cute in them!

Now that Christmas is officially over for us, we are counting down the days until we can enjoy some warmer weather. For us that is just a few days away!! Sunday we are leaving to go visit Bill's mom in Florida! We are very excited to enjoy a few days relaxing in the warm sun.

I sit down and sigh

After several days of snow and cold we are finally able to get out of the house and back to normal activities. This morning it was back to school for Jennifer, she didn't go at all last week. She missed school, therapy, church on Wednesday night, everything she loves to go do was canceled because of the weather. Because the world stopped for the weather we were stuck inside for several days in a row. Keeping a three-year-old busy is hard work, especially when she is use to doing so much. So I have to admit after I came home from dropping Jennifer off I just kind of let out a sigh. A few moments of peace, to myself. The moment didn't last long and then I was picking up the house, vacuuming, I even got a few groceries by myself, which doesn't happen often.

Over the course of the cold days Jennifer has been very much longing for warmer days. Even before Christmas she would get her swimming suit out of the closet and put it on over her clothes or jammies. So for fun a few mornings I let her take a bath in her suit, of course that was enough to make her happy for while!

This is the day it all started. Jennifer looking very stylish in one of her swimming suite and pj's in front of the Christmas tree.

Swimming in the bathtub! Who knew it could be so much fun to wear your swimming suit during a bath! In just a few days we actually get to go swimming at a hotel, it will so much better than the tub.

We made some cookies one night to pass a little time. If you look closely you can see that Jennifer has a tank top on over her sweatshirt. As you can see pretty much any summer clothing will do for this child right now.Bill and Jennifer in the basement "working". It is a little cold in our basement so they had to bundle up before going down, that is way they both hats on. Who needs blocks when wood will do? Jennifer worked very hard for a long time to get these pieces of wood just right. It was very funny. Bill joked that these are the white trash version of legos! She was very proud of her work (and I'm pretty sure that Bill hasn't moved one piece of wood since she did this)!

Back to reality

After a few days of relaxing and not doing much of anything it was time to get back to reality. Jennifer started back to school on Tuesday. I have to admit I was a little nervous about how she would do at drop off after being gone for two weeks. She of course did amazing, she was actually very excited to go back to school. She was even happier to go back this morning. There is a little trampoline at school that the kids get to jump on during center time and it has been all Jennifer can talk about when you ask her about school, needless to say she loves it. There are also some bouncy balls that the kids get to bounce on that she really liked, so life is good at school. Speaking of school, Bill also started back to school this week. He on the other hand has not been as excited as Jennifer. Lots of books to read, papers to write and projects to do. The other night Bill told me all that he had to read in just this first week, all I could do was nod my head and smile. It was a lot! I thought I would share a few more pictures from our holidays. I am a little disappointed that we don't have any pictures from New Year's Eve. We spent a short time at a friends house, where there were lots of friends for Jennifer to play with and of course we didn't take our camera. It was sweet to see Jennifer playing with her friend Gracie, who just a few weeks before Christmas had open heart surgery (again). This sweet little girl, who just turned two, has had her ribs split eight times for surgery! At two she has been on the verge of death more than once and yet there she was running around her house playing on New Year's Eve! It was very sweet to see her running and playing with all the kids. We didn't get to stay long because Jennifer had not had a nap that day so we were home and in bed by ten-thirty!
Jennifer playing basketball! As you can see she has to stand on her stool to play or so she thinks. She is actually getting kind of good, she was playing the other day and made several baskets in a row.
Jennifer got a Dance Cam for Christmas. If you haven't seen or heard of it, you plug it into your tv and it projects you on the tv. It is kind of cool. Because Jennifer thinks that she is the center of everything she thinks its quite fun to see herself on tv.
This is Bill's grandparents with all their great-grand kids! Totally craziness is what it is. Trying to get 11 kids to sit for a picture, let's be honest it's not going to happen. Jennifer was by far the worst, she really did not want to have her picture taken at this point in the day. This was the closest she got to everyone. I'm pretty sure I caught her as she was getting up to move away from everyone. The even funnier thing is to see all the adults trying to take pictures!I just think this is a great picture. Jennifer thought she needed to sit by me and mama (how Jennifer says grandma) while eating breakfast one morning. So being funny Bill went and got the camera, Jennifer then reached up and put her arms around me and my mom. It was actually very sweet. Mama, Jennifer and I enjoying some love at breakfast.