Merry Christmas!

Christmas has come and gone. As usual it’s a bit bittersweet. This has been the best Christmas I’ve experienced in a long time. The kiddos were so much fun to watch and their excitement was contagious. Christmas Eve I ended up being off of work which was a great surprise, so we were able to enjoy the whole day together. We hung out at home and I was able to sneak away to get some last minute shopping done. We went to a 3pm service at Peachtree Presbyterian Church since our church didn’t have a service. They had live animals and it was a “family” service, so lots of kids and activity. The service was really nice complete with many children singing and acting. The animals came down the aisle of the church, including the donkey, sheep and camel! I can honestly say I’ve never seen a camel walk down the aisle of a church. The kids did great during the service – with the help of several bags of fruit snacks, but whatever works! It was nice to have all of us there together – Grandma Hutch, Uncle Scott, Mee Maw, Grandaddy, Riley, Ryan, Kevin and me. All we were missing were Aunt Heather and Uncle Brad (who arrived on Christmas Day). After the service we went to China Inn for our annual Christmas Chinese dinner. I can’t remember when that tradition started, but we’ve been doing it for years and it just feels right for us. We came back and opened gifts with the Hutchinsons and then prepared for Santa’s visit!

Christmas morning started about 7:45am and Grandaddy was there bright and early to help us open gifts. Santa was very good to Riley & Ryan, but he did not go over the top this year. I’m quite proud of him since they had many many gifts to open from everyone else. I think he knew how blessed they already are and that they didn’t NEED anything. I think the highlights were the McDonald’s drive thru window, the roller coaster, the tag junior reading system, the easel and the “Night Before Christmas” book that has Aunt Heather & Uncle Brad reading to them. We had a nice brunch and then some resting time that afternoon. We were all a bit tired and as I was helping Grandaddy put together the easel that had what seemed like a million screws, my mom pointed out that “now I know how it feels to be a parent on Christmas”. As exhausting as the whole season has been I wouldn’t take back one minute of it. Now I do know how it feels and it is one of the greatest blessings in the world! Aunt Heather and Uncle Brad arrived and then we had a nice dinner. It was a very long day, but it was nice and didn’t feel rushed. The kiddos had so much fun entertaining all of us. We were all amazed by their energy (and the lack of ours).

On Saturday, Grandma Hutch and Uncle Scott left to head back north. After dropping Grandma off at the airport we headed to the Georgia Aquarium with Uncle Scott before he had to go to the airport. It was pretty crowded and let’s just say it wasn’t my kiddos best showing. As their teacher likes to say it, “they forgot their listening ears”. It was beyond exhausting, but I do think they liked seeing all the fish. It will be a while before I’m ready to venture back there again with the 2 crazy kids. I knew it was a bad time when Scott looked at me and said “I’m ok to go whenever you are”. We had all 5 reached our limit of fun for one morning.

Kevin and I were able to go out to dinner with friends and Heather and Grandaddy stayed with the kiddos. They watched Mary Poppins (one of their new movies) and had a great time playing with them.

Today we headed to Washington for the extended family gathering. It was really nice to catch up with everyone. It’s been 2 years since we’ve seen most of them and we were able to meet my new second cousin (I think…he’s my cousin’s son), Logan, and my other cousin’s new wife, Karla. We had a nice time visiting and the kids enjoyed it as well. I think they ate the entire time and were in heaven. It was a bit cold, but that didn’t stop them from running around the backyard. We are in the car now (as I'm typing this) headed back to Atlanta and the 2 crazy kids that ate all afternoon and didn’t nap are now out cold in the back seat. They are getting in a late nap, so we’ll see how this affects bedtime. I’m off tomorrow and Tuesday, so we look forward to spending some fun times with Aunt Heather and Uncle Brad.

It has been a Very Merry Christmas and I couldn't look more forward to bedtime than I do right now! Here's to a spectacular 2010!

Web Albums Added:
http://picasaweb.google.com/hutchinson.heidi/20091224ChristmasEve
http://picasaweb.google.com/hutchinson.heidi/20091225Christmas
http://picasaweb.google.com/hutchinson.heidi/20091226GeorgiaAquarium#
http://picasaweb.google.com/hutchinson.heidi/20091227RogersChristmas#

Christmas Eve Eve

What a fun day with Daddy, Grandma Hutch and Uncle Scott! I had to work so I didn't get all the details, but these were the pictures that Kevin took today and I had some fun "tweaking". They made a trip to the farmers market, park, took a long nap, played in the leaves and then we all went to Mary Mac's for dinner. A great day! Merry Christmas Eve Eve...

Web Album Added:
http://picasaweb.google.com/hutchinson.heidi/20091223ChristmasEveEve#

The Fox Theatre

We were able to go to The Fox Theatre last night for Riley & Ryan's first visit! Mee Maw told us about a free concert with Christmas carols followed by a showing of the movie The Christmas Story. They loved being in the theatre and seeing the "stars" in the ceiling. Mee Maw and Gran-daddy joined us as well as the Cole family. We sang for about 30 minutes with a "big band" and the big gold organ. It was really a lot of fun. Ryan even pointed to his nose during "Rudolph" and Riley danced almost the whole time. The kiddos made it for about 30 minutes of the movie and then mommy and daddy were ready to go. I think they would have made it even longer, but we had been out late the night before and didn't want to push it too much. Grandma Hutchinson and Uncle Scott have arrived and we just finished a nice bowl of soup...the holiday celebration has officially begun! Yay!

Web Albums Added:
http://picasaweb.google.com/hutchinson.heidi/20091221FoxTheatre#

Christmas Fun

We started this weekend with a Thursday night production at Open Arms. Riley and Ryan's class sang one song. When they walked in Ryan spotted us and quickly decided he was not happy about any part of it. I grabbed him and helped him continue down the aisle. Riley did great and stood up on stage with her classmates. She even spotted Kevin and pointed and announced "my daddy". So very cute. Before they began singing she began to cry, so I sat on the front row with each child by my side and we all watched their class sing their song. This is one of those times where monkey-see-monkey-do is not such a great thing. I think had Riley not seen me there with Ryan that she would have stood up there and sang with everyone else. Oh well - there's always next year!

On Friday, we joined their class for their party. It was fun to hang out with them in their room. Their classmates were all very into my taking photos, so almost all of them stood there and wanted me to take their picture. They got a big kick out of it and there was lots of giggling. They drew names and exchanged gifts. It was fun to watch them open gifts and thank their friends. Riley got a santa mr. potato head and Ryan got a toy story coloring book with crayons. Their teachers gave them each a nice snow globe. They loved them! So much so that Ryan was carrying his through the house right after he got home and dropped it. It burst into a million pieces with water everywhere. He was really disappointed, as was I, but these things happen.

Just as Ryan realized he didn't like walking down the aisle

"That's my daddy!"

We got to hang out most of the day on Saturday and we all enjoyed our time at home relaxing and playing.

Today we left at 8am for church and didn't walk back through our door until almost 9pm. Yep - a 13 hour day. We had a great service at church and Riley and Ryan got to celebrate Jesus' birthday in Sunday School. They even sent them home with cake mix and frosting so we can make a birthday cake to celebrate. Fun stuff! We headed to Mee Maw's right after church and she had lots of gifts to open. They got beads to string, cardboard blocks, dress up princess and handy man "stuff", books, a video and coloring book, dvd and a roller coaster! They had so much fun opening presents and playing with all the new loot! We had a nice brunch and then naps. After a short visit over at Gran-daddy's we went to Stone Mountain for their Christmas lights. It was amazing!!! The only bad thing was that it was really really cold, but other than that it was perfect. We saw lots of incredible lights and a parade complete with Santa Claus. We took an open air train ride (man was that cold) and got to see The Polar Express in 4D. That just so happens to be their very favorite movie right now, so they were in heaven. They ask for the movie by saying "sleeping boy choo choo". It took me a while to figure out what they were asking for, but I finally figured it out. They cut the movie down to just 20 minutes, but we got to see all of our favorite parts. They didn't move a muscle the whole time and even kept on their glasses! I was really amazed at that.

Princess Riley

Ryan stringing his beads

Sliding on the roller coaster without the car

Hanging out with Mee Maw

4D Man
trying to stay warm on the choo choo trainDaddy and his kiddos

Another fun weekend and we have a fun night tomorrow night at The Fox Theater for a night of Christmas music and another movie. We'll see how long they last for this one.

Web Albums Added:
http://picasaweb.google.com/hutchinson.heidi/20091218ChristmasPartyAtOpenArms#
http://picasaweb.google.com/hutchinson.heidi/20091219FunAtHome#
http://picasaweb.google.com/hutchinson.heidi/20091220ChristmasAtMeeMawS#
http://picasaweb.google.com/hutchinson.heidi/20091220StoneMountain#

It's the holiday season...

this is the post from last week that I typed up, but never posted...

I do feel like a broken record, but we had another busy and fun fun weekend. Kevin and I took off Friday from work. He had a few vacation days he needed to use up and I just needed a break and time to prepare for our big party on Saturday night. So – we started our weekend early with a family pizza night out! Our local pizza place has family night on Thursdays and we normally have our small group that night, so we have not been able to go. (our small group met on Mondays this month due to some scheduling conflicts) Kevin happened to check their website and saw that Santa was going to be there – even better!!!! The kids were excited to see him…from afar. They spent the whole meal looking for him and pointing him out, but the 2 times he came near them, they burst into tears. Oh well – at least they were excited to see him at all. They talk about “ho ho” or “santa claus” (pronounced in very distinct syllables) all the time.

Ms. Sia gave them red noses like Rudolph!

Santa is so scary when he gets close to us

it's much better to watch him from a distance
We had a perfect Friday! We dropped the kids off at school and then headed out for errands. We spent several hours buying all the food for the party and then just running a few other errands. It was SO NICE to not be rushed and just hang out together. It also was a plus that the stores were not busy. I guess Friday morning is a perfect time for running errands. After lunch we were able to sneak in a movie. We saw the new George Clooney movie “In the Air” and it was great! We both really enjoyed the day. We even picked up the kids a little early and had some great family time on Friday night!

Saturday we worked all day long getting ready for the night, but it really was a lot of fun. The house looked great and I have to say I was very proud of how the party turned out. We had 13 people over for a formal dinner party. I can’t remember the last time we pulled out the fine china and crystal. It was a blessing to have so many of our dearest friends all in one room together. The food couldn’t have been any better and then we all laughed until our sides hurt.

Sunday we were in recovery mode, but we were able to still make it to early church to keep the nursery, then to a birthday party for Paul and then to Life University to see the Christmas lights. The kids were so very excited to see the lights…it was totally worth the trip on a rainy Sunday night. I would even describe them as giddy! There was a moment when we were all singing jingle bells in the car on the way there and I had this feeling for just a moment that we were in a movie. It was truly almost laughable it was so “picture perfect”, but it was completely impromptu and that has been our experience thus far with Christmas and the kiddos – almost too good to be true! We have another busy week and I really can’t believe that Christmas is NEXT WEEK. I’ve so enjoyed this season and really don’t want it to end. The kids have had a blast and it is so much fun seeing all of this through their eyes. Usually I’m ready to take down the decorations and get the house “back in order”, but this year I’m betting I will not want it to be over. Truly Grateful!

playing with Paul at his birthday party

Sitting with the big kids!


On a side note, Riley has started saying “oh my gosh” in the funniest little voice. It’s hilarious, but we are working on changing it to “oh my goodness”. I’m just not a huge fan of “oh my gosh” and was wondering where she might have picked it up. Well – it came straight from her mother and father. Even knowing I’m not a huge fan of that phrase, Kevin and I both say it. So – we are working as a family to “change our tune”. I don’t even want to know what else I say that they are going to pick up on that isn’t quite appropriate for a 2 year old. Ugh! They have been sleeping great in their new beds and are so proud in the mornings when they get up. Usually Riley says “sleeping in big BOY bed” and then Ryan says “sleeping in big GIRL bed”. I guess we still need to work on the gender thing, but at least they know it’s big! Oh yeah – and Riley pee pee’d in her potty yesterday morning. Her diaper was dry when she woke up so Kevin put her on the potty and voila! The 2 times she’s done it have been with him, so I’m still waiting to see it. They move up to their new class the first week in January and they start potty training in there, so I guess we are heading in that direction. Totally blows my mind that we are about to head into that adventure with 2!

Web Albums Added:
http://picasaweb.google.com/hutchinson.heidi/20091210SantaAtStAngelos#
http://picasaweb.google.com/hutchinson.heidi/20091212DinnerParty#
http://picasaweb.google.com/hutchinson.heidi/20091213PaulS5thBirthdayParty#

Fun Times

MeeMaw and Gran-daddy took the kiddos and let us have a night out on the town to celebrate my 35th birthday. It was a great evening and we thoroughly enjoyed our time! We went to bed early and even got to sleep in a little bit! Thank you for a great gift and thanks for making my birthday weekend wonderful!

On Saturday night we had the Cole and Fenzl family over for some football and movie fun. We watched the SEC Championship and had a fantastic dinner, but the best part of the night was when the kiddos all piled in and we watched The Polar Express. They loved it and watched just about every minute! The evening was complete with popcorn and all!

Katharyn and Avery were loving on Sammy - a lot!
She was a great sport and loved all of the attention

-

On Sunday, Joy, Sandra, Kathy and I went to hear MeeMaw's choir sing. It was a wonderful holiday concert. Just what we needed to boost our holiday spirits! Afterward we had a perfect dinner. Great food great company and lots of laughter!

Riley is DADDY'S GIRL lately!
No one else will do in her world!

Web Albums Added:
http://picasaweb.google.com/hutchinson.heidi/20091202MomSBirthday#

http://picasaweb.google.com/hutchinson.heidi/20091205FunWeekend#
http://picasaweb.google.com/hutchinson.heidi/20091207DaddySGirl#

Merry? Christmas!

Ok - So the Santa photo didn't turn out so great
...remember they were recovering from the trauma of originally sitting on Santa's lap? Very scary stuff!

I really think Riley couldn't look much sadder...poor thing...

...but I thought the photo for our Christmas card couldn't be cuter!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Toddler Bed Update

We didn't have to go in one time last night to settle the kiddos! Yay!!! So - I just had to go in and check on them before I went to bed. When I went in Ryan was not in his bed. I glanced over to Riley's bed and saw the sweetest 2 children sleeping head to toe! I so wanted to take a picture, but I knew the flash would wake them up. So, for now I will just have to have that picture etched in my brain...it's one I don't want to forget! When I asked Ryan this morning if he was proud that he slept in his big boy bed, he nodded his head and replied, "Riley's bed"! He loves his sister!

Toddler Beds

Ok – so I mentioned in an earlier post that Riley and Ryan figured their way out of the pack n plays…well today was the day that they figured their way out of their cribs. I went out to run a few errands and Kevin heard the radio flip on in their room over the monitor. He knew the radio was across the room from their cribs, so he went upstairs to investigate. He found Ryan sitting in the rocker reading a book and Riley on the floor playing. They got a little “talking to” and he put them back in their cribs and off they went to sleep. This was only after almost 2 hours of playing (in what we thought was their cribs) prior to the radio incident. When we heard them up from sleeping, Kevin was greeted by them at the door when he went up to get them. …Hello toddler beds. We went in tonight and took out every possible item that could harm them or make a mess and turned their cribs into toddler beds. They had probably the best time I’ve ever seen them have together playing in their new beds. We quickly had to state the new rule “no jumping” and each went to time-out a couple of times for not following the rules, but overall they had so much fun. They got into everything and tackled each other several times. It was fun watching them have so much fun. We were anticipating a crazy evening putting them to bed tonight, but they went right down without a word. I think they played so hard this afternoon that they were totally pooped. I’m sure in a few nights we will enter the real “transition” time, but for now, I’m grateful for an uneventful evening thus far. As I’m typing this, I’m hearing a few sounds coming from their room, so the fun may just be starting. Wish us luck!

Time for Night Night

Web Album Added:
http://picasaweb.google.com/hutchinson.heidi/20091129ToddlerBeds#