Let the Holidays Begin!

Almost every day for the last week Riley and Ryan have been telling me it’s Christmas time. And my response to them is that we have Thanksgiving first and then it will be Christmas (even though I’ve snuck in a few Christmas songs already).  Well – Thanksgiving is right around the corner and we kicked off the holiday season with the Open Arms Thanksgiving Feast!  When we arrived, they asked the parents to wait outside and when they let us into the room…this is what we saw!  11 3-year olds sitting at the table with their hats and homemade placemats ready to go!  They each had a full plate of food, but not one of them took a bite until the blessing was said.  Impressive! 

Ryan came over to me as soon as I made my plate and announced he was done….and he was.  He literally took 2 bites of food (if that) and threw his plate in the trash!  For a kid that loves to eat, I was baffled…but not really, since he did the exact same thing at our Thanksgiving meal last year.  I’m hoping he will not repeat this ritual on Thursday…but I wont’ be surprised if he does!



On Saturday morning we went to our friend, Avery’s 3rd birthday party.  It was held at a gym and everyone got to do gymnastics!  They both enjoyed themselves, but I think Riley convinced us in about 5 minutes that we need to put her in gymnastics class.  Not only did she look SO CUTE in her leotard, but she was a natural on the beam and bars!




There were lots of dress up clothes for the girls and Ryan really wanted to put on the Snow White dress, but thankfully, we found this fireman’s coat! 



After the party, we headed to Ursula’s Cooking School for a Candy House class.  I went to Ursula’s for cooking school for several years and learned a lot of my cooking skills in this very room.  I have always heard of this class and dreamed of the day I could take my very own children…and this was the year!

Ursula dressed as Mrs. Claus!  She is 77 years old and still teaching class!

Riley looking out for Ryan – making sure he can see…




We came home and crashed.  We were so tired from the day, but once we got up, we ate some dinner and then headed to Atlantic Station to see the lighting of the Christmas Tree.  Luckily, it was not very cold and we were able to sit right by the tree!


While we were waiting for the lighting, Kevin took each of them on walks.  They found some snow and magic wands that light up!

We even got to the point of silly faces!

We all look tired…  I hope this isn’t a sign of the times for the holidays.  My wish is for us to participate in all the fun festivities of the season and teach the kiddos the true meaning of Christmas, but not be so tired we don’t enjoy them!  Is that possible with 2 3-year olds?




I am the most excited I’ve been about the holidays in years.  It is truly heartwarming to see Christmas through a 3-year olds eyes.  They are so excited about the magic!  I might be one tired mama, but I’m determined to experience this holiday season to the fullest!  Let the holidays begin!

Web Albums Added:
http://picasaweb.google.com/hutchinson.heidi/20101119OAThanksgivingFeast
http://picasaweb.google.com/hutchinson.heidi/20101120AverySBirthdayParty
http://picasaweb.google.com/hutchinson.heidi/20101120UrsulaSCandyHouse
http://picasaweb.google.com/hutchinson.heidi/20101121TreeLightingAtlanticStation

It’s Official!

Riley and Ryan are officially in their very own rooms.  Riley is now in the “pink” room and Ryan in the “blue” room.  They each have their toddler bed in their very own room.  We got the beds moved tonight and they each went right to bed.  Riley came out at one point and cried to go sleep with Ryan, but I was able to talk her back into going into her own big girl room!  I think Ryan misses her too!  I look forward to getting them truly settled and getting a few things hung on the walls to make them their very own!

Fall Photos

2 weeks ago, we had our annual photo session with our friend, Jen Wunderlich.  We went to Piedmont Park and Jen did a great job of capturing our family on film (like we didn’t already have enough pictures - - but I was in a few of these)!  She was super patient with us and caught some great shots!

Click on the link below to see the shots!  Make sure your sound is on…
password: r&r

The Hutchinson Family Photos Fall 2010

War Eagle!

Auburn is officially 10-0!!!

I have been waiting until the kiddos were old enough to make it through a day trip to Auburn and this year was the year!  This was the first time we would take them to one of the places in the world that I love most. We picked this weekend to go to Auburn before the season even began.  Little did we know that Auburn would be undefeated for the kiddos first time to Auburn.  There was excitement in the air as we drove into town and it was surreal to be holding their hands as we walked across campus.  We didn’t really know what to expect as far as how long they would last at the actual game, but they were such troopers!

Riley was in heaven before the game when we were able to see the band and the “dancers” (majorettes).  She keeps telling everyone the drum went “boom” and we all jumped!  She could have stayed and watched them all day and literally cried when they marched off.  She wanted to follow them and march right behind them!

 


Yes – we were in the very top section and wound all the way up to the top.  Riley kept asking why we were going round and round! Kevin and I were re-thinking this whole idea in the midst of the trek up (since we were each carrying a child), but by the time we made it to the seats, we knew we made the right call!





We saw the eagle circle the stadium and land in the center of the field!  Watched the band perform and the cheerleaders lead the crowd in several cheers….Then we watched the tigers run onto the field!  Ryan had no problem shaking his shaker and cheered almost the whole time!  Makes an AU Mama proud!!!  It’s great to be an Auburn Tiger!

They were troopers, but by the time we got back to the tailgate, Riley was officially pooped.  She grabbed a cookie and figured out a way to lay in one of the tailgate chairs.

After a dinner at Niffer’s (one of my favorite places to eat when I was in school), we hit the road and headed back to Atlanta.  It was a great day!
 
Web Album Added
http://picasaweb.google.com/hutchinson.heidi/20101106AU

Halloween

Ok, so 1 week late isn’t bad, right? 

Halloween this year was full force for us!  The kiddos really “got” the hang of trick or treating and were a delight to watch!  Riley decided she wanted to say “Happy Halloween” rather than “Trick or Treat”.  She was so sweet saying it, we went with it and it did the trick….grocery bags full of candy!

We started with a Halloween parade at school on Friday.

On Saturday morning Uncle Scott arrived!  He just came for a quick visit and the kiddos thoroughly enjoyed playing with him.  We relaxed a lot while he was here and caught up on watching football! 

On Sunday morning we headed to church.  They dressed up as super heroes of the Bible for church and then we went to a great breakfast at Thumbs Up Diner – one of our new favorites!


We tossed the football in the front yard and went for a walk in the cemetery near our house.  It was such a beautiful day and you could see the Atlanta skyline - - just right around the corner from our house!  Fun stuff!

After naps we headed over to the Fenzl’s house for their annual Halloween gathering.  There were lots of crafts for the kids and the adults even had a little time to mingle before heading out to trick or treat.



R-O-A-R!!!!!!!!

Our friends, Zack, Ms. Rebecca and Mr. Paul came over to join in the fun!  What a cutie pie lion!






Daddy stayed home with Uncle Scott to hand out candy.  We had to call him to bring us a grocery bag to unload their overly full pumpkins!  We ended the evening at a neighbor’s house with none other than the movie Toy Story playing through a projector on the front of their house!  What a perfect ending to a fantastic day!  There was a fire for the adults to keep us warm and the kiddos got to sit on the hill and eat all the candy they could get their hands on!

On Monday night the kiddoes opened the birthday gifts that Uncle Scott brought!  Lots of new books!

While Uncle Scott was here, the doorbell rang, but when the kiddos went to answer the door there was no one there…but this box.  They couldn’t wait to open it up and see what was inside.  It was an Elf that Santa sent all the way from the North Pole!  We named him Bell and he will be here keeping watch over the kiddos for Santa until Christmas.  Since no humans can touch him, he’s very sneaky and hides all over the house.  Overnight he reports back to Santa!  We can’t wait to see where he is watching from tomorrow and we are praying for only good reports until Christmas!




Web Albums Added:
http://picasaweb.google.com/hutchinson.heidi/20101029HalloweenParadeAtOpenArms
http://picasaweb.google.com/hutchinson.heidi/20101031UncleScott
http://picasaweb.google.com/hutchinson.heidi/20101031Halloween