Tis The Season

Christmas is only 7 days away and Hayden can hardly wait.  Each day we have been doing a countdown on our Advent Calendar and most days he thinks he needs to move it twice!  Because we just aren't getting to 1 fast enough.  Here is a little breakdown of what we have been up to.
* Thanksgiving at G & G Engers.  We saw a lot of family, ate great food, we all went for Prowler rides and the weather was awesome.
*The day after Thanksgiving we went to Forman to see Scott, Emily, John and Sara  G & G Bishoff.  We took family photos for my mom.  I'm not sure who handled it worse....the kids or adult men!
* We had our Family Craft Workshop at the church the week after Thanksgiving.  I am on the Special Events Committee and this year we took it over.  It was a lot of fun.  Hayden is not what you would call "crafty" so after his first project he said he was done.  We had him do a few more and he kept saying he didn't want to do anymore, until he realized he was going home and then he wanted to do more.
*Jason took a day off so that I could go to Fargo for the day and do some Christmas shopping and get a massage with my friends.  It was a lot of fun and I got a lot done.  Amazing what you can do without having 2 kids in tow!  Jason has a few vacation days to burn up before the end of the year, so it was nice he could take the day off.
*I helped my mom make meatballs for Christmas.  This is a recipe that has been passed down for generations.  I'm not quite sure why they are called meatballs because they look more like patties, but they are yummy!  We got 7 dozen made, which will be enough for our family to eat 2 meals from.
*We all rode in the Holiday Lights Parade in Lisbon.  Jason drove the float and we rode along.  Hayden even got to talk to Santa for the first time.  He was so excited.  I almost cried because it was so sweet.
*We went to Marion for the extended Enger Christmas.  The weather was great and Hayden got to play with his 2nd cousins.  We ate lots and watched the Bison win!!
*Hayden had his 1st Sunday School program.  He did awesome!  He stood up front and did all the actions and tried to sing along when he knew the words.  We even got a wave from him! :)  I forgot my memory card at home so I don't have any pictures to post.
*Clara had her 4 month appointment.  We got some good news and some bad news.  She hasn't gained enough weight.  She had only gained 3 oz. since her last appointment which was 2 months ago.  But the good news she is very healthy and doing just fine.  So we are supplementing with formula and honestly she likes to be bottle fed better so we are going to start doing that mostly.  I can already see some differences now that she is eating more.  We go back on the 23rd for another weight check just to be sure that is the only thing that is going on.  She was in the 15% for height so she isn't a very big girl, but we just want to get a little more weight on her.
*Hayden & Clara got to see Santa!  We went to the mall after Clara's appointment and they both sat very nicely on his lap so that we could take a picture.  Hayden told Santa he wants a Rock Guitar!  And he also said that Clara wants a drum!  I don't think so! :)  Santa thought maybe she would prefer a toy she could chew on since she is a baby.  I think Santa is a very smart man.
*We had a Christmas party with our friends.  There were 12 kids 6 and under and 5 couples.  We had a great time and the kids did a book exchange.  They had a lot of fun.  We are blessed with great friends.  Jason and I decided that we needed to show up with our ugly christmas sweaters to surprise everyone.  Next year we decided we will all have to do that as a tradition.
*On Friday I took the kids to Oakes to see our friends Mitch & Michele Benda and their 2 girls.  Mitch and I were friends in high school and then Jason and I worked with Michele at State Bank & Trust.  We use to do a lot together until they moved to Rapid City, SD.  Mitch's mom lives in Oakes and they were home for a wedding so it was fun to visit with them.  Their daughter Kesley is a month younger than Hayden and their youngest daughter Molly is a couple months older than Clara.  We are hoping to go and visit them in the Black Hills this summer. 

*Yesterday we went to Grand Forks for a surprise 30th birthday party for my friend Mandy.  The party was in a suite at Englestad Arena for the Sioux Hockey game.  We had a lot of fun but are tired today.  We stayed with my cousin Ashley and she was kind enough to watch the kids for us while we went out.  My other cousin Clare and her husband Dexter also live in Grand Forks so we got to see them as well.
*Today the boys are enjoying the beautiful weather and getting things done out in the garage.  Hayden is evening riding his bike outside.  It's a beautiful day for December 18th.  52 degrees!!!!
*We are looking forward to this week and I'm sure a little boy is really hoping it goes by fast!  Hayden has his preschool Christmas party on Tuesday so I'm sure that he will have lots of fun with that.  Then he is off until January 3rd.
*We will be going to Marion on Friday until Sunday morning and then head to Forman.

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas!!!