This is our second Nutcracker. Again, Brownie and But danced in it.

I had so much fun getting to be there for it all. 

And I know they had fun.

Bug was the Arabian Doll.

And Brownie was the Hungarian Doll.

They got to be on stage three different times.

And that was in two different scenes... so they were pretty happy about that!

I remember last year when they were cherubs they wanted to be dolls so badly. They would even practice their "bobble head" move at home.

So we were happy with their parts!

There was still plenty of backstage time as well.

But most of that was spend getting ready to go on stage. 

They love any reason to get to put on make up--we only do it for dances.

 

Part of the costume this year was those small red circles on their cheeks.

And we wore nude leotards under our costumes.

We made so many memories again this year. 

We rehearsed from September through the morning before our first performance. We did one day every weekend until Novmenber. Then it as both weekend days.

Then the week of we danced Saturday, Sunday (off Monday), Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday morning. Our performances were Friday night and Saturday afternoon. The girls did amazingly well considering how much sleep was missed. Tuesday-Thursday was all late nights. Since we were in two scenes, we would even dance at two totally separate times of the night. For example, on Thursday we danced right after school, went home for dinner and baths, and then went back for rehearsals at 9pm. 

And of course we are always finding new ways to stay entertained back stage. 

I stay entertained by taking pictures of my kids... can you tell?

And other people's kids too. These are all the dolls--Mirliton, French, Chinese, Italian, Hungarian, and Arabian.

And here we are with our Cherub friend, Anna. Such a pretty costume--and a pretty girl!

After our dress rehearsal (which is really a benefit performance for our community), I took the girls out for pizza. It was a fun morning.

Any chance I get to spend with one or two sure is special.

I should also mention that Hunk was in the Nutcracker. He played "baby" in the Friday night performance.

Here is Ms. Jenna (she teaches Brownie's ballet class) who was in charge of Hunk during his part in the party scene. She carried him all around thee stage. He did so well, too. Like he knew he was performing and had to be good!

Here the girls are about to go on stage... Oh, the excitement.

One of the Jr. Company dancers playing with my girls. More entertainment back stage.

I'm pretty sure she loved her costume!

 After their performance on Friday, we all had flowers waiting for our dancers. Here is Brownie with hers. 

 Bug was so tired and didn't want her picture with her flowers by the stage. So I captured one of sisters with Brownie. 

And one of Bug with her flowers in daddy's arms. Poor thing was exhausted.

On Sunday, the opposite cast performed so we went to see it. The two dancers hadn't seen the entire performance this year, so this is when they got to do that. This Mirliton was their teacher for Nutcracker.

There is a reception after the show complete with autographs and cookies. 

Here is Abby, our former neighbor and daughter to my sweet friend, Heidi. She had several parts and danced beautifully as well!

Once the show was over on Sunday, our Nutcracker season was over. A great one to remember!

Hunk is 3 months

My boy turned 3 months on the 17th.

He's the best little boy anybody could ask for.

He's the best sleeper EVER! We put him down between 8-10, and he usually wakes up to eat around 6-7, though sometimes I have to wake him up at 8 so we can leave the house on time. And as the 6th child, this comes is handy for the tired mom and dad. He still sleeps in our room, but only because we don't have a good place to put him yet. Scrunchie is currently transitioning into a toddler bed, so I don't want to add her Bo-Bo in to that crazy mess. She'd have too much fun for sure!

 He is about 15 pounds and 25 inches.Size 3-6 months fit with some room to grow.

Size two diaper.

He nurses mostly. But due to our schedule and his hunger, he has anywhere from 0-8 oz of formula per day.

He still loves diaper time. Loves feeling fresh.

Not the biggest tummy-time fan, but he does like it better now that he has a gator floor toy from Grammy.

His skin is super dry. I've put lotion, protective lotion, and butt paste on his torso and legs. The butt paste worked the best. Due to this skin issue, he doesn't get many actual bathes. But he does get a daily (or more) wipe down. Those baby skin creases can get dirty fast.

 He absolutely adores snuggles and cuddles. Many times he will be fussing until you put him in the bend of my right arm, squish him up to my body, and put a binky in his mouth. He can literally fall asleep in seconds just by doing this. And I totally love this!

 And judge me if you want, but he loves to watch TV. Well, he'll watch any kind of action. I've never had a baby care so much about movement.

He sat through the entire Nutcracker just staring right up at the dancers (we were in the front row, so that helped).

He watched the girls' Christmas programs.

And he totally watches TV with the girls. In fact, it buys me some time (like minutes--not hours--I'm just smart, not neglectful) to do stuff around the house because otherwise he'd be crying that I wasn't holding him.

But look at this face--who wouldn't want to hold him. He's the hunkiest hunk ever!

Holiday Happenings

We did many fun things during this holiday season. You've already seen our Thanksgivings and Black Friday traditions. Now I'll move on to the smaller, more random things we like to do during the holidays.



Movie night

We are always watching Christmas movies--but usually they're just on in the background, or we catch 20 mins of one before bed some nights.

 But every so often, we get to sit down as a family to watch a movie in its entirity. This year, we did that one night with Polar Express, and we made movie necklaces. They're like candy necklaces, but with random treats--pretzels, gummy lifesavers, fudge cookies--basically whatever you can string on twine.

 The finished product provided quite the snack for movie-watching.

 The four bigger girls all made their own.

They may or may not have gotten carried away--HA!

It was a fun family activity!

 And Scrunchie wasn't left out--I made her necklace for her. Looks like I got carried away as well!

And at some point in the movie--some people just couldn't stay awake anymore. But we all had so much fun. Great memories.

Look at lights
Like many families, we drive around in pj's with hot cocoa and looked at Christmas lights. We always drive out to a fundraiser light display out at the lake. This is a great show, and the kids love it.

We also drive around random neighborhoods to look at lights, but we make sure to hit a partiular historic neighborhood every single year. The homes are so gorgeous and Victorian. I would love to live in a neighborhood as festive as this one.

See Santa
We always get a professional picture with Santa, but we also get one with THE REAL SANTA at my MOPS group.

Each year, Santa comes to our party and reads a story. He also poses for pictures with the kids. Of course, my older kids are in school during this time, so I usually only get my younger kids in the picture. Yes, I've thought about taking them out of school just so they can see Santa, but I've never done it!

 Hunk and I got our picture taken while celebrating at MOPS.

 He's a happy boy.

 His first Christmas!

 Santa read to the kiddos.

 There were snacks and a coloring table all set up for the kids.

Nutcracker (which will have it's own post soon)

The girls were cast as dolls this year. Bug is the Arabian and Brownie is the Hungarian.

 All the dolls together.


This is such a huge part of our Christmas season (actually our entire first half of the school year). We spend weekend time rehearsing starting in September. And while my girls have smaller parts than the older kids, they are still heavily committed--especially considering their age. They love it--so I love it. And we've made some great memories while participating the last two years. We see friends, have late nights, put on make up, and best of all-- my girls get to show their talent to the audience during performances.

 My girls with Miss Abby--she used to be our neighbor--her mama is a dear friend of mine.

We also make it a point to take the dancers to see the opposite cast's performance. This is the only time they get to see the whole show all the way through.

I got to take the two of them this year!

Live Nativity
Our preschool's church does a live nativity every year--and we finally made it out there this year. This is the 5th year we've tried to go and actually made it. The line looked long, but it really wasn't that bad. So fun!

 The church has a recording of songs and the story. It's a neat show.

Live Donkey included.


Penguin Man
He is our version of Elf on the Shelf. He's magic. He knows Santa. He sees all that we do. He brings fun and the spirit of Christmas to our house. One night, he got really creative and replaced the old candy corn I'd left in our candy jar with actual Christmas candy. We were all relieved, but Penguin Man sure did make a production our of it!

He left a trail of the old candy and dumped the pile near a trash can. Clever little fella.

 He's a rhyming fool--leaving us notes all the time.

Cookie Baking
Like many families, we do plenty of holiday baking. Some of this baking is for family, some for friends, my MOPS group, cookie exchanges, and teachers. My MOPS group does a cookie exchange every year--and I participated for the second or third time this year. I made Butterfinger cookies--delish! My friend Caroline hosted us all at her house, but of course I didn't get a single picture.

And we can't leave out the Jolly Ol' Man--we made Gingerbreads for him per, Peach's request.

 Each girl got to decorate and eat one cookie!

 And they each got to pick one of our finished products to put on Santa's plate.

 This one got to eat the goods!

 Poor Boushka was so tired this night that she fell fast asleep on our couch before the cookie-baking commenced.But she did pick one to go on S man's plate.

Here is the frosting recipe I used--worked like a charm!

And this year was made extra special by a Snow Day on what was supposed to be the last day of school for the year. Yes, we missed our parties, but we had so much fun this day!

 We had several day's advanced warning--but nobody actually thought we'd get the day off.

 The view from our breakfast nook on the morning of our Snow Day! Glorious!


Decorate

It may not look like much, but this living room is so cozy during the holidays. We decorate with our own unique touch--and we love spending time in here during the winter.

This is the view looking down into the room from our stairs.

 And from the opposite corner.

At the foot of the stairs.

 Opposite the stairs again but including the tree this time. 

 

I adore a lit up Christmas tree at night.

 Christmas Programs at Preschool

Both preschool girls performed in the preschool's Christmas program. They don't allow pictures or video during the performance, so I get after shots by the tree.

And messy cupcake face at Jesus' birthday party.

The girls preformed on different days this year.

 We managed to get a group shot.

 I think the cupcakes are the girls' favorite part! Can you tell?

We also like to just hang out by the tree!

 My older four standing in awe.

 Hanging ornaments.

 Pure beauty.

 Watching a movie.

 All six of my presents under the tree.

 Baby love.

Lots and...

lots of baby love.