Our family Christmas

We had the best time celebrating Christmas as a family of four this year!  The kids opened their stockings on Christmas Eve and, after Rowan went to bed, we brought the air mattress and sleeping bags out to the living room for a fun Christmas Eve family sleepover.  We ate ice cream and read the new Curious George book that Trey had in his stocking.  Then we snuggled up to watch The Lion King (Trey's current favorite movie).  Of course I didn't make it through the whole movie, but the boys did, and we all slept great.  It was so much fun, and is something that we can hopefully look forward to doing every year on Christmas Eve.

We woke up on Christmas morning, had waffles (thanks to my new waffle maker!), read the Christmas story and sang Happy Birthday to Jesus (cha-cha-cha style thanks to Trey), and then it was time to open presents.  Rowan was completely entertained by the boxes and paper, and Trey got to open twice as many gifts because he opened all of Rowan's in addition to his own.  Rowan was ready for a nap half-way through opening gifts, but we just went with the flow and we finished opening the rest of her presents after she woke up.  It was so much fun to watch Trey and Rowan interact and enjoy all of the holiday fun together!

I can hardly believe that Christmas has already come and gone!

Big milestones for our little girl

Rowan has hit some pretty big milestones over the past few days. The biggest of these is that she has gone from being a wild and crazy walker to a fairly controlled, steady walker! I can't believe that she is walking like this at only 10 months old, but she's doing so well and loves pulling herself up and walking where she wants to go!


I am almost equally excited that she is finally able to wear bows that clip into her hair! We've been bow-less for a while now due to the fact that she didn't have enough hair for clips, but wouldn't leave a headband on her head. Yay for looking girly!

And finally, our poor girl is getting all four of her front top teeth at the same time. These pesky teeth are moving slowly! One of them poked through a couple of days ago, and we saw just the tip of another one today. Her sweet little gums are so swollen and she is waking up during the night moaning and groaning. She will look so different when all four of those teeth come in, and we hope for her sake that they come in SOON!

From our home to yours....

Wishing you great joy as you celebrate the incredible gift that was given in that precious baby boy so long ago.  He could have saved the world in any other way, and yet He chose to do this.  What amazing, unspeakable love was shown that day.

From our home to yours...Merry Christmas!

Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord's glory surrounded them..."I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people." The Savior - yes, the Messiah, the Lord - has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!

Luke 2:9-11

Kleinheksel Christmas Party

Last night we had our first Christmas Party with my family. This family just keeps growing and growing (eight grandkids 8 and under), but Rowan was the only baby born this year. Whenever we get together it is loud and a little bit crazy with all the kids, but we always have fun. The kids all love playing together and last night was no exception. We had dinner, read the Christmas story, opened presents, and had a dance party! (Trey can really bust a move, by the way! Could it be that he takes after his momma????)
It was a late night for Trey because how could we make him go straight to bed when we got home? He had to have some time to check out all of his new things! While he was playing, he kept saying "Mom, this is just what I wanted for Christmas!". His collection of all things boy is going to be growing quite a bit this Christmas because as he gets older, he just continues to grow into older boy toys! And we are definitely noticing how much he LOVES tractors, trucks (especially semi trucks!)....and in particular anything with a wagon or trailer that he can hook up and pull.
Rowan got her very first baby doll and some of the very cutest pj's with ruffles you will ever see, among other things. She isn't a night owl (sometimes 7:30 is pushing it for her), and although she had a bit of a rough time, she got a second wind and did great later in the evening. She was probably sleeping before we left my parents' driveway, but we made it through the party without a hitch. Phew! We still never know what evenings will bring for her! :)

I think I left last night with over 50 pictures (don't we love digital cameras?!?), but here are just a few from our fun night!

Rowan's first Christmas! Even though she couldn't care less about opening gifts, I am soaking in all the special moments with her this year!

Her very first doll...first of many, I'm sure!A completely girly Little People pink convertable!I love this picture for so many reasons -- the chubby cheeks, the signature up-on-one-knee playing stance, the obvious start of an unavoidable baby mullet, and of course the typical 9 month-old playing with everything except her new toys!

My mom had all of the grandkids make ornaments for their parents. It was a surprise to us, and now these made-with-love ornaments have found a place on our tree. They will be there for many years to come! So special!

This picture cracks me up and sums up our night perfectly. This is exactly what it looks like every time someone is opening a gift. Gift-getter in the center with all the kids surrounding them. Too funny!

Checking out his very first remote control car! Just what he wanted!Of course Grandpa is the expert on things like this!

Looking forward to our next party!

crazy little (almost) walker

Rowan took her first steps last week, and since then has been getting braver by the day.  Right now, her walking is a little bit out of control!  She still crawls most of the time, and when she does walk, it can be wild and crazy!  She has taken some pretty nasty spills, but is always willing to get up and try again.  We wondered if she might be walking by Christmas, and she is so very close!

Christmas cookies

I have never, ever in my life (at least not that I can remember) made Christmas cookies....at least not the type that you make from scratch and put icing on. I'm pretty sure that this makes me under-qualified to be a wife, mom, and Kindergarten teacher (maybe especially that last one!). I found a recipe that looked easy, and it's something that I have always wanted to do, so I decided that this weekend was the perfect time to give it a try for the first time! Trey was a very willing helper, and although there were a few glitches here and there (like not realizing that the dough had to be refrigerated for an hour before actually making the cookies....and frosting a few cookies with icing that was much too thick), we both had so much fun and the cookies taste wonderful!!! We ended up with over 50 cookies, even after eating a few (actually a bunch!!) while we were making them. So watch out....if you live nearby you just might be receiving cookies on your doorstep! :) I think I'll be cutting the recipe in half next time. :) This will definitely be an annual tradition around here, and I might just find other reasons to make these during other parts of the year too!

Cutting the cookies

Ready for the oven!

Waiting patiently (and watching the whole time!)

Mommy and Trey's first-ever Christmas cookies!!

Frosting the cookies

So proud of the finished cookies!

Trey's first taste - he wanted a "doorbell" cookie (that's what he called the bells).

Rowan loved her cookie too (no frosting, of course!)

Extra time at home

We have enjoyed a couple of extra days at home this week due to the blizzard that hit West Michigan (although Wednesday was nice enough for me to get out and almost finish my Christmas shopping -- not bad for a snow day!!). It has been wonderful to have some time to tackle projects on my to-do list that get overlooked every weekend. It has also been beyond wonderful to have some unexpected time with the kids this week.

Rowan LOVES eating table food, and it has made our lives so much easier! She eats a waffle every morning. It makes her so happy and gives mommy a few extra minutes to get things done!

How grown up is Trey looking???? I can't believe that he is almost three. He is SUCH a joy!
One of Rowan's favorite positions for playing -- up on one knee with a foot sticking out.

This is Rowan's signature face -- she scrunches up her nose and breathes in and out through it really quickly. It is too cute and make us laugh so hard!

Scavenger hunt

We took a break from the hustle and bustle of shopping, wrapping, and decorating today to have some fun with our small group. Our friend Lee's mom planned a super-fun scavenger hunt for us in downtown Holland. We met up this afternoon and, after hearing the very official rules, took off to compete! We were given a sealed envelope with the clues and a pencil inside, a time limit of around two hours, and our spouses as our partners. It felt very "Amazing Race"-ish to go around downtown searching for items, counting things, collecting treasures, and asking people for help. We had a great time, and although John and I were far from winning, we can't wait to do it again!

Here is our whole group before the hunt began! They all look nice in this picture, but some of them were really "in it to win it" once we got started! My lack of competitive spirit may or may not have led to John and I getting second from last place. We scored only one point ahead of the couple who stopped and ate lunch during the scavenger hunt. But now that we know what to expect, they better watch out for us next time!! :)

One of the questions asked us to get the names of the mail carriers for downtown. I was hoping for extra credit if I actually got a photo with one of them (and we certainly could have used it!), but it didn't work. I was left with only a cute photo of me and mailman Don for the blog! :) He was very helpful and sweet, and actually helped us with a few of the answers that we were stumped on!
31 questions -- and they were tricky!!

Just a few of the items that we had to collect along the way (the others got left behind or eaten!).

We are so blessed to have this group of friends that we can study, learn, and pray with, but also be silly and have fun with! I vote that the scavenger hunt become an annual tradition!!

I have been waiting three years for this...

I have been waiting ever since I was pregnant with Trey for the time when we would be able to begin family traditions and he would actually be able to be a part of them. It was SO much fun to involve Trey in setting up the Christmas tree last weekend. I LOVE this time of year, and knowing that Trey is finally old enough to truly enjoy all of the fun that comes with the holiday season makes me even more excited! He loved watching the tree go up and actually was a very big help! He helped me get all of the branches out of the box (yes, fake tree!), and provided a running commentary of our progress! He just couldn't figure out why it took so long to finally get to the top of the tree.

Here's my little helper!!

He got to put the top on with daddy's help!

The tree is up!

The next night after we put Rowan to bed, it was time to decorate the tree. What fun! We got his jammies on and turned on Christmas music. Trey got to put his ornaments on first, then we let him put Rowan's ornament for this year on too. After that, he took turns with John and I to complete the tree. He did a great job!

In front of our finished tree!