cutting...cutting...cutting...

Levi's teacher thought Levi could use a little practice cutting at home so she sent home several different cutting sheets for him to do each night.   We worked hard almost every night for about a month and his skills improved so much!  Some nights it was an all out pain to get him to do it, some nights we just didn't have time, but most nights he was really excited and positive about his task.  We are so proud of our growing little 4 year old!

Way to go Levi!

puzzles

Somewhere in December Levi found a puzzle and sat down and did it himself.  I was pretty impressed and realized that I really hadn't gotten any puzzles out for him to do.  Isaiah was never interested in putting puzzles together and would always say no if I asked if he wanted to get them out.  I guess I forgot about them until Levi found them.  He does frequently get puzzles out now and loves to put them together, but almost always requests my help.  If I just sit by him he will usually put the puzzle together all by himself.  Now that Levi has gotten more into puzzles, Isaiah has decided he does like them a little bit so every now and then Isaiah will join in and do a puzzle with us.  It's always fun to notice the differences in interests in my boys.  

And by the way - note that Levi is in just shorts - this is how he is almost always dressed at home - it's either this or footie pajamas :)  Gotta love Levi.

Christmas Day

We woke up Christmas morning to THREE extremely excited boys and one sleeping baby :)  Mark has the excitement of a child which is such an amazing quality!   The boys were overwhelmed with excitement when they found that Santa had left a few packages for each of them under our tree.  Levi was given a Rev 'N Go car set and Isaiah a few more Switch 'N Go Dinos.  

After the excitement of the Santa gifts the boys got to open the 3 gifts from Mark and I.  We give them 3 gifts like the 3 gifts that Jesus received in the Bible.  The first gift is something we know the boys will really enjoy (like Gold) - Levi got a dream lite which he wanted and wanted (thanks to the Qubo channel commercials -- and he does absolutely loves it!), Isaiah got an old school machine battle game.  The second was something to keep them warm (like Myrrh) they each got a new Panther's jersey and the third was something spiritual (like frankincense)  they each got a Bible Man DVD.  

Santa also left Mark and I sweet treat - Mark a humongous Reeses peanut butter cup and for me a dark chocolate orange (a tradition my dad started years ago that I've decided to keep for myself :)

As we were getting done with gifts the baby decided to wake up so he got some time to open his all on his own :)  He got a giraffee ball popper from Santa/us and some more fun toys from Grandma Michele and Great Grandma Mary.  

And then of course I made them pose for a group picture in their Christmas Pj's.

And then we hung out a little bit more - the boys piled on me while Levi played his new tablet which he loves.  (This chair looks like the picture below for a good hour a day most days with either Mark or I sitting in the chair with our boys squished in on top of us - we might be reading stories, playing on the tablet, chatting about the day or watching a little TV- I think this is one of those things that we will miss the most about these little days).  

After some at home time, it was time to head to Grandpa and Grandma's to spend the day with more family! The boys love, love, love time at Grandpa and Grandma's especially when the cousins are there!  My sisters girls each got a tablet for Christmas too so it was a tablet day for the kids -- good thing Elise was too little to really play with hers so there was one for Isaiah to use too.  We did manage to play a few rounds of the card game golf while the babies took turns in our arms or Titus and Elise sharing the walker.  

At one point Isaiah and Liahna talked Grandpa into taking them outside to play for a while in the snow.  They had fun together and the rest of us stayed warm but watched from the window :).  

It was a great way to celebrate together as a family! 

Christmas Eve 2012

We woke up on Christmas Eve morning and the boys were so excited it was finally here - well we all were excited really.  We decided that each of the boys could open a gift from Grandma Michele that morning as a fun way to start the day.  Look at the big grin on both Titus and Isaiah's faces.  Isaiah had been asking and asking for a Switch 'N Go Dino for months and he finally got one!!   Levi got an Innotab tablet and wasn't quite sure about it at first - but then once he figured out what it was he was thrilled to play games on it with Isaiah right over his shoulder.  

 Mark made a yummy breakfast for us and then we all headed to the laser tag store  - Mark had a party scheduled and there was room for additional players so Isaiah and Levi played and we invited our friend Rhea to come play too.  Then it was time to change for church - we went to the earliest service at 3pm.  The boys loved the candle part of the service and enjoyed singing the Christmas Carols throughout the service.

 After church we went to Mark's dad and step-mom's house to celebrate Christmas with them and Mark's brothers.  The boys love to play with their cousins Dakota and Khia.  After some yummy food we had a visit from Santa, and then the boys were spoiled with all kinds of   presents - lots of Angry Birds things because they knew the boys love that stuff - who knew they made Angry Birds toothbrushes with plastic cases, little Angry Birds shaped flashlights and so much more. 

 After the chaos of presents were over we had a little birthday party for Jesus and then the boys got to try out their new toys -- but when you put crazy boys together it doesn't take long for the wrestling to begin :)  

The boys really didn't want to leave, but I knew we had another big day tomorrow and that they (or their dad) wouldn't be able to sleep very late so we headed home by about 10.  I wasn't sure how we were going to calm them down enough to get them to actually sleep, but Mark was quick to figure this out.  Just before we got home he said, "did you hear that??" and the boys were like, "no??" and he said, "I heard Santa's sleighbells, if we don't hurry up and fall asleep when he gets here he won't stop at our house!"   Isaiah took this very seriously and ran right in to bed (after we left a couple cookies out for Santa) and fell asleep very quickly.  Levi did too, but wasn't quite as serious as Isaiah.  It worked perfectly.  

What a great Christmas Eve!

nothing but crazy.

So one of the gifts that the boys both got at the Walther Christmas was a big sheet of Angry Birds tattoos.  They thought it would be fun and great if they stuck the entire sheet on their tummy so that's what they did.  Plus Isaiah had a few others for his arms.     

They must have been high class stick on tattoos too because those lasted FOREVER!  haha.  Oh well, if it makes them happy I figure, why not!

Walther Christmas

Mark's step-mom's side of the family always has a big gathering the Saturday before Christmas.  The family has grown so big that they've had to rent a place to fit us all as Grandma's house was just too crowded!  The boys always have a blast playing with so many of their cousins and 2nd cousins (or whatever the term is for Mark's cousins kids)  This is Grandma plus most of the younger great-grandkids - I think she said she's up to 34 now?

There is always a big feast and then Santa has to make an appearance with a special gift for each kid.  This is always lots of fun for everyone - especially when the teenagers are forced to sit on Santa's lap to get their gift :)

Titus was not happy with Santa and really didn't want to be anywhere near him - but here's a cute picture of Grandma Mark, Grandma Cindy and their 5 grandkids.

Titus was much happier opening his gift far away from Santa :)

What a fun start to the Christmas celebrations!