I think I posted in my last post that Kennon got to bring home 'Cubbie' a few weeks ago and keep him at home with us for a week. Cubbie is the mascot from Kennon's Awana class called the Cubbies. It was fun snapping some pictures of Kennon and Cubbie.
Of course we had to make our traditional frosted sugar cookies. Kennon and I made the dough one day while Maddox was at school and then the kids and I had fun rolling out and decorating them. I felt like the kids were old enough to handle the piping bags this year. They did a great job....naturals... :)
Mid December we had Kennon go through a skin test for environmental allergens ( dust, mold, cats, dogs, trees, grass etc). Despite how terribly awful this looks he really wasn't allergic to ANY of the allergens?? What??!! I couldn't believe it. He had a small reaction to cats, I believe...but it was nominal and even the allergist didn't think much of it. She did however mention that because his skin is so sensitive ( hence the red spots that lasted longer than she would have anticipated) it was a tad difficult to get a good reading. But, she was really looking for a big ol' welt to show up and he really had none of those. They did not test Kennon for any food items. I spoke with his physician about doing a blood panel to see if he is allergic to dairy but he declined ordering it stating there are WAY too many false positives with dairy and even peanuts. We'll see what his pediatrician says next time we meet with her. For now he has been managing well on NO claritin now for almost a month and just his regular daily asthma inhaler. The above picture is taken about 20 minutes into the test.
The big welt on the top left is a control spot- taken 2 minutes after they administered the allergens.
Taken about 10 minutes after administration.
The last Awana night before Christmas break we had the kids act out the story of Jesus' birth. It was a rough skit but the kids had a good time and seemed to understand the message. The two little guys under the cream colored robe are one of the sheep. Kennon was the Angel and got to proclaim the good news to the shepherds. He was beaming...literally.
Kennon at his preschool Christmas program. He is mid screen...big smile.
Happy kid...off to the gym for a birthday party for Jesus.
Kennon and his primary teacher Mrs. Brei. He LOVES>>>>> Mrs. Brei and talks about her all the time...coming over for lunch, coming over for a play date but most importantly coming to his birthday party! It is so cute.
Maddox showing off one of her cute new dresses from Grandma Jean.
If Kennon and I slow down long enough in the afternoon while we are waiting for Maddox to get home from school, he will fall asleep. He could probably still take an afternoon nap but it really messes with his nighttime sleep so we nap rarely. I thought he was so peaceful looking here. I was doing audits and he just crawled up and snuggled in.
A couple of Friday's ago we went up the street for a Christmas party at the Millage house. I was to bring fruit....but what's fruit in a bowl??! I found a picture of this gem on the Internet and was able to recreate it. It was fun!
Listening to Mr. Tim ( Kim's husband) read about the birth of Jesus Christ. After he was done he had a little quiz for us. It was fun to see the kids yell out the answers to the questions.
After we heard about the birth of Jesus we had a while elephant gift exchange...sounds odd to write those two things in the same sentence.....but we had so much fun. Especially Kennon. He ended up with these two gems but couldn't have been happier. In fact the pillow is still standing in the corner of his bedroom. Such a funny kid.
The Putnam Museum had a Polar Express party a couple of Sundays ago. The kids wore their PJs and enjoyed in the festivities which including face painting, crafts, hot chocolate, watching the Polar Express in 3D and then a scavenger hunt through the HUGE museum with the lights off. We really had a great time. A new tradition for the Kies family.
Showing off their face painting...Kennon got a candy cane and Maddox a Christmas tree.
Making a jingle bell....with our buddies Leo and Lula. We invited the Heuers to come along with us!
Leo was not super interested in smiling for this picture!! But his little sister Lula is super happy! The scavenger hunt through the museum was to find all of the snow man parts. They had little stations set up in the dark with the parts needed to make the snowman complete. The kids really had a great time finding all the stations.
Leo, Lula, Maddox and Kennon sporting their PJs.
Maddox enjoying her hot chocolate...happy sugar smile!
The Tuesday before Christmas I got to attend Maddox's Winter Party at school.
The kids got to eat a holiday snack and play fun games. In this game the kids got in teams of 3 and then chose one person to be the 'tree' and the other two 'decorators'. Maddox was the tree and her buddies Avery and Elise decorated her up. Each team had a bag of goodies including crate paper, ornaments, candy canes, and a bow that they HAD to use to decorate their tree. The first team to use all the goodies in the bag to decorate their tree is the winner. Such a fun cute game and they did a great job!
Maddox and her teacher Mrs. Gaspelin
oooops...out of order...Maddox showing off her piping skills.
The first day of Christmas break we took advantage of the super warm weather, threw on our short sleeved John Deere shirts and headed over to John Deere headquarters in Silvis. The kids, even after numerous visits, still love to climb on the tractors and sit in the cabs. At Christmas time they put up a huge live Christmas tree which makes for beautiful pictures.
Kennon helping me make cranberry pear mini pot pies for Christmas Eve dessert. YUMMY!
Our Christmas Eve service at church was really great! Eric and Kennon even got to be greeters at one of the doors for the 4pm service. The church was packed and I mean packed...!! I had never seen it that full before. The music was awesome and the message even better. I love being home on Christmas Eve and Christmas day.
We didn't manage to get many pictures on Christmas day. The kids stayed in bed till their normal 6:45 time when their alarm clocks turn green signaling they can get up. Kennon was excited to see a train table with wooden tracks and a train and Maddox loved her Puppy Surprise puppy which had 3 babies in it's belly. We opened a few more presents which consisted of puzzles and a couple of movies. We spent the rest of Christmas day doing the puzzles, playing board games, watching movies and taking naps...we all took close to 3 hour naps!! It was just a great relaxing day.
The Saturday after Christmas we drove down to Washington to celebrate with Grandma Jean, Grandpa Jim and Great Grandma Reta. We were able to have the celebration right in her comfortable home. The kids love going to Great Grandma Reta's especially this time of year to be able to go on a Christmas tree hunt through the complex. The kids got lots of great gifts....books, movies, a badminton and volleyball outdoor set and several other things. But most importantly they enjoyed time with Great Grandma Reta, Grandma Jean and Grandpa Jim!! Such a fun afternoon.
Kennon got this helicopter from Grandma Jean and Grandpa Jim and it has been the highlight of the season. He plays with it sun up to sun down...!
This year we changed things up a bit and didn't make our annual trip to Keokuk to celebrate Christmas. We were able to host this year and everyone came to us instead! The Kies family are great card/board game players, especially at holidays. Everyone, including Maddox and Kennon, got in on this one called One Night. I had a fun time cooking with everyone and it was nice to have all the aunts, uncles and cousins hanging out in the basement. So thankful for such a fun space to have holiday gatherings.
I can't believe it but this picture was taken in the first hour of New Years Day!! We actually made it to midnight...which was totally not on my 'to-do' list for the day but we sure did have fun. We invited our neighbors the Kubalsky's over for dinner and some New Years Eve fun. Thanks to modern technology Elisha was able to put 6 month old Alina to bed next door at home and we were able to monitor her through the phone while we enjoyed each other's company in our basement. The kids played Wii and various other games and watched movies while we taught Elisha how to play euchre....which she really caught on to quickly and was scooping up tricks to keep them her and Carl on the board. I got them in the end on my last hand when I was dealt the Jack of hearts and diamonds and the Ace King Queen and nine of hearts!!! What??? never in my lifetime has that happened... I went alone on the hand and scored 4 points to take Eric and I to the finish line. I think that was the first of many euchre games between the Kies and Kubalsky families.
Well.... we had a lazy New Years day which didn't end all that well. We were sad to watch the Hawks get pounded in the Rose Bowl. But, we enjoyed the day at home together... The kids both go back to school on Monday which we are all happy about :) Since I last posted I got two new PTs up and running and will start to train 2 more this coming week. I just about have our Florida vacation all planned but now Eric and I are starting to work on our 10 year anniversary trip to California :) Fun Fun!! I feel like our first official school related Christmas Break has gone well. We've had a good combination of travel time to see other family, family time at home, and special holiday activities. And I was able to hold off on my audits and training for the last couple of weeks to be able to enjoy my time at home. Eric was able to take just the right amount of time off to be home with us too while still covering the office for last minute year end actions. We are looking forward to our guest arriving tomorrow. Chelsea, Eric's niece, will be doing her student teaching in Durant, IA next semester and she'll be staying with us from now until the end of the school year. The kids are SOOO excited. We're looking forward to her visit, and hopefully she won't be overwhelmed by all the attention she's likely to get from the kids while she's here. Till the next post!
