O' Christmas Tree

 Last Saturday we took advantage of the rather warm sunny temperatures and headed out to get our Christmas tree. We tried a tree farm that we had never been to called Mumma's. It is owned by an old couple who has been running it for 60 years. All 5 of their grown children were there helping to shake, wrap, cashier and carry trees to patron's cars.  The farm was really well taken care of with beautiful frazier fir trees and spruce trees. We learned, as I was chatting with one of the sons, this is likely going to be their last season and the farm is probably going to be for sale. Eric and I are actually considering buying it…!! More to come on that at a later date.  We are really happy with the tree and the kids had a fun time decorating it with all our ornaments. 

 Sunday we went to the Family museum and attended their Winterfest. The highlight of the afternoon, after snacks, crafts, and games was meeting Santa. He was a really silly Santa and kept teasing Kennon, as you'll see in the pictures.  Maddox asked for a bigger bike and Kennon asked for a bike without training wheels!!!???  Lucky for Maddox we DO have a new big bike for her…as for Kennon well…he has a bike that has training wheels but he has been defiantly refusing to allow us to take them off. I think Eric will just take them off before we go over to his office to ride on Christmas day and poof that will be the end of the training wheels. We KNOW he can ride without the training wheels, his balance is amazing and he has mastered pedaling. It'll be so cool to see them both tearing about The Planning Center basement Christmas day.. 

 Santa had a fan on him….I think it makes Maddox look like a model…blowing her hair!!!  

I had to throw this picture in for Grandpa Jim and Uncle Tyler and some of the Kies family. We got some of our Christmas decorations out Friday night before we actually got our tree on Saturday.  Kennon quickly grabbed a long piece of garland and started 'fishing' with it over our balcony!! How priceless is that??  He'd yell out as Eric and I were decorating…'Dad I got a big one!!'  all enthusiastically.  So cute! He eventually talked his sister into fishing with him and found her a nice 'pole' to caste too!!  They both do enjoy fishing although KTK a tad more…probably a boy thing. So thankful they've been able to fish with Grandpa Jim as well as Uncle Jim and Uncle Bryan, Eric's brothers down in Keokuk in Uncle Jim and Aunt Lora's pond.  A great pastime.

I took Maddox for her 5 year check up a few weeks ago. I forgot to post that she was in the 98th percentile for height!!! Neither of our kiddos have ever been in that high of a percentile!!  She does appear tall compared to her classmates. She is in the 48th for weight.  She still naps during the afternoon and is our 'sleeper' unlike her little brother. She loves her big girl full sized bed and most mornings we have to wake her about 7:15 to get ready for school. She is starting to read and is getting very proficient at sounding out words. We do need to work further on sight words to make things easier for her.  She is really growing up and her behavior is paralleling the aging as well…less tantrums and more understanding of the word NO!! We do have a rather simple sticker chart going for both the kids to encourage following directions the FIRST time and having a kind and loving heart with all activities/interactions. It really seems to be working, although there was a learning curve the first week :).  Morning chores and cleaning up are also on the chart.  The kids are very interested and soaking up the Bible stories surrounding the birth of Jesus. We have a daily Christmas devotional that is kid driven but reads certain verses from the Bible to help them become more familiar with the details leading up to and after the birth of our Lord and Savior.  We are so blessed as a family and are trying to drive home the idea of gratitude although sometimes not an easy task at this time of year.  But Eric and I keep persevering. We have picked several 'angels' from trees about the community to buy a present for someone in need. I know Maddox is getting it…we still have some work to do with Kennon…but he is only 3 1/2.  Have a great rest of your week!! 

Thanksgiving, Beautiful Ballerina, Holidays at The Planning Center

 I attended my last Monday night of cake class last Monday ( before Thanksgiving) and this was my fourth and final creation.  A triple layer white and chocolate cake with twinkie cream and chocolate butter cream filling.  I had a ball doing the class and hope to be able to continue to work on my skills. I still haven't perfected my butter cream frosting recipe and certainly have more learning to do but for now I'm happy with my skills. Thanks to Carolyn Maddox and Eric for pushing me out of my comfort zone to take the class!! 

 Last week we had our first official snow.  The kids were super excited to help me clean off the driveway. They literally worked their hearts out till it was mostly clean.  The snow froze to solid ice before we had a chance to get out there the day that it actually snowed so it took a hoe to break it all up.  We switched off every now and then, two of us with shovels and the other with the hoe.  Kennon kept saying to Maddox and I 'keep working…keep working..' It was so cute. The goal was to get the driveway cleared off for Daddy!  They were good little helpers. 

 Kennon posing with his 'new' but old PJs from my hand me down friend Katie.  He loves these with the snowmen and they are a super warm fleece.  He's holding a Wii remote. The kids are emphatic about the Wii and play almost everyday in some capacity!! Both kids' coordination has improved drastically since we started with it this summer. It's actually pretty fun to watch…and a perfect energy burner now that it is cold outside.

 Maddox and Kennon helped me make crock pot applesauce last week. We took it to Grandpa Jim and Grandma Jean's house for Thanksgiving. It was super easy, relatively healthy and REALLY GOOD!!  

 So this is what you do with left over frosting when you run out of cake. My class is now over which means I'm not actually baking currently but I still have stock piles of frosting left in the fridge from all my projects of varying colors.  It lasts a long time as long as you have a lid on it and it stays cold. We happened to have some graham crackers!!  Maddox requested three colors for this particular cracker.  Luckily she has forgotten it's in the fridge now and hasn't requested any lately….her teeth are thanking her!! 

 Kennon and Maddox in our whirlpool tub!!  We don't do this often so it is a very special treat.  We thought the night before Thanksgiving was perfect for this activity! 

 We traveled over to Grandpa Jim and Grandma Jean's house on Thanksgiving day for a big feast.  Great Grandma Reta, Aunt Veta, Uncle Mark and cousins Jaci and Alex were there to join us.  We had a great time…. the kids were well behaved and there was lots of great food…including BOTH turkey and ham!! Way to go Grandpa Jim. Grandpa Jim showed Maddox and Kennon how to break the wishbone the morning following the big celebration.  Kennon got the long end!! Thank you to Grandma Jean and Grandpa Jim for hosting AND for keeping the kids overnight for an extra night to get Eric and I a kiddo free night. 

 This year we will have two Christmas trees in our house. We have Eric's mom's artificial tree which we put up last Sunday in the basement. The kids had a blast decorating it once Eric and I finally got the lights all functioning….  This is the first artificial tree I've encountered. It has the lights already attached to the branches, which is new to me.  You have to have all the plugs hooked up just right and in the right sequence to get all the branches lit….I"m sure you can infer that after what seemed like forever, and probably WAS in kid time, we gave up and just added our own string or two of lights to make the lighting look relatively even. I"m pretty sure we'll spend less time this weekend stringing up the lights on our real tree!!  :)  HAH!!  I thought those artificial pre-lit trees were supposed to be 'easy'!! But, we are sure happy to have a little of Eric's mom's spirit celebrating with us in the holidays.  

 Aunt Kelly sent the kids each a Christmas advent calendar. They get to pull open the tab each day and find a little piece of chocolate behind the door. So fun!! You can see the excitement in Maddox's eyes below.  You can also see she has on a dress.  Eric and I purchased a Sonos sound system for the living room this past weekend. We are having dance parties NIGHTLY now which require Maddox, or so she thinks, to have on a dress!!  It is super fun.  We are thankful to Uncle Tyler who helped us sift through speaker technology and recommended this device.  It is fabulous!!! Thank you!

So Maddox is really loving her Wednesday afternoon ballet class at the museum.  We, as parents, only get to peek at her work one time per month for only 10 minutes at the end of a specified class.  Yesterday was PEEK day.  I was so happy with her improvement from October's peek class.  She has perfected her gallop and her skip and is more appropriately alternating use of her legs, which has always been a challenge for her. I absolutely think the videos are adorable ( especially the little girl to the right of Maddox with the pigtails in the second video).  I am really proud of her and you can see in the videos she is really loving it with smiles and looks of appreciation on her face.  She is getting a high FIVE after one of her routines from her little brother who is always happy to sit and watch his big sis dance up the floor. She has her recital in May and her class' routine is Winnie the Pooh. She will have a consume that resembles a bee!!  How cute. 

 Tonight was The Planning Center's annual holiday client open house.  We get all dressed up and head over for food, fun, and hanging with the other Planning Center kiddos.  I get to chat with some of Eric's clients…..and run after the kids. Most of you know The Planning Center is big and there are lots of nooks and crannies for the kids to run in and out of.  

 All The Planning Center kids managed to sit still for a few seconds while I shot a quick photo.  Maddox used to be the oldest of them all but the daughter of the primary owner of The Planning Center started dating and is now engaged to and having a baby with a nice fella who has two older children. Maddox is just a year or so younger than Madison so they play well together. From the left Mason 2,  Michael 8, Madison 6, Maddox, Christopher 4, Lily 3, Kennon….phew. We are only missing Graham who is Lily's 1 year old little brother and was home in bed.  So cute!! The all had a ball running, racing, and riding all the toys in the basement while the adults/clients hung out upstairs. 

 You'd think that we all decided on what the kids were going to wear but we didn't!!!  They all totally matched.  

 Happy happy happy kids. 

Happy Holidays everyone. 

Halloween and Random Fun!

Maddox giving Katelyn a big hug at her last soccer game. Katelyn and Maddox worked as a team the last couple of games. They'd pass to each other and help one another score!! Maddox would yell across the field 'Katelyn pass me the ball!!' Maddox meant business by the end of the season. We were really happy with her growth. I think she scored 3 goals the last game, with Katelyn's assistance.  We are looking forward to the spring soccer season. 

Halloween was chilly this year but that didn't stop the kids.  Eric took pirate-Kennon and Elsa-Maddox out to gather candy.  I stayed home this year to meet and greet the kids in the neighborhood with treats. The wind was directly out of the north so the kids did a point to point trick-or-treat.  I drove the three of them up Judge road to the north and they walked with the wind at their back's (a runner's technique) to gather candy. And they sure did get a load! My goodness we have generous neighbors. 

 We attended the Family Museum's Halloween Party the Sunday before Halloween. The weather was much kinder!!  The kids enjoyed crafts, games, and the beloved bouncy house.  

 Rowan (Anna) and Kate (Elsa) are two of Maddox and Kennon's buddies from Our Savior. They don't go to Our Savior anymore but Rowan happens to be in Maddox's dance class so they've been able to rekindle their relationship. They joined us at the Halloween party. 

 The museum was all decked out with crazy, and some SCARY, Halloween decorations. 

Getting ready to hit the streets for CANDY!

 Eric and I attended the Community Foundation of the Great River Bend Area's annual celebration a couple of weeks ago.  Eric and I have a donor advised fund through this foundation and get to pick various charities to receive the dividends from our accounts.  We also help this Foundation by reviewing grants that are submitted monthly.  The charitable work that is being done in the Quad Cities each and every day is amazing. 

 Eric and I attended the Northwestern vs Iowa game the first of November. It was a fabulous game with a victory for the Hawks!  Thanks to Grandma Jean and Grandma Jim for keeping the kiddos for the weekend. I'm going to the Wisconsin vs Iowa game this coming Saturday! Brrrr, I hope it warms up a bit. 

 Two weeks ago we attended the Pleasant View Grade School's Fall Fest Fundraiser.  My good friend and neighbor Kim Millage invited us to the fun. It was a great opportunity for us to see the school and for Maddox to start to know about her new environment for the coming school year. There were tons of games set up along the halls of the school, several games in the gym, silent auctions, a cake walk ( hoping to help out with that next year ) and of course a bouncy house!!  The kids both had a ball and 1/2 our neighborhood was there so it was nice to catch up with everyone.  Kindergarten round up is March 6th!!  I can't believe it. We'll have a Kindergartener in the house. Does that sound totally crazy!!!??  

Brecken-2 (he'll be 3 on Thanksgiving!!)  Maddie - 5  Maddox - 5  Kennon -3  Parker - 7 

Last Sunday we tagged along with the Millages and headed out to Wildcat Den near Muscatine. The Den was hosting a  50K trail run where several of Eric and I's running buddies were running as well as Kim's husband Tim. So all of us hiked out on the trail….that would be Kim, Eric and I plus all the above kids and 7 month old Hudson on the front of Kim in a baby carrier (we took up most of the space along the trail as you can imagine) …..to meet and cheer on the participants.  The kids' bright, happy, faces and bright, fun colored coats were a welcome site to the participants as they jogged along the very hilly, unforgiving, terrain. We had a grand time and the weather was just perfect!!  Thanks for inviting us Millages. We are so thankful to know you all!

 Most of you know I am taking a cake decorating class Monday evenings in November.  The above cake was from week two.  I am having a fun time learning new decorating techniques and learning how to make the perfect tasting frosting (although I've found there is a learning curve with both!!)   Get ready to eat some cake as I'll be toting a cake pretty much every where I go for the next several months :)  Practice makes perfect!! Maddox and Kennon are certainly happy I signed up as I bring home a newly decorated treat each Monday night.  It is really fun! I am enjoying being out of the house and learning some new skills. 

 We've graduated from the 5 point harness to just the regular seat belt for Maddox.  However, as you can see from the picture, we have a little work on getting the technique down pat.   I will say these darn winter coats are certainly not fun!!  The kids and I are still getting used to the big, uncomfortable, but necessary fluffy coats. 

 I'm always surprised to see what Maddox picks to wear 'post nap'. She most always has a dress on and it is ALWAYS not what she had on in the morning. This dress is from the girls across the street and is a dark green velvet. So cute. She is planning to wear it to The Planning Center client holiday party in a couple of weeks.  

 With the snow Saturday night, it was time to take the riding toys over to The Planning Center basement so the kids can still ride all winter long. Eric had a client's birthday party Saturday night just down the street from The Planning Center so the kids and I packed a picnic dinner, the bikes and a movie and set up shop at the office while Eric enjoyed the party down the block.  The three of us had a great time in the basement getting our sillies out doing obstacle courses, practicing Maddox's dance steps from class, and trying to convince Kennon he'll be "FAST" when he learns to ride without his training wheels. The little guy doesn't want to take the training wheels off because he thinks he won't be fast.  It is our goal for the winter to make the transition. We are so thankful for The Planning Center and it's success.  

Watching Cinderella on the big screen! 

The kiddos are super into MUSIC right now.  Eric and I are looking into getting a sound system for a house as they kids love to have 'dance parties' as we call them. We have started substituting most of our normal 'cartoon time' for music time per request of the kiddos.  Most often Maddox disappears upstairs to put on a dress ( notice she doesn't care that this is a summer dress and it is freezing cold out)  for the event while Kennon is happy dancing about in whatever clothes he has on. They get each other going and feed off of each other as you can imagine. It is really fun to watch them!  I happened to have my video running to catch this last night…rest assured he was fine!!  We didn't have any music 

during this event as Maddox and Kennon created the music themselves! 

We are gearing up for the holidays and to meet the newest member of the Knowles family. It is sooo nice to not be working, although I have picked up some chart audits in the last couple of weeks and am training a new physical therapist.  But, I haven't committed too much time to VNA with the holiday tasks in que.  I'm still trying to find the right balance.  The kids both have Thanksgiving programs at school this week. They are both singing and then Maddox's class is having a Thanksgiving feast. They only go to school Monday and Tuesday next week and then not again till after the holiday. We hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving. We are so blessed.