The Pink Eye Plague

A few weeks ago, Pink Eye sneaked into our house and made itself a home in Ethan's right eye. The morning of our mom's group Christmas party! So, he got to spend that fun morning in the Dr.'s office. Well, Pink Eye kinda liked our house and decided to make a return appearance in Ethan's left eye. So, we armed ourselves with eye drops yet again and banished that bad boy! Well, lo and behold Pink Eye wanted to let us know that it wasn't going quite that easy and made it's way into Noah's left eye. Then over to his right! And, then into my hubby's! Who's next? ME?! No way!  I am drawing the line and standing firm! I have had enough of this Pink Eye Plague! We had to cancel our plans going up to Jax today and we've been stuck at home all week! And, our New Year's Eve will be spent with just each other....who would want to chance being near our family right now? So, I suppose I will add to my New Year 2011 wish list....NO MORE PINK EYE!

Christmas 2010

            Cookies and milk waiting for Santa! Carrots for the hungry

                and hardworking reindeer!

Santa has arrived!!!

 

  

Santa brought a cool new desk for writing and reading!

 Noah using their new LeapFrog Tag Reader. Spiderman, of course!

                         Matching pjs to go with his slippers  and new Woody cowboy boots!                                                                                  

 Opening gifts at Grandma and Grandpa Beck's house

Joey, Samantha, Matt and Alex joining Ethan and Noah in the unwrapping!               

    

 

Not exactly sure who Noah thinks is about to steal this...

 Gingerbread house Ethan, Noah, Samantha and Matt made Christmas Eve at Aunt Colleen's house

 Destroyed in seconds by little Ethan hands.

We had one of the nicest, most relaxing Christmases in a long time! Now that the boys are getting older it is so much easier. On Christmas Eve, we went over to my sister-in-law, Colleen's house. We all brought something to share and had a nice dinner. Afterwards, the kids worked on making a gingerbread house which takes a lot more patience than I thought. But, it was fun! Then we headed home to get the boys to bed and get ready for Santa! We put out the cookies we decorated with sprinkles and carrots for the reindeer and hoped that Ethan and Noah didn't turn out to be on the naughty list and get coal in their stockings. Lucky for them, Santa has a forgiving nature! They were left a Batman cave for Noah and an aircraft carrier for Ethan and a desk to share. Aren't they lucky?! Next they tore through gifts from Granny and Papa and Aunt Shannon's family. 
They were ecstatic about it all!

Next, we headed to Grandma and Granpa Beck's where we had a nice brunch and then opened gifts. Oh, and Ethan and Noah took about 3 seconds to demolish the gingerbread house. Afterwards, Noah leaned over and stuck his tongue on a giant piece and pretty much ruined everyone else's appetite for a gingerbread treat. I believe this was well planned by those two boys because Ethan said "Well, more for me and Bubba then!"  Of course, Ethan and Noah are always scheming so why should this be any different? Sami braved a small piece but decided that it just wasn't worth risk getting a slobbery piece. Smart girl!

Later that evening, my hubby's parents came over to share our HoneyBaked Ham that my hubby got as a Christmas gift from work. We had ham, sweet potatoes, green beans and bread. Simple but yummy. After we were done we shared some Christmas cookies and Peppermint ice cream and put the boys to bed. My in-laws stayed and we enjoyed some beer and wine and played some mean games of Uno Attack! We were convinced my mother in law was working some kind of voo doo or cheating because she was winning nearly every hand. So, while she was away in the bathroom my father-in-law gave her a new stack of cards...ha ha ha! Of course, she was wise to it and we gave her back her original hand. I lost :( My mother in law won! A rematch is coming soon!

Overall, it was a really wonderful Christmas. I did miss my family and especially was thinking of my brother. Hopefully one year we can all be together :)

Palm Coast Mamas Christmas party

Hide and seek with Maggie and Jace during the decorating!

 

Santa arrives!

 Presents for all!

 

Noah tells Santa his secret wishes....

 Hanging out with friends            Whatcha' got there, Bailey?!

 Gifts from Santa! So exciting!

 Playtime on the playground!

On December 18, 2010 @ 9am it was time for our mom's group 2nd annual Breakfast with Santa Christmas Party! Unfortunately, when we woke up that morning, Ethan had pink eye. So, while he went to the Dr. with Daddy, Noah came with me to help decorate. We were met by our friend Rosie, her hubby and two cuties, Maggie and Jace. They did most of the decorating and did a wonderful job making the gazebo so Christmas-y and ready for Santa! Christine also came early with items she had picked up from the grocery store for the party. What a lifesaver too!  We were so fortunate to get an awesome Santa to come and give out gifts to the children.  Everyone brought a brunch item to share, we decorated Christmas ornaments, had a visit and gifts from Santa and tied it all up with some fun on the playground with friends! A great way to spend a Christmas season morning! When asked later what Noah's favorite part of the day? He replied "Barrison!" (how he says Harrison). Friendships always win out over everything! We sure missed Ethan & Daddy at the party!

** A special thank you to Rosie for taking some great pics that included Noah. I borrowed a few from her Facebook page. Thanks, Rosie, for capturing wonderful moments that I missed! :)

St. Mark's Christmas Carnival

                                        Best buddies, Harrison and Noah    

                             Noah feeding Brooks her bottle. What a sweetheart!

                                  Noah is praying Santa calls his name!

                                                        

Tuesday, December 21st, St. Mark's Christian Day School had their annual Christmas Carnival. All the kids had such a great time!

I spent most of my time chasing after Noah but was able to spend some time with both boys while they enjoyed the festivities. There were pony rides, bounce houses, a visit from Santa and pizza! The only low point was when Santa did not call his name to come up to receive a gift because Noah does not attend school there. When Santa left, Noah chased after him saying "Santa! You forgot all about me!" That almost broke my heart! So that Noah's heart wasn't broken I told him Santa left his gift at our house. Whew! Crisis diverted!

Overall, though, it was a funny and happy day for all!

Our Elf on the Shelf finally gets a name!

 

This is our  Elf on the Shelf's 3rd annual appearance! He was given to us by the boys' Aunt Robin back in 2007 when Ethan was not even 2 and Noah was a newborn. He had remained nameless until this year. All our friends' elves had names and our poor elf did not! So, I told Ethan and Noah now that they were old enough, it was time to give our wonderful elf a name! They each picked a name and we put them together and the winner is.....Charlie Thomas! The boys love his new name and so do me and Daddy. Every morning they would check to see where he was. Usually he was in the same spot...oops!...so he would magically move during the day at some point. I am happy Charlie Thomas is watching over our household for Santa to see if  Ethan and Noah are being naughty or nice because with these 2 boys, that's a full time job!

St. Mark's Christian Day School Christmas Program

 

                                                                            Ms. Barrows

                                                                   

                                                                          

     Ms. Donna and Ethan in front of the class Christmas tree

Ethan's VPK class had their annual Christmas Program on Friday, Dec. 18, 2010. It was adorable! All the classes together sang The Penguin Polka, Happy Birthday Jesus, Jingle Bells and a few others. Unfortunately, I sat on the opposite side of Ethan so I didn't get the best pictures of him in all his performing glory. But, all the kids did so well and I am so happy that Daddy, Grandma and Grandpa Beck got to join us!

Noah's Christmas crafts

 

 

     

 Noah and I made some cute crafts this Christmas with our mom's group! The first one we did was a cotton ball Santa, which Noah did very well! I put down the glue but he put on most of the cotton balls. It's so nice now that he's getting older, he loves to craft! The other thing we made was a countown to Christmas chain. We got the idea from Ethan's VPK class.  Both of the boys have been so excited every night to take off another chain and be that much closer to Christmas day and, most importantly to them, open gifts!