No, No, No!!! It's Christmas!!

This weekend we had our first family Christmas celebration in Oklahoma with the Powell and Perkins families. Saturday was an awesome day where we stayed in our pajamas and just spent time together (thanks to BoomMa for cooking and allowing us to stay IN all day). After waiting patiently through breakfast and shower time, Ledger got to help BoomPa pass out presents to the whole family. Next, Ledger opened his first gift, a truck/boat set that he really wanted from Bass Pro Shop. As he was tearing off the paper and getting a glimpse of the present inside, he was saying, "No! No! NOO!! It's my TRUCK!!" It was so stinkin' cute. Wish we could've caught it on video. He was also very excited about an Avengers Lego set. Baby Locke got some cool toys, but was even more excited about the wrapping paper. I had to be especially watchful to keep him from eating it. Kinley got a pink Disney princess castle -- which was pretty cool, since she's the first girl we've gotten to get some "girly" presents for. :)

That evening, we went to Rhema Bible College to see their amazing light display. I remember driving through here as a kid and think it is cool that my kids are getting to experience it now. Of course, it's grown and become an amazing music-synchronized LED light and music extravaganza compared to what it was when I was little!

Video: Locke sits up

This weekend, we captured this video of Locke going from laying down to sitting up.  He's really working those core muscles. :)   Every day we think he's going to crawl forward, but so far, he is completely stuck in reverse and scoots himself backwards across the room!

Try to ignore the very loud and obnoxious Ledger-sounds in the background...

Ledger: 3 1/2 Years Old

With all of Locke's monthly updates, it only seems fair to do a little bit of a Ledger update as the end of the year approaches.  Our little blondie is so funny, sweet, and loving.  It seems like he has grown-up in leaps and bounds over the last two months.  Not a day goes by that I'm not smiling or laughing because of his cuteness.  Here is is 3 and 1/2 year update...

Ledger, at 3 and 1/2 years:

• Ledger is officially potty trained and hasn't had an accident in over a month (he still potties in bed, but we're working on it).
• He is getting taller and wearing 4T clothes because his 3T jeans are high-water pants on him now.    
• He (finally) loves preschool and just this week, he told his teacher he wasn't afraid anymore.  Every time I pick him up from preschool, he is so excited to tell me all about his day.  He really likes the boys in his class -- Maddox, Simon, Jackson, and Cole, but does not like the girls.  :D 
• A lot of the defiant behaviors that we were dealing with this summer have subsided (thank the Lord) and I'm hoping that we're past the worst of the three-year-old-terrors. 
• Wants his Mommy with him whenever possible.  He often hurts his daddy's feeling by saying "Not you... only Mommy".  This happens mostly at bed time.  We suspect it has something to do with all the time Mommy spends with Locke and Ledger not wanting to miss out on special time too.  Daddy is putting up with it pretty well, but we all hope this phase passes soon.
• Loves being a big brother and is constantly touching, hugging, petting, or otherwise bothering his little brother.  lol.  He is usually pretty gentle, but sometimes knocks him over when giving him a hug.
• Loves his bow and arrow set (thanks, Doodah) and dressing up in costumes.  Most days he can be found dressed as Batman or a ninja.  Silly boy.
• Sings all the time.  He makes up songs or sings some radio favorites.  Most frequently, he sings "Whistle Baby", "Call Me Maybe", and "Party in the USA".

Turkey and Cats -- Thanksgiving 2012

As is our family tradition, we had two Thanksgiving celebrations this year.  First we spent time in Salina with the Michel family and served dinner here at home for our family lunch.  It was especially great to spend a little time with aunt Jaime.  Ledger was so excited for her to get here... he kept saying "She's really coming?!"  As always, I wish our time together was longer.  Our lunch was a big success.  We let Locke sample some Thanksgiving foods, but his favorite, by far, was the whipped jello treat that Grammie makes.  He was covered head-to-toe in pink.  So cute.

In order to fit in two families (and two cities!) into one Thanksgiving, we had to try to hurry up and get things packed to head to KC after lunch was over.  It was a tight schedule since we had to leave Salina by 2pm to make it to Emily's house for a 5 p.m. dinner.  We were pretty well prepared and we were getting things loaded and ready to go on time until Jaime heard a little noise in the van.  A meow.  For the next 45 minutes, we tore the van apart looking for the cat that was meowing INSIDE our van.  We finally deduced that the kitten was up inside the van's dashboard and we would have to dismantle it to get him out.  Since we were already running late we decided to just take the little stowaway with us to KC.  Josh's brother, Brad, is a car guy and we knew he'd be able to help us get the cat out of there.  So for the three hour trip to Olathe, we heard intermittent meowing that confirmed that the cat was still with us and still alive in there.  Crazy.  So we finally arrive in Kansas City a little late, but glad to be there.  We had an excellent second Thanksgiving with  Josh's family and the Powell family.  Sometimes combining families can be awkward, but the Perkins clan is great and we all just have a great time together.  After dinner, we weren't able to wait for pie.  (Don't worry, Millie saved me a piece!)  We had to head out to the early Black Friday sales that started at 8pm on Thanksgiving evening.  We hated leaving our family gathering, but it was worth it because we are DONE Christmas shopping for Ledger already!  YES!

After our Black Friday adventure, the boys took apart our dashboard and still couldn't find that darn cat.  We parked the van in the garage, left the windows down, and left a plate of beef jerky on the floorboard to try to lure him out of there.  The next morning, the cat was out in the garage (and had finished off the beef jerky and even dug into the Perkins' garbage can...) so we rolled up the windows thrilled to have a cat-free minivan again.  We opened the garage door so that the cat could escape if he was scared and when we came back out later in the morning to run errands, we couldn't find the cat anywhere.  Assuming he let himself out, we headed out to visit Emily at her office.  On the way, we were stunned to hear another MEOW!  When we got to Emily's office, we opened up the hood and this time the cat was camped out on our battery.  I moved quickly and was able to finally fish the little offender out of our engine.  It turned out to be a pretty cute little gray tabby kitty.  We took him inside and offered him some water before trying to drop him off at the Olathe Animal Shelter.  Unbelievably, the shelter wouldn't take him because I told them the story of him travelling from Salina in our car.  So our little guy was set free to become an Olathe cat.  I'm sure he's found a nice sedan to hide out in... :)

We spent the rest of the weekend seeing movies.  Josh and Chris went to see the new James Bond movie "Skyfall" and the next day, the girls went to see "Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2".  We also visited the nearby Bass Pro shop where the kids got to visit the Christmas village.  They rode the carousel and got to sit on Santa's lap.  Both of my kids did great with Santa, but poor Miss Kinley was just terrified.  We also went to Cabella's where Ledger loved shooting in the laser gun shooting range and seeing the BIG catfish in the aquarium.  Lucky for him, his BoomPa, Daddy, and uncle Josh all love doing those things too. :)

Locke: 8 Months

Can you believe that Locke is 8 months old already?  I can't!  He just keeps getting bigger and seems like he grows every day.

• Locke is still definitely a Mama's boy -- if I'm in the room, he wants to be with me.  
• He is starting to develop a little personality and a hilarious little temper.  Whenever a toy or something he wants is taken from him, he has a very angry scream.  If you talk to him or make him laugh, he does a full body bounce with arms and legs waving and a big smile on his face that is impossible to resist.  He can often be found flirting with whoever is nearby.  
• Locke is still primarily breastfeeding but he is taking more and more table food -- whatever we're eating, he eats a little bit of it too.  He doesn't really like baby foods though and prefers to feed himself with his hands.  He is SO fast and will snag food off of your plate and quickly shove it into his own mouth.  Which results in a lot of choking.  He chokes just about every meal.  Everyone around us panics, but we calmly pat his back and fish-hook the offending bit of food out of his throat.  It's becoming a routine (and I will be glad when that routine is over!).
• He wants to be standing as much as possible and is working very hard to try to pull himself up... but he hasn't succeeded yet.  
• We've pretty much given up on any clothes smaller than 12 months size because this kid is just so big!!  
• In the last month, he has decided that he finally likes bath time and loves to play in the water with his brother. 
• Right now, Locke doesn't typically sleep longer than 2-3 hours at night.  He wakes up angry, nurses for a minute and then goes back to sleep.  Sometimes he really fights going back to sleep, which makes for an exhausting night.  I keep telling myself that we're going to move him out of our bedroom and into his own bedroom (which we finally fixed up), but that just hasn't happened yet.
• Locke's favorite toy right now is a straw.  Any drinking straw will usually calm him right down and keep him occupied for quite some time.

I have been pretty awful about taking pictures this month, but here is what we've got...

I like my crib... unless you want me to sleep in here!

His room is cleaned up and ready to be slept in.  Any day now...

I like this blankie... it's warm and purrs.....

Mohawk! :)

Parade of Lights 2012

Once again, we went to the Parade of Lights on Santa Fe with our friends Jarod and Briana.  (Shawn couldn't make it this year.  Boo!)  We even met the Pogues there because they were in town for a short visit and Ledger and Conner sat together to watch the parade.  I love this little tradition and it really marks the beginning of the holiday season for me! :)

Weekend fun

This weekend we have had fun at home watching the ksu football game, eating soups, cleaning out the garage (we can park both cars in there now), and playing in the backyard. 

Locke has started standing supported for extended time and is getting closer and closer to crawling and pulling up.  He is so big!!