2010 Comes to an End

The week before Christmas & New Year's is a bit of a blur. Caleb was still getting over the stomach bug for the first couple days, so we stayed at home. But, thankfully, the boys had LOTS of new toys to play with, so they were happy and busy! Joshua would carry around his new MAC and dancing truck, and both have slept with him in bed most naps and nights. Both boys play with Caleb's new laptop and love playing the letter games. Joshua also loves his Leapster and plays with it until the batteries die, which Daddy will charge up and replace. One of Caleb's new favorites is his Drako hamster (which squeaks and moves all around on the floor). He also enjoys his new puppy (the fake variety that barks and walks at the command of a remote), and his new Rex dinosaur. We've played dominoes and memory, and we've done lots of coloring and some of the various crafts we had bought the boys. And, we've heard the story of Christmas narrated by the Ginder's over and over and over again. The boys made me laugh over and over again throughout the week, but alas, if I don't write the things they say down right away, I forget.

That week, I started de-decorating. The boys were really sad that we were taking the ornaments off their Christmas tree. I mean really, really sad. I told them that Christmas comes every year, and we'll put everything back out next December. But, to a little guy, that seems like forever.

Wednesday morning, Mamaw came over to see the boys' toys. That night, she also watched the boys so Shawn & I could use up the rest of the gift card he had for Applebee's and I could exchange a pair of pants at Target. Thursday morning, we went out to breakfast with Grandpa Georgia since we had canceled on him on Sunday. We also gave him his Christmas gifts then. That night, he came back over to our house to watch the boys for an hour so we could go look at minivans.

We had been looking at them for awhile and test driven many different models. We ended up purchasing a 2011 Toyota Sienna that night in my favorite dark gray color. We had talked before going about what was important to us feature-wise and what was not a 'must have.' I had said that I MUST have power doors because I wanted the sensor that their hands wouldn't be broken in those heavy doors if one were to close (our babysitter's mom just had off for 6+ weeks from getting her wrist smashed in their minivan, which they have since gotten rid of). That feature is not standard in all vans but was important to me for the safety of our kids. The second feature that I wanted but wasn't a complete necessity was a back-up camera because again, I worry about the safety of our kids, particularly if they would be playing in our driveway, etc. When we went, this van that we test drove had both those features but not a ton of the other ones that we didn't care that much about. It did, however, have things like blue tooth and the buttons to program your garage door opener, an MP3 player jack, and other features that I'm sure I'll enjoy even though I wasn't looking for them. I also LOVE the amount of cup-holders it has, and the fact that it can seat seven or eight, depending on if you leave the sit in the middle of the captains chairs in the middle of the van. And again, not that it really matters, but it's also nice that all the seats can recline for comfort. While that won't happen with the car seats with our kids for awhile, adults would really enjoy this feature, particularly on long trips.

They gave us more on our trade than we were expecting (which we realize it's all a number's game and it's really about the bottom line), and we felt like we got a fair deal when all was said and done. It also comes with two years free maintenance (including oil changes, etc). We're happy to now have enough space to bring home the baby when it's time, and we're also happy that we won't have to worry about the one car we have that's big enough for our family breaking down. I think we'll have this vehicle for a long, LONG time!

Joshua loves the new ride (telling us that he'd like to have a minivan when he grows up), but he keeps asking where my car is. I realized we had the Escape ever since he was a baby, so it seemed strange to him that we wouldn't be traveling in it anymore.

As I thought about 2010 coming to an end, I thought about what a great year it was. We took two trips to Florida as a family, I celebrated my 30th birthday, we enjoyed watching our two little boys turn another year older and continue to develop healthily, I finished the draft of the book I was working on, we met new friends, and we conceived our third child. There's so much more we could celebrate, and we did all along the way! I am most blessed by my husband and children, our family and friends, and our Lord Jesus. With such a great year behind us, I'm looking forward to 2011!

A Sick Bluke

Saturday night into Sunday morning, Caleb came into our room with Joshua. He said "I'm all wet - I spilled." I was SO tired and incoherent, I wasn't grasping what he was saying. I got up and his jammies were indeed wet. We checked his sippy cup and realized that the sippy was still in the cup. Then it occurred to us what he was saying when we checked out his sheets. He was telling us he "spit" (or the boys word for vomit that my mom taught them). He was sick...EXTREMELY sick. He began to heave again in my arms, and I raced him to the bathroom to stand over the toilet. But, I think he was completely empty. I cleaned him up and got him fresh PJs while Daddy took care of the sheets (praise God for my helpful husband!). We got the boys back to bed and nodded off ourselves.

 

Sunday morning, we were supposed to meet Grandma Georgia for breakfast. I called him at 6:30 am to let him know that we wouldn't be there and why. Caleb continued to be sick that morning and took a morning nap - the first time in well over a year. I called Nonie & Poppy at 9:30 am to let them know that we wouldn't be joining them for dinner either that night. I prayed and prayed and prayed for my snuggly little Caleb Luke and that the rest of us wouldn't get his stomach bug. After nap time Caleb woke up and had a little color back and his eyes didn't look so glassy. He was thirsty, and thankfully Daddy had gotten some Pedialyte (at my request) while he was out at the store. We gave Caleb small sips of the drink, and he seemed to perk up. He even played for a little while. Then the diarrhea started. I don't remember ever seeing it this bad - thankfully it had been awhile since either boy had been sick. Caleb got several baths that night and the following two days, but thanks to God his vomiting was over. I called the pediatrician to see what types of food were safe for him to eat, and beyond bananas they suggested yogurt, bland cereal, and starchy foods like mashed potatoes. He had a little appetite the next day, and he enjoyed the Cheerios and bananas that we gave him (we also offered him the other things but he wasn't as excited for those). By the fourth day, he was completely better, and Joshua never got sick. Praise the Lord! I am thrilled to start the New Year on a healthy note!

Say My Name, Say My Name

At some point during the week of Christmas, Joshua told me that the baby's name should be "Minnie." He's been enjoying the movie "Twice Upon a Christmas" which features the different Mickey Mouse characters. I thought the name was especially cute, knowing that the baby is indeed "mini" right now! In fact, I decided that it's a great nickname for the little one. For, if it's a girl, Minnie works just fine (in fact, my mom's grandmother's name was Minnie). If it's a boy, "Mini" like "Mini-Me" from the Austin Powers movie also works. I didn't say much more about it, but every time we talk about the baby, Joshua tells me that the baby's name is Minnie. I just smile. He's so excited for the baby! And while it's sad that Christmas is over, I'm so glad that we have the ultrasound to look forward to on 1/12. :)

Here's what's been going on gestation-wise for the past couple weeks:

Week 16

Fetal Development

 Fingernails and toenails are growing too. In fact, some babies need their nails clipped right after birth!If you haven't already, you may begin to feel movement as the baby's bones harden. If you are somewhat overweight, have a thick uterus, and/or if this is your first pregnancy, you may not be feeling baby yet or feeling baby regularly. Don't panic! You will soon. The legs are now longer than the arms, and s/he is moving those arms and legs frequently, especially since there's still lots of room to move within the uterus.
Maternal Changes
Do you have a stuffy nose or nosebleeds? As mentioned before, your blood volume increases 40% - 50%. This affects your estrogen levels which in turn swells your nasal membranes. This increased blood volume also causes your heart to work harder to support your pregnancy. This isn't a problem for a healthy heart. Your ligaments continue to stretch, and you may be feeling achiness and pain in your abdomen.

Week 17

Fetal Development

This is a period of rapid growth as the fat begins to form underneath the baby's skin. Baby and placenta are about equal in size now. The tiny heart is pumping as much as 25 quarts of blood a day! The reflexes are probably in place now as the baby sucks, swallows and blinks.

Merry Christmas!

The boys came barreling into our room just after 6 am. They told us that they slept in their beds all night and even though they heard Santa, they didn't go downstairs. I have no doubt that Joshua waited until the sun came up to come get us, just to make sure it was officially morning. I'm teaching him how to tell time, but we haven't put an actual clock in his room yet. But, when the sun is up, coming over is fair game. They were SO excited to see if Santa had left them gifts.

So, they went downstairs and while the tree had nothing under it when they went to bed, they saw all the presents and were extremely pleased. Then they check to see if the cookies and milk were gone, and sure enough, there was an empty plate and glass waiting for them!

So, we let them open gifts, one at a time. Here's Caleb unwrapping one of his. Off the top of my head, he received a gigantic set of Mr. Potato Head pieces, a set of tools, a little zhu-zhu hamster named Drako, a remote-control car, a snow globe that his picture goes into, a new Connex set, a set of puzzles, some different craft activities, and a Cars wallet. I'm sure I'm missing some things, but these are the "highlights."

I can tell these pictures are out of order, but here's the Bean opening one of his gifts. He received a Jessie doll, a Dora Leapster game, a craft suitcase that includes colored pencils (something he's been enjoying lately), a big Mac truck (since he begged and begged Santa to get him one, we knew that he'd be disappointed without it Christmas morning! And he was thrilled!), a Toy Story Memory game, the same types of crafts that Caleb received, a Cars wallet and more that I'm not remembering.

When Joshua opened his wallet, he exclaimed "Look! This is the best wallet EVER!" I laughed and snapped a picture of him with a very-tired-looking Daddy. He was all smiles, though. Our boys are just amazing to us!

I think this wallet that we picked up at the dollar store was one of Caleb's favorite gifts. I gave them each a dollar to stick in it, and Caleb carried his around all day, asking us to put it in and take it out of his pocket. He loves watching Daddy with his wallet, and he was extremely excited to have his own!

We were going to wait for Joshua's beloved Mac for the end of the presents time, but Joshua kept asking at each gift he opened whether or not Santa remembered. Finally, we decided to give it to him. He was ecstatic! Daddy opened it and put batteries in right away so he could play with it.

Caleb, in the meantime, LOVED opening gifts this year. He tore off the wrapping paper and was anxious to see what was inside. It didn't matter what it was, he would say "Oh wow! Look at that!" He highly enjoyed the opening portion of the morning. Here he is looking at the poster and markers set we had gotten for each of them (which we colored later that week).

And Caleb also enjoyed his little remote-control car. I didn't get a picture of them opening all of it since I opened my gifts from Daddy & the boys and Daddy opened his gifts from me & the boys. Among my favorites included a couple new bath towels that match our new ones, a gift card to my favorite restaurant, a yoga for pregnancy DVD and a new ice scraper with mitt. :)

Joshua LOVES his Memory game. In fact, later that week he said "Where is my Memory? Where is my Memory?" and I couldn't stop laughing. I knew he meant his game, and yet it sounded so like how I feel some days! We've played Memory fairly often since then, and I'm surprised how well Joshua understands the game and remembers where the cards are. I can tell he's growing!

After we were done opening presents, I made cinnabons which we enjoyed with milk. Then we got dressed up and headed to Grandma's house. After discussing back and forth for awhile, it seemed that Christmas lunch worked out the best for the schedule of all parties involved. We arrived first and my sisters and their families arrived not terribly long thereafter. In the meantime, I snapped this picture of Grandma & the boys. It was the one and only picture I took while we were there. As soon as the other girls arrived, we started opening gifts. Joshua got a new 'dancing' truck that he just loves as well as a new big boy bike, stickers with his name on it, and many other nice things. Caleb received a new laptop computer (the kiddo-variety), a Curious George coloring book, letters for his big boy room and many other great gifts. We had already received our rocker recliner, but she also got us both a pair of shoes (and I LOVE my new Walking Cradles - thanks Mom!) and some serving dishes and most everything off of Shawn's wish list. :) After we were done with gifts, we enjoyed a nice lunch including sandwiches, fresh fruit, veggies, shrimp, munchies, cheesecake and more!

The boys played for awhile but soon it was time to go home. After they were done napping, we played most of the rest of the evening away. We also relaxed and watched some episodes of the first season of Modern Family (one of Shawn's gifts). It was a nice day all around. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Christmas Eve

When the boys woke up from their naps on Christmas Eve, we started finishing up dinner. I had pre-made the pineapple stuffing, so we simply popped it into the oven. I had also made the 'extra good' mashed potatoes the day before, so they were in the crock pot. All we had left to heat up was the peas & carrots and the pre-cooked and spiral cut honey-baked ham. I set the table with my pretty plates and snowman plates for the boys, and I lit the candles and turned off the lights. The candles kept the boys pre-occupied, so they didn't eat much. In fact, the only thing that Caleb ate was his peas & carrots and a little bit of ham, while Joshua finished his mashed potatoes and peas & carrots. Shawn & I ate some of everything, and it was DELICIOUS! :)

When dinner was over, we cleaned up and then headed out to look for Christmas lights, another Christmas Eve tradition. We drove over to Longfellow, where a house was completely decked out, including a Santa display in the window that looked extremely real. The boys were impressed. Next we drove to another house on Route 23 in Leola that had a drive-through Christmas light display. Along the way, we saw lights, of course, and the boys enjoyed it. But, after an hour, we were all done being in the car. We went home, and I gave the boys baths and helped put them into their PJs. Then we headed downstairs, where they opened a gift from the Ginder's that was labeled 'Christmas Eve.' Inside was a book about the birth of Jesus narrated by Papaw, Mamaw & Aunt Erica. The boys loved it!

Next we opened our stockings, which always have useful items like toothbrushes and chapstick and also fun items like favorite snacks. The boys both munched on raisins and goldfish and drank their juice boxes as we watched one last Christmas video before putting them to bed.

We warned the boys that if they heard Santa Clause, they couldn't go downstairs. They weren't allowed to eat his cookies or drink his milk or he might be sad and not leave gifts. They needed to stay in their beds all night. They both agreed, and they helped me put out the cookies and milk on the special plate we had received from Great Grandma Good at her party (see the top picture). They were SO excited! And it was getting late. Both Daddy & I were exhausted, so as soon as we thought they might be asleep, we hurried downstairs to bring the presents out and put them under the tree. Then we cuddled into our bed and watched a very disturbing movie called "the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo." It was based off a novel and while good, I wouldn't have recommended it on Christmas Eve. But, we enjoyed just spending time together. We got to bed around midnight, hoping the boys would sleep it...

Cookies for Santa

Wednesday morning (12/22) I received a phone call from my sister asking me if I could watch Daniel & Emma while she went to see Faith's school program. I said sure, so the kids were here for a little while playing. Our activity planned for that day was baking and decorating some Christmas cookies for Santa.

Since I don't have a rolling pin other than a mini-pampered chef one, I bought the pre-cut/shaped sugar cookies at Walmart. With the extra dough from around the cutouts, I did use the little rolling pin and my little cutting board and the two cookie cutters I own to form the gingerbread men and the frog shaped cookies. I baked them while the kids played so they could cool in time to decorate them before nap time.

The boys were very excited to help! In the meantime, we also baked some oatmeal raisin and chocolate chip cookies. Then we iced the cooled-down shapes, and the boys stood on their stools to be able to dump the glitter and sprinkles on the various cookies. They enjoyed it, I think.

Then they asked to sample one. So, I gave them each a cookie, and after taking one bite, they both left the rest on their plate and decided to go up for naps instead. I will say that they were not as exciting as years past (probably from store-bought vs. homemade dough). And, I will also say that the kids aren't big cookie eaters unless they're chocolate chip, which is Caleb's favorite. Joshua isn't big on sweets but prefers salty snacks. Here are a couple pictures of what the finished cookies looked like!

That evening, we went to Joshua's favorite restaurant. I had given Daddy the meal itinerary for the week, and I told him we didn't have any plans for Wednesday night. I could make a casserole, but we didn't have much room in the fridge for leftovers. So, Shawn suggested that we go out using a coupon he had, and I agreed that it sounded like a splendid idea! The boys did well, and I suggested that we had over to the mall to see how long the line was to sit on Santa's lap.

Since we hadn't done it yet this year, I knew this was our last chance! Shawn agreed. We got in the long line and figured it would take about a half an hour until it was our turn. We underestimated slightly, and we also underestimated how long our kids could be relatively still in the crowds of people. It was a little bit taxing, but finally it was our turn and so worth the wait!

We got up to our family being next in line when Joshua said with a frantic look on his face, "I have to put my water in the potty NOW!" We hadn't waited that entire time to miss Santa! After all, it was almost closing time and the line was even longer than when we had first got in it. We asked him if he could hold it for just a few minutes to tell Santa what he wanted and then we would rush him to the bathroom. Thankfully he agreed. So, he went up to Santa, who didn't even ask him what he wanted! But, Joshua told him anyway. I want a "Big Mac." Haaa!!! He meant it, too, only he was talking about a Big Mack Truck from the Cars movie. They both smiled nice for the picture and the Bean jumped down so Caleb could take his turn.

Caleb didn't cry this year, but he also refused to tell Santa what he wanted or even say 'hi' to him. He was extremely shy. But, I loved the little picture of him. Then Santa gave them each a little activity book and sent them on their way to get to the other children waiting in line for him. As we were leaving, I took a few more pictures of the various decorations they had up, which were neat. Of course, once we were finished, we ran to the nearest restroom and Joshua took care of business. Thankfully he was able to wait.

Thursday, the day before Christmas Eve, Grandpa Georgia stopped in and helped me peel the potatoes for my Christmas Eve dinner. I spent most of the morning preparing the food so I didn't have to do as much work on the day that Shawn was home. The boys also played with him, which was a nice distraction as I prepped the stuffing and "extra good" mashed potatoes.

That evening, we met friends from our life group at Papa Dino's, somewhere I hadn't been since I was in junior high. It's a little pizza shop that the one family picked, and after we were done eating, we went to one of the two "Christmas Eve" services at church. The boys weren't too sure about going to church at night, but I told them it was a birthday party for Jesus, and they happily went to their classes. We sat with our friends and enjoyed the service. The worship was by far the best part, and the message was a little generic for our taste but never bad.

Shawn had off Christmas Eve and Christmas Day last year, but not this year. He simply had Friday off, which most people did since Christmas fell on a Saturday. When we got up, I made french toast & bacon while he made eggs. He also went shopping to grab the last of what we needed (nothing like waiting for the last minute!). Grandpa had bought some pizzas that he didn't have room for in his freezer, so he asked if we could put them in ours. I said sure, so he came over and brought Emma with him. Joshua told her that she MUST stay and that they were friends. She replied "We are friends, but I can't stay forever!" He was sad that his cousin had to leave, but they had had fun while she was here. When Shawn came back from the store, we wrapped gifts as the boys napped. With two of us working, we finished in less time than I feared it would take us. Again, nothing like waiting until the last minute! We were excited for the boys to wake up as we had lots planned for that night.

Christmas Crafts

The Monday before Christmas, I knew I needed to finish up buying things for the stockings, as well as our groceries for the holidays. So, I called Grandpa Georgia to see if he'd like to join us on our trip to Walmart, and he said yes. I also ran into one of my friends there. I had good luck finding everything I needed, and Grandpa bought lunch to take back to his place and eat. He had asked me to help wrap his gifts for him, so it all worked out nicely. The other items I bought were things I needed to complete a few crafts. I knew Joshua would be missing preschool, and I wanted to keep the boys busy doing fun activities. Monday night I had a hairdresser appointment and afterward, Daddy & I organized all the gifts for the boys and made a list to make sure we had approximately an even number of items, etc. While we were organizing, we found the "make-your-own-ornaments" we had bought on Black Friday. I set them aside to make with the boys.

So Tuesday morning right after breakfast, we got started. First, the boys colored the Cars-themed ornaments. Each of them picked out three that they wanted to decorate, and amazingly enough, they didn't pick the same three.

Then they helped thread the string through the hole, and I tied them at the ends. You'll notice the boys are in their pajamas, but Joshua begged to not have to get dressed that morning, and I agreed. After all, we weren't going out anywhere. So, they didn't put on real clothes until after nap time. :)






Once they were finished making the ornaments, I let them pick places to hang them on the tree.

As they were working on their ornaments, I was doing some of the trickier cutting and prepping for the other crafts I had planned that day. I had seen both the tree and angel crafts elsewhere, and I thought they were neat ideas, so I decided to adapt them slightly for the boys & I to do together.

We started with the tree crafts. First, I made a free-hand cut of a basic tree shape on green paper and cut it out. Then I glued them to a piece of red construction paper for the boys and black for me (just to see what the different colors would look like). I had already printed out the boys faces for the crafts and cut them out, so I glued their face to the tops of the trees to be the angel. The craft I had originally seen had their hand print at the top, but I didn't have enough space for that. Those trees also weren't decorated very much, whereas that's where we spent most of our time.

I took a bottle of glue and made dots and then let the boys dump the glitter on. I will confess that it was a MESS as they learned how to shake the glitter bottle to get it in the right area. But, that's all part of the fun. The boys LOVED the different colors of glitter and how it sparkled!

When they were done with glitter, I also put globs of glue on and let them put the little fuzzy balls on that we had left over from Joshua's turkey feather craft. Caleb liked these way better than the glitter, whereas I think Joshua enjoyed dumping the glitter everywhere.

Here were our final creations:

Next, we worked on the angel craft. First, we cut a triangle shape out of white paper for the body and glued it to a blue piece of construction paper. Then I spread white paint on a coffee filter and both boys took turns pressing both hands into the white paint and then on either side of their angel. After they were both done, we quickly went and washed all our hands to get the paint off. Then we glued the pictures of the boys to the top of the triangle and put a circle of gold glitter glue on top as a halo. I asked the boys how we should decorate the triangle body, and both of them agreed on cotton balls ripped apart (other options included a fluffy coffee filter or doily). Then I cut out the Bible verses about the angels from Luke 2 and we glued them onto the remaining areas. Here are how the crafts turned out:

That night, our babysitter came to watch the boys and Shawn took me out to dinner using a gift card he had received. We were going to make it dinner and a movie, but the movie Shawn wanted to see didn't come out until that following Friday. Doh! So, we did a little unsuccessful shopping that evening and headed for home. It was a nice night out and a good day overall.

I love my little angels!

First Annual Life Group Christmas Party

On Sunday, December 19, we went to church as a family. After the kids napped, we were back on the road, this time to our friends' house for an "Ugly Festive Sweater" Christmas party. I forget how the conversation started (awhile ago) about how some folks get ugly holiday clothes from distant relatives, and they decided to make it the theme for our party. Unfortunately, while the sweater I wore is not my favorite and was probably a maternity sweater made in the late 80s, it wasn't horribly ugly like some folks' sweaters. I was actually disappointed I didn't have anything hideous to wear! Here were the winners, Brian & Jill Martin (he plays the keys and she sings on our church's worship team on second Sundays). We all voted, and they won by a landslide. They're showing off their sweaters and their prizes.

The party was at the home of the Buckwalter's, our life group leaders and good friends. I could tell how much work they put into the planning! They had coordinated a scavenger hunt, and warned us to have our cars full of gas when we arrived. Then they volunteered to watch all our children while we went looking for the various items (and there were nine kids there altogether!).

Then we were paired into teams to race looking for items, including the Season's Greetings sign at Rockvale Square, the Christmas tree in Downtown Lancaster, the Christmas lights at the Village Greens in Strasburg, the Nativity at the Lititz Square, a real live Santa Clause (with bonus points for you actually sitting on his lap), a store line with more than ten people in it, a house with at least 10 decorations (Christmas lights not included), and I think there was more but I can't recall now. We had exactly one hour to be back with as many pictures on our digital camera as we could take. If we were even a minute late, we were disqualified. We were paired with the Lehman's, pictured below. Jerry drove and Andrea helped to navigate. We made it to all the places except for the nativity scene in Lititz.

We were trying to think of the best route and we couldn't think of where to get a photo with Santa. Eventually, I think Andrea asked if Dutch Wonderland had one, and we said YES! We had bought a picture of Joshua with him last year. We also were fully aware that they did NOT allow personal cameras and you were to buy the pictures of your kids with this nice gentleman (to the tune of $16 a picture this year!). Shawn ran in, held up his camera, took the shot and bolted out of there. Santa waved at him, but Shawn wasn't stopped by security. The other team had the same idea, only they paid to get their picture taken with Old St. Nick. Jill & Vanessa sat on his lap and told him about our scavenger hunt. Since they were there first, I'm wondering if that's why he waved at Shawn. Either way, the bonus point for the paid-for picture earned them the win. We had both gotten to the same amount of places. And while it's a great memory for them, I'm glad we didn't pay the money for the picture. ;-)

Two of the couples couldn't make it, so that made only two teams: our team and then the Martin's (pictured above in their ugly sweaters) and the Tate's, pictured below. I actually thought Vanessa's sweater was somewhat cute for being so tacky - it was the 12 days of Christmas with the 12th day pictured on the back.

When we got back from the hunt with our pictures, the kids were all in one piece, as were the brave Seth & Karisten. Joshua & their son Kyler are buddies, and here they are playing together.

Kyler is three, and Joshua is four. Veda is also four, but will turn five a few months before the Bean. They are all in the same class at church. Veda is pictured below in the purple dress-up outfit, hugging little Sophi (Kyler's younger sister), who just turned one. Caleb is two, and the other kids who were there were 6, 7, 9 and 10, I believe, three boys and one girl.

After the scavenger hunt, we continued to munch on the food we had brought and the Buckwalters had provided. We started playing games. The first thing we did was the gift exchange - each person was to take something they homemade. Two couples brought pickles, one brought a pie, and one had a CD of musich he had written, which I thought was cool. Shawn ended up with the sought-after shoo-fly pie, his favorite.

There were also two relays they had planned. The idea of the first game was to stuff 12 balloons - that the teams had to blow up - into a pair of panty hose (six in each leg) and then one member had to wear the panty hose while the whole team sang Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer. Instead of doing it at the same time, we opted to watch each other and just time it. The guys went first, and we laughed and laughed at the scene. Seth stuffed the balloons in the legs as the guys blew them up and then he stuck the "antlers" on Shawn, who was a good sport. I thought he looked so cute!

Then the girls took their turn. We won by a landslide, but we also made our balloons smaller and are more used to wrestling with pantyhose. All but one of us blew up the balloons but then we added another person stuffing the balloons into the legs and worked as a team. Vanessa was kind enough to don the antlers while we sang.

After we were done with the game, Veda wanted to wear the antlers, too, so we got a picture of her and her mommy with them on. The kids also enjoyed playing with the balloons once we were finished with them. For the most part, the kids played in the basement but would come up on occasion to sit or talk with us, etc.

The next game Veda asked us to play. Each team (and again we played guys against gals) had to take turns putting on oven mitts, unwrapping a Hershey kiss, eating it and getting back in line. When all team members had gone, that team one. Poor Shawn opened his kiss right away, but it fell on the floor and he couldn't find it. So, the girls won again. ;-)

We also played a round of "Never Have I Ever" which the older kids had started and then we played as a group. You hold up your hand and say something you've never done, and if someone else in the group has done it, they put down a finger. When all five fingers are down, the hand comes down and you're out of the game. The idea is to keep your hand up throughout the game. Shawn said "Never Have I Ever had a daughter," and several fingers went down around the room; I said "Never Have I Ever used my passport"; one of the guys said "Never Have I Ever sang a solo" and so on. It came down to Shawn & Seth, but since we hang out on occasion, they know too much about each other. So, Seth won. :) It was a fun game, though. We continued to hang out until 8ish, and then I helped clean up the toys and we all headed for home. Once again, we had all had a fun time. The kids enjoyed playing with the other kids, and we enjoyed hanging out with the adults.