Christmas Highlights: Part Three

We had two very fun play dates in December that made our holidays even merrier. The first was to the Museum of Science and Industry to see the South Korean tree at the Christmas Around the World display. The tree itself was exciting to see, even if the boys (mine at least) weren't terribly thrilled.


I think Joel had spotted the nearby train.

I love group shots with two-year-olds. They always make me laugh!


Finally we got to the fun stuff. Tractors, trains, submarines, and an exploring area. How much more perfect can you get for three two-year-old boys?


C was totally getting his groove on!


The second playdate was at the Morton Arboretum. They have a holiday train display that Joel really likes. Our bloggy friend Grace was in town so we met up with her and her boys Timothy and Joel. Yes, our Joel was a little confused about meeting another little boy with the same name. :) It was so fun to meet and get to know them better! I didn't take any photos in the holiday train room because it was a little crazy in there, but after we checked that out the boys ran around in the Children's Garden for awhile.

I just love G in his hat and scarf from Korea.

Isn't he such a cutie?

Joel was wondering where all the water and spraying frogs were! We're used to the garden in the warm weather.


Joel and his friend N that we brought with for the day.


Thanks, friends, for some very fun playdates! And just in case you're wondering, this is the last Christmas Highlights post. Thanks for reading them all!

Wordless Wednesday: Joel's New....Hat?

Christmas Highlights: Part Two

We enjoyed a lot of activities during the month of December. It was so neat to see Joel's excitement about all things Christmas.

Decorating our Christmas tree

Attending our town's Christmas Walk one night

Opening an Advent envelope daily, reading the Bible verse inside, and eating a chocolate kiss


Celebrating Christmas in early December with our friends

Christmas truly is the most wonderful time of the year!

Christmas Highlights: Part One

Here are some highlights of the wonderful Christmas we shared with our family and friends.

Being fascinated by the dancing Santa at Grammy and Grandpap's

Enjoying our Christmas Eve together

Playing with new choo-choos on Christmas morning

Loving his new pillow from Kimchi Keepsakes

Checking out exactly how this new bulldozer works

Jumping for joy on his new trampoline

Playing with friend Roman at Christmas dinner

We experienced so much joy celebrating the birth of Christ this year. We hope you did, too!

Joel's Prayer

We've been praying before meals with Joel since he came home, but just recently we discovered that he can actually say the words himself. Well, for the most part. :) The actual words are come Lord Jesus be our guest and let these gifts to us be blessed. He says it differently each time and it almost always makes us laugh because it's so darn cute.



And here's some more from Joel...




Did you catch the throw, hit, and time-out? Can you tell that Joel is two? :)

Wordless Wednesday: Making Snowmen

Cookies and Cocoa

Last week we spent the day with our friends for a baking and craft day to celebrate Christmas! Joel and I had so much fun. It was the perfect way to spend a December day. The boys looked so cute in their aprons made by Sue.

Before we started the actual baking, we had a chat with our friends Christine and Spencer. It was so fun to include them on our day even though they live so far away.

Sue and I had some help with cutting the cookies out and putting them on the cookie sheet. Our little helpers also helped eat the extra little pieces of dough. Really, who could blame them? Cookie dough is the best.

Frosting the cookies was an interesting experience in itself. The icing turned out pink and light light green because of the all natural food coloring. And, being the expert frosting maker that I am, we used ziploc baggies to put the icing in and it kept leaking all over. While Sue and I were trying to frost quickly, the boys were picking up multiple cookies and taking a bite from each one. We left about a third of the cookies unfrosted because we were just done with the mess. They still tasted good, though!

Then, we all enjoyed some yummy hot cocoa. This was Joel's first time having his very own cup of cocoa. He was so happy and kept smiling as he drank his hot cocoa. Cohen loved it, too.

Baking cookies is one of my favorite Christmas activities, and it was so special to share this with good friends!