Making and decorating cookies...

Yes, we definitely had our fill of baking and decorating cookies during the holidays, and plenty of eating them too! We started just before Thanksgiving with "Thankful" cookies. Zoe and Jackson are at a great age to really teach them and have them understand being thankful for all the blessings God us provides especially our close friends and family. I had each child think of five people they are thankful for and didn't coerce them as to whom to choose. Then we baked and decorated sugar cookies in fall shapes (turkey, leaves, pumpkin, etc.) and wrapped them up real pretty and handed them out to their choice of people. Along with the cookies, was a note reading, "Zoe/Jackson was asked to choose people they are thankful for and guess what? They chose YOU!" Then they wrote (in their own words) why they were thankful for that person. It was so cute to see who they came up with and why they were thankful for them. I think this is definitely a new family tradition we will continue to do. I'm not sure which they enjoyed more, making the cookies or delivering them.

Each year my mom comes over and we make Christmas cookies, what a special time for us to have her with us to do this! The kids LOVE their mom-mom (and pop too, of course!). What a blessing to live so close to them! Below are a couple fun pictures of them together. We all wish we lived closer to John's parents (or Grammy and PaPa to the kids) and my dad (Pop Purdy), but we cherish the time we get to spend with them when we get to visit. The kids are blessed with amazing grandparents no matter where they live!

making the "thankful" cookies

Jackson and mom-mom (my mom)
Zoe and mom-mom

it's impossible to get a "normal" picture of him - what a goof!

time to sample some cookies!

Each year for Christmas we make something for our neighbors and friends to give out at Christmas. Usually, it's just something little. This year I saw these adorable Peppermint Pinwheel cookies on Paula Dean's Christmas Cookie Swap on Food Network and I thought, "I am going to make them!" They are so cute and really yummy too! They are swirled red and white cookies and then you put them on a lollipop stick so they look like a lollipop. I put a plastic bag over them and tied them with cute Christmas ribbon. So cute! I wish I had taken a picture of them. All the kids we gave them too LOVED them! Here's a link to them if you are interested: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/peppermint-pinwheels-recipe/index.html

Sisters! Addie and her sitting spots!

Seriously...I don't even know where to begin to backtrack on all the things I want to post on our blog! I haven't been very diligent in keeping up with this thing and sometimes even wonder if anyone ever reads it anyway! Even if no one is reading about the happenings of our family, it's still fun to reflect on them for ourselves, ya know?

Anyway, as I finally downloaded the 158 pictures off the digital camera (I haven't done that since November) I came across some fun moments from the past couple months. Buckle up, here it goes!

The first are some sweet pictures of my two beautiful daughters. It is such a joy to see them love on each other and grow as sisters. When Addie was first born, it took Zoe a while to warm up to having a baby around the house. She never wanted to hold her and pretty much ignored her. She was very polite about it, never in a rude or jealous way, she just never had an interest. When I would ask her if she wanted to hold her or feed her, Zoe would "cough" and say she was getting a little sick and didn't want Addie to get sick, but thank you anyway. A few months into Addie's life Zoe showed more signs of playing with her and now she positively adores her and couldn't be a sweeter big sister to her! I love watching them! I think part of it is I always wanted to sister growing up and it thrills me to know that Zoe and Addie will always have each other.

Addie and her sitting spots!

Okay now, onto something else...Addie and her favorite spot to sit. She is a truly hilarious little girl. She is best known around here for sitting against the wall in any corner of the house - not because she in trouble (she's only 14 months, not sure she would understand time-outs yet) but because she loves to sit there. She will grab a doll or many dolls and simply sit in a corner. Crazy girl! Maybe this is why Santa brought her her very own chair for Christmas, it really made the most sense of any toy out there! Recently she has found some other fun spots, although the corners are still her favorites...

...sitting on top of the vent while it's blowing - notice the flying hair!

...against the wall in the dining room

...in her new pink chair

...in the refrigerator

...and lastly...in her corner

Well, it's getting late and I need to get stuff ready for church tomorrow. I think John is also wondering if I'll ever come back downstairs, I've been up here blogging too long! I'll post more tomorrow with more of the 158 pictures! (Don't worry, not all of them!) Good night!

Lunch box survey

Yes, I know, I have been HORRIBLE at updating our blog during the holidays. With so much going on, I had no time for blogging. And to be honest, when I did have time, I didn't feel like blogging. I will post some Christmas pictures and plenty of fun stories later, but I don't have much time (as I hear little Addie talking through the monitor) so I thought I'd share a darling idea for your kids. I found this idea in a wonderfully cute magazine, Family Fun (thanks Nana for the subscription). It's a fun survey to print off and put in your child's lunchbox. I love it! I always include an "I love you!" message on a napkin for Zoe and Jackson and sometimes include stickers or a piece of candy. This just takes it to the next level! Just thought I'd share.

http://a.familyfun.go.com/Resources/global/printables/templates/LunchSurvey.pdf