Christmas at the Cromwell's

Christmas was wonderful this year. We were able to meet up at gma and gpa Cromwell's house one last time before they headed off to Italy for a year! Christmas eve we all took part in a little program and each family was able to share what Christmas time meant to them. We all sang and participated in our own ways. We have some very talented people in our family. Then we opened up an early present and got the cutest pj's this year. We are all part of the team from Cromwell University!

 

Christmas morning was full of excitement as it should be. The kids were so excited to see what Santa brought! Bows and Arrows were the big hit. Christian loved his race car set and wanted to rip it open the minute he say it but we had to wait till we got home and he was not happy about that! Julia loved all the "Frozen" items she got. A new doll and a shirt. Its her new favorite movie and princess. Santa let me know that he wanted us to have a little something more when we got home and so he left our stockings all safe and full for when we got home. That was so nice of Santa to call and tell me about his surprise. The kids were so excited to still have more to open when they got home from gma and gpa's house.

Crepes for breakfast is our Cromwell family tradition! Yummy! The rest of the day was lounging about, playing games and of course eating. Andy and Whitney's family came up the next day and we were able spend some time with them as well. We were even able to get family pictures done before we all went our separate ways. Its always fun to have the whole family around, good times and good memories.

This new year will certainly be different with out gma and gpa Cromwell here but we know they will be serving the Lord and the people of Italy! They will be great missionaries. We will certainly miss all the summer fun and being able to visit but it won't be for long. We will miss you greatly! And so the kids don't forget that gma and gpa love them, they got a special Christmas gift this year. A nice cozy blanket, and every time they wrap up in it they are getting a big hug from gma and gpa!

December Happenings..........

After getting back from our little Disney vacation if felt like December flew right by. It always seems so packed with things to go and see and to do. So here are a few things we did this December to get into the spirit of Christmas.

We did our traditional Christmas cookie making day. I was at work but the kids were able to go and have some fun at gma's house. They love to decorate and eat them. At least they brought some home for us to eat as well this year.

Jingle's came for his yearly visit and had the kids entertained each day. Julia was always on the look out for him. She even found him in her school lunch one day! Jingles' is one sneaky elf. Here are some of the things we found him doing this year.

Goodies and Chex Mix galore. I love to make little treats for our neighborhood friends. It takes all day but they are so yummy and it's the act of giving that makes it fun for our family. We made about 10 plates this year and the best part is always delivering them. The kids like to run up to the front door and ring the bell. Chex mix is addictive and some days that's all I would eat. We made a few batches this year. Julia and I are usually the one's who like to chow down on the stuff! Just some fun traditions we do each year.

Layne got us tickets again this year to go see Santa. We worried it would be so cold that we wouldn't be able to bear it. But it turned out to be a nice, cozy, warm ride. We certainly dressed warm and even the wagon/sleigh had blankets for us to use. The sky was clear and bright and the stars were glowing all around us. It was so peaceful and quiet. It was a great night and the kids loved the ride. Christian had to say hello to the horses and then we went in to see Santa. Julia brought a letter she had written asking for a new "Frozen" dress and doll. Christian was a little shy but he did ask Santa for some new cars to play with. We all got a family picture and then headed home. It was a fun evening. It's always fun to be all together!

Before we headed up to Preston for Christmas, my mom and sisters came over to give our gifts. It was fun to watch the kids open up their new toys. Every time Christian got a new present he would say, "What is it?, Or what's it gonna be?" It was so fun to watch him this year because he was really into it and finally understood what to do! He LOVED his robot and dinosaur. Just the reaction on his face was priceless. Kids at Christmas.....nothing better than that! Julia got some new cowgirl boots, and some new crafts to try out. It was fun to be able to spend some time with my family before the big day!

 

And of course we had to get pictures taken with their Christmas clothes. A season wouldn't be complete with out them! They always look so cute!

 

 



Picture of the Week

PRINCESS FOR A DAY!

It was an absolutely perfect day. Grandma Cromwell treated Julia to the Bibbity Bobitty Boutique to be turned into a pretty princess for the day! She LOVED it and it was all she could talk about for days!

Christian Turns 3............

My baby boy turned 3 while we were in Disneyland. We started off his birthday over Thanksgiving with my family and then had a great day at the Disney parks with Gma and Gpa Cromwell. He got to open a few presents and then we headed off for breakfast.

He got a new Mickey shirt and jeans, a mickey remote control car, and some new rescue bots. Later on when we met up with Andy and Whitney for lunch at Pizza Planet he got a cool new Buzz Lightyear "shoot" gun (as he calls it). No cake this time around but plenty of Mickey bars to celebrate his big day. Those were probably his favorite thing to eat while we were there!

 Our birthday breakfast. Christian had some fruit and chocolate milk. Later on he had his first Mickey bar.

  

He got to meet some very fun people on his birthday. He actually saw them twice. Julia, Layne and I were on a ride and gma and gpa took Christian around to see them by himself. Then after the ride Julia wanted to see them to and so Christian had to come too. It was so cute to see him with each character. He gave Tigger the biggest hug. So cute!

 I knew Christian really wanted to meet Donald Duck. We saw all the characters out and about but Christian was sleeping and if you don't want him to be grumpy, don't wake him up early. But I did anyway. He was not having any of it. He was crying and wanted to hide. We got to Donald and told him Christian was just being a little grumpy but really wanted to meet him. Donald pointed and nodded agreeing that he, too, was a little grumpy! But, at least he got to meet him.

 This was Mickey bar #2 for the big birthday boy. We had to have a treat before the big parade! And that's how we ended his big day. We watched all the characters in the Christmas parade. It was so fun to watch him and wave at everybody and say hi. When he saw Buzz he got out his new gun and was trying hard to shoot at buzz. He loved it. It was a great day!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHRISTIAN!!

A Few things to know about Christian:

*His favorite colors are green and orange.
*He still loves to be rocked at nap time.
*He still carries around his kitty cat and blanket .
*Christian always asks if I will sing songs about dragons and fire or spiders etc. So I have to just make them up on the fly.
*He has a hard time getting to bed at night when I'm at work. Each time I come home he comes out to greet me and give me a hug and kiss.
*He comes into my room every morning and has his juice and watches something on the tablet.
*His favorite shows are: Paw Patrol, Team Umi Zoomi, Bubble Guppies and Henry Huggle Monster.
*Christian is still learning to use the potty and is getting better at it each day.
*He loves anything that has to do with robots, cars, guns, swords. ALL BOY!
*Christian shows some athletic ability. He is really good at hitting a baseball and kicking a soccer ball.
*He LOVES to have Daddy chase him around and wrestle with him. He is always saying to daddy, "Come and get me!"
*He is so loving. He loves to give high fives, rocks, hugs, kisses and his most favorite thing licks!
*Our favorite thing to say before bed is, "Go Cougars, Go Blue, I Love You!"
*He is so rough and tough. He takes a lickin and keeps on tickin! This year alone he has had stitches on his forehead and staples in his head.

*Reverse psychology works so well on Christian. Especially when we have to get him to eat. We tell him, "Hey, don't eat my meatballs", or "You can't eat 2 more bites." Tell him NOT to do it and he will???
*Even though he gets on Julia's nerves most days they really do play well together. They play pretend and make each other laugh. They love to dance around and do pirouettes in the kitchen with their socks on.
*Favorite this to drink is chocolate milk and root beer.
*He likes to eat bread sticks, mini oranges, yogurt, coco puffs, black olives, pb&j, meatballs.
*2 of Christians most favorite things to eat are pickles and pistachio nuts.
*Christian is so very energetic and gets really charged up when he is around people. He is fast and hard to catch if he gets to far ahead of you.
*When he gets mad he has a little pouty face and usually folds his arms and stomps one foot.
*He loves to say the prayer and usually starts before we are all gathered around and ready.
*He still takes a good long nap during the day but only makes it harder for him to sleep at night.
*He loves to talk about his cousins Austin and Eli and Jane. He loves to play with them.
*He still has the biggest cheeks and big blue eyes and still gets complements on them.
*Christian is so animated. He has some silly faces and the best smile. He can communicate very well and loves to ask questions.
*For the most part Christian is pretty mellow, easy going and usually drama free.
*He loves to try and dress himself. He tries his best!
*He does not like to wear clothes at home. His home attire is a pair of underwear and maybe a t-shirt. And every time we put a long sleeve shirt on he wants me to roll up the sleeves. And its really hard to get him to wear a coat if we leave the house.

We love you Christian and we are so glad you are a part of our family. You make life worth living. I'm glad I got a little boy! You are such a joy to have around!

Disneyland 2013.........

Right after Thanksgiving we packed up the van and took a long road trip, but an exciting one at that! Our destination: Disneyland! Thankfully we were able to stop in Vegas and stay with Andy and Whitney over night to rest up and not have the drive be so long. The kids actually did really well, they watched movies, napped and colored and read books. We also had a few extra stops along the way to break it up a bit and stretch our legs.

We arrived at Disney on Saturday afternoon, parked the van and loaded up the stroller. We met Phil and Sherry and entered the Magic Kingdom. It was great to finally be there. It was so crowded and busy but that didn't slow us down. We hit a few rides that wouldn't be open come Monday. Casey Jr. was our first ride. Christian was so excited to ride the train. Next we got on a boat and took a ride through the Storybook. It was so fun to see both Julia and Christian point and talk about the things they were experiencing.

 Grandpa trying to steal a bite of Julia's Mickey bar. They were are first one's of the trip. Everyone LOVES Mickey bars!

 Layne and Christian in the Tiki Room. Christian just sat there watching in awe at the whole show. His favorite were the drums and the totem poles that talked.

Ready to storm the castle! He was my little prince charming and my knight in shining armor for the night

 While checking out the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique, Christian found a few swords he wanted to buy. Grandma was nice enough to buy him one. He loved hit things and everybody with it. He wouldn't let go of it. I love the above picture. He found a knight and walked up to him and wanted to put his sword in his empty hand. So we did!

 Our first day at Disney was so fun. I loved the spirit of Christmas that was all around. The kids loved everything!

We woke up Sunday morning and our elf, Jingles, made a surprise visit. He brought the kids some new Disney shirts to wear on vacation. He came a long way to bring those and the kids were so surprised. We decided to go to church and while I was in the shower getting ready, Layne and Christian were running around having a sword fight. Christian slid across the bed spread and knocked into the end table. So all I heard was a lot of crying and Layne said he needed my help as soon as I was done. So I quickly hurried out and low and behold, Christian had a hole in his head. The bleeding was stopped but it looked deep. We went to church and while there I just kept looking at his head thinking we need to go have it looked at. So Julia went to downtown Disney with gma and gpa, while Layne, Christian and I headed to an urgent care. Christian knew what was coming and he was a little nervous. It was another helpless moment in our lives. But Christian did great and had 2 staples put in and was ready to go!

We were all starving by the time we were done so we headed off to an early dinner. It was so good. Then we hung out and looked at shops and let the kids run and get some energy out. To say our Sunday was relaxing was an understatement.

       

The rest of the week was a blur but we had so much fun. I'm not sure what day we did what thing but I will just post the fun we had. It was so great to be able to spend time with each other and especially gma and gpa Cromwell. We always have so much fun and it's certainly nice to have a few extra set of hands!

I do know we spent most of the Monday at California Adventure.  Layne surprised us with a breakfast at Ariel's Grotto. Julia was able to see all the princesses in one spot. Christian was a little nervous and I don't think he quite knew what to do when he first saw Aurora. Belle was the best, she was so cute with Julia and gave her a big hug.

Christian meeting Goofy for the first time. He would stand a little ways away from each character at first and just inch his way closer. He was so cute with all the characters.

 A quick group shot with Tower of Terror in the background. Christian loved The Little Mermaid ride, I think he went on it 3 times. He loved to point out the Sea Witch! We even got to go watch the Aladdin show. It was perfect because it was right at Christian's nap time so he fell asleep on my lap for most of it. We also stayed to watch the Pixar Parade. We love Buzz and Woody!

 The rest of the week we spent it in the Magic Kingdom. We got in early and got a few shots of the castle before all the crowds gathered. We also had another great breakfast and got to meet some more characters. Chip and Dale, Eeyore and Minnie were there! It was a big breakfast to start the day off right.

These guys loved the tea cups!

We got in  line to ride Small World but then saw a very short line to see Merida from Brave. So Julia and I got in line. She had been wanting to see her most of all out of all the princesses! She even had her Merida shirt on that day! Merida talked and talked to Julia and asked her lots of questions. Julia was in heaven, you could just see it on her face. She got a big hug at the end.....she was a happy camper!

All Julia could talk about was getting to be a princess for a day. Gma signed her up for an appointment at the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique and boy was she excited. They did her hair, some make up and even painted her finger nails. This was the highlight of Julia's trip. She couldn't stop grinning! It was a fantastic day to be around a little princess!

 Over the next few days we hit rides, ate more Mickey bars, and met some fun characters. Christian loved Tigger and gave him a giant hug. I got to see Mickey so that made my whole trip. Christian was out cold for a nap but I had to wake him up to see Donald. He was grumpy and I don't think he remembered it but we got the picture, grumpiness and all! We traded pins and had a blast just hanging out together. We got a family picture on Main Street and ended the trip with the parade. The kids loved it and it was a great way to end our wonderful stay at Disney!