Gingerbread Houses & Deerfield Holiday Stroll

On the 1st of December Nana had all of the kids over to make gingerbread houses.  She got Evi and Ashlynn prebuilt houses that just needed decorations, Madi had to build her house, and Ethan had a train to build.  Ethan by far had the most complicated build, especially since he was missing some pieces. He had to make made some revisions with graham crackers, but he made it work!  Nana made the rule of no eating candy when we started building, but that lasted about 5 seconds.  Everyone, including the adults had quite the sugar high by the time we were done.  

After gingerbread houses were done we took a play break, and then headed over to the Deerfield Fair Grounds for the Holiday Stroll.  We picked up Garrett on the way.  Ashlynn had a blast looking at all of the Christmas lights, and trying to find Santa.  At the moment Santa is her 'Very Best Friend Ever' according to her!  It was a very cold night, so we weren't able to stay long.  Jackson was in the carrier zipped up in my jacket and Ashlynn was in the stroller.  We skipped the craft making, as that would have been a nightmare to try to get Ashlynn back into the stroller afterwards, but we did stop and get Ashlynn a blue velvet cupcake from Sweet Olive Bakery!  We never did catch up with Santa, and on the way back to the car Ashlynn kept yelling 'Santa, Santa where are you' and 'Come out, come out wherever you are!'

Play date with Evi

The other day we were sick of being cooped up at the house, so we decided to get out and play!  We met Danica and Evi at PLAY.  Ashlynn had a great time, and burnt off some much needed energy.  The loves the Plasma cars that are there, although she doesn't know how to use them quite yet.  She also liked the bouncy houses a lot.  She was much braver than the last time we were there.  She was running around with some older kids while we were waiting for Evi to arrive.  Her strength amazes me, she can pull her self up on the ladders that were way over her head.  Once Evi arrived Ashlynn showed her around all of the different bouncy houses.  The two of them play well together (most of the time) and seem to really enjoy being around each other!

Another Thanksgiving & Garrett's Birthday!

The Sunday after Thanksgiving we went to Garrett's parents house to have a turkey dinner with the Wain/Currier side of the family.  Jackson of course had to get all dressed up for such an occasion, he thought his camo sweater that Auntie Donna made, and his deer hat were perfect!  I tired to remind him it was still hunting season and he really should be careful wearing that hat around, but he's already ignoring his mother...  

Ashlynn had a great time visiting with everyone and playing with all of the toys.  She was doing her best to keep the attention on her, and not on baby brother.  At one point she even had to break out her 'silly face' to keep all eyes on her.  Jackson spent time cuddling with everyone and was content as can be.  After dinner we had a surprise birthday cake for Garrett that Ashlynn helped Grammy Twila make.  She did a good job keeping the surprise until dinner time when she blurted out 'look Dad it's your birthday cake' and pointed to where the cake was hiding.

After dinner Ashlynn played some more, and Jackson got his feet painted so they could be added to the toy box cover.  Shayne and Ashlynn both already have their foot prints on there.  This activity proved to be quite messy, in fact Jax still has some blue paint around his finger nails a few weeks later!

Thanksgiving Week

The week after Thanksgiving the weather was pretty nice!  We were lucky to be able to enjoy some time outside getting some much needed exercise.  One day we wen for a nice long walk on the raod behind out house.  I thought Ashlynn would want to walk by herself, but she decided she would rather ride on the front of the stroller.  It actually worked out pretty well, a little more work for me to push it, but no problem.  We stopped at the little river so Ashlynn could throw a few rocks.  On the way into the house we found a 'Big Huge Diamond' aka a piece of Micah.

A few days later we made it over to the Nottingham Community Playground for some fun with Nana.  It was much colder this day, but it didn't stop Ashlynn.  Jackson was all bundled up in his carrier and zipped inside my jacket to stay warm.  Every time we go to a playground it reminds me how big Ashlynn is getting.  She is getting so string, and can climb all of the different ladders and walls, and she's not scared of anything anymore.

The 'Big Huge Diamond' 

Chillin' in Daddy's Chair with the remote!