Festival of lights

On Saturday night of Thanksgiving weekend, we took the boys to see the lights at the zoo.  Mom, Dad, and Aaron went with us.  We were concerned it would be crowded and cold, but it ended up being the perfect night. 

First, we saw the elephants - the boys love elephants.  They were inside the building, so we got a really good look at all 3 of them.  Next, we stopped and watched the synchronized light show over the lake.  The boys were fascinated by this!  They loved how the colors changed, the lights came on and off - I think they would have stood there for hours watching it.

Next, we went to see the giraffes.  A new baby giraffe was born about 6 weeks earlier, and we watched the baby and its mom interact.  The boys even got to see the mommy giraffe give the baby giraffe a kiss!

We walked around the zoo and looked at the animals and lights for a while, then my mom bought the boys a hot chocolate.  Next, we rode the carosel.  The boys were very excited about it, and picked out zebras to ride.  Brian went with Jackson, and he loved the carosel.  I stayed with Lincoln....and although I talked him through things and told him that we would start moving, and the zebra would go up and down, about 20 seconds into it, he said, "I'm done Mommy.  Lets go."  He really didn't like it moving!

After the carosel ride, we continued walking through the lights. We found the alligator that we took pictures with this summer....and had to repeat the experience!  Check these alligator wrestlers out!

We kept walking through the zoo, and enjoying our evening.  We found an ape statue.  Lincoln loved it immediately, and had to have his picture taken. 

 After seeing Lincoln with the ape, Jackson wanted in on the action, so we took a few quick picks of both of them with the ape.  Look at these smiles!

As great as all these pictures are, my favorite part of the night wasn't captured on film. 

As we were heading toward the exit, we found a small display of snowmen that were synchronized to music.  The music was Jingle Bells.  Lincoln and I stood, watched, and danced along with the snowmen.  I will forever remember those few precious minutes, dancing with my son at the zoo every time I hear the song Jingle Bells.  Thank you Lincoln for a memory that will last forever!

Birthdays:

• December 7 - Uncle Bud Gels turns 71, Angie Wolff turns 29
• December 10 - Karen Zank turns 52
• December 15 - Cassie Muehlfeld turns 27
• December 16 - Barb Brocki turns 51
• December 19 - Payden Schug turns 16
• December 26 - Joey O'Connor turns 13
• December 28 - Zoe Maier turns 11
• December 28 - Jerry Haas turns 49
• December 30 - Matt Schug turns 38

Anniversaries:

• December 2 - Bill and Jean Muehlfeld celebrate their 35th wedding anniversary
• December 13 - Mom and Dad celebrate their 43nd wedding anniversary
• December 14 - Bud and Lorae gels celebrate their 49th wedding anniversary
• December 27 - Craig and Sue Lynn celebrate their 12th wedding anniversary

Jackson's song

Of course, Jackson couldn't be outdone by his older brother!

Daddy was EXTRA proud!  Both his boys singing one of his favorite songs....and Jackson loves adding the "Redlegs!".

Lincoln....growing up

I know that in just over a month, my babies are going to turn 3.  But they continue to amaze me each and every day.

First - a video of Lincoln.  Singing "Take me out to the Ballgame".  Brian was SO PROUD!  He is so happy that the boys are sharing his love of baseball, and the Cincinnati Reds.  We didn't couch Lincoln - he did this all on his own.  Sometimes, I think they are going on 5 instead of 3....and I squeeze them a little tighter, holding onto my sweet little boys.

Enjoy!

First Dentist appointment

A few weeks after I took Lincoln to the dentist in August to get his tooth pulled, Jackson started asking if he could go to the dentist.  He knew his brother had been there TWICE, and he hadn't gotten to go yet.  The boys had been doing really good with letting Brian and me brush their teeth at night, so we knew they were finally ready for their first trip to the dentist.

I called mid-October to make an appointment, and luckily they had an appointment for Monday before Thanksgiving.  This was perfect as I was off work that whole week!  After the appointment was made, the dentist office sent over an orientation packet to help prepare the boys for their visit.

The packet included some gloves, masks, and the little mirrors the dentist uses.  We showed the boys all these things, put them on, and told them that the dentist and people at the dentist office would have all these things.  The packet also included a Dora book that talks about Dora's first trip to the dentist.  We read it so much in the first few days we had it that we had to start changing the story up on them - otherwise, they were telling us the story!

The boys were so excited for their visit!  Lincoln led the way up the stairs, and immediately went to the play area of the waiting room.  Jackson happily followed.  The boys played for a few minutes, fought over a few toys, then it was time to go back to see the dentist.

First, we had to show the hygenist how we brush our teeth.  She colored their teeth red, and the boys worked to brush all the color away.  Both the boys thought this was pretty cool.  They got to pick out their own toothbrushes even!  The hygenist then brushed their teeth to remove the rest of the color, and gave them a drink of water to rinse their mouth.  Both boys tried to spit....TRIED being the appropriate word.

Next, we went and sat in the big boy dentist chairs!  Each of the boys found a toy to play with while they were waiting.

  

First, Miss Julie came over to clean Lincoln's teeth.  She showed him her light, and asked if he wanted sunglasses - he kindly declined.  She showed him her mirror, and began cleaning his teeth.  I think once the hygenist started working in his mouth he remembered when he had his tooth pulled.  Suddenly, he was NOT liking being at the dentist.  Brian held him on his lap while they finished cleaning his teeth, but it was a struggle.  Thankfully, he got a good report - all 19 teeth are healthy!

                                                                                     Next, it was Jackson's turn.  Miss Karen came over to his chair, and showed him the light.  He picked out a pair of sunglasses to put on, and was as "cool" as he looked throughout the whole appointment.  He answered Miss Karen's questions, did as she asked, and he was the best little boy in the world.  Although he has fewer teeth than Lincoln (only 16), he got the same report - all healthy, and great looking teeth.

Each of the boys got a brown elephant balloon animal, they picked out stickers, pencils and finger puppets.  Over the past few weeks, each of the boys have looked forward to brushing their teeth, comment on how they have bright, shiny teeth, and they continue to love "playing dentist" each night with Brian and me.  Overall, a great first experience at the dentist for both of them, and we look forward to many happy, healthy smiles in the future.

 

Christmas Cut out cookies

Every year since we bought our house, except for the year I was pregnant, we have been blessed to host Thanksgiving for my family.  I love Thanksgiving week.  My sister and her family come down on Wednesday night and stay with us. We have our Thanksgiving dinner for lunch on Thursday, then the Willingers continue their travels to Louisville to spend time with RJ's family.

My parents come down on Wednesday, and spend most of the long holiday weekend with us.  Before the boys came along, my mom and I would leisurely shop a bit on Friday while Dad and Brian would watch football, and do little things around the house. 

Now that we have the boys, and they are getting older, most of our weekend is spent just spending time together.  This year, my mom and I decided we were going to bake some Christmas cut out cookies.  Grandmas always want to bake cookies with their grandkids, so it was the perfect.  We stirred the cookies up on Friday, then started in on baking them on Saturday.

My mom rolled out the cookies, and asked the boys if they wanted to help make cookies. Lincoln was eager to jump right in and see what this was all about.  Plus, he wanted a cookie!

Jackson quickly decided this looked like fun, and wanted in on the action.  He watched and patiently waited for Mawmaw to line-up the cookie cutter.....

 

 Then, he dove right into the fun!

 I really thought the boys would do a few cookies, get bored with it, and then go play.  Boy, was I wrong!  The helped with about half of our 4 batches of cookies!  They probably would have helped with all of them, but Mawmaw and I were ready to just get the baking done so we distracted the boys with a movie.

My mom will likely want to kill me for posting these pictures, but they capture a memory that can never be erased.  I especially love this picture below....

                                                                                             

What's so special about this picture?  I love the way Lincoln is looking at my mom.  It is a combination of adoration, love and patience.  He loved and adored her for allowing him to help, and for spending time with him.  And the patience....well, he was just waiting for it to be his turn!

The Lebanon Christmas parade

Saturday night, we took the boys to the Lebanon Christmas parade.  Probably not our best first experience.  The weather was beautiful, so there were a lot of people there - which meant long lines waiting for food.  Not ideal with two two year olds.  However, once we got our food, it was delicious - the pork chop sandwhich and chicken strips and fries hit the spot.

We were lucky to find a front row seat for the parade - by sitting on the road!  The boys really liked seeing all the horses and the lighted carriages, but they are still talking about 2 specific elements from the parade:

1)  Old MacDonald
One of the carriages had Ronald McDonald riding along.  Of course, Brian and I made a big deal about it being Ronald McDonald, but all the boys heard was McDonald....and they were absolutely convinced that it was Old MacDonald (afterall, there were horses, right?).  I guess it's good that they don't know who Ronald McDonald is, but it's funny to listen to them tell us that Old MacDonald had big red shoes!

2)  Santa Clause
Mr. and Mrs. Clause rode along on the very first carriage in the parade.  After they finished their parade route, they walked the route, waving and saying hello to everyone.  We were lucky enough that they stood right in front of us!  The boys were a little aprehensive, but smiled widely as the two continued walking on down the street!  Lincoln kept saying "Meeeeerrrrrrryyyyyyy Christmas!"