Dylan's Christmas Party

On the last day of school before the Winter Break Dylan's class had a Holiday Party. I was a little disappointed because his party was at the same time as our all school sing along. I was really hoping his class would be at the sing along because I knew Dylan would enjoy singing all of the Christmas songs! To my surprise they were there!! Dylan sat with his class and sang along and it was so cute to see. I was sitting with my class so it was hard to take pictures! And yes, I am that crazy mom who dresses her 3 1/2 year old in a sweater and button down shirt for preschool!!! Back in his classroom his party started and I was able to stop by since I was on my plan time! They played a fun version of musical chairs. Dylan loved it! He loved it even more when all of his friends had to sit on his lap! He was really getting into the music here!

Random

Since our Christmas Eve plans changed due to the lovely weather...I have some time on my hands!!! Usually on Christmas Eve we are in Lancaster with my dad's family. We go to the Christmas Eve Service, have yummy soup, and enjoy the family. Considering Lancaster is up north, only small 2 lane highways get you there and most of the time there is no cell phone reception, we decided it wasn't worth taking the risk and going. We will head up there in January and celebrate! So tonight, me and my boys will enjoy some vegetable soup (not quite grandma's meatball chowder but it will do), watch a Christmas movie (hopefully Dylan doesn't want us all to watch it in his room on his new TV) and enjoy some time as a family. Hopefully my parents will be able to make it up Christmas morning so more of our traditions don't get postponed!

So, on to my randomness...
This afternoon at WalMart (yes we were at WalMart on Christmas Eve) we ran into Santa and Mrs. Claus. Thank goodness we did because we needed to know what kind of cookies they would want! And aren't they sweet...they wanted the premade made ones that we just have to stick in the oven!!! But, like most married couples they wanted different kinds. Santa wanted the Ultimate Turtles, and his pregnant wife (bet you didn't know Mrs. Claus was pregnant!!!) wanted the peanut butter cups cookies! I hope they like them! We asked Dylan what we should leave for the reindeer and he had some good ideas. He thought dog food since they kind of look like dogs or a hot dog bun with no hot dog, mustard, or ketchup. I may have been eating a hot dog at the time, and that's where he got that idea. I WAS NOT eating dog food though, so don't ask where that came from!! Only one sentence for this one...
Is he not the CUTEST sleepy Eskimo you've ever seen!!!!!!!!!

And like I said, Dylan LOVES his new guitar and microphone! Him and daddy had a little concert. This was after Dylan and I had a concert. I was singing Elvira (if you don't like classic country like me, then you are confused now and that's OK). Sad part is Seth was outside during our concert but he came in singing the song. Either Seth and I are just that connected toegther or it was a little loud and he could hear me outside!

Thank goodness Seth doesn't look at this blog too often or he would kill me for posting this video!!

Shaver Family Christmas

For as long as I can remember December 23rd has always been our family's night for Christmas. My parents used to tell my sister and I that they called Santa and he knew to bring our presents early! Then on the 24th we would go to my grandparents in Lancaster and then drive to Topeka so we could celebrate Christmas with the other side of the family Christmas morning. It always worked for us, and it is what we are used to. So, even now as adults we still celebrate Christmas with my parents and sister on the 23rd. It still works so well, we then go to Lancaster on the 24th, my aunt and uncles on the 25th and Seth's family is the day after. It is nice to have it all spread out and we get to wake up Christmas morning at our house and celebrate as a family.

This year we had Christmas at my sister's! She made homemade chicken and noodles. And when I say homemade I mean it! She made homemade noodles and bread. It was so yummy!

After dinner we headed downstairs for presents. Dylan's big present this year from my parents was a Lightning McQueen TV and DVD player for his room. I know what you're thinking... a 3 1/2 year old with a TV in their room. Yes, that's right! He will have guidelines and limits and basically we don't see it as a big deal! He is plenty active and we do plenty of things together, but yes he also enjoys TV. But so do Seth and I!!! He also got a new guitar and microphone. He was SO excited about this! We have already enjoyed some concerts!!

I had no clue he knew how to rock out with a guitar. That boy has some major moves and I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. We will have a lot of fun with this toy!As you can see Seth and my mom enjoy it too. She did a great job with Jingle Bell Rock. And how do you like Seth's Christmas shirt??? We were supposed to go to a dinner a couple weeks ago and Seth and I were going to wear AWFUL holiday shirts. We didn't get to go because something happened with my back, so we sported the shirts tonight. Sorry, no picture of mine. Just imagine red sweatshirt with a big sequenced snowman. It was a little tight with my belly and all, so it came off quick!

Dylan also got a bucket of practice golf balls! They will come in handy this spring for sure.
His best gift was a quilt my sister made. Not only does she make homemade noodles ans bread, but she also quilts. She's quite amazing!! Dylan picked out the material several months ago and it is random, but it is awesome. I will have to get a better picture of it later, right now someone is sleeping with it!

I love this time of year, and I love spending time with my family. We have so much fun together.

Christmas Goodies

Sunday we headed to my sister's to make some yummy Christmas treats. She had sugar cookies made and we got to frost and sprinkle them. I think Dylan liked the sprinkle part the best! Courtney and Whitney (our cousins) came too! Whitney (Auntie Whitty) just loves Dylan. The feeling is mutual. He talks about her and if she is in the room and you ask Dylan who is pretty he just points at Whitney. He must have a thing for blondes!!

Courtney (Uncle Courtney) loves Dylan too. And even though he only says Whitney is pretty, I have to disagree, Court is pretty darn pretty too!

Can you tell they have fun together!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Some Progress

We (Ok, I mean Seth) is making progress upstairs. His work has been SO busy (which we are very thankful for) and he has had to work many, many Saturdays. Working Saturdays means some extra money, which is always nice this time of year...but it also means less time with him and less time to work upstairs. Luckily they finished a big job and he can have some Saturdays off!!
Since I first told you about our project upstairs, we have made some changes! We decided that Dylan would stay in his room and Saylor would go in our room. That means Seth and I will be moving our room back upstairs. I have so many mixed emotions about this decision but ultimately we feel it is the best one. I now only have to worry about decorating one room, Saylor's! Dylan's will basically stay the same and ours won't be too much work!

So, it may not look like a lot has been done, but the wiring is basically done. Since Seth used to do electrical work, we got lucky on this part. Not only does he know what he's doing, but he was a little excited about it I think. He is putting some can lights in, and for some reason he is really excited about having them!!
When I went up to check on him last night I was hiding my camera behind my back. He informed me that he knew I had it, so there was no reason to hide it! He was also showing me how he measured the wire without a measuring tape. He needed 10 feet and he was only off by a couple inches. I guess I was supposed to be impressed!!! And let me tell you, I was!!! The things that bring grown men joy!
I love when I go up there and he is explaining to me what all the boxes will be used for and where this and that will be...I pretend to understand but really I have no clue what he's talking about. I trust him with these decisions. Just like he should trust my mom and I when we say that Saylor needs a chandelier in her room!!

I am keeping my fingers crossed that dry wall can start going up this weekend but I'm not sure. We are headed to KC Saturday so we will see what Sunday brings!

February 25, 2010

Today we set the big day for Saylor's arrival! Since I will have a c-section again, we got to set the date. Very odd feeling to sit in an office and say, yep February 25th at 8:00 AM sounds perfect!! Now don't get me wrong, this little lady could choose to come on her own terms (and for some reason I wouldn't be surprised if she did!!!!!) but as of now February 24th is the last night that our family of 3 will go to bed as a family of 3. Every night (and day) after that will be very different. Good, but different. As we prepare for Saylor we have been reading this book a lot. Dylan's choice, not ours. I think it is so sweet that he asks to have this book read to him at least once a day.

Wow!

One minute he was playing and the next minute he said, "My feet are cold!" This is what he came up with! It sure is a good year for Payless to carry Cars snow boots! Now only if I can keep him to wearing them ONLY when there is snow on the ground!

My Grandpa would be proud...

Every Christmas you could find 2 things in my grandma and grandpa Drane's kitchen...haystack cookies and peanut butter fudge. My grandpa ALWAYS made them and they were always a BIG hit! I make the haystack cookies a couple times a year, but always seem to think about them around the holidays. I never really liked them when I was younger...I didn't like the peanuts. Now, I love them and so does Seth!
This year Dylan helped me make them. He LOVES peanuts so he added a lot! This recipe is perfect because you don't need to measure anything, you only need the microwave, and it take 3 ingredients! Chinese noodles, peanuts, and butterscotch chips...oh so yummy!

The finished product. Just sitting on the table waiting to be eaten. A certain 3 year old asks every 5 minutes...are they ready yet! And a certain husband said while we were making them... I can smell what you are making!

And now the peanut butter fudge. Still easy but some measuring, more ingredients, and a very tired arm! But it is SO worth it. This fudge was in the door of my grandparent's fridge every winter. I don't know how many times I would sneak in there to get a piece. It was definitely my grandpa's specialty! He would always keep some aside for me without the chopped peanuts. Last year was the first year I made it. I don't know why I have waited so long. The minute I bit into a piece it was like I was in my grandparent's kitchen all over again...only if I really was.

This is now in the fridge just waiting for me to come and get it. I wonder if Seth will forget I made it so I can have it all to myself.

Making these 2 treats with Dylan makes me miss my grandma and grandpa Drane so much. They would have LOVED Dylan so much. Since they lived in Topeka I am sure we would have visited them often. They were such great grandparents, the kind of grandparents every grandchild (and great-grandchild) need. I was so lucky and Dylan is lucky because he has those kind of grandparents too. It makes your childhood that much sweeter!

Black Friday

Yep, the time says 3:29...and that's AM if you were wondering! My mom, sister, and I were on our way to Kohls when I took this picture. We got up an hour earlier to get ready for our day...we didn't want to be out in our jammies, so yes we got up and got ready! Did I mention we were at the movie until 10:00 the night before?? So yes, we were going on less than 4 hours of sleep...but so worth it. I think.

Last year was our first year doing the black Friday thing really early. We had so much fun in our matching shirts so we decided to do it again! No matching shirts this year, but Ashley made us matching scarfs and coordinating purses for our big day!

Spending days...I mean EARLY mornings...like this with my mom and sister makes me even more excited to have a daughter. Don't get me wrong, Dylan is an awesome shopping buddy and we have so much fun together, but having a daughter to do these things with in 20 years will be such an experience. I am sure my mom and sister will be right there with us!

And you may be wondering if we got some great deals??? Well, I did get some Christmas shopping done, and got things for pretty good deals, but I wouldn't say GREAT deals. I don't go out for the deals so much, it's more for the experience with my mom and sister! Even though I like going out on this morning with the girls, I am trying to convince Seth to go next year...something he needs to experience. Right??

Christmas Time

Traditions! I love traditions! Last year I took Dylan to the Hallmark store to pick out his own ornament. He picked out the Fisher Price Barn ornament. I was excited to take him again this year to see what he would pick out. I am not surprised that he picked out something to do with cars. Helping daddy hang up the decorations. Decorating the tree is something I always remember doing when I was growing up so it is something I look forward to doing every year with my family.

Dylan's first 4 Christmas ornaments. I find it hard to believe that this is going to be his 4th Christmas. Every year it gets more exciting and he starts to understand more and more!

He found a Santa hat ornament, he thought it was pretty funny!

And finally putting the star on the top!

I love our house when it is all decorated for Christmas!! I am also excited when December 26th comes around and we can take it all down and get our family pictures back up! This year I was very lucky to have my mom come up one day and decorate with me. She is so helpful and it is just fun to spend the day together!!

The tree...it's done! This year Dylan wanted to use the big lights on the tree. I love these lights, they remind me of my childhood. Dylan wanted to put all the ornaments in one spot so we had to make a few tweeks! You will notice all of my Hallmark singing snowman on the bottom. Seth gets them for me every year. This is year it is a Snoopy one, Dylan is excited to buy it and add it to our collection. Outside! This year we decided not to put lights on the house. We have so much going on and just didn't want to add that to our list. We put up some lights, but not to the extent that we usually do! I think Seth was OK with this, I am the one that loves the lights on the house!


The fireplace! I can't believe next year we will add another stocking to our mantle.


Our entertainment center. My mom got me the Willow Tree Angel Nativity Scene a couple years ago, and it is always one of my favorite things to put up. We also have Dylan's past 3 Christmases and his Cookies for Santa plate that we made last year.

And our family of snowmen. We won't be able to put these up next year unless I find the lady that made them and have her make a little girl!

For his sister

Dylan and I visited one of his favorite places last week...Potwin Pottery. He loves going there, picking something out to paint, and of course painting! It was the perfect Sunday afternoon activity while daddy and grandpa were working on the room remodel.
The plan was to paint something for himself and something for his sister, Saylor!
He picked out a guitar box. Very random, but it's what he wanted. After painting his guitar he painted Saylor a heart box. He picked out the colors and got to work. Of course, I painted her name but he did everything else. He kept saying this is for my baby sister Saylor! When he was done I asked him if we should write something on the inside and this is what he came up with...

How sweet is that!

When we were leaving he looked up at me and said; "I love going to the painting store with you mommy." And trust me, I love it too.

One Thankful Turkey

This morning Dylan and I did a little art project. Daddy was at work and we were just waiting on Grandma to get here, so why not get out the glue and scissors!!
Last year with my class we made some turkeys out of our feet and hand prints. I thought Dylan and I would do the same and then we could write about what he is thankful for!
The first step was to trace feet. Dylan thought it was pretty silly to be sitting on the table to trace feet!

Next he attempted to cut out his feet. He is left handed and I don't think I have the right scissors for him.

Next up...hand prints. I traced and cut these!

And finally the glue stick! I think this is the part he was looking forward to the most! Glue sticks are awesome, so much better than glue when it comes to kids.

And our finished turkey! Dylan told me things he was thankful for. The list is quite random. I promise if you didn't make the list he still loves you very much!!!

Dylan is thankful for...

mommy

daddy

Tobers (the dog)

glue sticks

coins

Cars poster (Disney Cars)

Aunt Sheryl

A lot of other people

Those are his words exactly. Well, except for the first one. He actually said, "I'm thankful for you mommy." That boy melts my heart about a million times a day!

When we were done he came up to me and said can we go make meat now. I guess his paper turkey isn't what he had in mind when I asked him if he wanted to make a turkey. So, I hope Grandpa Shaver is ready for a helper in the kitchen Thursday!!

Advice and cuteness

This week one of my lovely students gave me some advice for baby Saylor. It included a visual diagram as well. How thoughtful and helpful! When I asked him if it was a pacifier he said no it's one of those binkies!!! Dylan never liked his binkie, and I am hoping Saylor is the same!!

Now on to cuteness...my very talented sister made this for Saylor. How cool is that! I see these in the store and they are always kind of pricey! This one is just perfect and so special since it was made with so much love from Aunt Ashley!

And just 2 of the million outfits we have for bought so far! Lucky for us, my aunt works at Gymboree so when things go on clearance she puts them back for us!! We got 18 outfits for this summer for around $150. If you do the math it is a great deal! I promise. Well, I tell Seth that anyway!

New Room Part 1

Our upstairs is a huge open room. When we first moved in it was our "master bedroom" then Dylan came along and we moved downstairs and this became a play room! Usually it is just a big mess of way too many toys! With little Miss Saylor on her way we need another bedroom. Our plan at first was to make this 2 bedrooms--one for each! Then we decided to make one bedroom and the other half would still be a playroom/family room. Over the weekend Seth and his dad started part 1 of the new room.
Our plan is for Dylan to be up here in a new Lightning McQueen room. And if you know me well, you know that is a big stretch for me...I don't like characters themed things! But Dylan loves Cars right now and he already has a blue race car bed. I figure we can get some Lightning McQueen stuff and call it good! If that doesn't work then Seth and I will be up there!! No Lightning McQueen for us though!
The are that Seth is standing in is the new bedroom. The Big opening will be the doorway (they still have to finish the sides were the walls are slanted). There is a large window and the little door is a closet. Whoever ends up here will have the biggest room and the biggest closet! This is the stair way leading upstairs and it will open up to the playroom!

This side will be the playroom area. Still a big area for all of the big toys and our futon. Hopefully next weekend the rest of the wall can go up and Seth can work on electrical stuff. He is putting in some new can lights, new light switches and new fire alarms that will be wired with the ones downstairs. After that drywall and then figuring out who will be where! Once the drywall is up and it looks like a real wall we are going to test Dylan out. We will bring his bed up and have him try it out for a few nights! We will see how it goes.