Snow!!!

 Griff tried really hard to make a snow fort, but it was too powdery. Too bad we don't ski.

 Proof that I played in the snow.

Christmas 2012

 

Santa came!

 Here is Lily after we read her letter that Santa and our elf Alfred left. My mom got all of the families an Elf on the Shelf this year and the kids LOVED it. It was pretty fun for Jake and I too. It was cute how excited they got and how much they liked him. Griff wasn't too phased by the threat of Alfred telling on him to Santa, but that's pretty much just how Griff is. Here is the letter. Lily was so sweet and couldn't help but cry. She was pretty sad to see him go. 

 This was Sam's Santa gift. He was so cute, he stayed in it to open all of his presents.

 Lily got a scooter.

Griff got a Megatron Transformer and hasn't stopped playing with it since

Griff Basketball Winter 2012

 Griff had a lot of fun playing basketball. He said it's his favorite sport, but he has said that about each one he's played, so I'm not sure.

 Lily was not very entertained watching the games, so she would usually chase Sam around for me. I wasn't going to complain.

 He was pretty good at defense and stealing the ball. He still needs practice with his dribbling and shooting under pressure. He can shoot really well in practice, but gets nervous in the games.

Sam's 2nd birthday

 As per tradition Sam got to help make his birthday cake. This tradition hasn't happened as often lately since the kids always beg for store bought cakes.

 Maybe now I know why. I think you can tell it's a Mickey cake, but it may be lacking a little color. Oh well, I did what I could. In my defense, it tasted awesome. It was a "death by Oreo cake". It had Oreos in the cake, Oreo frosting and crushed Oreo cookies on top.

"

Happy Birthday little buddy!

 Sam was not cooperating, so this was the best picture we got of him with the grandparents and his presents.

Sam birthday celebration/Christmas party with Baldwins

 What a little cutie. Snot nose and all.

 Gotta love the red-eye

 Everyone was so nice to help us celebrate Sam's birthday.

We also had a surprise visit from Santa. Lily said at first she didn't want to sit on "some creepy dude's lap", but then she decided he was okay. I guess his fake beard didn't impress her. She believes in Santa, but she knows about his helpers and is pretty hard to please, I guess.

Gingerbread houses

Jake's Mom made cute Charlie Brown gingerbread houses with the kids this year. Check out Griff's face. Nice.

Christmas Bowling party

The kids loved bowling again this year. Sam had a lot of fun too. It's funny how much sooner he wants to do stuff, and how much easier it is for me to want him to now that the other two are older. He wants to do everything they do. Including sitting in a big chair, he refuses to eat in his high chair now. It wouldn't be so bad, but he is super messy. He also wants to drink from a regular cup all the time, but again super messy. I don't cave very often on the cup, but I might as well put away his high chair I guess. I was spoiled with Lily and Griffin, they were much more moldable. (is that a word?, anyway you know what I mean)

As you can see Sam did not like Santa. Looks a lot like someone else at his age. 

(actually Lily was a year younger, but who's counting?)

 
 This cute little Santa is my sister Ambree's baby Porter. He's such a cutie!

December 2012

 I love this picture of Sam. It looks like it should be on a Christmas card. He loved the decorations so much, he actually tried to eat a glass bulb. I ended up getting the worst end out of that deal because I sliced my finger getting the glass out of his mouth. Don't get me wrong, I was glad he wasn't hurt, but it also didn't seem very fair that I got hurt. Just sayin'.