December (1st half)

I got a new phone about half way through December, so these are the pictures from my old phone.

First off - we're staying classy as parents and were having our kids try on old beer hats.

We took a trip to Whitehall to drop off the camper for the winter and see Grandma and Grandpa's new camper.  It was so cute as they both grabbed Grandpa's hand as we headed to the car for lunch.

Garrett had gotten his pants wet at daycare and we didn't have an extra set for him.  All daycare could find was this lovely pair of pink pants!  Garrett didn't seem to mind and was all smiles!

Bryant was playing a game on dad's phone and I thought it was so stinkin' adorable how Garrett leaned on his shoulder and watched him play.

Bryant helped me make a cake for dad to celebrate his birthday.  It tasted good, but the presentation was not the greatest...

I was hoping for a better picture, but I put the cake to close to Garrett and he started sticking his finger in the frosting and eating it.  Bryant is very determined that the birthday boy gets to try a bite of the cake first before any one else can, so it threw him off for a little bit.  But then he stuck his finger in the frosting and it was all giggles from there.

Bryant really likes to help out in the kitchen and Garrett really likes to bang on pans, so them playing "restaurant" is pretty fun for them.  I like how Bryant was scooping up the pancakes with his hands, got Garrett in trouble for eating the food, and then tried his spatula flipping skills like they did at Nagoya.

Time for our tree hunt!  It doesn't show in the pictures, but the kids were both acting a bit off that morning, so it was really hard to get them out of the house and they were whining about everything...how long the car ride was, how much they had to walk, you name it - they whined about it.

We finally settled on a tree with long needles, and not a lot of branches, so decorating ended up being pretty simple.  But the boys were happy with our tree so that was all that mattered.

Yep - we sawzalled it down!

Bryant's always had a tree in his room so we told him he could pick out whatever tree he wanted (with certain height restrictions) so here was his choice.

Garrett had to be carried the entire time and he would only put one glove on because he had a lego dog that he had to hold in the other hand.

The next day, we headed to Grandma and Grandpa's house for some cookie baking.

Bryant liked "shooking" the sugar cookies after they were cut out to put on the pan.  I'm not sure who was more covered in flour by the end of the afternoon, Bryant or Grandma Susie:)  But we did make some yummy cookies!

Then we headed home for our neighborhood Christmas party where Santa made an appearance.  Garrett had been so excited seeing Santa in pictures.  Every time he saw Santa, he would wave and repeat Santa over and over.  We were hoping this would be a good sign when he saw the actual Santa.  Apparently not...he would give him high fives and wave to him, but as soon as you put him on Santa's lap, he was not happy!

Bryant was pretty cautious too, but he did smile for his picture.  He still hadn't decided what he wanted for Christmas at this point, so he didn't really talk to Santa at all.

Then we came home to decorate our tree.

Putting the finishing touches on the tree.

This was really the only picture I got of the kids in front of the tree.

Such a stylin' kid!

How do you get your kids ready for bed?  We just like to make ours race each other over and over through the hallway.  Actually, we didn't make them do it at all.  Garrett had his new shoes on and was testing them out and there was no way Bryant was going to sit on the sidelines and not show his brother that he was faster than him

Bryant's class made gingerbread houses.  It was such a fun activity for the parents to get to come and help out with!

When we made cookies, I was trying to get Bryant to make a list of what he wanted for Christmas because he had no idea.  So I opened up a toy catalog on my phone and he started making his list. As you can tell, I didn't help him with spelling at all.  I can't remember what everything was, but here are a couple interpretations:

Tuos = Toys

Lago = Lego

NRGN = nerf gun

Nijg = Ninjago

SBDRMAN Set = spiderman set

Ydimyisbgti = Yeti in my spaghetti (game)

Then he got into all the games and there was one for Pop the Pig (pig) and Fihs (fishing) and I can't find it, but I think there was a fox game on his list somewhere too. Oh and hrghibp was Hungry Hippos. 

Moblsz = marbles

coz = cars

On the back, he wrote that Garrett would want a Dog.  He also wrote Cars again and then wrote Twister twice.  Pretty cute seeing him try to sound out his words.  

This video cracks me up because sometimes when Garrett gets really excited, he clenches his fists and shakes!

Some ornaments that we got from daycare. 

This video is hilarious - Garrett's laugh can be so contagious.  He absolutely loves the "if you're happy and you know it" song. If he's upset about anything, just sing the song and he's happy.  So, we were singing it one night and reading the book that goes along with it.  I started recording because of him saying "hooray" and then he burped and the laughing started.

Brother wanted to join in on the fun and sing too.  And when Garrett thought that Bryant tooted - he couldn't control his laughter!

A couple of Santa's reindeer flew into Murdochs again.  The boys always like to go see them.  Garrett was waving to them.

This kid likes his balloons!

And apparently his hot dogs.  Trav and I are in so much trouble when these boys get older.  Garrett, who is not even 2, ate an entire Costco hot dog and 3/4 of the bun AND some frozen yogurt.  Right now Bryant is the one eating like crazy.  I actually measured both of them tonight and despite Garrett's appetite, I think Bryant was taller than he is at this same age.

More pictures and posts to come - hopefully soon!