Silver Dollar City

While we were in Branson with the Finkelstein crew, we visited Silver Dollar City.  My family had been several times when I was a child, but I hadn't been back in years.

We loaded up the cars (I swear it was a scene from Home Alone) and headed for the park which was only a five minute drive from our cabin.  From there, we split up.  The ladies attended a cooking demonstration while the men took the kids for some fun and games.

We met back up later in the afternoon for some more fun, but unfortunately, Jacob had gotten sick on one of the rides and wasn't feeling his best!  After dipping candles and a few more rides, we decided to go back to the cabin and rest.  Lucky for us that we did because Jacob ended up vomiting two more times on our way back to the car!

The park was decked out for the holidays and we enjoyed an afternoon outside, especially with the beautiful weather we had!!

The ladies loved watching a food demo and getting to taste some yummy treats!

Mim and Drew must have been very bad!

Jacob really got into character here!

It got a bit chilly so Jonah decided to sport his new hat!

Jonah was basically the center of attention all week, crazy hair and all!  He loves his cousins!!

Our little family loved spending time together!

I promise I've been good Santa!

Christmas 2013

Christmas was an absolute whirlwind this year!  The entire Finkelstein crew headed to Branson, Missouri on Christmas day, so our routine was a bit different from normal.  We headed over to Mim and Poppa's house on Christmas Eve afternoon to open gifts and enjoy some munchies before going to Christmas Eve service at Mim and Poppa's church (also the church Nathan and I were married in!). 

Mim and Poppa's tree was decked out!

Lots of little boys=lots of presents!

Sam and Nikki played a duet while we all listened...

...then it was Drew's turn!

These two crack me up!

Mim reading the Christmas story while the younger boys help out.

Jonah loves his Poppa!

Ready to open some gifts!

After church, we came back home so the boys could exchange gifts and they opened their new pajamas from mommy and daddy!  Then it was time to set out the cookies for Santa and go to bed!

Dressed in their Sunday best for Christmas Eve!

A new remote control car from Jonah!

Jacob picked out a little people farm accessory for Jonah.  He loved it!

Homemade chocolate chip cookies all ready for Santa!

Christmas morning came super early, Jacob came into our room for the first time at 4 o'clock!  We had made the mistake of not telling him what time he could wake us and that boy was so excited!  We were able to hold him off until Jonah woke up at 6 and then we headed downstairs to see what Santa had left!

Jonah's stack...

...and Jacob's.  We discovered this year for the first time how difficult it is to keep it LOOKING equal.  Jacob's gifts were much smaller, but they are more expensive now!!

Matching pjs and ready to see what Santa brought!

Jacob's "big" gift was a Lego castle set!!

Jonah LOVES having his very own anywhere chair!

Jonah had a blast opening his own gifts this year!

Jacob's first official Baylor sweatshirt-complete with a hood (he is obsessed with hoods!).

After opening gifts and a quick breakfast, we all got ready to hop in the car and drive 7 hours to Branson.  It was definitely difficult to get out the door and leave all of our fun new toys at home, but we were excited to spend an whole week with all of our family!!

Trying to be patient waiting for daddy to finish packing the car

One happy boy ready for our roadtrip!

Birthday Fun

Seamus, our elf, got in on the birthday fun and draped ribbon on the kitchen light!

Presents ready to be opened!

So excited!!!

Mommy and daddy got Jacob a nabi 2 tablet and Jonah bought him a Galaxy Squad Lego set.

Since Jacob doesn't eat cake or cupcakes, we sang Happy Birthday to You and he blew out six candles on a chocolate donut!

Sweet brothers ready for a yummy lunch!

Jacob wanted to eat Mexican food at Dos Charros for his birthday lunch.  Our favorite restaurant, Los Charros, recently closed but was owned by the same people as Dos Charros and it's practically the same food.

Jonah was excited to chow down on some yummy tortilla chips!

We celebrated Jacob's actual birthday in a pretty low key day.  The weekend prior was his birthday party and Christmas celebration with the Cox family, so we kept this weekend pretty quiet.  We are also pretty worn out with the end of school and enjoyed lots of family time at home!
Sunday morning was quiet and relaxed, complete with donuts and naps!  We went to lunch and then came home, got cozy and played and played.  Jacob kept saying that it was the best day ever and I never knew it was so easy to please a six year old!
It was wonderful to have some quiet time together before the excitement of Christmas.  Jacob's birthday definitely makes us slow down amidst the holiday hubbub and focus on our family of four!

Happy 6th Birthday Jacob!!!!

How is it possible that our firstborn is already six years old?  It feels like only yesterday that we were heading to the hospital, a week before my due date and only days before Christmas ready to meet our little boy for the first time.  Jacob has grown into such a smart, witty and loving boy.  Each day he makes us smile.  We are so blessed to have him in our lives and we look forward to watching him grow into the man God has planned for him to be.  Happy birthday Jacob!!

Our little peanut (all 6lbs 10oz of him!) just after he was born!

Our sweet 1 year old in 2008

Such a happy 2 year old!

At his dinosaur party to celebrate his 3rd birthday!

Celebrating his 4th birthday at his shark party

A shield cake fit for a knight at his 5th birthday party!

Party Animals

Jacob and Jonah both had their holiday parties at school today.  I am extremely blessed with awesome parents in my class, and they covered for me during my class party so I could go down to Kindergarten and spend some time with Jacob.  He had had a super fun day, dressed in pjs and enjoyed watching The Polar Express!  Jonah's teachers sent me a picture of him chowing down on their little "feast" complete with Chick Fil A nuggets, which I know he devoured!

It was a super fun day, but the best part of the day was coming home and knowing that we have two full weeks off to spend together!  I truly have the best job in the world.  I get to go to work each day and do what I love but have plenty of time with my boys playing and snuggling.  I'm looking forward to a lot of both!

Jacob was so surprised to see me come visit during his holiday party!  He was one lucky boy since they served popcorn, one of his favorite snacks!

Jonah enjoyed his holiday feast today and was all smiles!

Fun at School

Jonah's school has started a new program with their iPads called Tadpole where they send all daily reports and pictures electronically.  One of the best parts of this is getting emails each day with photos of Jonah participating in some fun activities.  I love seeing his smiling face while I'm at work and documenting all the fun things he's doing at school!

I am really so blessed that Jonah loves school and loves his teachers.  He has a great time while he's there and enjoys spending time with his friends!  It's so wonderful knowing that he's safe and having a blast while I'm at work!