It's getting close to my absolute favorite time of the year, so I'm sharing 5 of my favorite Christmas/Advent things for the kiddos!  These are all terrific gifts for your own kids or your godchildren, and I've tested them out so you know they're awesome :)

 

Most links are Amazon affiliate links, so at no extra cost to you, you help support this blog by shopping through these links - thanks!

 

ONE

 

 The Story of Christmas

 

My sister got us this advent calendar a few years ago and I bought another one last year after a bunch of the pieces accidentally got thrown out with the Christmas tree...

 

There's a story for every day in December (the 1st through the 24th, so not necessarily every day in Advent...) that leads up to the birth of Jesus.  The books are sturdy and ours have been chewed on quite a bit and are still going strong!  Then the kids can hang the books from the Christmas tree and read them again throughout Advent.  We use a little fake tree because we don't get our real Christmas tree until Christmas Eve.

 

TWO

Little People Nativity

 

I've done a LOT of research on nativities for children.  There aren't a lot out there that are baby-friendly, actually stand up on their own, and don't cost a million dollars.  You can usually find a Fisher Price nativity for around $30, and the price is absolutely worth it.  This is the favorite of all our nativities, and we don't have to worry about the pieces getting chewed on.  The kids acted out the story of Jesus' birth ALL Advent (even though we hid Baby Jesus), and loved making the wise men move closer every day until Epiphany.

 

Christmas morning 2011 - playing with their new nativity!

 

They took that thing EVERYWHERE!  You can see the advent calendar books hanging on the tree...

THREE

 

Noah's Ark and Nativity Set

 

Another gift from my sister - this is a great price for a nativity AND Noah's ark set.  The pieces are only painted on one side and the stable is a little tricky to put together, but it's a great group of characters that allows for a lot of creative play!

 

The ark and nativity in action, 2011 (on the toy box).  Honorable mention: Giant Baby Gate  that kept the kids away from the tree!

 

FOUR

 

 

Rubber Duck Nativity

 

I get such a kick out of this one, and the kids do too!  Baby Jesus duck?  Angel duck?  Yes please!

 

You can get it for a better price at Oriental Trading Company, and we picked up some awesome St. Nicholas ducks a few years back (complete with a bishop duck - how amazing is that?) so it's worth a try!

 

FIVE

 

 

Playmobil Nativity

 

I picked this up on a huge discount after Christmas last year and the big kids are getting it for Christmas this year.  Since it has a lot of small parts it'll be one of those toys that they only play with at the big table, or while the babies are napping.  I have a feeling they're going to be ecstatic, particularly Cecilia.  All those animals!

 

Next week I'll be rounding up some of my favorite books for the Advent season - get excited!

 

 

Linking up with Hallie at Moxie Wife - check out more awesome favorites!

WIWS & Family Photo Shoot

Ohhhh time change, how I loathe thee...

 

Remember before kids, when "Fall Back" meant an extra hour of sleep?  Too bad infants and toddlers don't understand that.

 

So we were all up bright and early - Andrew took John Paul with him to a 7 AM Latin Mass and I took Cecilia to our regular 8:30 AM.  I tried to fall-ify a summer dress but I don't think it worked - this dress just needs to be relegated to the back of the closet until spring!

 

Dress:  Newport News

Cardigan:  Gap via Twice

Boots & boot socks:  DSW?

Belt:  Kohl's

 

Of course, it took until the last shot for Cecilia to actually smile!

 

She was ecstatic when I told her that since it's November she's allowed to start wearing last year's Christmas dress again.  It was HUGE on her last year and she's a peanut anyway, so it fits perfectly now!

 

 

And because the babies were looking adorable, here's what they wore:

 

 

Look!  They're all looking at the camera!  This is the only shot I got where Elizabeth wasn't chewing on her baby doll's head...

 

The light was awesome in the playroom so I thought I'd try to get some printable shots of the babies and I think I may actually have gotten a couple!

Mary Claire

 

Elizabeth

Aaaall she wants to do is be walked around...

All SHE wants to do is walk by herself - and she's ecstatic when she does it!  We're up to 5-10 steps at a time before she decides crawling is faster.

 Then Andrew made a giant leaf pile in the back yard and the kids spent a while playing in it (or eating the leaves, as was the case for the babies!).

I thought this was SUCH a Cecilia shot - her mischievous little expression is perfect!

And a quintessential John Paul shot:

 

And with that, naps seem to be winding down, so I'll link up with Fine Linen & Purple and send you on your way to better outfits!

7 Quick Takes - Fall Edition

--1--

I feel awkward posting this, but I wrote a song for All Saints Day in the car yesterday, aaaand here it is with my mistake-full piano playing.

My mom posted it to her facebook wall so I figured the cat was out of the bag...  Next we'll be buying an RV and touring as a modern day Von Trapp family.  John Paul's pretty much ready to start yodeling - anyone want to be our puppeteer?

--2--

So suddenly it was the night before Halloween and we hadn't carved our pumpkins...  We've actually never carved pumpkins with the kids (or introduced the concept), but John Paul kept reading about it in his books and was begging for it.  So we carved them.  And it wasn't thaaaaaat bad since Andrew cleaned them out most of the way.  

But seriously, reason #3,458 to keep your children illiterate:  Ignorance is bliss.

Cecilia wanted me to carve a kitty cat.  So of course John Paul (who has been talking about his silly jack-o-lantern face for weeks) decided HE wanted a kitty cat, TOO!

So there you have our pumpkins!  So spooky, I know...

The candle went out in the little kitty cat...

--3--

And the kids in their costumes!

Edit:  I totally meant to link up with Katrina!  And then I forgot...  But now I'm linking up!

St. Michael the Archangel (minus wings, because ain't nobody got time for that) and a butterfly.  I told John Paul that if anyone asked him if he was a soldier he should just say yes because really, does he need to explain to strangers that he's actually dressed as St. Michael the Archangel?

So he just focused on reading all the names of the candy they gave him, and Cecilia corrected everyone who assumed he was a soldier in an adorable and very quiet voice.

--4--

Oh, and the family in all our costumed glory!

Well, Andrew's dressed as a lawyer.  Spoilsport...

--5--

I couldn't help but notice a resemblance...

The ears...  the smile...  The bald heads...

--6--

Last trip to Cox Farms!  The weather was gorgeous and Cecilia was totally in love with the goats, as you can see:

They're just getting into the perfect age to REALLY enjoy the fall festival - they can finally go down (almost) every slide by themselves!

I'll never get tired of that smile!

Or that one!

The babies spent most of the time strapped to our backs, napping or just hanging out.  But they were absolutely entranced by the machine the kids could put corn through.  Mary Claire almost managed to climb in and tried to eat quite a few kernels of dried corn... 

 

Gratuitous "How Tall This Fall" shot

Just chilling inside some giant egg shells...

--7--

So, funny story...  We were in the little goat village at Cox Farms when I saw some really cute kids and I thought, "Hey, those look like Elizabeth Foss's kids!" 

And then I looked at the woman with them and I was like, "Hey, her camera strap is really cute!"

And THEN I thought, "Hey, I'm pretty sure that's Elizabeth Foss!"

So I spent several minutes internally debating whether I should say anything or not, because the only line I could come up with was, "Um, hi, I read your blog?"

And I thought that would be a little awkward...

So I said nothing.  But then I commented about it on her instagram and she said I should have introduced myself!

Internet is so much easier than real life sometimes...

I dunno, what would you do?  In either situation?  I pretty much feel like I know the people who read this blog regularly, so I would be REALLY excited if I ran into one of them in public.  But I don't have the wide readership of any of the more popular bloggers, so I feel like it wouldn't be as weird for me if the tables were turned, you know?

Anyway, I've been trying to write these takes since 7 AM and it's 8 PM!  Time to quit for the night :P

Check out more takes, most of which will surely have adorable pictures of children in Halloween/All Saints Day costumes!

Five Favorites & WWRW

Okay, one reason I haven't been blogging as much lately is because life with the kids has been crazy.  But also...  Books.  I put a bunch on hold at the library and am catching up on all my favorite authors!  Here are some current favorites: 

 

ONE

 

Brandon Mull (an awesome author if you haven't read him - check out the Fablehaven series, please!!!) finished his Beyonders trilogy and, not surprisingly, it was awesome!  It's only $10.99 for the whole trilogy on Kindle right now, which is a pretty sweet deal.  It kind of reminds me of Harry Potter meets Eragon, if that description means anything to you.  Really fabulous fantasy series for young adults and adults like me who like to read young adult fiction...

 

TWO

 

Orson Scott Card is one of my all-time favorite authors.  Not every book of his hits it out of the ball park, but most of them do. 

 

The Gate Thief is the second in his MitherMages series, and I'm about halfway through and loving it!  It's not as wholesome as Brandon Mull, there's definitely some mild language and raunchy teenage humor.  But the plot is so original and I just can't read his books fast enough!  You can bet I'm racing through this post so I can get back to reading The Gate Thief!

 

THREE

 

Lucy Cousins has always been a huge favorite amongst the kids, especially her Maisy books.  I love this one because the flaps are super-durable - we bought it used and it's still going strong with only one flap taped!

 

Maisy's Big Flap Book doesn't seem to be sold new anymore, but it's definitely worth a try for babies and toddlers alike - they're not the flaps like you see in the Spot books, it's a completely separate overlay with the flaps cut out, which is a lot sturdier than the glued on flaps in some books.

 

FOUR

 

Veering away from what we're reading, I've been using one kitchen tool a TON lately, for homemade applesauce, tomato sauce (I like mine totally pureed), and pureeing lots of tasty fall soups in the pot:

My Cuisinart Immersion Blender is AMAZING and I wish I had a reason to buy it in one of the beautiful beautiful colors it comes in!  Ours is just the original stainless steel, since we got it as a wedding present way back when.  But it's one of the most useful kitchen gadgets we have, since I can puree to my heart's content without getting the blender or food processor dirty when I already have a pot dirty!  Seriously, if you don't have one of these and you love to cook, add it to your Christmas list!  It's usually around $30 or $35 so it definitely won't break the bank.

 

FIVE

 

Mary Claire is just hilarious lately - I keep trying to get her to say hello or hi and all she'll do is say, "Buh bah!" and wave her hands and then laaaaaugh uproariously! 

 

 

Yup, you wish you had one of her!

 

Doubling my link-up pleasure this week with thrifter extraordinaire Jenny at Mama Needs Coffee (guest-hosting for Hallie) and Jessica at Housewifespice - check out what everyone else is reading and loving!

 

Quotes from the kiddos, volume a million

Yeah, I've had this sitting in my drafts folder for over a month.  Good job, me!

JP, clearing his throat:  Oh, I live in a red Chrysler car-van.  It's a sports car!  And I go one, and then TWO HUNDRED MILES PER HOUR!
Cecilia:  And I wive in a purple and pink car!  Mr. Jones, have you eated your cake yet?  Mr. Jones, have you peed in da potty?  HEY!

JP: Hey, what are we doin' today? I'm 50 months old!
Cecilia: Would YOU wike to go to da MOON today?
JP: Um, nope.
Cecilia: Would I wike to go to da moon today?
JP: Um, yup. When it's Aunt Sister's birthday! On September 21!...

*big kids race off to play together*

...

Cecilia to Elizabeth, after SEVERAL minutes apart:  Oh Ewizabif, I'm so happy to find you! 
Elizabeth:
Cecilia:  And now I'll chop off your head!!!

Yup, that pretty much sums up her expression...

Cecilia, hugmauling Elizabeth:  Oh Ewizabif, you're my pwecious baby in da whoooooole world!

...

John Paul:  Me and Cecilia are the second people God created!
Me:  Oh yeah?  And who were the first?
John Paul, matter-of-factly:  Adam and Eve.

So there you are, a slightly altered version of the creation story...

...

John Paul and Cecilia are playing store together...

John Paul:  I just need to buy some sangria.
Cecilia, holding out an orange lego:  Here's a piece of owange juice!
Cecilia, holding out a red lego:  And here's a piece of stwawbewwy juice!
Cecilia, holding out a brown lego: And here's a piece of...  Brownie juice!
John Paul:  Great, now we have sangria!  That costs...  Forty cents!

...

Cecilia is lying on Andrew's lap and wiggling his ears...

Me:  What are you doing, Cecilia?
Cecilia:  I'm fwapping Dad's ears!
Me:  Why?
Cecilia:  Because he's fwyin'!
Me:  Oh...  Where is he flying?
Cecilia:  To de airport! *singing*  Yoooooooooooooou backyard fwiends, da backyaaaaaaaaaardigans!  Shooby dooby dooby dooooo...
Andrew:  Scooby doo?
Cecilia:  Oh, Scooby Doo is a show about monsters!
Me:  
Cecilia:  Dad, your whiskers are COLORFUL!

One of her rare non-talking moments...  Yes, I know her strap is twisted - she buckled herself.

Cecilia, coming up to Elizabeth on the changing table:  Oooohhh Ewizabif, I wuv you so much dat I never knew you!
Elizabeth:
Cecilia:  Hey, she has a cwotch just wike I!

...

Cecilia, bursting into the room while I was changing:  Mom!  Wemember not to poop on me!

I promise, I always remember not to poop on her...

Throwback summer picture that never got posted!

Cecilia:  John Paul, would you wike to go pickle picking?
John Paul:  Oh, it's NOT pickle season!!!

Glad I've educated them on when we pick different types of produce - it just stinks when those pickle plants aren't producing!

...

Cecilia, right before bedtime:  Wemember not to weave me awone in da dark in da middle of da floor!

Yes, standard bedtime procedure is for me to throw her in the middle of the room, hit the lights and slam the door...

...

John Paul, watching me crack my knuckles:  Mom, why are you breaking your bones?
Me:  Well, it's called cracking my knuckles, I'm not really breaking my bones...
John Paul:  And how old will I be when I can break my bones?

And there you have it, the kids who never fail to disappoint!