Last weekend, we had Mom and Dad Heinrich here for a visit. It was wonderful having family here to help out and visit with us and the kids. We were sad to see them leave, but it's nice knowing they will be back at the beginning of January for a couple of weeks. It was, also, fun to have Mom take care of the kids while Billy and I went to the Florida Hospital Golden Gala last Sunday night. We even left the kids in her care at Brenda's house while we stayed the night at a Disney resort. It was very fun to have a night where we didn't have to worry about kids or feedings. We are thankful for moments like these where our family is willing to help out! I know Colton enjoyed being with Grandma and Grandpa a little longer, too.
The Golden Gala was really fun! We got all dressed up in fancy outfits--a tuxedo and gown. We went and bid on a lot of fun items at the silent auction, but we didn't end up winning any of the bids. Then we had a delicious four course meal while we chatted with some of the people Billy works with at Florida Hospital Tampa. When dinner was over, we had the pleasure of hearing Bill Cosby do his live stand-up. It was very funny! He still has it even at 74 years-old. The Gala was held at Disney's Coronado Springs resort, and we had a room there to stay at when the evening ended. It was really fun having an evening and night to ourselves.
Khloe turned 2 months old last Monday! She is such a big girl ... weighing in at just about 14 pounds. I am thankful for her big girl status, as she has been sleeping through the night more often than not ... 8:30 p.m.-8:00/8:30 a.m. It's been fabulous, and we are so thankful for her newest move into the big girl lifestyle. She has been busy "wowing" us with her cooing and talking. We love to hear her happy, little voice!
Big Brother, Colton, has been taking good care of his sister. He makes sure that she is okay when she's crying ... "Shhhh, Baby Khloe," and "It's okay, Baby Khloe," are two of his favorite phrases when she seems out of sorts. He loves to give her hugs and kisses. He makes one great big bro! Colton will be TWO years old this week! I'm definitely not ready for that. I look into his little crib, and I see a big boy stretched out across the mattress. It's very sad, in a way. I, also, have to cut his hair this week. I'm dreading that! His little hair is the hair he had when he was born. Sure, it looks crazy and unruly ... but I love how it curls when he's hot and flips and floats around when it's cooler outside. Soon, his mullet will be of the past, and I will miss seeing his wild hair. I'm not sure I'm ready for his big boy haircut, but I'm running out of days to watch it float behind him in the breeze when he runs or stick out every which way when he gets up from his nap. I'm preparing for a good cry when I cut it off ... I don't know why it's so sad, but it's a pretty tough thing for me to think about.
We had Thanskgiving at our house this year. After just having Khloe, and traveling to Kansas City for my sister's wedding and then traveling again in a few weeks for Christmas to Oregon to see my Mom, we felt like having a stay-at-home type of Thanksgiving. It was great, because Billy's cousins and sister and our friends, the Adams, came to celebrate the holiday with us at our home. We had a really great day! The food was divine! Everything was so delicious! It was potluck style. I made stuffing, potatoes three ways (sweet potatoes, crowd pleaser potatoes--my Mom's recipe--,and mashed potatoes), salad, pumpkin pie, dutch apple pie, cranberry jello salad, and juice. Our family and friends brought, pumpkin spice cookies, pumpkin brownies, cranberry cake, a second dish of stuffing, dinner loaf, vegetarian meatloaf, green bean casserole, gravy, homemade crescent rolls, acorn squash, and grape leaves. We definitely had enough food! It was incredible. It was so fun to see everyone. Since we moved to Tampa, we haven't seen the Orlando gang in a while. Billy's cousins, Caleb, Elizabeth, and Jan, stayed the night. We played games and had tons of fun.
On Black Friday, Billy and I did take one shopping trip to The Home Depot. It was finally our year to buy a Christmas tree. We usually get a real tree, but on the years that we are not in Florida for the holidays, it's tough to have a real tree that dries out and is stiff as can be when it's time to take it down. With a fake tree, we don't have that worry when we are away. And on the years that we have Christmas here in Florida, we can have the fake tree in another room while we have the real tree in our main living area--making it extra Christmasy! I love our new tree! We bought a 9 ft. pre-lit tree, and it looks great in the house. Now, we just have to agree on a tree topper. Billy wants an angel, but I can't seem to find an angel that I like ... so I want a star. Hopefully, we'll find something we both like soon. Until then, I make a bow to put on top of the tree. I'd love to start collecting for our nativity set. I like the Willow Tree nativity. It's rather expensive, if you buy it all at once, so I'll have to collect it in pieces each year. I'm looking forward to starting that tradition.
Today, we had Ethan, Beth, and Emily over to watch the Vikings and Bucs games. We had hot dogs, chips and salsa, and veggies for lunch. Beth made the most delicious fudge! Emily and Colton had such a fun time playing with each other. It was nice to see the cousins playing together. Emily couldn't wait to hold Baby Khloe. She did such a good job cradling her and keeping her happy. We even got a good picture with all of the kids together. Colton was being a little crabby, but we still got a decent picture out of it. After they left, Colton took a nap, and when he got up, the first thing out of his mouth was, "Where'd Emily go?" I have a feeling I'll be hearing that a lot this week!
I've been working on getting our Christmas decorations up around our house. I realized how much I missed having my Mom here to help me out. She helped me put up all of the fall decorations in the house, and I wanted to ask her a few times her opinion on where something should go ... but she wasn't here. Billy doesn't always make a good sounding board for decorating. He didn't know where things should go either! Anyway, here's what we came up with. I think it looks great! I'll take another picture of the front of the house when I get the poinsettias in place.
This past week, Colton was running around the house playing fireman hockey with a football. It was such a hodge podge of toys, I thought he looked so cute. I took a picture. He's good at cheesing for the camera by now!
He's been so fun lately with his singing. He used to be so shy to sing ... or he wasn't really into it yet. But lately, he has been singing a lot! I love it. He sings songs from Sabbath School or from the CD we listen to in the car. He, also, loves to sing the songs we sing to him at night before he goes to bed. His favorite Sabbath School songs to sing lately are "The B-I-B-L-E", "Only a Boy Named David", "Jesus Loves the Little Children", and "If You're Happy and You Know It". His favorite bedtime songs are "Jesus Loves Me", "The Trees are Gently Swaying", and "Angels are Watching". I'm surprised at how many Christmas songs he knows already! I think it sunk into his brain last season, and he's remembering them this season. He already knows all of the words to "Jingle Bells", and we've barely sung it this year! I love to hear his little voice singing. It's the best sound in the house. I'll have to video him sometime and post it ... I think you will all enjoy it, too.Here are a few pictures of the kiddos and family from this week. Enjoy!
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