Christmas time!

We made it to St. Charles for our break in record time. The boys got started making themselves at home. And even managed to get a card game in before bed. (They're definately Bickels)

Wednesday night we headed to Great Grandma's house for Christmas dinner with the whole family. And after dinner....Santa showed up! Luke was glad he came but didn't want to get too close. Ben knew that big bag had gifts in it so he made sure he was first in line.

As the night wore on Luke decided to get comfy and relaxed on Uncle Les.

Christmas Eve we went to church with Paw Paw and then took some pictures in front of Grandma's pretty tree.

I didn't even have to set them up for this pic!

The best family picture after Ben decided he was done smiling for the camera.

And right before everyone came over for the Miller party, Santa stopped by! We thought they might like to spend some time with him without a whole bunch of other kids around. It didn't matter...Luke still kept to the other side of the room and Ben went right up the big guy and sat on his lap. Amazing how a beard and red suit can fool a 3 year old.

Tried to get a cousin picture...Mya was all about it. She was the only one. They're holding cookies which we used as bribes, Ben took his cookie and ran.

Ben and Uncle Jeff hanging out on the stairs

Scott read a story about Santa reminding a little boy about Jesus being the true reason for Christmas.

And then there were lots of gifts to open.

And after everyone left we set out cookies and milk (and carrots for the reindeer).

Getting Ready for Christmas

The last few weeks have been interesting getting ready for the holidays.

Ben's had a very big interest in not wearing diapers. He thinks he's ready for big boy pants...

I can't wait to show his girlfriend!

We did take a day to bake some Christmas cookies. Luke and Ben did a great job helping me decorate them with LOTS of sugar.

It was controlled chaos.

Showing off the new aprons (gotta love Target's dollar bin!)

Luke liked picking a color and dumping ALL the sugar on the cookie.

Here are the ones the boys finished before they couldn't stand sitting still anymore.

Ben's in the "cheese" phase. Everytime he sees a camera he does that creepy smile and says "cheese" nice and loud.

It's not always pretty...

Wearing his Christmas sweater and eating lunch before nap...think he's ready to sleep?

Saturday before Christmas we had our Sunday School Christmas service. It went real smooth. The kids sounded great. The highlight was that this was Luke's first service. He did so great walking right up front and standing in the very middle of the kids singing his heart out. We could see his little face shining as he sang Joy to the World and O Come Little Children. It was awesome. I told Scott I now understand why parents video tape their kids in church. I wish I could share that sweet moment with everyone. Luke did a great job singing about his Savior!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

STAR WARS CONCERT!

Last Sunday we took Luke on a very special Christmas trip. Ok, so the theme for the afternoon wasn't Christmas like at all...but we had to pay full price for Luke's ticket so it definately fell under Christmas present category! Anyway, we took a trip to the United Center for "Star Wars in Concert". It's a show that combines a giant HD screen of clips from the films with a live orchestra. It was awesome. As we walked to our seats we saw storm troopers and Jedi posing with fans.

And all around the lower level they had real costumes from the movie. Like everyone's favorite wookie...

Or C3 PO

Or the Ewoks (they're the ones in the case)

They also had Yoda and Darth Vader but we were nearly trampled to see the first few so there was no way we were squeezing through to see any more.

Then we found our seats. They were high, but the screen was so huge, it didn't matter where you sat. Luke seemed nervous by our height and the loud sound effects coming from the speakers before the show started. In fact when the music began with the 20th Century Fox theme he had his head pressed against me with both ears covered. But the second they started the main Star Wars theme, his head popped up and he spent the rest of the concert like this...

Luke made sure Scott and Neil clapped after each movement and then he would turn to Scott and ask if we could stay for "one more, Daddy?"

He hummed along with Vader's march and giggled when they said "Luke".

It was a great trip. Totally worth taking my obessed 3 year old and 30 year old. And thanks to Neil for coming along.

The Royal Symphony Orchestra (all the way from England)

Count down to Christmas

Our Christmas countdown started with Thanksgiving. It was a wonderful weekend up in Wisconsin. Laid back and full of family, just the way we like it. Mom and Dad managed to squeeze us all into the sunporch for a sit down meal. And the boys loved playing with their cousins. And sibling bonding night was a blast too! Here are some highlights...

The Ben's watching TV....we told Uncle Ben he had outgrown the chance to lounge like little Ben.

Uncle Chad, Maddie, and Ben reading before bed.

Grandma was on top of Christmas this year and we all got our presents before we left. The boys LOVE their "video game" (a VSmile)

On Saturday our whole gang (minus a few) traveled to Racine for a "baby shower" to celebrate the new Davis that's on the way. The boys decided a front yard football game was in order and of course Luke had to be in the middle of it. (Mostly cause Uncle Nate was playing)

Uncle Nate let him hike the ball!

Ben eating dessert with the mom to be!

A great turn out of Bickels! It's was so nice to be able to spend an afternoon with everyone there.

And as is tradition, we ended our Thanksgiving weekend by hauling down the decorations and putting up the tree.

Ben was so excited to check out all the ornaments.

And Santa's little helpers put on their hats (they insisted on wearing them).

We've also made some craft projects and baking to do for Christmas gifts so the boys got brand new aprons to keep their clothes stain free.

Growing Boys

Don't get too excited, I don't have new pictures. I thought it was time for a quick update. Since last post we've reached a couple of milestones.

First- Ben decided the other night that he needed to sit on the Elmo potty seat. He took off his pants and climbed up on the toilet. I gave him a book to read and left to check on Luke. When I came back Ben had managed to create a little puddle on the seat in front of him. Now I know it was a totally fluke, but I felt the need to make a big deal out of it. Ben got to call his grandparents and he got a potty treat (a skittle). Now he walks around the house holding his butt and saying "poop potty". It's exciting to imagine our next potty training experience might go smoothly.

Second- No one probably thinks this is nearly as exciting as I do but Luke washed his first strainer-full of dishes! Dishes are at the top of my most hated chores list so the idea that I can almost let "the kids" do them makes me crazy excited! I know it's weird. But I couldn't stop smiling while he scrubbed his little bowls and plates.

We're slowing preparing for Christmas. I think Luke's sick of us telling him to tell Santa when he says a toy he wants. But he's really looking forward to all the baking we get to do.

Fall Fun

Ben discovered leaves this fall. He was a little unsure when I piled them all in the front yard. After one leap, he was hooked.

He loved throwing the leaves up in the air.

We've only had a handful of days that haven't been cold and rainy. Daddy got to play with us one of those days last weekend.

Yum! Doritos with Daddy!

And of course Daddy came up with the great idea to rake all the leaves at the bottom of the slide. Luke is convinced his dad's a genius!

Nothing says fall better than playing football in a leaf pile!

And fall wouldn't be complete without the trip to find a pumpkin. It was very cold and rainy that day, but we only had a short amount of time anyway, so it was alright.

So many choices...

Luke was SURE we needed a "biiiiig" pumpkin. I told him there wasn't room in the van.

Following Uncle Kurt with our pumpkin choice.