"Sitting" with Santa

Rainah and I came out to Novi JUST to see the Twelve Oaks Santa- he ROCKS! We met up with Jill, Hayden, Talan, mom, Jess, and Justin. The theme this year was Polar Express.  The kids got to pretend they were driving a train, pull the whistle, and stand in a huge snow globe (that was Justin's favorite).

Luckily there was no line when we got there.  Hayden had written Santa a letter with some of his Christmas wishes, and he went right over, sat with Santa, and helped him read it. Then Talan went and sat with him for some photos.
Rainah was next up and did pretty good- no tears at least. She just doesn't have time to sit these days, so she was a bit of a wiggle worm. Santa is so patient and gentle with the little ones! We just love him. We got our photos, did a little shopping, and then went back to mom and dads for lunch and playing. Here's some of the Christmas fun:

Driving the train

She loved the whistle

Justin dancing with Talan in the snow globe (can you just imagine what Talan is thinking?)

Naming off all the letters she sees

Hayden and Santa

Talan and Hayden

Santa and Rainah

Snow Day

This morning we woke up to about 8 inches of snow on the ground. The schools in the area were closed, making a long Thanksgiving break even longer! I spent about an hour contemplating whether I should attempt to bundle Rainah up to let her play outside. I finally decided I definately had to. I got her bundled up pretty quickly, until we got to the mittens. We eventually got them on, but for sure not correctly. They didn't stay on long anyway. It took her a few minutes to adjust to all of the layers, puffiness, and boots, and stumbled around the house while I got my coat on. After a few steps outside she got the hang of it. She cracked up watching Cheyenne run around and eat the snow...so of course she had to try it, too. It must have been delicious because she ate a lot of it.
I pulled out the sled and took her for a ride up and down the driveway and she loved it. We didn't stay out too long since she was mitten-less and it was lunch time, but it was so cute watching her and getting some photos.










It was quite a feat just getting to the driveway


And that's about how long the mittens lasted






This is pretty much what she did the entire time... eat the snow
















Even on her sled ride, she'd hang out the side and scoop up some eats

Turkey Day at the Petersen's

This year we opted to attempt Thanksgiving at our place, so mom and dad came out a few days before to help out. Jill, Dave, and Hayden and Talan came out thanksgiving morning and the kids had a geat time all playing together. On the menu was a fresh turkey from the famous Grist Mill seasoned with apple maple butter with stuffing. We also whipped up some twice baked potatoes, green bean casserole, cranberry salad, rolls, squash, and pumpkin muffins. And it wasn't so bad if I do say so myself!
Every year at the table mom sets each place setting with a gift - an ornament for our Christmas tree. It always has some sort of meaning... this year Rainah got crayons, Don got an ambulance, and I got a camera.
We finished up the day with yummy dessert including mom's pumpkin pie and some cheesecake. We wer so glad to host and thankful that most of the family could drive out to us. We missed Jessica and Justin as they were in Florida with Justin's family.
Here's a few photos (most of which I did not take since I was slaving away- :) )


It's hard not to make that face when you're touching that!


Ewww


Pouring that yummy apple maple butter






Rainah opening her ornament






Lookin good!


Place cards... made from Rainah's hands and feet


Time to dig in


You don't want to get on her bad side!


The Skivers


The Petersens

MOPS Children's Museum Outing

This morning our MOPS group had an outing to the Grand Rapids Children's Museum and their winter exhibit, Penguin Play, had just started. There is a whole area where they can climb around, play with stuffed penguins, dress up, feed, read about, and build with "ice blocks". Don came with us and Rainah had a great time!










Shopping with the penguin




Bubbles








Simon and Jen


Feeding the penguins






Wearing the penguin hat playing in the ball pit


Jen and Simon