Chanukah Night 5

Tonight we had a big family Chanukah dinner at Joel's parents' house. Joel took the day off of work and we drove out to their house after Isabel got out of school. All of the kids' cousins were there and we had a great time playing, eating, and, of course, dancing!

Here's the story behind the dancing:
A few years ago, Joel's parents got each of the families a Chanukah CD. The CD is made for kids and has various Jewish/Chanukah songs on it. Ever since the day we got it it has been a HUGE hit with the kids. They listen to it all year round and right now it's Gabe's bedtime music of choice. A couple of years ago when the kids started to get a little older, Janice (Joel's mom) put the CD on at our big family Chanukah celebration and started to dance around to entertain the kids. Well, before we knew it all the kids had joined her and now it has become somewhat of a tradition. They look forward to the dancing as much as they look forward to the presents!!!!
Also, you might notice that several of the kids are without pants ....... the kids get hot when they dance so when the music turns on, the pants come off. Another tradition, you might say!!

Chanukah Night 4

Chanukah Night 3

Tonight was more of a Christmukah night then a straight Chunkah night! We had dinner with my parents and then went to see some Christmas lights. There is a church in town that does this HUGE drive through display of lights. It's complete with music, Cinderella and her carriage, trains, planes, Santa, his elves, the toy workshop, and the nativity .... all made out of lights! It was pretty cool and they asked for the kids' names at the beginning and put a sticker on the car so everyone we passed said hello and Merry Christmas to Isabel and Gabe. They thought that was pretty cool! After driving through the church's display twice we drove over to a house that does a huge display every year that is timed to music. It's pretty entertaining and every year is different. It was a pretty cool 3rd night of Chanukah!

A few weeks ago, I had to buy a new notebook and Isabel has been asking ever since to get her own notebook. She finally got one tonight and informed me that she really wanted one that had the spirals on the top like mine, but she said it was ok because she still might get it for Christmas! Hope she's not too disappointed when she realizes this is the only notebook we bought.

Isabel used her notebook to do homework with Auntie Mady.

Gabe used his legs as roads for his new cars.

Packed into Grannie and Grandpa's car to drive through the Christmas lights display.

The cool house with the music timed lights!

Chanukah Night 2

Happy Chanukah!!

Well, the Cutter Christmukah season has commensed!!!! Tonight is the first night of Chanukah. We kicked off the week with a nice dinner out and then we came home and lit the candles and opened presents! It's getting more fun every year since the kids are getting older and can really enjoy and understand what is happening. Here are a few pictures of tonight's activities.........

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree ...

So, it's been our tradition that we put up the Christmas tree the weekend after Thanksgiving. We've done it this way since we got married and we usually make fun of the people who put it up earlier than that. It's ridiculous right?? Well, this year we heard from several of our friends and family that they've already put up their tree. Now I LOVE Christmas time. When I start to see trees and holly and toys in the stores, it just makes me happy! So, when I started hearing about all these people that I know who've already put up their Christmas decorations, it made me get the itch. I found my self getting very excited about decorating. I was wishing Thanksgiving was here so that I could put up the Christmas tree!! I thought about it for a couple of days and then decided that maybe we could just put the tree up a couple of weeks early. I thought about doing it during the day while Joel was at work (he notoriously hates putting up Christmas decoration), but then decided that it was a family event and we should wait for him. So, last Monday, the kids and I brought in all of the decorations and set them in the living room. I called Joel and told him that when he got home we had a surprise activity to do!! :) So, Joel came home, told me I was ridiculous, we had left overs for dinner and then we started on the Christmas tree!! I told the kids that we could listen to Christmas music and drink hot chocolate too. We got a new tree this year (see below for more on that) so it took us a little bit longer to figure out how it all connected, but we figured it out eventually and now our house looks great!!!!

Just getting started.

The biggest challenge of the night ..... explaining to Gabe that he CANNOT TOUCH!

Isabel put the angel on this year.

Gabe thought he needed a ride too.

Joel's domain was the top portion ... he's the only one who can reach it!

Isabel's was a big help this year.

Drinking their Candycane Hot Chocolate.

Ok, so the story on the new Christmas tree is this ....... when we got married we had a small house that was just perfect for us. For our first Christmas we bought a little tree for our living room. I think that tree was under 6' tall. It was perfect for our little house. Well, a couple of years later, we had Isabel and as she got older her stuff started to dominate the house. We knew that we wanted to have another baby so we decided to move because if one baby didn't fit, we knew two wouldn't. So, we moved to a bigger house. The house we live in now is two stories high and has HUGE vaulted ceilings in the living room. When our first Christmas in this house came along, we set up our little 6' tree and laughed. The tree that used to fill out the living room nicely was suddenly dwarfed by everything else in the room. We've kept our eye out each year for a good deal on a bigger tree, but we just hadn't found one yet. Well, this summer while I was at a yard sale, I noticed a Christmas tree in the corner of the garage. I inquired about it and was told that the tree was over 7' tall and it was pre lit. And the best part ....... it was $15!!!!!! The man told me that he wanted a real tree this year and his wife told him that if he could sell the fake tree at the yard sale, they could get their real tree. As far as I could tell this was a win-win situation! I was getting my big, pre-lit Christmas tree for a BARGAIN and the nice man at the yard sale was going to get his real tree!!! So, he helped me load the tree into the car (it actually took two cars to transport it. Good thing my sister-in-law was with me that day!) and off I went! I LOVE my new BIG Christmas tree!! It's so big we had to move furniture to make it fit!! Now THAT'S what I'm talkin' about!!!!!!!!!!

Cuteness

A few days after Isabel's birthday party, I took her outside to try out her new bike! She did a great job riding for the first time! The only problem was that our street is on a bit of an incline so going one way she couldn't get up the hill and going the other she went too fast. She'd get freaked out when the bike started picking up speed and she'd throw her legs out in front of her and tip the bike over. Good thing we had those knee pads! Unfortunately, her birthday is in November and we have very few days with acceptable riding weather. She's only been able to ride that one time. I'm hoping we'll have some good weather here in the next week or two so she can ride again. I think next time I'll take her to the park around the corner and let her ride on the basketball court. A large space with even ground should be perfect for her!

OH! and did I mention that Isabel's new Barbie bike came with a mini bike that attaches to the handle bars so her Barbie can ride with her??????? AND, her bike helmet came with a set of mini pads and a mini helmet for her Barbie too. Conveniently, she received a new Rapunzel Barbie for her birthday, so Rapunzel got to take a ride on the maiden voyage!

Since Isabel goes to school two days a week, Gabe and I get to spend some quality time together each week. Sometimes we drop her off and then go run errands together. Sometimes we come straight home again and do housework or watch movies. Gabe's absolute favorite movie is SHREK. He wants to watch it ALL THE TIME. He (and everyone else in the house) has it memorized and if you give him a choice he will always ask for Shrek. So, when Isabel is in school and I ask him if he wants to watch a movie he always asks me to put Shrek on. He usually gets a snack and then he sits on the couch and watches. The other day we came home from dropping Isabel off at school and he asked for pretzel sticks for a snack and Shrek to watch on TV. While I was getting the snack and the movie, Gabe pulled out a blanket and settled in on the couch with Bailey and his sippy cup.

Oh! and did I mention that he asked for the whole SAM'S bucket of pretzel sticks?? I figured since it was just us, it wouldn't hurt to let him eat out of the bucket. Plus, it made for a very cute picture!

School Programs

Isabel has had two school programs in the last month. The first one was at the end of October. Each class had a fall party and the kids got to wear their costumes to school. They even did a costume parade for the parents and sang a few songs! Joel was able to get time off work to come and his mom was able to come watch too. The kids did a great job!

Isabel and Ethan waiting for their class's turn.

The whole class.

Parading!

The second program was today. A couple of weeks ago I was asked, along with 3 other moms, to come in and help the kids make treats for their Thanksgiving feast. The day happened to be Isabel's birthday so that was an added perk! I was in charge of making the cranberry-apple popsicles. I had my own station and the kids rotated around to each station in groups of 4 or 5. I had the best time! The kids were so sweet and attentive and eager to tell me all about their pets and their traditions or whatever else came to their minds! I was able to stay for a little while after the food was prepared and I got to help them make their turkey costumes for their Thanksgiving program too. I think I had more fun than they did! I hope they ask me for help again soon!

Anyway .... today the parents were invited to join the kids in the auditorium for a little program before they went to enjoy their Thanksgiving feast. Joel was unable to make it this time, but his mom came again and Isabel did a fabulous job! She was the cutest little turkey you've ever seen!!!

Ethan and Isabel

My two little turkeys!

The Feast!

Isabel's place setting .... she made her own name tag (the purple pilgrim that you see above her plate) and the glittery leaves in the middle were made by the kids as well. Also, they each made a placemat that the teachers laminated (I don't really know how to spell that, but you know what I mean right?) for them. And then, of course, the food on their plates was made by them too!