Hello, from Blizzardville USA!

Well, the blizzard came just as predicted. We woke up to at least 10 inches of snow with the expectation of 3-4 inches more throughout the day and another 1-2 inches tomorrow. They are having a hard time measuring the accumulation due to the high winds. Unfortunately, it is way too cold for the kids to be outside, or I'd have pics. of them to post. I did, however, get one of Nathan shoveling the driveway (for the 6th time since yesterday!). Our driveway has a hill at the beginning of it and it is impossible to get up the driveway if it isn't clear. He is going to be so happy when he wakes up to see that it needs shoveled yet again before he leaves for work tonight. I hope you are staying warm wherever you are!

Presents from Mimi and Papaw

This afternoon, my mom came over and gave the kids their Valentine's Day presents. They were all excited to get super-soft fleece blankets and doggies. It is so cute to see them all snuggled up on the couch with their new gifts.

Jacob

Gabrielle

Emmaline

Decorating Christmas Cookies

After seeing "National Treasure: Book of Secrets" with me, my sister, Katie, came over to help the kids decorate sugar cookies. They had a great time playing in the icing and adding all kinds of candies to their cookies.

Ellie decorates a star

Jacob shows off his Shepherd Snowman complete with candy cane staff

3 Little Snowmen

Last year, someone gave us 3 really cute snowman frame ornaments, but being 7-months pregnant and totally exhausted at the time, I never got around to putting pictures in them. Now that we have 3 kiddos, I thought I would finally put the kids pictures in them so they could hang on the tree this Christmas. Here is the finished product:

Oo-Ee, Oo-Ah-Ah, Ting-Tang, Walla-Walla-Bing-Bang

In case, you can't tell by the title of this post, my parents took the kids and I to see "Alvin and the Chipmunks" today. Having watched the cartoon growing up and listened to the Christmas CD too many times to count, I was curious to see what it would be like. I am happy to announce that the movie was really cute and brought back some fond childhood memories. The kids really enjoyed the show and Emmaline slept through all but the last 15 minutes, so I was able to enjoy it too. Thanks, Mom and Dad, for a fun day!

A Visit to Cincinnati

Today we went to the Down Syndrome Clinic at Cincinnati Children's Hospital. We had originally planned to leave the kids with my mom, but she ended up having to work, so it turned into a family trip. The last time we were at the clinic, was in May, so we were looking forward to seeing what the specialists had to say about Emmaline. Dr. Patterson was amazed at how well Emmy was babbling and that she could sit up on her own. We thought she was doing great, but it is always good to hear the experts confirm it.

After the dr.'s appt., we went across the river and had pizza at Dewey's on the Newport Levee. Then, we went back into Cincy to see my sister, Katie, at her work. She works at Duke Energy and they have a large Christmas train display in the lobby of her building. The kids loved the trains, but I think they loved seeing their Aunt Katie the most. We even got to go across the street to have frostys at Wendy's compliments of her co-worker, Joyce. Yum!

Gabrielle and Emmaline

Gabrielle and Jacob

Nathan, Jacob, and Ellie

Katie and Jacob look at some of the trains

Emmaline loves kisses from Daddy

Today was really long, but it was a fun day filled with several impromptu stops that made some great memories for our family.

Kids' Christmas Program

The children's program at our church was today. They did two performances of "Charlie Brown's Christmas". Before each performance, the 2 1/2 year olds to kindergarteners sang some songs. Jacob and Ellie did a great job at their concert (Jacob's term for it). Jacob is quite the ham and could be heard over the rest of the kids most of the time. His directors actually requested that he be at both performances because he knew the words so well and was so loud I knew that would come in handy one day!). Ellie did good up until the 2nd performance when she and her best friend, Emma, decided to keep changing from the front row to the back on the risers. By the end of the 2nd show, you couldn't even see Ellie because she had decided to sit down and rest. Oh well, such is life with a 3-year old. Here are some pics. and a short video from tonight:

Emmaline plays with Mema and Papaw Kevin

She was concentrating really hard to stand up, so her tongue is sticking out!

First Performance:

Ellie is in the front row, second from the left

Jacob is in the top row, third from the right

Second performance:

Jacob is at the top, third from the left

He saw me taking his picture, so he took time to pose

Ellie leaving the stage

Here they are singing "Jingle Bells"

Ellie is in the front, second from the left

Jacob is at the top, fifth from the right

Dr. Appointment Update...

Jacob and Emmaline went to see the pediatrician on Monday for their well-child check-ups. Jacob had to get 4 shots (poor kid), but he toughed it out. Emmaline was supposed to get her 2nd flu vaccine, but was running a slight fever (due to her cold she had gotten the night before), so she lucked out and was able to postpone it another week. Dr. Heritage was pleased with Emmaline's muscle tone, motor skills, and overall development to this point. We head to the cardiologist tomorrow and the Down Syndrome Clinic in Cincinnati next week, so I'll have more to share after those visits. Here are their stats:

Jacob

Height: 45 inches (90th%)

Weight: 49 3/4 lbs. (90th%)

Emmaline:

Height: 27 inches (25th%)

Weight: 16 1/2 lbs. (25th%)

She is still being measured on a typical growth chart, so her percentages are really good.

Here is Emmy's weekly pic. and a few of the kids together.

All smiles!

Cuties in matching shirts

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

The kids were so excited to see the ground completely covered in white stuff this morning...4 inches of it! It took lots of coaxing to get them to eat breakfast and wait for the weather to warm up some before they ventured out. They had so much fun playing outside, but were thankful to come in for lunch (yummy grilled cheese sandwiches, baked potato soup, and fruit). I can't say that winter is my favorite time of year, but I am glad to see the kids enjoying it so much.

Jacob liked swinging in the snow

Ellie loved the slide

Making a snow angel

Cleaning off the birdbath

MVDSA Christmas Party

Today was the Christmas Party for the Miami Valley Down Syndrome Association. The kids had a good time. They had a group of cloggers perform, there was a karaoke machine set up with Christmas carols, and there were tons of door prizes given out. Ellie and Emmaline both won the prize bags they put their names in for, which left Jacob feeling left out, but he got over it (eventually!). The kids were also able to see Santa, although at separate times. After waiting in line for 10 minutes, Jacob decided he had to use the restroom. The girls got their picture taken together, but Emmaline had fallen asleep at that point (see below). Jacob was able to get his picture taken after the aforementioned potty break.

Jen and Emmaline

Jacob tells Santa what he wants for Christmas

Emmy is fast asleep while Ellie and Santa pose for a picture

A Very Veggie Christmas

Every year, our church hosts "A Very Veggie Christmas". It is designed to be an outreach where parents can bring their kids for 3 hours of FREE childcare so that they can go Christmas shopping. This is the first year we have been able to participate, and I'm so glad we did. I volunteered to help with registration while the kids went with their friends and had a great time. They went shopping in the store (items are all donated and the kids shop for free for 2 people in their family), ate lunch, sang Christmas songs, played games, and watched a Veggie movie. A bonus was that Graeter's was there passing out free samples of their new low-glycemic ice cream. I had cinnamon (my favorite) and it was just as yummy as the regular kind. Here are pics. of the highlights:

Gabrielle was part of "Peas on Earth"
Jacob was in "Tomatoes we have heard on high"

Ellie enjoys a lunchable for lunch while she watches a video

Jacob sings his heart out

Jen and Emmaline

Jacob picks out a present for Daddy

Ellie gets ready to go shopping with Mrs. Fina

Ellie enjoys her coloring page

Jacob plays "Adam, Adam, Eve" with his fellow tomatoes

All Good Things Must Come to an End

Today is the last day of NaBloPoMo. I am happy to announce that I successfully blogged at least once every day in November. My sister, Katie, says that I have set a new bar for myself and will disappoint lots of people if I don't continue to blog every day. It has been kind of nice making time for myself (even if only 5 minutes) to update the blog every day, instead of my usual once per week. I won't promise to blog every day from here on out, but I will try to make it more often than I used to do. I should have lots to write about with Christmas and all its festivities drawing near, and I'm sure I'll have tons of pics. of the kids to post. Thanks for following me through the highs and lows of National Blog Posters Month. It will be fun to participate again next year.

Ornaments a plenty!

Every year since I was born, my mom has gotten me at least one ornament for the Christmas tree. It was always so much fun growing up to take out the box filled with my own special ornaments so that I could decide where they should go on the tree. These ornaments were especially helpful the Christmas after Nathan and I got married because we had enough ornaments to fill a tree. I've carried on the tradition by buying a family ornament for us every year. Then, when the kids came along, they started getting at least one ornament for the tree every year. Our tree is getting pretty crowded, but I love going through the boxes to see what ornaments we've gotten in the past. Here are some pics. I took of this year's ornaments (and the kids too!):

Our Family Ornament is a train because we took a train ride while on vacation in PA this past summer.

Jacob got a train with his name on it because he took his first train ride this year.

Gabrielle got a "HOPE" ornament because that is her middle name.

Emmaline got a pink baby carriage that says
"Emmaline Kate, First Christmas"

Crafty Kids, Pt. 1

Jacob got a lot of craft stuff for his 5th birthday. He and Ellie have been busy painting, molding, cutting, and gluing. Here are some pictures of their latest works of art:

Jacob and his dog...he painted it to look like Achilles, Uncle David's dog

Ellie and her red and purple striped cat.

Jacob and his green car

Ellie and her orange and red car

(All crafts provided by a very thoughtful Aunt Katie.)

Happy 22nd Birthday Andy!

Although his birthday isn't officialy until 11/12, we celebrated today because it fit everyone's schedules. We enjoyed Mom's famous chicken potpie, lots of veggies, homemade bicuits with homemade jam, and a yummy homemade cheesecake for dessert. Andy got some neat presents (like a display case for the coins he has started collecting) and we had a good time visiting before he had to leave for work. Then it was home to get the kids in bed so they won't be sleepy for church tomorrow. I'm ready to turn in myself and have just finished folding 4 loads of laundry, so I deserve some much needed sleep.

You'll notice a monkey theme in the following pictures. My family gives nicknames to most people (just ask my best friend, Moly Bolkersneitzal, aka, Emily) and things and somehow Andy ended up as "Monkeybutt". So in honor of the nickname, Mom put "Curious George" on the cheesecake, had matching plates and napkins, and we gave him a monkey giftbag and a monkey card.

Jacob and Ellie help Uncle Andy blow out the candles on his cheesecake.

Emmaline helps Uncle Andy unwrap presents.

I'm sure this was his most prized gift. It is a container of "Anti-Monkeybutt" powder. When I saw it, I couldn't resist getting it for Andy. Don't worry, we gave him money too!