christmas with the drews

did you have a merry christmas?? we sure did! this year was very exciting for avery and everything was very magical. you could see the excitement in her eyes and hear it in her voice every time she saw something new or opened a gift. and sweet addison didn't feel all that great, but she managed to muster some excitement for a few things.

all in all we had an amazing day. i'll let the pictures tell our story...these were a few of our favorite things

me and the girls, christmas eve

addison loved the pack n play for her baby. a lot.

a really lot. she sat in it all day.

and got a little frustrated with the slinky

avery's favorite was/is the trampolineshe practiced and got higher...

and highersweet addison finally got a turnbut it wasn't long before avery joined herafter some coaxing, addison loved the sit n spinyou tell me...who enjoyed the basketball goal the most??

and we ended the night with bedtime stories and breathing treatments!

all i want for christmas...are twins!

if you've been reading this blog for any amount of time, you know that people commonly (and i do mean all the time) ask if my girls are twins. if you're not up on the story, you can read about it here, or perhaps here. If you have a while, stop off here, here or most recently here.

it seems like we get asked that question at least once a week...and i'm always baffled. sometimes what is most funny is the response from onlookers who "get" the obvious.

like last night. i was in the store buying gift bags. avery was chatty and all over the place and sweet addison was quietly sitting in the buggy waiting (yes, and all is right with the world). so it's finally our turn and the checkout lady (girl) talked about how cute the girls were, asked if they were ready for christmas, looked at them closely and said "are they twins." the woman behind me almost choked on her gum. i just smiled and said, "no, they aren't, but you would be surprised how often i'm asked that" and gave the woman behind me a knowing look.

later that night we had christmas dinner with allens mom. she gave the girls each a precious ballerina doll that can dance with you (it attaches to your feet). holding both of them we realized...i finally got the twins that everyone wants me to have!

merry christmas...and may common sense abide in your house this season!

well, you coming?

sunday night we went to the polar express with pop and nana and aunt casey! it has, for two years now, been one of avery's favorite movies and i knew she would love it. we've known since thanksgiving that we were going but we kept it a secret until saturday. she was crazy excited and apparently very serious about the ride as she asked if the kids from the movie would be there.

so off we went on the polar express, complete with our pjs and polar temperatures. they apparently thought it enhanced the experience to make you wait (outside) until the last minute to board. we were all freezing!!!

once on board we got to listen to the story, see the elves, drink chocolate milk and eat cookies AND they got a bell and a keepsake ornament. super fun for all. the icing on the cake for avery was that two of her best friends were along for the ride ~ sophie and ellie! you'll see in the pictures that friends always make it more fun!

thank you pop and nana for an unforgettable christmas experience! we love you!

addison and pop peeking out the window

we couldn't get a family picture with addison...she was far too busy

avery was so excited to meet mrs claus...and see santa again addison saw santa too.....and her feelings weren't quite the same
but we did manage to get a picture

she did, however, love the bell...and to no ones surprise...the chocolate milkthe elfaren't these three friends so sweet??such sweet friends!

choir robes and cupcakes

avery's 4k christmas program was last wednesday at school. the entire 4k was decked out in precious red mini choir robes with white collars. they sang and quoted scripture and it was precious. i would love to show you the video but i don't have the connector. sad, i know.

then it was off to a reception - we made the reindeer cookies

and, last friday was avery's class party at school. they did some really neat activities. one was explaining the plan of salvation by using a glove (provided) and it was color coded. they walked through each step and then, when it was time to sing happy birthday to jesus, the cupcake matched the glove and went in line with all the colors. what a crafty mom! avery had a great time...we sure do love miss peggy!

addison got a cupcake too...to no surprise!

we wish you a merry christmas!

talk about busy! this week has been crazy around our house. we're definitely in the middle of the christmas season where we're coming and going and on the go nonstop. we love it, though. time with friends and family is always worth it! so, here is a run down of our week. i can't decide if i'll just do one long post or if i will break it up into several. i don't like multiple posts in one sitting - i'm a believer that each post deserves it's own attention....but whatever. tis the season.

Monday ~ Avery's Christmas ballet program

our ballerina shined on monday when her class got to have their christmas party and then showcase their talent in not one but two dances. one was general and the other was to christmas music - happy birthday jesus. i really wish i could upload the video because i know you're dying to see it. and you should be. she's a star. :)

this was her favorite part, i think - waving her scarf and running around the room

thank you to our teacher, thank you to our friends and thank you to God

Monday night ~ visit with Santa
monday night we took our annual trip with the lindseys to see santa. what we did NOT know is that it was animal night. sidebar/soapbox here - WHAT? i'm an animal lover, or a dog lover, but there's no need for dogs/cats to be in the mall unless they are seeing eye dogs. what was even more shocking to me was that these people (majority) did not have kids. it was just them and their pet. my apologies if you have taken your animal to visit santa at the galleria. you might want to stop reading here. so we stood in line behind the collies and the black lab and in front of the st. bernard, who was huge. he also had a water bottle and a burp cloth for wiping up his slobber. again, not a child. the only positive was that it kept the kids occupied. i still think it's crazy.

back to my story...
so we move up in the line and avery is excited. addison, on the other hand, keeps saying 'bye bye.' God love her. i am the parent who has to have the picture regardless of the fear. after all, she'll be caused no harm and it will be over soon enough.

i will pause here to say that by the time we saw santa, he was in a bad mood. probably because he had to wrestle dogs and cats who had no business being in the mall. and probably because the person taking the picture tried to get the dog to smile, which isn't going to happen - which only made the line last LONGER.

i'm rolling my eyes as i type. again, my apologies to you if you took your kid/animal.

so here is the end result. they had fun, really.

**and, clearly i decided to break the post up as you've just read the LONGEST post in history**

stay tuned...

so many things...

we've had so much going on the past few days, i'm going to break my "one-post-at-a-time rule" and post several things at once...so get ready.

**simple disclaimer** - robin and ashley, i will not take responsibility nor assume any of the risks if one or both of you lose your job because it takes so long to read the upcoming posts. :)

what's that?? you want a glimpse of what's to come?? i can't ruin any of the 'moments' so i'll just give you a sneak peak....

also wanted to add that someone ALMOST made the twin comment today and caught themselves. instead they said how much they looked alike, one just had shorter legs. not much better...but at least common sense kicked in!

angels we have heard on high

saturday was the angel breakfast at church of the highlands. it is a wonderful event that allows the kids to have some one-on-one time with mom or dad and celebrate the real meaning of christmas. we had an amazing breakfast, listened to the christmas story, decorated sugar cookies...and then the 3's, 4's and 5's got to sing their respective songs. avery sang we wish you a merry christmas and deck the halls. they've been practicing on wednesdsay nights for a while and they get so excited when their feet hit the risers....well, most of them do - there were a few tearful ones. avery and hadyn, (your stars in the making), aren't shy at all about being on stage. a trait they get from their fathers, i'm sure.

avery also loved seeing her friends ellie and kaylee sing with the 3 year olds....and she's already talking about next year when she will get to sing as a 5 year old. we might just have to come back for that! we love our church and are so thankful for the angel breakfast and all the hard work that goes into making it happen!!

you'll see below that avery's favorite part, by far, was icing the sugar cookie....or rather, eating the icing for her sugar cookie.