Christmas in Oregon

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!! We hope you all had a wonderful day and are enjoying all the goodies of the season. We've been gone for two weeks but back at home recovering from a great trip to Oregon.

On the 17th of December, we woke up at 5:15am and drove to Cincinnati to ride the big airplane. 4 1/2 hours later, we arrived in Seattle, WA and spent a 4 hour layover in the kid zone. Then, took a quick flight to Portland and finally after a two hour drive, arrived in Corvallis, OR.

We were headed to Grandma & Grandpa Anderson's house for Christmas. Lucas was elated and could hardly wait to get there.

Here is a photo of one happy boy after dinner in Seattle. This is where Lucas discovered that tarter sauce should not be opened with his teeth. If only I had the camera to capture his face when it exploded into his mouth. Mike & I laughed for a good five minutes while Lucas tried to figure out how to get it off his teeth without using his tongue...french fries, drool, fingers, napkins, sleeve...it was hilarious!
After a yummy fresh fish dinner, we headed to the kid zone for a few hours. We thought it would be a wonderful place to burn off some energy and catch a cold to take to the Grandparents. Boy, if only we would have known how good we were at catching and giving colds...sorry Grandma!

Hide-n-seek was a hit.
Axel learned how to slide too. So brave!
Finally, we were on our way to Oregon. This was Axel's second time on a big airplane and much more aware this time around. He was a little charmer flirting with all the pretty ladies!
This was old stuff to Lucas so he slept.
After 17 hours of traveling, we made it!
First on the agenda: Decorate the Christmas Tree
Serious business.
Okay, not too serious. Grandma does an AMAZING job decorating the entire house at Christmas. She makes it so magical!
The cranberries only kept Axel distracted for a moment.
Then, he wanted in on what Lucas was doing. This was Axel's first Christmas and he sure was a real helper when it came to "decorating."
And re-decorating with Daddy's help. :)
16 stockings and yes, we had all 16 people home on Christmas morning.
Lucas still hard at work.
Axel hard at work too especially when he thinks no one is watching!
This is round one of all the photos. Still to come...trip to The Ranch, Christmas Cookies, Christmas Morning, etc.

We love you.

My Boys

Until today, it's been chilly here in Ohio. I know, not as chilly as Colorado and Montana and other places but this cold...a wet cold = colder than normal...that's my story anyways.

Regardless, it's winter so we've been playing inside more and doing a little decorating for the holidays.

Our little elf. Both Lucas and Axel LOVE the bells! I personally, love the PJ's...Thank You Grandma J!
We opted for no tree this year. We are going to help Grandma A decorate her tree in Oregon. However, to keep on excited 4 year old content, we decorated a pole. It's our first ever Christmas pole filled with lights and ornaments. Definitely not the same but pretty practical for this year. Most of our other decorations are homemade by Lucas. There are even a few old ones from when Mike and I were kids, like a little sugar bell I made in 3rd grade. I can't believe it's still around after all these years.

Oh, notice Daddy on the TV? He's a movie star and featured in a new rock climbing movie called The Continuum. (Click on the title to see the movie clip) It sure is fun to see Daddy climbing!
The Play Doh Fun Factory has kept Lucas occupied for days!!! The best $5 I've spent recently! Here he is making stars in outer space and yes, we even counted them.
We even tried to get a cute photo of the boys. It's cute but not what I was looking for. :)
Happy December everyone!

Star Wars

Daddy found tickets for Lucas* to Star Wars in Concert! Click here to see more. We thought this would be a great evening to spend with Lucas. It was our special night.

I sure had some excited to boys yesterday afternoon as we made preparations for the big evening. Axel went to our friends house to have fun with their 14 month old, Adian. Lucas, Mommy & Daddy headed to Cincinnati for the big show at the U.S. Bank Arena. We stopped for dinner at Panera Bread and then sat in rush hour traffic half expecting to miss the start of the show. Luckily, things picked up pace about 7 miles from downtown so we made it!!

Here Lucas, Yoda & Daddy are hiking down to our seats.Lucas was a little confused but very excited. I think he was expecting a movie theater, not an arena. We had great seats on the floor with great views.
Lucas was trying to figure out the lights, the smoke, the music...taking it all in!
*I think the tickets were for Daddy too.
Here's a view of the orchestra.
Anthony Daniels (actor who played C3PO in Star Wars) was the narrator and yes, he sounds just like C3PO.
After everything set in, the smiles came out. Lucas stood up for almost 2 hours watching the orchestra and movie clips. It was very dramatic and really neat to see.
Here's what the stage looked like.
Fire too!!
Lucas still loves Darth Vader.
Oh, the smoke machines were a huge hit too!
Everyone loved seeing our little Luke with Yoda on his back.
Best view in the house.
Look who we spotted...
C3PO
Chewy
Yoda
Darth Vader
Oh, and the Death Star...as you can see, Lucas was tired of the camera by this point.
Opening clip: Click Here
It was such a fun night.

Christmas Program: 4 Year Olds

Last night was Lucas' Christmas Program at the church. He has been practicing his songs for weeks now and last night he was a Star!

Unfortunately, our camera battery light came on when we arrived. However, we did get a couple photos and a video to document the special night.

Handsome boy!Waiting and waiting...
Then, everyone was lined up and ready. I love seeing everyone in their Christmas outfits...too cute!
Axel loved watching all the exciting people, especially the adorable little girls behind us.
He had no problem spotting his Mommy. That's my boy...my Mama's Boy!
Lucas started out in a row with other children...
But quickly gravitated to his own row where he could have plenty of room to perform. He has absolutely no fear in front of crowds and actually shines like a star in the spotlight.
All the songs came with cute hand motions. It was adorable to watch the entire group sing their little hearts out.
Be sure to CLICK HERE to see his live performance. :)

As I tucked Lucas into bed last night, I told him how proud of him we were for being so brave in front of all those people. He gave me a big hug and said, "Mommy, I loooovvvveeed it up there!" It's true, he really truly loves performing in front of big crowds. He must of got that from Grandpa J...not from me, that's for sure.

Great job Lucas. We are sooo proud of you!

Update on Grandpa J

Just so everyone knows, Grandpa J is doing great! He was the first patient yesterday morning and the surgery only took 1 1/2 hours. He even called a few hours later to talk. He's doing great and enjoying a few days being babied by the nurses. :)

We love you.
Love, JMLA

Grandpa J - We Love You

Today, my Dad (aka...Grandpa J) goes in for hip replacement surgery. Yep, he's all checked out and today is the day. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

Dad, these photos are for you. Here are your grandsons playing with the package you sent. As you can see, the packaging is one of the coolest parts. However, be sure to tell Grandma that the new PJ's were a big hit too! :)

Kids being kids.

Axel got very serious about this package opening stuff...he's getting ready for Christmas.
Lucas decided he wanted to box so, he deployed some distraction techniques.
Even a moment of kindness and...what?! Tenderness? I LOVE IT!
Then I saw these hanging out and I couldn't resist them...still can't! :)
Victory! Lucas was pretty proud of himself.
Axel seemed happy with the trade toy too. The doctors kit toys are his recent favorites.
Lucas had a ball in the box...
until it broke! I just love how cute this sad face is. I get to see it quite often...Mr. Drama! Aren't all four year olds? "Mooommmmy, now I can NEEEEVVVVEEER play with a box EVVVEEER again!"
Don't worry. Everything was better the next day when we got to decorate gingerbread cookies at our friends house...
And play with the MIXER. Axel is following in his brothers footsteps. He bypasses all the baby toys and goes straight for the appliances. In the bath, both kids fight over the sippy cup! Why do they make baby/bath toys??
Hope you love the photos Grandpa. We love you so much! Good luck today and with your recovery. (Good Luck to you too Grandma)
BIG SQUEEZYS and LOTS OF LOVE!
Love, Janelle Mike Lucas & Axel

Good Deeds

This year, Lucas and I made a "Good Deeds" advent calendar. Don't worry, the chocolate ones are still hung proudly in our home as well. :)

I had very glamorous visions for this calender and even spent too much time on the computer looking for a totally cute and doable one. Believe me, there are a ton out there. However, when one little boy has an idea set in his mind and it's for him, I had to give in and let him lead the way.

He wanted it to look like Christmas tree and it had to have 24 doors. We took an old pizza cardboard box and cut out little doors to open. He colored (with makers) the tree green and I added a few presents at the bottom. Then, we glued the entire thing to the other piece of card board. I quickly learned that I should not have used the pizza box...they coat it with wax; wax and markers are not friends. I should have stopped and started over at this point. However, he was in love with it so we proceeded.

I wrote down 24 good deeds like "helping mommy with breakfast" or "putting your shoes and socks on without complaining"...and things like that. We folded up the little good deeds and put them behind the doors. Problem number 2?! How to keep the door closed? I wanted to use stickers so they would also look like ornaments on the tree but they too, did not like the wax cardboard. We finally found some heavy duty stickers that worked...kind of...I had to use about 3 per little door so it's one decorated little tree.

So, in the end...Lucas loves it and really did have fun making it. I think it looks ridiculous mostly because of my grand visions which didn't play out so well in reality. Next year, it's on!!!

Funny Good Deed Story
On Dec 2nd, Lucas opened up door #2 and said,"Mommy, what's my good deed?"
Mommy: "Oh, you may not like this one." (I know, I should have been more positive at this point)
Lucas: "Why, what does it say?"
Mommy: "It says...donate 3 toys to a little boy that has none."
Lucas: "Oh..."
Mommy: "What do you think about that?"
Lucas: "I don't like that one....it's okay Mommy, we can just throw that one away!"
I had to bite my tongue and not laugh out loud, it was pretty funny to hear his solution.

He was pretty certain I would march him into his room and have him decide which of his toys he wanted to give up. To his relief, we went into his room and talked about Toys for Tots. He gave me four quarters out of his piggy bank to go by a toy and I told him I would contribute some quarters too and we could work together as a team.

He was happy with that but not so happy with today's good deed: You must eat all your dinner

Lucas: "Mommy, that's a hard one."

At this rate, he won't want to make a good deeds calendar next year. However, I think he's through the hardest ones already. :)

Okay, here is what it looks like:
Be nice.
Yes, it warped too. Luckily, in the eye's of a four year old, it's GRAND! :)