over and beginning... and then some ramblings

One holiday ends while the other gets started. Don't you love this time of year? We're totally enjoying it this year, especially with our kids. This is our 4th Christmas together and its fun to have very established traditions and now able to share them with the kids.
Ethan remembers that we drive to look at lights on Christmas Eve, decorating gingerbread houses, decorating the house and tree and all the fun movies to watch. His new favorite for this year is the snow globes. He adores them. I think Rachel has an equal fascination with them. :)
This morning we had breakfast out and then went to buy some decorations and a tree! We got home and set the tree up and now Jase and Ethan are hanging lights on the house. Surprisingly enough, Ethan is actually a pretty good help to Daddy. Its pretty cute to watch and I've been snapping pictures as I get the chance.

We're gearing up for a fun month! Not terribly busy, thankfully. We have some events going on at church here and there, but other than that, just fun family stuff planned.
The kids are getting so big. Its always weird when you, as the parents notice it. Most of the time they grow and we don't really realize how much until we see old pictures. Lately though, these two have sprouted up fast.
Ethan is in all 3T clothes now and Rachel went from size 12 months to 24 months in a matter of about 6 weeks. It was amazing... I went to put some jeans on her about a week ago and they were about 3 inches too short! She was very fussy several weeks back and acting like her legs hurt. Since she was a relatively new walker, I panicked and called Kaiser to make sure nothing was wrong. The nurse said that it sounded like she was going through a rapid growth spurt and I thought "Okay... I've never heard of that causing pain to a baby" and she said it happens often. When they grow more than an inch too quickly, it can be very painful in their thighs. Anyway, that must have been her problem.
She's also getting her 2 year molars way earlier than Ethan did! So, we're still having some rough nights, but thankfully Tylenol takes care of most of that. :)

Seems like we've hit what I would call an "easy" phase in life right now. Both kids big enough to walk on their own, feed themselves, play pretty well together and have a very normal and regular routine down. It feels very strange when we go out places as a family and we bring no diaper bag, no stroller and no bottles or baby food. Its very weird and something we're not used to at all. Its been baby world at our house for the past 3 years. :)
We're getting ready to transition miss Rachel to her toddler bed; probably in January. She is walking really well on her own now and that's usually what we wait for. I think Ethan was 18 months, which is how old Rachel will be in January.

So while the phase seems easier in some respects, its gotten harder in others. We've hit a very rough spot with Ethan. He is arguing back, disobeying more and testing us with everything. Its really rough when he teaches Rachel how to do something naughty. We're working on it with him, praying about it and taking it one day at a time. I find it very hard with boys because you want to encourage those nice attributes like being able to stand on their own, taking charge when they need to, being a leader, etc... but we have to temper that with what's appropriate at his present age. Rachel is a people pleaser, but she's also very dramatic. We can't just fall down and then shake it off.. . it needs to be something the entire neighborhood hears. ;-)
She's talking up a storm these days and putting actual sentences together, which has been really fun! Her frequent things to say are: "I want milk!" (and she says it as clear as you or I would), "I be wy back!" (I'll be right back) "Up Daddy an Kiss" (pick me up Daddy and give me a kiss) and she says all the normal baby stuff like please, thank you, yes, no, our names, our family's names and our close friends. One super cute thing happened last week... we were driving to the post office and drove past our church and she screamed "Caedmon! Toys!" Nnuts!" I assumed the last one meant donuts. :)
Its fun to watch her go through this big girl stage, learning all these news things and really celebrating Christmas for the first time, since she was so young last year.

We'll. I've rambled enough here. Hope you all have a great week!