Surprise Visit from Santa

Every year we get together for Christmas at my Uncle Rogers house with my grandpas wife. I think it is really neat that even 6years after his death she still thinks of us as family. It is just a really nice time. We just do dinner and visit with family. No gifts to exchange just family fun. This year Santa made a surprise visit for the kids. Michael was going around the corner as he came in the door and he stopped dead in his tracks and his jaw hit the ground, the look on his face was priceless. Even Danny got to sit on his lap. Thank you Uncle Roger and Aunt Kathy for a wonderful evening!

Christmas play 2006

Michael and Miranda were both in the church musical this year as part of the choir, and they both did wonderful. Not only did Miranda know all of her songs in just one week and 2 rehearsals, but she also knew all of the speaking parts. I mean all of them. I think it is safe to say that she will be the performer of the family. Michael also did a wonderful job, he sang and danced wonderfully. However, one thing was discovered that night, I think we can also safely say that he will not be leading the rythm section anytime soon. Unfortunatly he was blessed with his mothers dancing ability. NONE!

Matthew's day

In our school district there is a program called Parents as Teachers, it is a program to help parents teach their kids and to make sure that they are at the right stage of development they screen for speech and hearing problems as well as physical or mental delays. It is a very good program. They have group meeting once a month for parents and the kids. I should mention that it is a volunteer program and Matthew did not have any delays, it is just a fun way for him to play with other kids since he stays home with me all day. Any way, the December program was Winterland Fun. They got to make ornaments, hear a story, meet Santa and Mrs. Claus and make reindeer fun. And it just so happened that Matthews friend/cousin Quinton was at this one. They had a lot of fun. The group leader talked about stranger anxiety and not to worry if your 2 year old was afraid of Santa and not to pressure them. Well I think the stranger anxiety has totally skipped Matthew. He doesn't meet a stranger. He hopped right on Santa and Mrs. Claus's lap and had a blast. I think he actually sat on Santa's lap like 4 or 5 times. It also gives me a chance to do something special with just Matthew, the programs are usually in the day so the older two are at school, so with it just being me and Matthew I'm sure it makes him feel special and I enjoy devoting all my attention to him for the hour or so that we are there and not have to worry about house work and all the other things I have to do at home!

Skating in the kitchen

Who says skate boards are out side toys. Michael got a skate board for his birthday and either the weather has been bad or we have just been to busy so one night he really wanted to play with it so I told the kids to have at it. That they just needed to take it easy so no body would get hurt. They had a blast and I had fun just listening to them laugh and play together, I think they played for close to 30 minutes with out fighting. Some days that is considered a miracle! Also take note of the big red dot on Michaels forhead. That was a burn from rubbing his head on the ground and pushing himself backwards on the skate board. I guess we will just chalk that up to a lesson learned!

Stringin up the lights

The Saturday after Thanks giving was so beautiful and warm that we decided to have a Manning Family Fun Day. We put up our Chirstmas lights outside and put up the tree. The kids had a lot of fun. Matthew would have to admire his work with every ornament he added. I think some of his branches have two and three ornaments each. But it was fun. I know Matthew enjoyed himself. And I am sure Michael and Miranda did as well. I will post more as we do more as part of our holiday celebrations continue. Tomorrow Michael and Miranda are in the childrens play at church so I will have pictures from that and Matthew had day with Santa that I will post later.

Joke on Danny

Lets just start this one by explaining Danny to those of you who don't know him. He is always trying to pull a joke or something on some one. So I took a turn and got him back. It is not very often that he is on the receiving end of a joke. While I was in North Carolina a got a positive pregnancy test. (I had my tubes tied after Matthew. So the chances of that are slim to none.) Any ways, after giving the kids their shirts and showing him mine, he asked if I got him anything, so I said yes as a matter of fact it is in my bag. Well he got in the bag a pulled out a positive test. He freaked out. All the color ran from his face and all he could say was NO WAY! I was laughing so hard. He just kept saying "You have to be freaking kidding me." Then after a few minutes he turns to me and says " I'm telling you right now, you better tell me if this is a joke." After realizing how upset he was getting I had to tell him that of course it was a joke. But man was it funny!

Thanksgiving

This year was a very nice Thanksgiving. Danny's brother and his family came into town from Indiana and spent a few days with us. We ate a lot of food and the kids all played and had a good time. It was really fun watching Matthew and his cousin Brayden playing together. Brayden is only 5 months older, but this was the first time when they were together that they actually played. The company was fun and the food was good, but the weather was perfect. The kids were able to go outside and play. And best of all the kids all got along. There was no fighting or any thing. I hope everyone had as good of time as I did.

North Carolina

This past week my mom and I took a trip to Cherry Point Marine Corp Base to spend some well needed time with my brother and his family. For those of you who don't know my brother is a marine and I had not seen him or his family in two years and in Feb. he will be headed to Iraq to fight for our country. I am so proud of him. So any way mom and I went to see him. I had a great time. As much as I wish I could have taken my kids with me I am glad that I did not. It gave me a chance just to be an Aunt. I had so much fun with Austin and Alex. I snuck footballs in the cart for them and took them to Chuck E. Cheeses for lunch. It was great. It is totally amazing how much two little boys can grow in two years. I only hope my next visit with them is not only longer but also not two more years away.

Halloween Pictures

Happy Halloween

Well we survived yet another Halloween. Michael was a ninja, Miranda was a Kitty Fairy and Matthew was a Spider. We went trick or treating down our road and then we went to Harvest Fest at the church. O yeah Danny was a witch. We all seemed to have a good time. This was the first year Matthew really knew what to do. He would walk up to the door and say "Trick or Treat" then would inspect to make sure that they put something into his bag, then he would say "La LA, Happy Ween." It was to funny. For those that don't know La La from Matthew means thank you. That is how he started saying it at 1 and still says it today. Which is pretty cute. So today we are all kind of wiped out and tired but manged to make it through the post halloween. It is not until you have to do it that you realize what you parents went through all those years. I guess they knew what they were saying when they would say "you'll understand when you are a mom!" Man moms sure are smart. Well Good night and I hope you all had a safe and Happy Halloween!

Just a day with the baby

Last Friday was kind of a special day for Danny and I. We got to take just Matthew to the pumpkin patch. It was with the Parents as Teachers group with the school, and the other two older kids had to go to school that day. I don't think that we have ever taken just Matthew to some where like that. It is kind of hard to do with three kids. I know that as he gets older he won't really remember it but I think I always will. He was so excited to ride on the tractor and play on the playground and go through the Haunted House. (okay so it was just one of those big blow up things but hey he's two it was pretty scary to him!) , but he was really excited to pick out his little pumpkin, and being the sweet kid that he is he also picked one out for bubby and sissy.