December | 2019 | Our Armstrong Family

Well, it seems appropriate that as I sit here writing about the Christmas and New Years Even holidays it is blistery and snowing outside! Perhaps even more wintry than it was during Christmastime.

Dad, Amy, Greta and I did our traditional Christmas Eve Shopping trip this year a day early on the 23rd so on Christmas Eve we hung out around the house and had a lazy morning. It was a nice and warm day, quite unseasonable actually, so when I headed out with Brutus we went on a nice and long 2 mile walk. The kids played hockey in the driveway along with Amy and Andy. Then later in the afternoon we packed up to head to Powell for Christmas Eve at NPC. We got home in time to drop off and feed the dogs, do a quick change out, and pack back into the car to head to church all in about 10 minutes. Whew. We didn’t really plan ahead for dinner but we lucked out and were able to enjoy a tasty spread at Koble in Powell on our way home. Yummers! Once we got home we put out cookies, carrots, and milk for Santa and then put the boys to bed. After a short bit we were off to bed ourselves as we knew we were likely in for an early morning.

The boys got up about 6:20 and once we were all downstairs we jumped right in to their stockings and gifts from Santa that were on the hearth. They were both excited for many of their gifts and moved right along through everything. Some of the top hits: Pokemon cards, Pokemon Go balls that crack open and have mini characters, and a PS4. Reid loved his kids karaoke machine and Griffin got some new winter boots.

Check out this picture from two years ago – Griffin is wearing the same sweater that Reid wore this year! These boys are getting big!

After a light breakfast at home we packed up into the van and headed to Mansfield for Christmas with Mom, Dad, Amy, Andy, Graham, Rowan, and Greta. We made it there by about 10, I think, and began with a nice tasty breakfast before digging in to more prezzies. After a restful afternoon we enjoyed a deluxe prime rib dinner and figgy pudding for dessert! Mom and Dad always go to great lengths to feed our combined army’s while we are there and we love it!

We hung out for the next couple of days which usually began with pretty early mornings for me and the doggles. I often got my cup of coffee at least started before I heard the pitter patter of the kiddos coming down for the day anywhere between 6:30-7 am. The kids played together outside, Rowan and Griffin played a lot of Pokemon cards, Greta used her pottery wheel, Reid and Greta (and Finn, a little) decorated a gingerbread house. Graham played his rubix cube and could often be found reading.

Kevin worked in the basement with Dad on the basement demolition tearing down the wall paneling, pulling down individual ceiling tiles and subsequent ceiling staples. Kevin also helped Dad move the internet and telephone from the basement to the upstairs den and in doing so needed the assistance of a helper in the form of a smaller body to climb into the confined crawl space. Enter Griffin! He was a great helper to get the wires through to where they needed to go. He was a bit apprehensive at first to go into a small, dark space but he worked through his nerves and did great!

After Dad’s office was relocated up to the dining room Kevin found Griffin sitting next to Dad talking football. Now, this was well past his bed time, but this kid has a heart and passion for sports and it was really sweet to see and hear him having a conversation with Dad about the game they were watching :). Oh…..and then they moved on to Poker!

These aren’t the greatest pictures, but the document our trip to the waste management facility to drop off a truckload of paneling and ceiling tiles from the basement. From the time I called to see what time they closed until we were leaving with an empty truck was about an hour. We busted booty to get it done and we made it!

And once we returned home I was anxious to get our dying tree taken down! It was hard and bristly and losing needles and I couldn’t wait to get it to the curb! The boys were happy to climb up the ladder yet again. Reid has NO fear, he just zips right up there. Griffin is a little more reserved but once he feels confident he loves helping and going up and down. Lots of play happened over the next few days.

I knew the day was coming when we were going to remove the front of Reid’s crib and turn it in to a big boy bed so I snapped some photos of him sleeping in his crib. Those big cheeks still get me. It’s always such a milestone and a happy yet sad one. He had been climbing out numerous times each night;it was pretty much a fun game for him and he had a really good system in place! While I was at work one day Kevin took the front off while he was home with the boys. Reid was SO excited to have a big boy bed. Ironically, I checked in on the video monitor while I was at work and I saw it all happening. His reaction was cute and the video below is when it all went down, lol.

This next series I describe as the “many faces of Reid”. this boy just has so many expressions. I mean all day long whether he is happy, sad, mad, silly, whatever it is he has an expression for his emotion and it cracks me up. It is one of the many super cute personality traits of our feisty little man. I love it when he looks at me, squints his eyes and smiles and says “I miss you mommy”.

For New Year’s Even we had a few neighbors over to our house for a low-key hangout. George, Ella, Dewey, Griffin, and Reid all played together for quite some time. We had pizza, lots of finger foods, drinks, and party favors. Carlene, Matthew, and Jade joined us a little later and even Brutus and Lily got to come downstairs before the ball dropped. We were sitting down just talking and turned on the ball drop and believe it or not we completely forgot to pop the champagne and get our drinks ready for the countdown! We scurried at the last minute and made it just in time.

Well, here i am two months after our annual Candy Making Party putting together a blog post about it along with the rest of our fun-filled December. Whew. I just can’t seem to keep on top of our blog but I’ll do my best to go back in time and recall our shenanigans.

Griffin was diagnosed with the flu yesterday evening (February 7). We had tickets to go see Miracles and Magic along with dinner before hand at the Spaghetti Warehouse with four other families in our neighborhood but since Griffin isn’t well he and I are at home (he’s been napping for awhile) and Kevin and Reid are have some fun time together at the show. Since I’ve already cleaned every bathroom, door knob, and light switch with bleach, and am almost done with laundry (lots of loads of sanitizing coats, towels, clothes, sheets, etc) I figure I should put together this post in the calm of the early evening.

So….let’s get back to December and talk about our annual candy making and cookie decorating gathering at our house. We had a good crowd this year and as per usual we made buckeyes, decorated sugar cookies, and made hard tack candy (lemon, cinnamon, root beer, and peppermint). We also attempted to make chocolate covered pretzels. They turned out ok but certainly not like the photos on Pinterest, lol. We enjoyed a nice lunch of chili, hot dogs, salad, and pulled pork (I think?). It’s crazy when I look back at the years of photos from this time together each year and how big all of the kids are getting, the Manning girls especially! Mom brought some cute crafts that the kids enjoyed too. Bracelets seemed to be quite popular.

Each year Mom is generous with her time and talent and brings a birthday cake for Kevin! This year it was quite the feat and took extra time but her from-scratch chocolate cake was super yummy. Mom and Dad, the Bethune’s and Audrey and Samantha enjoyed another round of food and capped it off with the chocolate cake and some ice cream.

On Kevin’s actual birthday we went out for his favorite, pizza, at Shorty’s Pizza and Growl in Powell. Then it was home for presents and apple pie! Griffin crafted Kevin a nice handmade card.

Our annual winter time OU girls gathering was at our house mid-December. Rather than making cookies this year we just enjoyed a nice brunch of cinnamon rolls, fruit, quiche, and mimosas! It was nice to sit around the table and catch up. We didn’t have an agenda, a timeline, or anything – just hours of conversation! They were quite excited about the sign greeting 🙂

It had been a couple of years since we’ve visited the Zoo during Wildlights but it was on our December bucket list and we spent a few hours checking out many of the lights, several animals, a quick 4D movie, and enjoyed yummy hot cocoa while we explored.

Can you spot everyone in this photo?

I’ve come to really enjoy the time I spend with Brutus on our walks. That’s not to be confused with loving getting out of bed every day just after 6 so I can get dressed for work, feed the dogs, take him on a walk, pack the kids lunches (and mine!), make my coffee and head out the door at 7:30. But I’ve learned that it is difficult to do it in the evening. Kevin often work until later and three weeknights the boys have activities. Once those are over and Kevin is home I’m ready for bed! And since Reid has been getting out of bed after we put him down I don’t want to leave the house when they should be sleeping to take Brutus before Kevin is home. So, early morning it is. It’s kind of fun to be out and about in the dark and quiet and notice the different feels of the neighborhoods around. Brutus has good listening days and other frustrating days. For instance when we pass by another dog in a yard he tends to zone out and just want to get to the dog. Or he barks at someone putting out their trash in the dark, lol. He does get a bit spooked here and there which is understandable since it’s dark out! But we have fun and hang and get our steps in. Then when we get home to the yard I usually let him go nuts in the front yard. He really loves that. I was able to get some pictures in the light when I took him on a walk in daylight on the weekends :).

Our online shopping was almost crazy it seems this year {insert laughing emoji here}. For awhile there it seemed like multiple times per day we were getting deliveries. I’d seen this nice idea online of putting out snacks and drinks so I decided we should do that as a way of thanking our delivery people! I wasn’t sure if people would take things or not. Surprisingly most took one or two snacks but no one took any water!

Reid has been having trouble sleeping through the night. We have been hearing noises or hear our door opening and it is has been Reid! More than a couple times I open our door to find him sleeping in the hallway. Sometimes he’s gone back to his room but sleeps with the light on. Hoping it’s just a phase!

Reid’s Guppy class at NPCA did not participate in the Christmas Program with the other classes as they’re pretty young. Instead, their class had a lunch and the parents were invited. It was fun to show up and see him in his class, eating at the table, and amongst the other kids. It was a pajama day so he wore his Christmas jammies :).

Reid is our climber and oftentimes we find him in the pantry, up on the counter, which he got to by climbing up the shelves. I used to have a stool in there (which I now keep on the counter) but he has creatively found ways to get up on his own. He loves “bars” (fig bars) and “pire boody” (pirate booty). I may need to look into getting a lock on the door!

These two are a handful sometimes. They go from giggle together to screaming at each other in nothing flat. But they can also be really cute together and help each other and talk nicely to one another. Griffin often tries to help Reid; sometimes he likes it and other times he wants to “do it myself”. Our weeks are busy with Gymnastics, Soccer, and Swimming. Then Flag Football on Sunday’s. Griffin is doing well in school and has earned more Pawsome notes from his teacher. His reading and math are excellent; one area he’s working on improving is his writing (like putting more obvious spaces between words and spelling words with proper vowels/sounding them out).

Griffin and I took some photos of one of our silly times together. He enjoys capturing different expressions that we make at the same time :).

Before Christmas break the boys gave Haya a happy vacation gift. I loved the picture Kevin sent me that morning of Reid wearing the necklace we gave her, lol.

I got a late afternoon call from a transportation company who wanted to pickup the MGTD within approximately 3 hours. What? This was on a Thursday afternoon in December, literally it had been the coldest night of the year the night before. Griffin had swim lessons at 5:30 and the trucking company couldn’t drive directly to our house for pickup as he had an open-air 18 wheeler, which wouldn’t be able to navigate Jewett Road. Soooo…..thankfully Jim and Pat were here watching the kids and Kevin and his Dad were able to jump the MG to get it started. We arranged to meet at the Target parking lot on Sawmill Parkway. Once the trucking company arrived there was some uncertainty if the car would fit on the trailer. Again, what?? Don’t you know what you’re picking up and the specifications of the car? Thank the Lord even though the car was narrow, it did fit on the ramps and he was able to take it. It made for a memorable experience!

A couple days before Christmas we headed to Mansfield to spend time with Mom, Dad, and the Bethunes. Amy, Andy, and the kiddos gifted Kevin a nice Hockey Sweater ala Clark Griswold. Kevin loved it and lived in it most of our time there. All eleven of us ventured to Kingwood Center for their winter lights. Parking was crazy and it was a super popular event in town. The kids enjoyed seeing the lights and trees, walking around outside, touring the Kingwood Mansion, and as a bonus they got to see Santa together.