Christmas Parties!

We love our friends and our community here, and so we have lots of fun parties in December.

We celebrated Roger's first birthday on a Friday.  Theresa was kind enough to set out gingerbread houses and the fixings.  The bigger kids had so much fun.

I  like these pictures, because as I looked closely, I realized that Jovie and I had the same facial expression as one another in both pictures.

 Happy Birthday, Roger!

 HR Christmas party at Regina's house- families came also, but they aren't pictured here

 

Small group Christmas party at the Mongellis!  Decorating Christmas trees and cookies

 

 Jovie loves Lily

 A picture of all the kiddos!

 Love these ladies!  (Missed the memo that I was supposed to wear black)

 The Boys

December fun

December is a time for lots of fun things, even beyond the Christmas parties and celebrations.

Movies and hot chocolate

 Saturday afternoons cooking and baking

(cranberry sauce)

 Samosas

 Staff retreat!

 Getting dressed up in Christmas clothes (from Grandma)

 Hanging out with friends

 The trains at the National Botanical Gardens

So much fun, and that's not even counting all the parties!

First Baptist Weekday Preschool Christmas Program

On Thursday, December 18th, Mike and I took 1/2 days from work and went to Jovie's preschool for the Christmas Program!  Leading up to this day, Jovie had been excited and practicing her songs at home.  However, up to this point, during any other program at church, she has frozen once on-stage. I wasn't sure how this would go.  But she did amazing!  She knew all the words and motions, and did them with gusto.  (She even told other kids when they weren't doing the right moves...)

The kids went up by age group and did 2-3 songs per age group.  They were all so darling!

Here is Peyton's group- the two year olds

And here are the 3's!

Mommy and Jovie after the performance

 There was a cookie reception afterwards.  Jovie and Peyton had fun running around with their friends, while we hung out with Stacey and Robert.

 We were so proud of her, and it was such a heart-warming morning.

The Mini Nutcracker

This year, some of us took our girls to the mini Nutcracker.  It's an event that the high school-aged ballet classes (at Ruth's ballet studio) put on for little ones.  It's just under an hour, and the audience is full of little ones.  It's so fun!  So, we went to Silver Spring.

Here are the girls in their theater seats

 Jovie and Mama

 Watching intently- when asked what her favorite part was, every time Jovie answered that it was the rat king.

The girls did a great job in the theater.  But, they were clearly getting hungry by the end.  So, we all went to Panera when the performance was over.  After full bellies, we got lots of smiles from ring-around-the-rosey pictures.  We think that ring-around-the-rosey in the open space in Panera was their favorite part of the day...

 Then we went to the lobby of Ruth's ballet studio, sat in the sleigh and hugged the Nutcracker.

 Jovie also danced with the Nutcracker

 Outside was a Christmas tree where you can press the buttons and various musical instruments play on the tree.

 It was a fun day in Silver Spring with friends.

November 2014

Here is that monthly picture "dump" of every picture that doesn't belong in another post.

November 3rd- Jovie likes the bank for one reason- the blue lollipops

 November 5th - Glencarlyn Park

 A little bit of hiking at Glencarlyn

 Sticks and rocks- Jovie's favorite toys

 Yeah, we go to Starbucks a lot

 The only person left who loves payphones (Fort Ward)

 November 11th - playing guitar together

 November 12th- Jovie's first dentist appointment

She started out doing fine

 It didn't go well when the cleaning started.  She flipped out, and the only way it worked was me sitting in the chair, literally holding her down.  This picture is after the cleaning when they are just counting teeth.

 November 13th - Operation Christmas Child box for school

 November 15th- play date at the National Building Museum

 Jovie loved this room at the museum- so many BLUE things to play with

 Jovie plays really well with the little kids

 Picnic at the National Building Museum

 November 18th

 November 19th- at the "pwanet" museum- The Air and Space Museum is her favorite

 November 21st- hiking at Prince William National Forest

 November 22nd - playing with the nativity the Rozelles got her for her first Christmas

 November 30th - decorating the Christmas tree