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This time of year is a time for many traditions. A tradition I started with my kids back when Bailee was 2 and Braden was just a baby, is our Christmas PJ tradition. I get the kids their Christmas PJ's as soon as I can find them at the stores...I HAVE to have them by Thanksgiving. The tradition...to give them to the kids Thanksgiving night. That way they are able to wear and enjoy their PJ's all through the holiday season. This year I added a new tradition with it and actually wrapped their PJ's in Christmas wrapping paper. In the past I've just given them the PJ's. They thought it was great this year to have a present to open! I also make photo ornaments of them in their PJ's and have one for each year. Someday our tree will be filled with ornaments of the kids in their Christmas PJ's!
This year we started a new tradition with our kids...we had them decorate a little jar with stickers and then had a little bag of those marble rocks. Each night after reading books we would take turns and put a rock in the jar and say something we were thankful for. We started November 1st and ended November 30th. The kids enjoyed it so much and looked forward to it every night. They enjoyed watching our jar grow with the pretty marble rocks representing all the things we are thankful for. They got to take turns handing out the rocks and passing around the jar. It really made us think of all the things we are thankful for and it was wonderful to hear all the things our children are thankful for. This is definitely the beginning of a new tradition that I hope will last for years, and maybe our children will one day continue the tradition with their own families.
This year we were able to enjoy 2 of 3 sets of grandparents at our house for Thanksgiving. The kids have had a very enjoyable time with their grandma's and grandpa's and love all the attention! We had a very nice and yummy Thanksgiving dinner both Thursday and Friday. Thursday we enjoyed an amazing feast put on by Alan's work and Friday we enjoyed a little feast at home put on by the grandma's! I love Thanksgiving and I'm thankful for such wonderful family to have enjoyed it with. We missed you G & G Jones!
We tried a new activity today as a family...we were invited by a c0-worker and friend of Alan's to go ice skating with him and his family. We figured why not! Bailee went ice skating for the first time just a few weeks ago for a friends birthday (and really liked it), so she knew what to expect. But this was Braden's first time, and Mom and Dad's first time in at least 10 years! The kids were able to use these really cool walker things that they could skate along with and did really well. Bailee said it was easier this time because she knew what to do...she did great skating. Braden totally surprised us with how fast he got the hang of it and how well he did. He fell a few times but about 10 minutes into it he was practically running and seeing how fast he could go! Although Alan hasn't been in years, you wouldn't have known it by watching him. And as for myself, I was a bit wobbly at first but then remembered how to do it, and I didn't even fall! I didn't go very fast though! Alan even got out on the ice with Brikelle for a few minutes. She absolutely loved it and of course cried when he took her off the ice! We plan to take the kids again and eventually want them to be confident enough to skate without the walkers. What a fun activity! 
Bailee brought home a new library book from school yesterday and it was a story about The First Thanksgiving. It just so happened that our craft for Monday night was making Indian headbands! So, before starting our craft, I read the story and then we all created our own headbands. Brikelle put the stickers on all by herself...and then pulled most of them off within 2 minutes! Bailee and Braden want to wear theirs on Thanksgiving Day, I don't think Brikelle's will make it that long...hers has been ripped and taped and ripped some more! We had fun making them and then the kids and Alan put on funny little skits while wearing their headbands! 
I've been tagged! The tag is to post the 5th picture in your 5th folder and then give a little explanation...I'll admit, I took a look to see what the picture was before deciding to blog about it! This is Christmas of 2004...Braden's first (9 months old). Alan had just returned about 2 weeks before from a 4 or 5 month deployment. We spent the wee hours of that morning in the ER with Braden. He woke up during the night with such a bad croupy cough that it was scary. Once in the ER they gave him a breathing treatment and discovered he also had a double ear infection. Thankfully he responded well to the breathing treatment, so after about 4 hours in the ER they let us go home. He looks good in the picture, but the poor little guy was pretty miserable for his first Christmas...and second...and third... Last year was his first Christmas without an ear infection...lets hope this year is the same!Since it's the number 5, I'll tag 5 people...Brandie, Jinna, Karen, Kristin & Tamara
Love the look on her face when she got to hold 2 candy canes!
I just couldn't resist posting this one...I love you honey!!!
A quick break to take some pictures
Back to decorating
Bailee's favorite part is the angel
Braden's favorite part is the train...of course! He waited patiently for so long for the train to get set up.
And the end result
This year we started a new tradition with our kids...we had them decorate a little jar with stickers and then had a little bag of those marble rocks. Each night after reading books we would take turns and put a rock in the jar and say something we were thankful for. We started November 1st and ended November 30th. The kids enjoyed it so much and looked forward to it every night. They enjoyed watching our jar grow with the pretty marble rocks representing all the things we are thankful for. They got to take turns handing out the rocks and passing around the jar. It really made us think of all the things we are thankful for and it was wonderful to hear all the things our children are thankful for. This is definitely the beginning of a new tradition that I hope will last for years, and maybe our children will one day continue the tradition with their own families. 
