Christmas Portraits & Cookie-Making

As per tradition, here are the Cody kids' Christmas portraits by the Christmas tree, including some fun edits with filters. These kids are growing just too fast!

So this is all you get of Jacob. It was late at night, he was tired. And after one or two on the chair, he fell out and refused to get back in (which explains why he was putting his hand on his head in the 2nd picture-- he kept saying "ow").

And, the outtakes, just for fun:

And our other lasting tradition: making sugar cookies for Santa. (Truth be known, I really don't like sugar cookies, and I don't even really like making them or decorating them, but the kids do, so I bear it every year. And they didn't turn out half bad this year, with my improved icing recipe.)

Abi just wanted to eat one at this point.

"Hey, I want a cookie too!"

The finished product:

Christmas Eve Program

Christmas Eve our church always does a great program of music and Scripture to really get everyone into the mindset of focusing on the reason for the season. It's always well-attended and ends with candlelight and a gospel message. This year the kids donned costumes and sang about 5 songs, added a little narration, and called it a pageant. The adult choir sang 6 or 7 songs, as well.

Andrew and his friend Autumn played Joseph and Mary.(He has the advantage in that he is one of the only boys.)

Abigail was a little sheep. And this girl did amazing. Last year she wouldn't leave my side to do something like this. This year she stood on stage, willingly wore her costume without a fight, and even sang the right words. She has come a long way this year.

Leah and the older girls that could read narrative parts were angels.

Here's a short video of one of their songs:

They even sang a finale with the adult choir. It was so good.

Jacob did okay sitting still the first few songs, but he naturally got bored after awhile. He walked around in the pew some, ate snacks, and near the end discovered he could crawl under the pew. He didn't do half bad for a very active 15-month old and I only had to take him out once-- we got juice & he was fine the rest of the time.

And after it was over, some very excited children came home and got ready their cookies for Santa and heard the Christmas story from the Bible. We always light the advent candle and then sit in darkness for a minute as we talk about how Christ is the light of the world. Then Andrew pulled his mattress into the girls' room for a sleepover, like we did last year, so they'd all be together when they woke up in the morning. It didn't take them long to fall asleep.

Snow Day

We've had a lot more snow this year than last, but we really haven't had a chance to go out & play in it, with everyone being sick and the busy-ness of the season. Finally, yesterday we all got out in it, including Jacob.

Jacob wasn't so sure at first. He cried a second but then realized it wasn't too bad. He wouldn't walk in it at all, but was fine sitting or standing for a few minutes. He really enjoyed sledding with Daddy down our small hill, and giggled the whole time. He got cold after less than 10 minutes and was ready to go in, but he still got in a few smiles. (And yes, he does have pink boots we are borrowing from a friend simply because it seems pointless to go buy some when he'll only wear them a handful of times.)

Jacob @ 15 Months & 1st Haircut

Jacob is turning in to such a BOY now, as opposed to a little baby. He walks everywhere now, sometimes rather quickly. He also loves climbing on things. He loves to do things on his own. He gets into all sorts of mischief and loves to make people laugh. At his 15 month appointment, he weighed 22 lbs. 12 oz., not much more than he did at 7 months old! He is 32 inches tall.

Sometimes he will sit with us when we do school work and scribble for a few minutes. Mostly he likes to wander around and push his toys around the room or throw his Tinker Toys.

Abi is one of his favorite people. If she falls asleep on the couch, she is not safe from her little brother. He will continually say her name and tap her on the shoulder. He loves to wake her up. Of course her name, "A-i" sounds a lot like a lot of other words he says. It also sounds like "paci". "Daddy" also sounds like "bye-bye." His other words include "mine" and "no" and "hi."

In typical boy fashion, anything that remotely looks like a sword makes a noise. Cars also make noises, as do dinosaurs.

For now, he loves to be my helper. He loves to push around his little vacuum. He sits on the dishwasher when I'm unloading it and throws the silverware out. He also likes dusting and rearranging furniture.

This past Monday, on the 19th, he got his first haircut. It was getting a little long in the back, so it was time. We went to the lady that usually does Brett & Andrew's hair and she was so good with him. He was fascinated enough with the process that he sat still and smiled the whole time. Brett held him and he thought he was so big to be like Daddy.

I think it tickled him when she was trimming the back. He got excited.

He and Daddy have a special little bond. Jacob likes to click his tongue and Brett will click back at him like their own little language.

I mean, come on, how cute is this kid?