Hofmann Christmas

I hosted the Hofmann Christmas get together on Christmas Eve. We ate lunch and then commenced with the annual family photo. 

Gifts unwrapping went so quick I wasn't able to capture any photos but this one. 

Ivan and Angel got all 4 of my kids their own chair. Toby got sat in his and wasn't sure what to think at first. The girls love theirs!

The kis also enjoyed playing in the big boxes the chairs came in.  Jenna dropped down into one box and when she popped back out she was missing her second bottom tooth. It was loose at our dentist appointment in the end of October and had gotten extremely loose throughout the week prior, so I was not surprised at all when it fell out. 

After all the presents were opened, the kids commenced with the annual paper throwing extravaganza. 

All the wrapping paper gets thrown around the room and played with for at least 15 minutes before somebody starts bagging and throwing it away. 

Polar Express

Decem 20th, after our Rentchler Family Christmas we had tickets to ride the Polar Express at French Lick.  We had a little down time between before we needed to leave.  This allowed the cousins to have a little time to play together.  Ciara was helping Jenna play the Frozen game on Jenna's iPad mini.   

 We headed over to French Lick early enough to get to play in the tent and take some pictures before the train ride. 

 Mawmaw, Poppy, and the 5 grandkids.

 We went into the heated tents and wrote Santa a letter and played a word search prior to boarding the train.

 Mawmaw sat with us before the train trip started.

 Santa made an appearance after we arrived at the North Pole.  Toby wanted NOTHING to do with the guy!

 This is a little out of order, but was our professional photo taken prior as we got there.

 All four little girls had matching pjs.  This is one of very few photos where they were all together wearing their matching pjs with no winter coat.

 Shelby and Jenna with our car's elves, Holly and Jolly.

We had a good time.  It was a neat experience.  I don't know that it is something I would want to do every year, but we did enjoy ourselves and enjoyed the experience as a family.

Rentchler Christmas

Our first Christmas of this season was with my Rentchler Family.  We had made plans early spring to take a trip on the Polar Express (next blog post) with my parents and Carla and family, per Carla's organizing and ordering tickets.  We had decided to have our family Christmas on the morning of our tickets to Polar Express, December 20th. 

 

We started with our annual picture of the grandkids/cousins. Prior to opening presents.

 After the cousins picture, Toby was just chillin on the couch, I thought this picture was pretty cute!

 He enjoyed playing with a little dump truck from the Schenks.

 Mattison and Ciara each got a blanket from us.  They were both extremely excited about this blanket, which is intended to go on their beds in the camper.

 Toby seemed to have plenty of helpers when he was opening his gifts.

 The girls gift from Mawmaw and Poppy required a scavenger hunt outside. 

 After several stops they made it to the garage to find their very own family trampoline.

 While the girls played outside, Toby played inside on his new 4-wheeler.

I didn't end up with many pictures of my girls opening their presents, but they gad lots of fun and got several nice gifts.

B4 Update

I didn't realize it had been so long since my last blog update.  I apologize for the delay.

Today, I had a follow up visit with the OB/GYN to check on baby #4.  I am doing well, I haven't had any real swelling or issues with this pregnancy.  My belly is measuring big, which it has with all the babies, so I am not too concerned.  Baby is in head down position and had a good healthy heart rate of 145 beats per minute. 

As for a name, we are doing a test run on a name.  I don't know if it will be the name we choose or not.  Shelby and Toby both had names that we did test runs on for several weeks before we ditched them and moved on to the next. 

Shelby is insistent upon wanting to name the baby James and Jenna says no to just about every name we pick.  So for those of you who are wondering, we will let you know his name, when we decide. 

Hometown Holiday

Clay City has an annual Hometown Holiday Celebration in downtown.  Lance decided to take the girls over for a little while.  They got to stop in the visitor's center and visit with Mrs. Claus.  They also went for a horse drawn carriage ride.

I got to stay home with Toby.  Sir Toby got sent home from daycare on Thursday due to vomiting.  He still wasn't feeling better on Saturday, so I stayed home with him and got some snuggly time with my little guy.  He was all grins, when he saw himself on camera. 

Comparison Christmas Photos

I took pictures of the kids for our Christmas Card once again this year.  I thought it was neat to look back and see how much they have grown and changed over the past 12 months.  I believe I see the most change in Jenna.  She has really matured and grown up in the last year.

Shelby still has the little girl look about her.  Though one year her hair is fixed curly and the following year it is straight, a little product or a straight iron can make her look quite different.

Toby has lost the baby look but is still has the same little grin and the same bald head!

As I was decorating the Christmas tree, I found a picture of myself from 1989.  I would have been 6 and 1/2.  The side-by-side doesn't show it as much as I see it, but I believe that Jenna looks a lot like her momma.  My hair was darker at her age.  When I look at the eyes, nose, face shape and smile I see a striking resemblance, do you?

Daycare & Preschool Field Trip

Monday was a field trip day for the Learn A Lot kids. They got to go on a hayride. 

They got their faces

They got their faces painted. Shelby was a witch. 

They got to pick out their own pumpkins, then paint them. 

The kids all seem to have a very good time. They were worn out by time they got home. 

The Girls go to the Dentist

Tuesday the Hofmann Girls made a trip to the dentist. Yhis was Jenna's third trip and Shelby's first. 

Jenna walked into the X-Ray room, where I was not allowed due to being pregnant. I went to my seat and she then went to hers. Shelby sat with me for a little while, Jenna finished up and the took Shelby. Doc came in and said Jenna's mouth looked great. All her perminant teeth were visible on x-ray, she has three loose teeth, and no cavities!

He checked my teeth and said everything looked great!

I went into Shelby's room and she was getting ready to get polished up. 

She did excellent with her fluoride treatment. 

Of course, she was under close supervision, by her sister, the expert. 

Kaity's 11th Birthday

On Sunday, we celebrated our oldest niece's birthday.  The theme for this years party was The Boxcar Children.

The kids had a scavenger hunt for apples in the back yard. 

Busy hunting apples.

Jenna was busy hunting. 

Kaity's cake

blowing out the candles.

Toby was being a ham sitting on the floor in the garage.

Uncle Ivan wanted to take Toby out to see the equipment. 

The girls had a good time pulling the air horn. 

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It was a good time with family. It is amazing to watch a someone that was a few months old when I met her uncle transform into such a great young lady!