Merry Christmas!

We had SO much to celebrate this Christmas, including Allen's REMISSION and a new baby on the way!  

Last year we started a tradition of letting each of them pick out a present for the other.  They couldn't wait to go shopping this year! Of course Brookelyn and Braedyn were anxious to get started early opening presents, so Allen agreed to let them open one present an hour on Christmas Eve (between 10am and 6pm).  Here they are on Christmas Eve SUPER excited to open their special gifts from each other:

They could barely sit still!

Aren't their little faces priceless?!

She was thrilled with her "teacher supplies" from her brother.

Such sweet hugs! 

And more sibling snuggles!

Later in the day, they finished opening the rest of the gifts from each other!

Brookelyn was super surprised by her goodies! 

She couldn't believe she got actual "teacher grading" pencils! 

Braedyn was so proud of his choices!

He KNEW she would love star stickers for her students! 

Brookelyn couldn't contain her excitement as Braedyn opened one of the gifts she got for him (with some guidance from Daddy)!

Yes, that is a cap gun.  And, yes, it is VERY loud!

After baths, it was time to set out cookies for Santa!

And, time to throw out reindeer food for Rudolph!

Then, Daddy read them "The Night Before Christmas" before it was time to snuggle them in their beds!

Christmas morning, they were SUPER excited--of course!

Attempting to wait patiently at the top of the stairs.

First look at the presents under the tree!

Our elf, Lucky, left the kids a note saying that they had a few minutes to kiss him and hug him (while Santa suspended the magic) before he left.  They were SO excited because it had been really hard not to touch him over the past weeks!

Notice Lucky's ALL-EN band on his hat?! 

Then, it was time to OPEN PRESENTS!!

Braedyn struggled with the wrapping paper while Brookelyn realized that Mommy and Daddy had given in to the Wii! 

All Braedyn wanted from Santa was a remote controlled helicopter!

So excited over a new craft project! 

Braedyn loved the excitement of not knowing what he was going to open next!

Showing Daddy his awesome gift. 

The Samurai sword he "secretly" asked Lucky for.   

A new ride on toy! 

Our budding singer/song-writer got her prized pink piano! Now she needs lessons!

Christmas 2012 was certainly a blessed season for us! We are looking forward to 2013 with lots of HOPE!

Keeping up with the Kiddos

Brookelyn and Braedyn have been VERY busy lately!

A couple of weekends ago, Brookelyn's dance company was in the Bentonville Christmas Parade! The girls all piled on a big float and had a BLAST! (I have to admit I was a little leery of letting her ride the entire parade route without me being able to watch her every move, but I let her go.)

Here is Brookelyn with her good friends.  Aren't they just adorable?! Can you tell that zebra and red are the dance company colors?

Last Friday Mr. Braedyn had a Nativity Play where he played Joseph.  He said it was super "embarrassing" to be dressed up in front of all the parents, so he wouldn't look at us during the little play.  But, doesn't he make an adorable Joseph?

And, last night was Braedyn's Christmas Program.  He promised that he would look at the audience and sing loudly.  And, he DID! 

After the program, the kids got to sit on Santa's lap!

We are so proud of them both!

It's a...BOY!

Well, we found out that Brookelyn and Braedyn will be welcoming a BROTHER in early May!

Can you tell who is excited, and who isn't so excited?!

Here are Baby Bates' little tootsies:

 And his handsome little face almost smiling!

We are so excited to meet you!

Happy (Belated) Halloween!

We started Halloween trick-or-treating on the square with Brookelyn's first grade class.  All the kiddos looked adorable, and Brookelyn had a ton of fun! 

So many choices!

As we passed this pillar Brookelyn hopped up on it, posed, and told me to take her picture!

Such a cute little witch-fairy!

 That evening we started trick-or-treating early.  Daddy came with us--he just stayed by the curb to stay away from all the germs.  Look at the cutest little trick-or-treaters ever!!

After about an hour and a half, the little witch-fairy and scary skeleton were ready to head home and hand out candy (well--and eat some too)!

Both kids agreed it was the BEST HALLOWEEN EVER!!

Catching Up...on A LOT of Changes at the Bates' House

Wow--it has been a CRAZY couple of months since I last posted.  The long of the short of it is:

1. Allen has been diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma, and he is KICKING MAJOR BUTT as he just finished his second of twelve chemo treatments.  When I think of someone with CANcer on chemo, I don't think of this:

But that is Allen for you--an overachiever in ALL aspects of the word! He has been running almost every morning and not just jogging--running at a pace faster than our training pace! I cannot begin to express how proud I am of how he has taken on this challenge with the most amazing attitude and determination.  We are ALL-EN! You can follow his journey on the new blog we started: teamall-en.blogspot.com!

2. We are pregnant.  Yes, you read that correctly, and no it truly has not sunk in yet even though we are already 14 weeks along.  Here is the little peanut that shocked the pants off of us:

Here are the kiddos' reactions when we told them:

They are SO excited, and it has been a blessing in that the baby has given the kids something positive to focus on.  Braedyn kisses my belly EVERY day, and reminds me that if it is a girl he will only help out "a little bit."

Well, I think those two tidbits are enough of a shocker for one post, much less one lifetime.  We are wading through daily life as a pregnant mommy and a CANcer fighting phenom.  It is a daily challenge, but we are up to it!  We are willing to do whatever it takes to have Allen cured and a healthy baby in the Spring.  There is a grand plan out there for our family, and while the events that have unfolded certainly weren't in our plan, everything will turn out just as He has planned.

Braedyn's First Day of Pre-K4

Little man started Pre-K4 this morning! He had a great Open House last Friday, so he was super excited to go back today.  Here he is in front of school:

 Immediately after that picture, he decided that I was totally embarrassing him, and he didn't want ANYONE to see him getting his picture taken.  So that handsome little smile turned to this:

Yep, at only four he has already decided I am embarrassing.  So, I had to threaten and insist and bribe before I got this picture:

And, then I snuck this picture as he walked down the hall to his classroom.

I hope he has an amazing day!

Chore Chart

Every once in a blue moon, the stars align and things actually work out as planned.  Such is the Chore Chart! (I found a similar idea on Pinterest and adapted it for the kiddos.)

Here is our Chore Chart:

The basic premise is that on Sunday each child picks four chores out of the little chore holder.  Then they clip each chore onto their clothespins until it has been completed and checked by Mommy.  Once checked off, they can put the chore back into the holder.  They have until 5:00 on Sunday evening to compete all four of their chores. (The chart hangs on the wall in the kitchen-at kid height-where they can at any time check the chores they have left to do.) If they complete them all, they earn a dollar.  If at the end of four weeks they have four dollars (ie they have done all their chores for four weeks), they earn a special date night! Here is a list of the chores I have for them to pick from (they choose with their eyes closed):

1. Clean kitchen appliances (with stainless cleaner)

2. Vacuum couch and rug

3. Clean downstairs toilets (Yes--they FIGHT to do this. They just use a disposable toilet brush to clean the inside of the bowl.)

4. Windex front and back door windows

5. Dust house

6. Kid's choice (they get to pick whatever they want--with my approval)

7. Put away laundry

8. Clean playroom

9. Empty all trash out of the car

10. Mom's choice

11. Put away silverware

12. Pick up and put away 10 items

13. Mop bathrooms (of course I supervise)

14. Clean upstairs toilets (see #3 above)

And can I tell you how NICE it has been! There are scenes like this around the house:

Yes, this is Braedyn cleaning the front door windows! And, he LOVES it!  Braedyn is actually the one who ENJOYS his chores.  He has finished them before Brookelyn each week, and will come up to me and ask, "Which of my chores can I do by myself, Mommy?" Music to my ears!!

I. Love. The. Chore. Chart.