Christmas in Cincinnati

Our visits to Cincinnati are always busy ... it's tough to cram in visits with everyone we want to see. Christmas Eve we headed to Aunt Barb's for our annual dinner ... delicious and a great time!



Christmas Day ... Family fun x 2. We started the festivities at Grandma Krollmann's house and then headed to Grandma and Grandpa Suttmann's house.



Lucas and Megan also had fun helping Grandma Suttmann make some Fun-da-middles cupcakes and hanging out with their Suttmann cousins and aunts and uncles some more!



We also fit in a trip to the Cincinnati Museum Center to see the model trains on display for Christmas. We had a great time with Aunt Barb and Kayla, and the kids got to take a ride on a little train. We were even lucky enough to run into some extra friends and family while we were there.



Our last adventure in Cincinnati was the Festival of Lights. It had been a long time since Mommy and Daddy had been, but the lights at the Cincinnati Zoo were as awesome as always. I believe the favorite of everyone were the vertical lights that looked like snow falling ... pretty cool. We even got to see some of Santa's reindeer, but they were too tired from helping Santa to do anything more than lay there and watch people.

Ollie

This year, Santa sent an elf to watch over the kids to make sure they were being good. Each night, he reported back to Santa, then hid in a new location while everyone was still sleeping. Ollie found some interesting places to hide, and Lucas and Megan had a blast looking for him. Since Santa was kind enough to stop by early, Ollie even got to watch us open presents. And just to show how smart Ollie and Santa are, Ollie showed up at Grandma and Grandpa Suttmann's house on Christmas Eve. He returned home to Santa that night, but we're hoping he returns next year.

Christmas at Home

Santa is such an awesome guy! And accommodating. :) Santa was kind enough to stop by our house early so we could celebrate before we headed to Cincinnati. While the kids loved all of their presents, each one had something specific that they really wanted. It's fun to watch kids open presents they are excited about!

Lucas and his Mega T-Rex




Megan and her light-up shoes

Santa's Cottage

Since Lucas and Megan were both sick last weekend, we missed going to see Santa as we had planned. Fortunately, we found a copy of Santa's schedule and learned that he would be nearby at a cottage meeting with children.



We headed over and got in line. The bad part was that we had to stand outside for about half an hour waiting for our turn. The good part about waiting in line was that everyone got free hot chocolate, and all the kids got a cookie. When it was our turn, Mrs. Claus invited us in. Lucas and Megan got to sit on Santa's lap and tell him what they wanted for Christmas. Megan wanted light-up shoes and Tinker Bell. Lucas wanted light-up shoes and a dinosaur. After our visit with Santa, the kids also got a gift bag! Lucas got a teddy bear, and Megan got a kitty cat and butterfly.

We walked away with two happy kids and headed to lunch. Unfortunately, Santa also happened to visiting our lunch location, and when we got there, Lucas and Megan wanted to know how Santa was at the restaurant when we had just seen him. Quick thinking, and Mommy and Daddy explained that Santa is very fast and used his magic (and his sleigh) to get there faster. Maybe after next year's Santa visit, we'll just head home. :)

A Note From the Editor

When this blog was first started, it was intended as a way to keep non-local family and friends up to date. It has since become a way for us to keep track of things that will hopefully go into some sort of keepsake for the kids of various stories of them growing up.

That said, we will be temporarily skipping the last few months of blogging or we'll never catch up. The goal is go to back and add in some interesting stores and bigger events so they don't get permanently missed. For now, though ... it's on to December ...

Two Little Monkeys

Our little monkeys got to play around at one of the local parks today.

First Day of Kindergarten

Lucas started Kindergarten today! And even though Lucas wouldn't take a picture with his new teacher, Ms. Lisa, Megan did.










A random cute picture of Lucas playing with the frog daddy found in the back yard.

The Rest of Our Trip

We got to do a lot and see a lot of family while we were in Cincinnati.

While visiting Paul & Erin's house, the kids got to enjoy some time playing in Isaac and Eli's playhouse.














We also got to hang out with Grandma Krollmann!





Grandma Suttmann is such a good story teller! We love when she reads to us ... Run, Run as fast as you can, you can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread man!


We also got to go to some parks, catch a grasshopper, play in the dirt pile, decorate our clothes, and have a great time!

Lucas even got to open some early birthday presents ... transformers!

Meeting Chelsea

We finally got to meet Chelsea! Lucas and Megan loved getting to finally meet and hold their new cousin! So did Mommy & Daddy. :) We got to meet Chelsea for the first time on her 1 week birthday. Lucas and Megan even got to help feed her. Congratulations again to Mike & Dawn ... you have a beautiful baby girl! And congrats to Kayla on her new baby sister! :)

Hiking Around the Zoo

We had an enjoyable visit to the Cincinnati Zoo and spent most of the time seeing animals we can't see at the Brookfield Zoo. After checking out our wingspan, we visited a rhinoceros (with her horn missing), the White Bengal Tigers, manatee and others. Lucas and Megan had a great time on the carousel with Charlie and Pilar (Lucas was very excited to get to ride on a shark!). The hills had their effect on the kids and they did not last as long as usual, but they re-energized with a picnic at a local park and were happy to play some more. Thanks to Aunt Barb for getting us into the zoo and for the picnic lunch - we had a great time!

A Visit to the Cincinnati Museum Center

Today we visited the Cincinnati Museum Center ... specifically the Museum of Natural History & Science and the Children's Museum. Lucas and Megan had a blast with all their Suttmann cousins. We saw a mammoth and an astronaut, walked through a cave and a glacier, saw dinosaurs, played in a tree house, worked with construction equipment, and a bunch of other stuff! Thanks to Aunt Erin & Aunt Stephanie for getting us in on their passes!

Aboard the Destiny

Uncle Mike and Aunt Dawn had a public ride aboard the Destiny, so we joined several family members and had a great time. Lucas and Megan even got to help Uncle Mike (aka Captain Mike) drive the boat!

What Happens Inside When it Rains Outside ...

This is what happens when kids are stuck inside. They progressively got crazier as we took videos and let them watch themselves being silly ...

Last Days of Pre-K

Looks like we are in need of a Lucas post! Thanks to various vacations, today was the last day Lucas will be with both of his Pre-K teachers. Lucas has learned a lot from both of his teachers over the last year. Ms. Carol and Ms. Katie have been awesome teachers and Lucas will miss them a lot!

Megan's First Dentist Visit

Megan had her first dentist appointment today and she did awesome! No fear at all. She let the dentist count all her teeth (20!) and clean them. She especially liked "Mr. Thirsty" when he sucked all the water out of her mouth. :) Even though she did very well at her appointment, her favorite part was probably the treasure box at the end where she picked out a very pretty pink and white charm bracelet with lots of stars.

Happy 3rd Birthday Megan!

Our beautiful little girl turned 3 today! She got to have her pictures taken, and then celebrate her birthday with Mommy, Daddy, Lucas and some friends. She even got some birthday brownies with candles in them!