Merry Christmas from the Fancos!

 

Happy Birthday Antoinette!

We celebrated Anna's first birthday a few weeks early so that it didn't get mixed up with Christmas. She had 2 parties- one for her friends that she shared with her friend Morgan Vanderhoff (who was born 2 weeks earlier), and her family party for Jeff's side of the family, which was held at her grandparent's in Livonia.

Morgan and Anna enjoying their lunches at the party


YAY- A cupcake just for me!


Giving the Care Bear kisses- this is a new thing for Anna and involves opening her mouth wide and drooling on whatever she's "kissing" :-)


Eating shredded cheese at her party in Livonia- THRILLED at all the attention!


"Oh Boy, another cake! I wonder what would happen if I stuck my fingers in here...."


"Mmmm, chocolate frosting (note that my mom took off my white shirt before I dug into the cake).


"YAY- This is so much fun!!"


"All Done"



A quick bath in the sink to wash all the chocolate frosting off before opening presents.


All clean and dressed in a super cute outfit from my Great-Aunt Barb... looking very much like a toddler and no longer like our little baby girl.

The Fanco Family Tree

We went to the Red Flannel Tree Farm in Cedar Springs to get our yearly Christmas tree. There was enough snow that they had the horse drawn sleighs carrying people out into the fields to choose their tree. We decided to go with a fir this year...

Margaret chose a tree that she liked...


Teddy liked a different one...


Teddy helping Jeff cut down and drag the tree that we ended up choosing.


All 3 of the kids bundled up against the cold. We picked a day where it wasn't snowing, but it was around 15 degrees out!


The tree was a little taller than we had assessed in the field. Jeff rearranged the couches and we put it in the area of the living room with the vaulted ceiling. The height of the tree is around 10 feet- We had to use chairs and ladders to stand on to decorate and string lights.


Margaret adding an ornament. She tried to put all of hers up out of reach so that Teddy and Anna wouldn't pull them off.


Antoinette observing the process, not sure if she should join in. In the end, she loved to hang an ornament on the tree, take it off, and then rehang it (repeated over and over)


Teddy was very deliberate about where he placed each of his ornaments. Because he didn't get up on a chair, all of his are pretty much in a line around the bottom of the tree.


All decorated and lit- the BEST part of putting a tree up is that moment when you finish and can turn off the lights and just enjoy it (with EggNog and White Christmas- thanks to my thoughtful husband!)


Well, we have no "chimney" to hang the stockings with care near, but they were hung nicely on the wall next to the tree. Merry Christmas!

To Find the Perfect Tree

On our way to get our Christmas tree at the Red Flannel Tree Farm in Cedar Springs, MI 

CHECK OUT THE PIGTAILS!!

Anna sat and watched herself in the bathroom mirror as I put her hair into their first ever pigtails :-) . She only has enough hair for them to be in the back, so she has a comb-over with a barret in it on the top.

Let it Snow!!!

Anna getting one of her first real looks at snow. She giggled and slapped her hands on the window as the snowflakes fell.


Anna sitting in the sled in the living room. This is all TOO exciting :-)


Teddy and Anna playing in the sled before they were all bundled up to go outside. Every time Teddy sees Anna in that hat, he says "HO HO HO"

Yummm, snow!

A perfect photo-op. Sitting in the sled by our front tree (a little too worried when I started to actually PULL the sled- they were content to just sit there and play with the snow)

Everyone's Favorite Doggie!

Teddy feeding Banjo the remains of his dinner. He laughs hysterically every time Banjo licks food out of his hand :-)
Banjo supervising Meg working on her Christmas cards
He's not allowed on the couch, but he likes to push his limits... :-)

Going for A Ride

Teddy loves to go for horsey rides on Daddy around the house! 

She's grown so much...

Here's Margaret, looking SOO much older than 7, ready to go to her fall concert at school (during which, she performed a solo with a few other people from her 3rd grade class). 

Smiley Girl

Our little angel- always full of smiles (and now never wanting to stand still long enough for me to take a picture of her :-) 

First Snow

Meg snowboarding in our back yard last week as our first real snow of the season was starting to fall. 

Sleepy Little Man

Teddy fell asleep while watching football. NO- that is NOT pee on the couch- he had taken Jeff's soda and it tipped over and spilled when he fell asleep. 

Princess Anna wearing one of Meg's little tutu outfits from when SHE was little... :-) 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN



Teddy was a pirate. He was missing his hook in this picture and his moustache was wearing off.


Anna was a cow (in a last minute costume that I started sewing at midnight the night before!). You can't see from this picture, but it even had a little udder and a tail :-). She looked SOO cute crawling around (and Teddy followed her around the house mooing)


Meg went to the party with a friend of hers from school and they both went dressed as dancers. She was so cute in the outfit but a bit cold!

Teddy's Party

PARTY!!
Here are some pictures from Teddy's 2 birthday parties this past week. He really had a ton of fun playing with his friends and cousins and getting presents :-). This definitely was his THOMAS birthday- he is sooo thrilled with all of his train stuff and everything else he was given!

Teddy opening a present at his "friend party"

Teddy and Elijah Doyle chowing down on cupcakes. They shared a birthday party for their friends like they did last year, because they turn 2 only 12 days apart!

Meg helping Teddy open a present from Nana & Grumpa

Showing off his new "Thomas" PJs

Such a cute little man- wearing daddy's hat.

Teddy and his train cake


A set of Thomas Legos from the Bertuccis


A relaxing ride around the house after a busy day of partying :-)