Christmas 2016

Santa visit 2016!  Madelyn ran to Santa with open arms with her request of a princess castle to give him!  Both kids enjoyed their time with Santa, he got big high fives from both, and after seeing him Madelyn noticed a pink BB Gun at Bass Pro Shop and wanted to get back in line to ask Santa for that too...Whoops, I told her, sorry, have to wait till next year!!

December 11, 2016; Fun times in the snow, perfect timing for a white Christmas.  This particular day the snow got pretty deep!  Madelyn stomped through it like a champ, Colin struggled a bit in his fluffy snow suit but enjoyed his time outside!

12/16/16 Happy Birthday Daddy!!!!!!  What a lucky guy, 2 awesome kids who helped Mama decorate for his special day and make cards and a cake to wish this awesome Daddy a happy birthday!  We love you Daddy!!!

Spirit week at school!!!! Wearing red day, pajama day, we do it all!  These kids are star students at Heartfelt Impressions, both have excelled so much, Madelyn in pre-school (The Yellow Star Room), and Colin in the Turquoise Turtle Room.  Colin has learned a lot of sign language, and loves playing with all of his friends.  He loves to sign, "wash hands," constantly and he means it; the teacher will take him to wash his hands, he will finish, they'll sit down, he will sign it again, the teacher will say no, and he will kiss her, and sign "wash hands," again.  And this whole repeat with kisses and all can go on for about 10 minutes.  Madelyn has Spanish on Tuesdays, she has learned a few words and songs.  She started Yellow Stars as the youngest in the class, now she is still a Yellow Star but one of the older kids.  When she gets picked up in the afternoon we usually find her playing house with other smaller kids; everyone has a role, she's the mom, and the other children are the kids, and she has to take care of them before we leave for the day. She can now spell her name and write almost all of the letters in the alphabet!!!

Aunt Karen visit!!!!!!!! These lucky kiddos have an awesome family, Aunt Karen, Uncle Mark and Adam made a special visit and time to see these little's during their time in Michigan and deliver some pretty cool presents!  

First time sledding!  Grandma and Grandpa Dan have a pretty cool hill to sled on, Madelyn's first trip down was especially exciting when she went face first into a tree!  Our brave girl got right up though and was eager to try again...with more assistance of course :)

12/24/16 Christmas Eve sprinkling the reindeer feed!!!!  Glitter and granola is apparently what the reindeer like, and they don't like it sprinkled too much, they like large clumps dropped in random places. 

A Christmas Eve snow man?   Yes please, how perfect can that be??  We couldn't ask for a better holiday with our little ones, It has been amazing and they are so special, we are so happy to share this amazing time with them. 

Christmas Eve at the Kotenkos, kids had a blast, it was extra special that the Nate, Beth and Ayla could join in the fun all the way from California!  Uncle Mike brought his guitar and sang Christmas songs with the kiddos and all were dancing with instruments and having a great time!

Christmas 2016 cousin picture!

Christmas 2016 with our amazing kids!!!! These kids woke up at their standard 6:15 am time, we had them wait a few minutes before we went downstairs; went through the normal routine first, potty, diaper change, etc.  The excitement level was HIGH at the Hergott home.  Once we opened the gate we have at the top of the stairs Madelyn eagerly RAN downstairs to see if the big guy in red came....and he did!!!!!! 

Colin wasn't sure what to think but fed off his big sisters excitement and present opening, he tore into his gifts with a little help here and there from big sister Madelyn!

The tone of the morning was constant yelling, in a good way "OH MY GOODNESS, COLIN GOT AN R2D2 WATER-BOTTLE!!! CAN YOU EVEN BELIEVE IT MOM!?!"

"REY AND BB8 MOM AND DAD, RAY AND BB8!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Yep, Eric has been successful in instilling the Star Wars gene in them. 

Our kids go to an amazing school, they surprised us with gifts Christmas morning, beautiful signs with their thumbprints as Christmas bulbs.  Such a special craft, we are so lucky to have such great caregivers for our little's. 

Santa DELIVERED!!  A princess castle, the exact one she wanted, it sings, they can dance on the royal dance floor, "it's all so magical," as Madelyn described it.  Thank you Santa for so many great gifts!!!! These kids definitely deserved it, they have been great this whole year. 

Merry Christmas 2016, we are in love with our beautiful children.  They are such amazing little humans; seeing their changes every day is just incredible.  Colin babbling, ma, da, ba; Madelyn learning her letters, sounding things out, still singing and dancing constantly just like she always has done, being a super star at school with her helpfulness and politeness always makes us so proud.  These kids are amazing and we are so proud to be their parents. 

Madelyn loves holding Mr. Brady, she kisses his head, snuggles him, she is a mini mom, she's perfect.  And so is he!

Howard, Tyler, Evan, Brady, Madelyn and Colin, how lucky are we as a family to have each other and these cousins hanging out and playing????  We had a great Christmas Day!