Merry Christmas everyone! We had a wonderful Christmas Eve and Christmas day at our house. The boys did not understand what was going on, nor did they understand the whole presents thing, but it was fun nonetheless! Here is some pictures and videos from Christmas day and the day after Christmas.

Here was our loft with the tree and stockings all full with presents. We even have "presents ON the tree" since if we get envelopes or cards we put them on the tree.


I decided to do a video of the boys as they come out of their room to see what Santa brought them. Like I said, they don't quite understand yet.


WHEELS!!! The boys love wheels. Every car, truck, vehicle with wheels gets turned over and the wheels are spun like crazy.


See what I mean about the wheels??!!


Now, Grant is starting to be our book kid. Plus he LOVES animals. So, needless to say, these books from Santa were a big hit with him. He was "studying" the animals on the front of this book for some time. Not sure why exactly, but he was right up against the book looking.


I thought they might be a little overwhelmed with the presents and toys, but they did really well.


Grant was even kind enough to "smile" for the camera!


Jet has a stocking too. This year he got about 8 tennis balls in his stocking. I think Alex and Ethan had more fun with the tennis balls, throwing them for Jet, then Jet really did.


More wheels!!


The boys got a hat and some mittens from Grandma and Grandpa Fischer. We put the hats on Alex and Grant and the gloves on Grant. He was not fond of the gloves. In this video they have their hats on (Ethan wouldn't keep his on) and Ethan is playing with the helicopter they got.


Alex in his hat.


Grant and Alex in their hats.


Grant in his hat.



We went to church Sunday morning. The boys spent the morning in the nursery. After church, it was gorgeous outside, so we spent a bit of time on our front lawn in the sun. It was so nice.

Grandma wanted a picture of them and the boys, so we took some. This was the best one.


I laid out a huge blanket on the grass and didn't think the boys would crawl off it. They used to be scared of the grass. However, Alex and Grant both ventured off. Ethan stayed put. He did not like the feel of the grass!


Alex found the stroller strapped on to the back of the van. Look, another wheel!!


Then he walked all over the driveway and sidewalk. I had to take their shoes off because they were dragging their feet when they crawl. It was scraping the leather off the tips of their shoes. So, they are in their socks. Oh well.


Grant got his exercise in for the day. He decided he was basically going to crawl around the block. He made it quite a ways around the corner, but there was broken glass on the sidewalk so we had to bring him back.


He enjoyed sitting on the corner!! :)

Merry Christmas from the Fischer's!!

Merry Christmas to you! We hope you have a WONDERFUL day!!

Growing up Christmas style...

James and I got to go on a date tonight! It was WONDERFUL!! but we had and interesting discussion. I posed these questions to James. I'll tell you my answers...

1) Did you ever "see" Santa??

2) When did you figure out who "Santa" really is?
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1) I remember one night when I was smaller, probably about 6 years old, and I woke up in the middle of the night Christmas eve. I all of the sudden heard a key in our front door. I peeked out of my room and saw this small roundish figure walk into our door with a bag. They took some presents out of the bag and put them under the tree then left.

I about fell over. I SAW SANTA!!

A few days later I heard my grandmother talking about how she came over that night and dropped off some presents she had stayed up late to wrap.

Oh, but I could have sworn for a few days that I had seen Santa. I just knew I had. I didn't want to tell anyone either cause I knew they wouldn't believe me. Oh well.


2) I remember when I was probably 8-10 years old I was standing in our backyard and had what James called an "epiphany". I realized who Santa really is and how it all works. I remember that it was a really nice summer day. Don't remember anything else. But it was interesting.


Just thought I would let you guys get a bit of a laugh too!

Much needed December Pictures

A modification of the picture earlier this year. Instead of them all sitting in front of the door, now they are all standing there (screaming and laughing at the dog!!)


If there is a blanket anywhere where Grant can lay on it, he will, thumb in mouth. And that is where he will stay until the blanket is taken away. :) Some days I just don't mind if he is like this. It is better than the alternative.




They aren't babies anymore. They are toddlers!! Toddlers that like to CLIMB!!! Check out Grant on the left and Alex on the right.


Jet is starting to allow the boys to be closer to him and sometimes to actually climb over and on him. It is interesting to watch them interact. Here is Alex and Jet "cuddling".




Excuse the food on the face. Like a lot of toddlers I know, my boys do NOT like to have their faces washed, so it is a fight to get the big stuff off most of the time. Alex screams so hard when he sees the washcloth coming. But, I have found that singing the ABC's to him has started to help calm him a bit so I can get more of the food off the face! But look at those baby blues...


And Jet, the child that used to take up most of my blog posts, hardly ever gets mentioned anymore. So here is a picture of him!! :)


My little clown, Ethan, has decided that even though he is small (but gaining, he has finally broken the 18lb mark!!) he is still a boy! Note the bruises on his forhead. That is from taking a head first dive off the couch, more than once. You would think he would learn, but he doesn't seem to mind.

And look at his baby blues too... Can you tell Alex and Ethan apart still?


These are some wonderful hand made ornaments I got from a friend. She did all these by hand. Aren't they awesome??


The boys love having Christmas decorations around. I let them play with my snowman figures from Hallmark since they play music. Watch Ethan in this video. :)


And, finally, the video you have been waiting for. ALEX WALKING....

End of November pictures

Ethan at Thanksgiving

James and Alex at Thanksgiving

Grant and Grandpa Rigsby at Thanksgiving

Ethan

Grant

Ethan's favorite spot at Aunt Donna's house. He especially loved this when he wasn't feeling well. he slept here for one of his naps. It was a bean bag. He LOVED it!!

Cousin Lucas kind of was jipped out of a really big 1st birthday bash since quite a few people in the family were sick. But he got to have a small party. He loved eating his cake (complete with blue frosting!!). His brothers and sisters really loved that he got a bunch of new toys too!! :)

Grant didn't end up getting sick, so he was basicly happy most of the weekend/week. Except after James left on his business trip. I think he really notices when James is gone.

Alex was the worst sick. He could not keep anything down, which made for not a lot of fun around Donna's and Elizabeth's houses. I think they are feeling better now, but you can just see it in his face in this picture he wasn't feeling well.

Grant, Ethan, and Alex

Video on RMHC website

Oh my gosh. One of my friends on facebook directed me to this video on the Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children's website. I went to their home page to find it, and WHAM!... we are on the page front and center!!! It is a pretty good video. The friend is also in the video too with her precious family and little boy that was in the NICU with our boys. This was taken just after the boys turned 1 year.

The webpage for RMHC is http://rockymountainhospitalforchildren.com/.


I didn't realize their hair looked so bad!! Oh well.

QOTW - What is your favorite Thanksgiving recipe? Butter Horn Rolls

The Multiples and More blog community that I am a part of does a QOTW (question of the week) each week. This week the question is "What are your favorite Thanksgiving (or holiday) recipes? Are they ones that are passed down or one you found yourself?"

I decided to put on here my all time favorite recipe. I love making these and they are very addicting to eat!! I wish I had a picture of them, but I don't. I will get a picture over the Thanksgiving holiday.

I remember going to my grandmother's house before Thanksgiving or Christmas and helping her roll these up. She would make hundreds (if not a thousand or more) of these every Christmas. Now my aunts and mom have taken on the "duty" of making rolls!! I do them sometimes too (when I have the chance).

I do not know where the recipe came from. Mom, Marie, or Donna, could you enlighten me on that?

I will be making them this Christmas since we will be staying at home. I am so excited to do my bake-a-thon one weekend (James has already agreed to take the boys off my hands.)

These are the best rolls I have ever had, but they take a while to make. Be prepared to spend at least 5 hours on them (not all of that is in the kitchen however). ENJOY!!

BUTTER HORN ROLLS

Ingredients
1 cup milk (@ room temp)
1/2 cup butter (softened)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
1 package yeast
3 eggs beaten (also @ room temp)
4 1/2 cups flour (approx.)

To make dough-
dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup warm water (about 100 degrees) and a tablespoon sugar. Let rise till yeast is doubled.

Meanwhile, combine milk, butter, sugar, and salt. Add doubled yeast. Gently mix together. Add eggs. Gently mix. Add flour. Dough should be thick and a tad sticky. Add more or less flour for consistency.

Put dough in a large bowl, cover with a dish towel and let rise for at least 2-3 hours. (Make sure it is in a warmish place - between 70-80degrees so it can rise properly.)
If desired, punch dough down and let rise again.

To form rolls -
take a ball of dough about the size of your fist (or a bit more) and roll out on a floured surface (roll it out like a pizza crust). Roll to about 1/4 inch thick. Take a pizza cutter and cut into 12pieces. Start at edge of piece and roll dough in onto itself, like a crescent roll.

Repeat until all dough is gone.

To bake-
Preheat oven to 350. Place rolls on greased cooking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes. There should be a touch of brown and the inside should be not goo-y. :)

Yield ~ 3-5 doz (depending on size of rolls)

Prematurity Awareness Day

15 months ago Alex, Grant, and Ethan were born premature. Very premature. Ethan is/was considered a micropreemie, since he was so small. March of Dimes is working on research trying to find causes and cures for premature birth.

We know why we had to give birth to these boys early, since Ethan had a flow issue in his cord. However, we don't know why that was a problem and what caused it. We can only speculate.

I am so thankful to Presbyterian/St. Luke's that they did a WONDERFUL job at keeping these boys healthy and sending them home with us.

Videos of the boys playing with eachother (REALLY cute)

Alex takes his first steps

Alex is starting to be interested in walking. He has taken a few steps on his own. Here is a video of him at church yesterday. He is so close, but still a bit unstable.

Beginning of November, vol 2

Our therapist suggested that I give the boys something to climb on. She suggested that I use the couch cusions on the floor and let them climb to their hearts content. So, that is what I did. I have 2 climbing monsters now. Grant and Ethan can't get enough of the climbing. Alex isn't quite sure he likes to climb yet. Here are a few videos of them climbing around. Ignore me in the background. I was talking on the phone to James.

Beginning of November, vol 1

Alex

Ethan

Grant

Grant

Ethan and Alex

Alex

Where is Grant? He is hiding under the blanket, sortof. He climbed up there all by himself and cuddled with the blanket.

Ethan was sitting on his knees screaming at Jet barking. It gets kind of crazy around the house when that starts.

Ethan eating peas with Daddy. Ethan isn't one to normally snack, but for some reason he was really liking the peas daddy had for dinner one night. So, James fed him a bunch of peas. He looked so cute chewing...