Painting Pumpkins

Since our kids are not yet able to carve their own pumpkins, we have opted to paint our pumpkins each year instead.  This way everyone gets to participate and decide what their pumpkin will look like.  In a few more years we will probably give carving a try, but for now this is working out well for us.  Everyone had a really fun time and we ended up with some very creative gourds and pumpkins.

Ady painted each of her 3 solid gray, then the next day we got the paints back out for the finishing touches and I got out more colors.  As soon as she heard the word pink she started sqealing about pink pumpkins and ended up repainting all of hers solid pink.

Tayden did a nice job painting his big pumpkin to look like a regular jack-o-lantern.  He also painted his gourd with polka dots and his small pumpkin to look like a ghost.

Kyler was very creative and turned a gourd into a penguin.  It turned out so cute.  He painted dots on his little pumpkin and his big pumpkin is a scary monster.

Dave painted a pumpkin with varying white and off white stripes and I painted stripes and dots on my pumpkin.  I also painted a small gourd to look like a ghost.

Kyler's Penguin

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It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

I have finally been able to put up my Nativities (there was a Nativity display at church last weekend, so I had loaned mine to that). I love to collect Nativities, so I have been anxious to put them up. My other decorating has mostly been stalled waiting to put the Nativities out first. Here are some of my favorites:

This is the Blossom Bucket Nativity. Its so cute! I love it.

I made this one a few years ago at the Super Saturday Craft day at church.

Some one gave this one to me. Its the biggest one that I have, so in the past I have had a hard time finding a place for it. this year I decided to put it on top of the China Cabinet in the Dining Room.

This cute little cloth one is one of my favorites. I had to put it up on top of the fridge because Ady thought it was a toy one since it is stuffed. I love it too much for it to be a toy.

This cute chunky one is new this year. I have it up on top of the Entertainment center in the family room.

I didn't take pictures of all of them, but we also have the Fisher Price one, which the kids LOVE! Dave's mom gave it to us a few years ago for Christmas. I have a little nesting one that Kyler loves to play with too. I also have a little "Pocket Nativity" that Ady decided to carry around everywhere. Its made of felt and is little finger puppets. It fits into a little felt envelope. My mom gave me another cloth one last year that is a bigger one and is a toy. It is made up of finger puppets as well and folds up nicely into a cloth stable.

Here are some of my other favorite Christmas decorations.

I saw my aunt do this last year. I hung ornaments from my chandelier in the Dining Room. I love how it looks!

I love these little snowmen that are cuddled up in a blanket. My Sister-in-law, Beth had one and I loved it, so my mom found one for me for Christmas a few years ago.

I love this Snowman that Dave's mom made. (have you noticed that I collect Snowmen?)

And lastly I wanted to show you the cute little trees we put up in the kids rooms. I got a 4 foot one for the boys room. Their window looks out to the street, so the tree lights in the window looks nice from the front of the house. We decorated it with paper chains that the boys made and we tied strings to their cars and trains and hung them from the tree as well. Kyler made a star for the top. It looks so cute. In Ady's room I put up a 3 foot tree and we used her necklaces as garland and tied strings to her stuffed animals and small toys. We also used some of her hair bows. I love how the lights glow in their rooms at night. Tayden made a star for the top of Ady's tree.

The boys tree

Ady's tree

The last favorite decoration that I want to mention is the train track Tayden has under the kids tree in the family room. He and Dave set up Tayden's Geo train under the tree and it looks so cute. I don't have a picture of it but I will add on later.