Christmas 2013: Christmas Day

Once we got dressed and had breakfast at our house, we made our way over to my parents' house to celebrate with my parents, sister, and grandparents.  To get the kids to leave our house without complaint, I let them bring one present with them.

Usually we do a big family gathering on Christmas day, but this year our schedules clashed a bit and we postponed the big gathering 'til the weekend.  It was nice, though, to have a quiet little Christmas with my grandparents and really get to spend time with them.

First, we opened our stockings.  Santa visits the kids at my parents' house as well, and he brought them all sorts of goodies, including Thinking Putty ...

... and scratch-off lottery tickets.  Mollie was the big winner of the day ... she got $40 from hers!

After stockings came presents, and we decided to start with the ones Baylor had bought for my parents and sister at his school's Secret Santa Workshop.  He got my mom an adorable canvas with the lyrics to "Jingle Bells" on it.

Baylor was actually pretty excited about the gift he bought for my dad, even telling my mom a little about it a couple days prior.

He bought him little screwdrivers so they could do projects together!

He got my sister a mini mp3 player so she could listen to music.

Then the general gift opening commenced.  Mollie got a new doll from Aunt Christine.

Yup, it's an identical doll to the one she already has, Sally.  Lest you think my sister was being lazy, I will say that Mollie asked for this; I think she wanted to have twins, even though I'm not sure she understands exactly what that is.  Either way, the new doll, later named Cindy after Cindy Lou Who, was quickly welcomed to the family.

Baylor and Bryson both got books for Christmas and were virtually unavailable for quite a while as they poured over them.  Like father, like son!

Once the spell of the book had been broken, Baylor opened a set of Lincoln Logs from his great-grandparents and immediately set to work building a general store.

The kids had eaten a pretty small breakfast that morning, partially because they were so very excited about it being Christmas, so we made sure to get them lunch at a reasonable hour.  My parents had whipped up a couple awesome soups, and we all chowed down, taking a break from gift-opening for a short while.

Baylor finished his lunch quickly and requested some time with the Lego set his sister got for him, so we pulled it out and he set to work.

Once lunch was cleaned up and the Lego set was all assembled, we went back to gift-opening.  Mollie got an adorable ballerina outfit, shoes and tiara included!

Just look at my tiny dancer!

Of course, when she opened a hat, scarf, glove set from GG and Great-grandpa, she just had to add that to her ensemble!

The final gifts of the day were a pair of bikes for the kids!  They were super excited and were itching to try out their first bikes.  Unfortunately, I failed to bring tennis shoes with us, so they didn't try them out for very long; those spiky pedals, meant to keep their shoes from slipping off, were not overly comfortable in only socks.

After the bikes were tested out for a little while, we retreated back upstairs for more visiting.  Mollie got a hold of my camera and decided to take a few pictures.  "Say, 'cheese'!" she told everyone.

Then, when Great-Grandpa wouldn't "cheese" big enough, she made him try again.  That girl has some persuasive powers already.

Baylor, ever one to eschew socializing for Lego time, hunkered down to assemble one of his new sets.  Mollie decided to do a fun little photo bomb with her time.

And, of course, practice her budding ballerina skills.

After hopping and dancing around for a while, she sat down with Oma for some snuggles.

Aunt Christine, meanwhile, decided to help Baylor with his new set.

It certainly wasn't our typical Christmas day festivities, but we had a lot of fun and enjoyed a lot of together time.  And isn't that what Christmas is all about anyway?  Spending time with those you love?

What could be better?

Christmas 2013: Christmas Morning

Before we hurried upstairs on Christmas eve, we set out our usual plate of treats for Santa and his reindeer: a glass of milk, cookies (or in this case, a cookie and a buckeye), and an apple.  (Now, after Christmas, the kids have talked of switching it up for Christmas 2014 and putting out a carrot for the reindeer instead of the apple, just to give them a little variety, I guess.)  As we tucked them into bed, all their thoughts and wonderings were on the man in red.  Mollie even asked me, "What if he doesn't come?"  I reassured her that he would, and, seeming satisfied with that answer, she slipped into an uninterrupted sleep.

All through the Christmas season, I was forced to keep all the gifts, wrapped and unwrapped, in the basement.  Mollie was the first to finish her shopping - she only had to shop for Baylor, so it was pretty easy - and her wrapping, and after she was set she placed it gently under the tree.  Baylor, upon arriving home from school, saw the gift waiting for him and picked it up to shake it.  I told him that under no circumstances was he to open any of the gifts under the tree; if he did open a gift, it would promptly be returned to the store, no ifs, ands, or buts about it.  I then asked him if he would be able to keep his hands off the presents; when he replied in the negative, I asked him if he'd like me to keep them in the basement until Christmas day when he was allowed to open them and he said, "Yes."  So that's what I did; all presents, including the one Mollie had bought for Baylor, were stored in the basement.  After the kiddos went to bed on Christmas eve, though, I bounded down the stairs and started bringing up all the gifts, so lovingly purchased and wrapped.  I managed to keep it to two gifts per kid, though Mollie's were considerably larger than Baylor's.

Santa did his part and ate the cookies, drank the milk, and made sure the core of the apple his reindeer ate made it back on the plate.  He filled the stockings with all sorts of goodies and left one present for each kid, again Mollie's towering over Baylor's.

And, like he does every year, he left a note:

This year it read:

Dear Baylor and Amalia,

I am so proud of you for being so good this year!  Be kind, loving, and responsible and there will always be room for you both on the nice list!

I hope you enjoy the gifts I left for you!

Love,

Santa

I woke up early Christmas morning and got showered and dressed so I could be ready for whomever woke up next.  That person turned out to be Baylor, and he was more than happy to help me go wake up his dad and then his sister so we could get downstairs.  As soon as their little feet hit the first floor, they made a beeline for the fireplace to see what Santa had left them.

They then plopped down on the couch with their stockings and set to work emptying them and ooh-ing and ahh-ing over the contents: whoopie cushions, multicolored multi-tipped crayons, lighted personal fans, and a mini Lego set for each kid, and a Cinderella tiara for Mollie and a pocket volcano for Baylor.

They were both excited to try out the light up personal fans Santa had left for them.

After watching us open our stockings as patiently as they could, the kids ran over to tear into their gifts.  Baylor shrieked in delight when he found the treehouse Lego set he had been wanting.

Mollie needed help getting hers open, but she was thrilled to see her colorful rolling luggage waiting for her inside the big bag.

I then had Baylor grab the gifts he got for each of us at Santa's Secret Shop at school, and we opened them one by one.  Bryson got two flashlights, and Baylor was not too subtle in his hints that he was hoping to share that gift with his dad.

Mollie went next.  Baylor bought her the game Perfection, and she was pretty excited about it.

I went last.  I had felt the gift before when I put it in the car and then again in the basement and was certain he had just bought me the first bottle of Bath and Body Works lotion he could find.  While I wasn't too far off on the actual gift, I don't think he just grabbed the first girly thing he came upon.

Just look what it's called.

Isn't that just the sweetest thing?!

Mollie then opened a double stroller for her dolls and a pretend hair styling set from Mommy and Daddy, ...

... and an outdoor patio set for her dollhouse and a Frozen book from her brother.

Baylor opened up two new Lego sets from Mommy and Daddy, including one I put together myself from instructions in a Lego book I found for him, and another new Lego set from Mollie.

As soon as all the gifts were unwrapped and I was able to free the pieces of the hair styling set, Mollie set to to work giving Colin a little trim.

As the kids played, I cleaned up the mess and we started getting ready for breakfast.  After a quick breakfast, we got dressed and cleaned up, packed up the car, and headed over to my parents' house for Christmas day festivities.  It's always tough for the kids to leave all their new toys, but we let them bring one with us to Oma's house this year and that made the transition a little easier.

A Year of Gratitude: Day 253

Today I am grateful that the kiddos like Legos so much.  However expensive they may be, and some of them are just that, they give the kids a creative outlet and seem to help with their fine motor skills.  Plus, it's always fun to see what they come up with.

For example, Baylor decided one day to make a little coffee maker for his Lego people.  It even had a little light at the bottom and a place for the coffee to drip from above the mug!  Awesome!

Mollie is definitely still getting the hang of playing with Legos, but I can tell she is inspired by her brother's creative spirit.  She even wanted me to take a picture of her with her little creation, just like I had done for Baylor.

Have a wonderful day!

This n' That: February 2013

There are, of course, pictures that just don't quite fit into this post or that, so I decided to put a few together that just couldn't be missed (or were demonstrative of stories I wanted to tell).  Here we go!

Almost two months ago I decided the kids needed to start having some more tasks they would be responsible for around the house.  I firmed up the idea that they are responsible for picking up a their own toys and putting away their coats, hats, boots, etc.  Then I informed them that they would be responsible for setting the table at dinner time from now on.  Baylor decided he wanted to set Mommy and Daddy's places, and Mollie took the kids' places.  I drew out how the table should be set, gave them the utensils, plates, etc., and set them to work.  Baylor, always the individual, bucked tradition and set the table "fancy".   

Each day it's a little different, but it's never anything like the diagram I drew out.

The kids are really into watching Pixar shorts.  One day we discovered a particularly awesome one, and they really wanted to show Bryson.


Toy Story Toons: Hawaiian Vacation on Disney Video

It's so tough to get three people around a laptop, though.

Our school-day mornings were getting pretty harried there for a while.  The kids were taking an eternity to eat breakfast, and I was getting really upset trying to hurry them through our mornings.  I knew the key would be to find something Baylor would be jazzed about eating, and after a few different tries, I finally found it ... whole wheat waffles with mini chocolate chips in each little divot.  Is it super healthy?  Not exactly, though the waffle isn't too bad.  But it gets him eating.  Pair that with a stick of string cheese, and he's good to go for his morning at school.  Plus, by not letting him have the chocolate waffle thing any other day besides school days, it's a total treat.  Heck, I can even get him out of bed by reminding him about his special waffle treat.  I mean, come on ... just look how happy he is after he has one!

Mollie got into her Minnie Mouse costume one day, and I just had to get a picture of it.  So cute!  (And there's Baylor in the background trying to take all the shoes I ordered out of the big mailing box so he could play with it.)

My mom is always on the look-out for fun things to keep at Oma's house to play with, and in late February she found what is now my favorite.  They are called B. Pop-Arty Beads, and they are too much fun!  Most of the time we just make jewelry out of them, but my sister actually made a little man.  Oh!  Here he is ... his name is Warren Beady.  (For whatever reason, I find this endlessly hilarious.)

Look how cute!

They are an absolute blast!

My father-in-law's birthday was also at the end of the month, and I just had to post this picture from the celebration.  This is what 59 candles in a cheesecake looks like!

February was fun, but March is shaping up to be pretty awesome as well!