Christmas Magic

I am sure I am not the only one who feels this way, but children definitely bring back the magic of Christmas.  As a kid, Christmas so exciting, I could hardly contain myself.  As a teenager it was still pretty fun, but my favorite part was watching my little brother's reactions.  Well, then my brother grew up and out of the "magical Christmas phase" and I got married and Christmas changed.  It was still fun and I loved getting together with family, but it just didn't feel the same.  Well, now we have kids who can hardly contain themselves at Christmas time and the magic is back!  This Christmas was at the top of my list of great Christmases.  I wasn't pregnant and sick like last year, I didn't feel rushed and busy like others, I felt like our plans with my brother's and their in-laws worked out well (hopefully they agree), and of course the food is always fabulous!

On Christmas Eve, we wanted to take the kids sledding, but the beautiful sun melted most of what we had, so we took the kids to see "Tangled" instead.  Super cute movie by the way.  I wasn't sure how Jordan would handle it, but she seemed to love it and then when she got tired, she just slept. Too bad the other babies around us didn't do the same for their tired parents.  Then we came home and got ready for my dad's family to come over for dinner.  We kept is simple with croissant sandwiches and a few sides.  I certainly didn't want to be cooking all day and John didn't want to be doing dishes all night, so it turned out really well.  Although, Sydney did help me make a wonderful Peppermint Cheesecake.

   Then, we continued with a tradition we started last year where everyone brings a wrapped game and we draw numbers to see who gets what present.  Then, we play games until everyone has to go home and get ready for Santa.

 

 

 

Then, the kids opened their Christmas jammies and they were all excited to have footie jammies (there is probably a better name for them, but that is what we call them).  After the traditional "Claymation Christmas" and a quick reading of  "T'was the Night Before Christmas" our kids were more than ready to go to bed and so were we.

Loved the look on Jordan's face!

Christmas morning was very relaxed.  We let the kids open their stockings first things, so of course they did that before I woke up, so there isn't any pictures of that.  Then we have a nice breakfast, which is a tradition passed down from John's side of the family that I quite like because it makes Christmas morning last a little bit longer.  When I was a kid, we would wake up and burst through all of our presents and then it was over.  As a kid I didn't mind because we didn't have to wait to open our presents, but as a parent, I want it to last as long as possible.  I thought the kids would be whining, asking when they can start, but they were actually really good about it.  It probably had a lot to do with dad making their new favorite breakfast, egg sunny side up!

Then, we got to the presents!  Our kids are still at the age where they enjoy every present they open.  It isn't a mad dash to open one, throw it to the side and hurry and open the other.  Not sure how long that will last, but it is nice right now.  Anyway, here is a "few" of our favorites.

 They kept saying, "what is this?" Hence the fake excitement on their faces.

Don't worry, they got excited later.

 I'm going to regret putting this picture up, but just had to say THANKS!

Sometimes it can be fun having a friend in Germany.

We all thought this was the coolest!  They spent all morning building it.

 

After a long morning of playing with our toys, we headed over to my mom's house for more presents and our wonderful tradition of a crab and shrimp dinner.  This year we also added a roast for my sisters-in-law because they don't like sea food all that much.  What a shame :)

 Pretty sure she has used this every day since!

 Rock on Marshall!

 What is cooler than a walking, shooting, Iron Man robot?

 Quite the coveted toy! Should have got Matt and Mitch one

 Marshall on the other hand did not want one

 

 She was just happy to be at the party.

Our little social bug.

 But really, who needs toys?

 John got Halo Wars Risk and I guess it is quite the intense game.

Vegas

This year, instead of giving each other gifts, my brother and sisters-in-law and John and I decided to take a much needed vacation without kids.  Well, our kids anyway, he he.  My brother and his wife aren't 21 yet, so we joked with them quite a bit about still being kids.  The funniest was we bought the "Buffet of Buffets" pass (really cool, we got to eat at 10 different buffets for a 24 hour period) and they made Mitch and Linsey were a wrist band because they weren't old enough to buy their own and get a card like the rest of us.  Sorry guys, soon though.  Anyway, we had a lot of fun seeing a car-eating-dragon, walking the casinos and seeing the Christmas displays (not very many, but the Bellagio didn't disappoint) and all the crazy people.  We spent a lot of time waiting in food lines, we definitely did not time that right. I would highly suggest the buffets at the Paris hotel and Caesars Palace.  Excellent!  Did a little gambling- way to go Matt and Jodi for coming out on top, did a lot of shopping, and spent some time in the hotel hot tub.  Thanks guys for a great get away.  Next time, lets hope we can drive home faster than 35 miles per hour and hopefully avoid the rain and snow! Also, special thanks to my mom for watching all 3 kids for the weekend!

 This was the first thing we saw and I will have to admit, it was pretty cool!

 Mitch and Linsey at M&M World

 Me and John at the Bellagio

 Matt and Jodi at the Bellagio

 Thank you lady for not running off with my camera

Gotta love the souvenirs!

Christmas Recital

Sydney did great again at her dance recital.  She danced to the Sugar Plum Fairies from the Nutcracker and looked so beautiful.  Unfortunately, the video camera ran out of batteries half way through and the camera ran out of memory space.  Luckily grandpa had his video camera!  So, this is all I got.

Santa came to Grandma's House!

Things were just getting a little too crazy at Christmas time with everyone trying to see all their family and all their in-law's families, so we decided to do a family Christmas party at the beginning of December with my mom's sisters and their families.  And ya, Santa came.  Although Connor wouldn't show it at the time, he has told all of his friends since.

 

 

 

 Chase saying "mmm" about his soup

 Connor's face really didn't change much

(This was the same face he had while riding rides at Disney World too!)

 Jordan enjoying her present from Santa

Carter got to be Rudolf as we all sang the song

5 months

She is growing too FAST!  She loves big crowds.  She acts like they are all there to see her and she loves it!  She loves to watch Connor run around and be a goof, but does not like it when he comes close enough to touch her.  She still loves to be wrapped up like a papoose when she sleeps.  It is kind of great because it is like a magic button.  Just wrap her arms down tight and she will fall right to sleep.  She is really a very happy baby and we love having her around!

Pets

John's brother has pets.  We do not.  The kids love their pets.  Glad they have the pets for when we visit.

Thanksgiving

So, I really like food, and therefore, I really like Thanksgiving.  The only problem I saw with Thanksgiving is that you had to wait all day for the yummy eating to begin and by then, your stomach shrinks and you can't eat all the yummy stuff that you want.  So, we have started what I hope to be a yearly tradition.  Yummy Thanksgiving Breakfast!  We had my dad, my aunt, my cousins and by brother and his family over for pumpkin waffles with apple cider syrup, bacon, potatoes and eggs.  Mmmm!

 Jordan and my dad

 Jodi and Sydney

 My cousin Alex, John, and Connor

 John's nieces Hannah and Emma and nephew Justin joined us for the day

Then later that day, we headed to my mom's sister's beautiful house for Thanksgiving dinner.  Another great idea: appetizers before the turkey.  My aunt had so many wonderful things to eat, it was great!  My favorite had to be crescent wrapped brie with cranberries in it (not sure what it is really called, but I must get that recipe!) and the fruit salsa on toasted tortillas.  Ya, so I pretty much ate all day and loved every minute of it!

 Jenny, Jodi, Linsey

 Me and Sommer

 Mya and Sammy

 Me and John, oh and Nik

 Gineal, my mom, Shauna, Annette, Jordan

 Tyler and Chase

 Ikaika

 Connor, with Ikaika hiding in the background

 Marie and Sydney, with Tyler aiming and Carter watching

 Marshal

 Mya and her mom, Jenny

Jordan was fighting sleep on Linsey shoulder because she just didn't want to miss any of the party.  I am pretty sure she thought all those people were there for her.  She is such a social bug!

 The clan