Christmas Wrap Up

Christmas 2012

 

Dan's parents, brother David, and his girlfriend Jessica joined us at lunch for the rest of the holiday.  Sadly, the photos I took during gifts with Dan's family did not turn out great...they were blurry for some reason.  My flash was not wanting to work...I think my camera was in protest from all of the work it was doing throughout the holidays.

We spent most of our time on Christmas day visiting and taking the opportunity to get to know Jessica.  It was our first time to meet her.  She traveled from Hoboken, NJ so this was really a rare opportunity to get to know her.



That evening we enjoyed a special dinner of Prime rib and Yorkshire pudding which has become our tradition.  It was delicious and comes together with minimal effort which is really the key. 

 

Jessica thoughtfully offered to take a photo with Dan in it as well.  You'll notice Kaitlin is next to Jessica...she was quite delighted to have another girl in the house!



The next day we enjoyed a leisurely morning together before Dan's family left for Richland.  We finished up the puzzle and took a celebratory photo.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Morning 2012

I feel like we are in such a "sweet spot" of an age with the children right now for many things, but especially the holidays.  From oldest to youngest, they each are such fun for different reasons.  They all really understand and anticipate special days now, and their delight makes it a joy. 

 

It is always so torturous waiting for us to get the cameras ready for them to come downstairs on Christmas morning.  I just can't miss those excited first moments...they are priceless.  They wait at the top of the stairs asking, "Now?....Now?"  And we're calling back, "Don't peek!!"

Then they run down the stairs, turn the corner and see what is waiting under the tree....

(This is the "Garden Doll" that Kaitlin wanted.)



It's a little crazy and things are happening fast so it's hard to get great pictures of all the kids.  I love Kaitlin's expression and Andrew hugging his Donald in the background.

Before we open any other gifts we do a quick picture in front of the tree.  The children are very cooperative because they want this to go fast!





We take turns opening gifts while sipping hot chocolate and nibbling on homemade cinnamon rolls (courtesy of our friends ~ which is such a wonderful gift!)

 

Andrew made me this beautiful painting.  I love it.

...on the sofa with a headache.

So excited!  She loved & outgrew this nightgown and was so happy to get it in a bigger size.

Daddy helped with gift opening.

 

 

 The boys love to golf and their clubs were way too small, so they were excited to receive new ones for Christmas so that they can take more lessons this summer.

I just love their excitement.

The last gift was for Matthew.  He opened it to find another gift wrapped inside.  

So he opened that to find....

Another gift inside!

He opened that to find....

An itouch!

Oh my.

A little background.

Matthew wanted a Nintendo DS for years.  We said no.  Again.  and Again.  And again.

Poor guy, he's been "the only one without one."

Which among his friends, is possibly true.  But we're cruel like that.

Honestly, we just felt like the wii was enough and Dan was quite adamant about not wanting yet another video game temptation.

So he started asking for an itouch before christmas last year.

No.  

He'd ask again.

No.

No.

No.
The answer was always no.

So he wanted to ask Santa for one this year.

No.

Please?

No.

Defeated, he asked for Legos.

So wasn't he surprised when he opened one on Christmas morning!

It comes with restrictions, of course.

 But I think it'll be a Christmas he'll always remember.

 

Stockings were next.... 

 

   

  

There are always some little chocolate treats to be found that are immediately enjoyed by the Bug.

  



I love these jelly beans.
Not to eat them, but to have fun with them.
"Bertie Botts every flavor Beans."
From the Harry Potter books.
And yes, they mean every flavor...to name a few, "Dirt", "Grass," "Ear Wax" and "Vomit."

I had a lot of fun with these one christmas playing a practical joke on Mike and Dan.

This year, the kids received them and were so funny.  They couldn't resist seeing if those awful flavors were really that bad....

 

They were.

One afternoon after the holiday, only the icky beans were left.  Andrew gave them to Kaitlin one by one and as she'd run to the bathroom squealing to spit it in the toilet he'd call out,

"That's ear wax!"
"That's vomit!"

And she'd come back for more.

So funny.

I do so love a good laugh.






After we opened stockings we quickly cleaned up the house, showered and put lunch together to get ready for our third christmas, this time with Dan's family!

Christmas Eve Brunch

Ever since I was a child Christmas Eve has always been a festive day. When I was small my parents hosted a Christmas Eve party...when I was older we went to a friend's Christmas Eve party every year. We didn't have family in town so our friends were our family and we spent holidays with them.



And now, Christmas Eve is still a very festive day with brunch & gifts with my brother's family, then Church & a party of family at my brother's house with a visit from Santa.  It almost feels as though we have two days of Christmas.  It's busy & fun.





Our Christmas day is more relaxing & low key, which is wonderful and so I don't take as many photos that day as we mostly open gifts and just relax.  But there is a lot of fun to remember from Christmas Eve.



Our brunch is full of tradition. It's pretty much the same each year. Mom makes her great sausage & egg casserole, and I make a yummy french toast casserole (which Dan eats the leftovers warmed with ice cream for dessert!) Fresh fruit, a pile of sausage,



and the drink is always a type of cranberry juice mixed with 7up. It's festive and delicious!

English Crackers are a long standing tradition as well.



Silly hats must be worn during brunch.



Two boys were too cool for hats this year. I'm confident they'll come back around in a few years.



Dan set a good example of silly hat wearing.



Silly boys are also a Christmas tradition. Noah doesn't care for the festive drink, so he is indulged with his favorite box of apple juice.



Santa cookies on the plates (to be eaten during gift opening) is another tradition. I made them last year and left them in the freezer! I was determined to not do that again this year.



And probably my favorite tradition. A variety of Christmas cookies to nibble on throughout the day. A couple of the recipes (mocha balls & the poppy seed loaf) are from my childhood.







Then it was time for gifts!! We have the kids open their gifts first and let them go play and then the adults enjoy exchanging gifts in a more peaceful atmosphere. :)





Noah was SO excited on Christmas Eve! He was so cute. He and Andrew LOVE each other ~ Andrew calls Noah his "cousin-friend." He loves that his cousin is his friend too. They play great together and are so fun to watch.



They truly are just thrilled to be together. What a blessing! I hope they always stay close.





Mike & Michelle watching the boys open their gifts. Notice Kaitlin parked herself by Aunt Michelle? No coincidence there!



She loves her "Aunt-AShell."



I put Katie's little gift from pre-school under the tree (I did so love the packaging) intending to open it Christmas morning but she couldn't wait another second for me to open it. She was so proud of her card and gift. It was really sweet as she told me about it as I was opening it.



Her little hand print. In purple, of course. (Her favorite color).



Mom gave the boys these Angry Bird Blanket wraps. They were a hit.





Kaitlin really isn't into toys very much (she prefers dressing up). She plays with a few things occasionally but mostly likes to be with me "helping." I took her to Target to see what she was interested in and this little mermaid doll that moves her tail and you can take her in the bath tub was the one thing she picked out. Uncle Mike and Aunt Michelle came through with it.



She has already been swimming in our bath tub.



Mom gave Katie this special ring that was my Aunt Linda's. She passed away the month before my Dad. I was so pleased to see how much Kaitlin liked it.





The boys were not excited about receiving clothing, but Kaitlin was thrilled over her new Christmas clothes.



My Mom gave her this dog and even though it was wrapped, every time we turned out the light it would bark inside the present! It was so funny and at first Katie thought it was coming from outside. She finally figured out where it was coming from and has been waiting to see what little puppy was inside there!

(I know I have a lot of photos of Katie opening gifts, it just happened that the ones I took of her turned out well).

Mike was sooo pleased with himself over some gag gifts that he bought for me and Dan. Dan was the proud recipient of some bacon soap. :) And I got a funny book of lists (I'm known in my family for my lists).



It was the Christmas of kitchen gifts which was quite fun!



I love Mike's smile in this photo. I also have to point out his shoes, so that his latest craze: athletic shoes, is on the record. I don't even know how many pairs he has, but it's something else! Notice these are green & red? Festive for Christmas!

This is really LONG! I'll finish up Christmas Eve night in the next post. :)