Christmas Morning

Santa came to our house!  I was a little surprised that the boys made it to the nice list this year.  For some reason I thought that three and five would be much easier than it has been.  Luckily we're only a couple months in and really they have been much easier in so many ways.  

Christmas morning is always more exciting with little ones around.  The thrill in their voices and excited look on their faces is quite precious. We made it 'til about 7:00 am when I could no long keep Logan contained in our bed.  He jumped up and insisted upon going downstairs.  We quickly woke up Daddy, brother and Tutu's before heading downstairs. 

The first sign that Santa stopped by was this plate of half eaten cookies, an empty mug and a little note that he left for the boys. The reindeer had eaten all of their food too but we forgot to take a picture of the empty bowl.

The boys immediately noticed a replica of the Polar Express train going around the track in our living room. They planned with that for a bit before they actually realized that Santa had left them their own little stash of presents and a stocking filled with goodies. 

 Logan's pile.

 Lincoln's loot.

Logan with his new Buzz Lightyear scooter. 

Lincoln got lots of clothes this year including a cool Star Wars hoodie shirt. 

Most of Logan's presents were related to what he loves most...cleaning.  This was a street sweeper.

Daddy helped him put it together.  He also got an extra large trash can filled with Trashies, a garbage truck a broom set and a second different street sweeper.  He couldn't have been happier. 

Lincoln modeling the three Star Wars books he got.  

 Also modeling the Storm Trooper hoody he got. 

 Grandma Tutu hooked him up with a cool remote control tank. 

Santa brought him a Republic Frigate Lego set. 

Tutu got Logan a Duplo Lego car wash set which he LOVED. 

 I scored some super cute plants from Tutu along with a few other fun and practical things like my electric razor, wallet and clothes. 

 Santa brought Logan his very own Nintendo DS.  He was so excited.  

Now that they both have one there isn't the constant fighting over the one Lincoln got for his birthday. I think mom and dad were super excited for this present to come!

All in all it was a very successful Christmas morning.  The boys actually took turns (for the most part) opening presents and Ricky and I went after the boys were done.  Papa Tutu was such a huge help taking things out of their boxes and getting them in working order for the boys to play with. 

Christmas Eve

It is always nice to have visitors and since the holidays are a time to be with family, it was really nice to have Tutus with us this year.  We only had a few days with them but we filled the time with lots of fun activities and we're grateful for the time we had with them.  The boys absolutely love having them here. 

We started off Christmas Eve with a yummy pancake breakfast with Tutus. 

 Later in the day we headed over to the bowling ally.  This was the first time for both of the boys to go bowling. Lincoln had been asking to go for a while and Christmas Eve turned out to be a great day for it. 

 Both boys used the ramp, bumpers and a six pound ball that they insisted on carrying from the ball machine to the ramp on each turn.  I couldn't believe they could carry it and of course it made me nervous that they would drop it.

Lincoln was hesitant at first and pushed the ball slowly but a few frames in and he was pushing the ball as fast and hard as he could.

 Logan was more excited about retrieving the ball and pushing off the ramp then he was about knocking any pins over.  He's still a bit too young to understand the details of the game, he just wanted to push the ball.

 Even Grandma Tutu got in on the bowling action.

 The boys never wanted to leave the floor so it was a constant party in our lane.

In the end Lincoln won!  He was so proud and excited.  

Just before bed Grandma Tutu read the boys the "Night Before Christmas" poem.

 As part of our tradition we left Santa some cookies and hot cocoa.

 The boys were so excited and tired all at the same time so it made for some silly boys.

Lincoln brought home this reindeer food from school.  It also has pixie dust in it to help the reindeer fly.

Lincoln dumped it in a bowl and we put it outside on a box on the driveway so the reindeer could eat it when they stop at our house.  He was so excited to leave them a treat. I think we've started a new tradition.

Ricky's Birthday

Ricky had a fairly quiet birthday this year.  We celebrated in little ways over the weekend. He and I went to lunch and then the movies to see the Hobbit. Later that night we picked up the boys and went to dinner.  On Saturday we went on a cupcake finding adventure. Originally we were going to drive across the valley for Sprinkles but then decided to try and find a new local cupcakery. We tried one spot and it was no good.  We then raced to Avondale to try Kreative Kupcakes that was closing just minutes after we arrived.  They had a great selection to choose from and had really nice employees.  We picked a dozen cupcakes out in lieu of a birthday cake.  On Sunday Tutu's arrived and we sung Happy Birthday, Ricky opened presents and we tried the cupcakes which turned out to be delicious.

Happy Birthday, Ricky! Another year older and wiser.  We love you!

Visit With Santa

I had good intentions of taking the boys early this year to see Santa.  I have to admit that I don't like going to the mall in December and especially waiting in line for over an hour for a two minute visit with Santa.  By the time you get to the front of the line the kids are grumpy which ruins the experience and seems to someone never be as grand as what I've planned in my head.  

Well despite my good intentions, the reality was that we didn't visit Santa until five days before Christmas.  As expected the line was well over an hour and we were committed. Luckily this year we brought a couple things for the boys to do in line to kill some time but it still was a long long wait.  The first year we lived here, we happened to be related to the local mall Santa so I was willing to splurge on the ridiculously priced Santa pictures.  This year we just snapped a couple quick shots of our own.  It sort of became a thing of principle for me...I was not going to spend $23 on a 5x7 picture that I had to wait another 30 minutes in line to pick.  When it really came down to it the boys don't care about the picture, they just wanted to talk with Santa so that's what we did. 

Logan asked for a Lego car wash and a DS (Nintendo DS) and Lincoln asked for army men and an army tank.  I wasn't quite sure what they would say when Santa asked them what they wanted because Lincoln has been saying a bunch of different things every time he's asked.  Logan just kept saying presents or toys until we taught him he could be specific.  Afterward Logan was so exited and kept telling me that he touched Santa's beard.  It's so fun and magical when they still believe!

 The ipad the the DS kept them occupied while daddy waited in line.

 They mailed some letters to Santa while we waited in line. 

Contemplating what to ask for?  Maybe.

 Just around the corner from Santa so they were trying to be extra good. 

Santa was telling them to look at the camera and don't be naughty. 

Logan just wanted to touch his belt and beard.  To him, those are the things that make the guy Santa.

Christmas Artwork

Now that the boys are in school, one of my favorite things about this time of year is all of the fun and creative art work that they bring home.  We were inundated with cute reindeer, Santa's, pictures and most of it was personalized.  Both boys are very artistic which I'm grateful for. I hope they always continue to have an interest in the arts.  Here are a few samples of their work.

Here's what Logan made:

 Gingerbread man

 A dreidel 

 A stocking with a kitty coming out. 

 

 Santa made by his handprint.

 Reindeerhands and stocking.

 Logan's glittery hand prints.

 I thought the poem on the picture was cute and has a ring of truth to it. 

Logan at the makeshift school fireplace.  He made us a card with this picture on it. 

 Not all of Lincoln's art was Christmas related but we still hung it up around the house.