Merry Christmas!

We had a little photo shoot by the tree one night so the kids could enjoy their new pajamas from the Dulaneys.

Cute guys in their monogrammed PJ's and Ben's new book from his teacher.

At Grammy and Grumpy's we had our first Christmas gift opening.  Our little Santas did a great job handing out presents!

Reid was a little pro at getting in the gifts.

Ben and Alex were no slackers themselves.

I found this beaver picture extra funny looking back because just a few minutes later...

...the boys got new Buc-ees shirts!

They also got dream light pillow pets and Alex said, "It's just wanted I wanted my whole life!"

Reid enjoyed his new harmonica, courtesy of Aunt Lala.  It's fun to be the aunt!  (although my kids got some, too, so I'll get to enjoy some new music myself)

I'm not sure which was more fun - the shirts or the tag stickers.  And I wish now I'd kept those stickers for future use.  (We still have 11 days to go until school starts again!)

Is it too much to ask for a decent picture with three kids?  One's crying, one is making faces, and the other is sitting on his brother.  We abandoned that idea very quickly.

 

I loved this picture of storytime for all the kids one evening.  Aunt Stacey teaches kindergarten so she's quite a pro.

Back at our house on Christmas Eve, the kids had cookies out for Santa and a note.  I wish the words showed up in the picture because Ben wrote at the bottom - Santa, if you're here check yes or no.  They were EXCITED.

As a parent, I think Christmas eve is so much more fun now!  We killed some time waiting until we knew the kids were asleep, then spread out the loot by the fireplace.  Alex had been visiting our room in the middle of the night all week (turns out he had a strep infection on his skin that was keeping him awake but we didn't know yet) so we had to threaten him within an inch of his life to not leave his room until his green light came on Christmas morning.  We were ready for them as soon as they came running out of their rooms!

Ben had been talking about an overhead projector for months and he was thrilled that Santa brought one, even though it looked different than the ones at school.

 

Alex was in love with his new car track and with all the goodies in his stocking.

It took them a little while to notice the covered cages and look inside.  Ben was so happy to find a parakeet and just stared at him for a while.  He settled right on the name Bluey.  Alex thought a bird sounded fun, too, but was nowhere near as excited as our little animal lover Ben.  Alex named his Mario.  Officially, it's Mario Kart Kirkham.

They liked their angry birds blankets, too.  (and notice it's still dark outside - one day I'll take great pleasure in waking them up early!)

Angry bird ATTACK!

At a more decent hour, Grandma and Grandpa came over with Aunt Amanda and Uncle Jim, who were were excited to have in town from Alabama.  More Christmas gifts!

Grandpa picked out camo hats with visor lights for the boys...I see some fun with these in the future.  They also got scooters and lots of new toys.  After lunch a strong cold front blew through, and by strong, I mean strong enough to blow our trampoline on the fence, so the kids haven't been out on the scooters much yet.  I imagine they'll be great fun once it warms up a bit.

Grammy, Grumpy, Aunt Stacey, Uncle Jason, and Reid came before lunch for some more playtime.  Alex and Reid can always be counted on to love (and fight over) the same toys.  Reid is obsessed with the movie Cars and we generally have enough character toys to keep him happy.

We had lunch in two shifts this year, which was enjoyable for everyone.  First the kids had their fill in the kitchen, then Reid disappeared for a nap and our kids played with their new things while the grownups sat down to eat.

We broke in the new dining room table for all the adults and had a wonderful lunch together.  Ben took our picture all together and, unfortunately, from his height you can't see the wonderful spread of food we enjoyed.  Everyone pitched in to make it a belt-loosening lunch...just what the holiday ordered!

One more blurry picture to prove that Aunt Stacey was there, too.

 

It was a wonderful Christmas all together!  Matt and I both love having a house full of the ones we love most and spending the day celebrating.  We appreciate everyone driving all the way out to our house and sharing their delicious dishes to make the day more special.  It sure makes our Christmas merry and bright!

Counting Down

I know it's old news now, but I wanted to remember the fun we had before Christmas this year.  The weather was lovely and mild and the kids did a lot of playing outside.  Ben and some neighbors had some sort of game going in the garage one afternoon.

Alex had a sweet little Christmas party at school and made a snowman face from icing and candy.  He's asked almost every day when it would snow here but the sad news (for him) is that a white Christmas is pretty rare in Houston!

After both boys were out of school, we spent the night at the Kirkhams and the boys got to play with "snow".  I must admit I prefer the real stuff to this staticy mess!

We spent a few nights with Grammy and Grumpy and got to catch up with Uncle Jason, Aunt Stacey, and Reid.  We cruised around after dinner to see some neighborhood lights and had to go to our old neighborhood to see the Disneyland house that has been getting bigger and brighter since we were kids.  Our kids loved it!

The boys loved playing with their adorable cousin!  Ben and Reid doubled up on the tractor and had a great time.

One of Grumpy's friends made the boys some great wooden boats so they took them to the park to play.  It was all fun and games until....

....SPLASH!!

I knew it was only a matter of time until one of the kids took a header into the pond, as much as they've played there over the years.  Alex was the lucky one that day and got a shock and a bath all at the same time.  NOT a happy boy.  He scrambled straight back out of the water so, being the awesome mom that I am, I whipped out my phone for a quick picture before the moment was lost.  This is one of my favorite pictures ever!  Good thing for him it was 78F that day so we just walked home for a change of clothes and he was ready to go again.

Not sure how this old ball turned into a helmet, but I also love this picture!

 

After several fun days of family time, we headed home on Christmas eve to get ready for everyone and catch the candlelight service at church.  It was great getting to relax and spend time with our loved ones...that was our whole goal of the season.

Alex's Christmas Program

Alex and his best buddy Aaron were all dressed up for their last day of preschool before the break and their big Christmas program.

Alex told me he was right by the manger and he wasn't kidding!  He's peeking underneath it to say hello.  Luckily the kids stood up when it was time to sing.

It was such a sweet little program with half a dozen songs that the kids (18 months - 4 years) performed in front of all their parents and some grandparents.  Alex was happy to be standing in between his new girlfriend and his favorite little boy in class.

 My favorite song!  I love how quickly the sun goes down.

 My handsome little man after the show.

Mama and Alex

We were lucky that Grandma was in town after story time at Ben's school so she was able to swing by and join in the fun as well.

Elves at Work

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here!  This has been a really fun week because the kids have been very involved in decorating and getting into the spirit of things.  I set up the tree while they were at school and from the minute Ben got home, he and Alex were busy hanging ornaments.

This is a sweet new addition that Ben made in Sunday school.

I think using the step stool was a big plus in the ornament hanging.

The boys looked through every ornament and really enjoyed finding the ones that related to them.  This had a picture of Ben as a baby and he wanted a picture with it.  (And a mommy confession - I have no similar ornaments of Alex as a baby...maybe I can slip a few in before next year?)

Ben's friend Presley came over and jumped right in as well.  Between the three of them, they got every single ornament on the tree in an hour!  Granted, most of them are clustered together and 4 feet or below, but I think the tree looks beautiful.  I did help out by getting a few closer to the top but these little elves were quick!

 I think the final result is perfect...I'm not going to change a thing.

After one of Ben's handmade ornaments ended up in pieces on the floor, it seemed like a good time to pull out a box of ornaments for the kids to paint themselves.

They were busy!  The next day after school, Ben and Alex painted a different set of ornaments, and the following day we made cookies from scratch at Ben's request.

This little elf, Bart, has been busy, too.   He's been a bit naughtier this year and the kids have been loving it!

 

I wrapped up a few last things on my to-do list at the Galleria with Alex and we made a stop at the waterwall in Houston.  He loved it!

 

 

 

The Christmas tree on the ice rink was pretty impressive, too.  My little shopping buddy was great and we had a good time at the mall.

 

One last major thing on our to-do list this week - visit the big guy in red.  I really enjoyed seeing their excitement at talking to Santa because I have the feeling this may be our last year of true magic.   Ben asks a lot of tough questions and I know he's going to overhear something sooner or later to burst the bubble.  We're going to enjoy it as long as it lasts, though!

After our visit, we had a quick train ride around the mall and visited the "dancing lights", the house with thousands of lights set to Christmas music.

I love getting ready for Christmas!  Now we're visiting a couple of church programs to prepare our hearts, as well.  I'm enjoying this year because the kids are old enough to understand and appreciate that Christmas is more than just presents.  We are celebrating the birth of our Savior!