Christmas Day 2013

After an interesting night when Maggie decided to start vomiting around 11:30 from eating too much fruit and not enough anything else at dinner, we woke up to find that Santa had not only been to our house but had inadvertently left a treasure behind as well.

The magic of Christmas was alive and well in our house when we found this gem on Christmas morning!

What made this discovery even more incredible was that the Santa's Facebook page had posted this status on Christmas Eve:

The timing of our acquiring the bells from a very special helper of Santa and this status made it pretty hard not to feel the magic of Christmas!! 

Braeden just HAD to have this train. He has lots of trains but he was in Rite Aid one day and saw it and was determined he NEEDED it. It's not great quality but it was inexpensive and Maggie ended up getting it for him. He was thrilled!

Maggie LOVED this horse. I'm pretty sure it's not for riding but...

I encourage the kids to think about what they think Daddy would like and then we go and buy him a present. Evan thought about it for a few minutes and then told me that Daddy really likes peanuts (which he does) so that's what he bought him for Christmas. I love this tradition and look forward to seeing how their shopping choices change as they get older. 

Evan just HAD to have some Gak. It's gross and sticks to everything, but he got some and about two days later it was all dried out and in the trash but he sure enjoyed it while he had it. 

Christmas is always busy and it's always hectic, but I love it so much and having children to bring the magic back makes it so much more special. We continue to honor some of the traditions that my family had growing up as well as creating new ones with our little family and our friends. 

And I think that finally wraps up 2013! 

Christmas Eve 2013

We had a wonderful Christmas. The kids found so much joy in so many places and we were blessed with some amazing "magic" to make the holiday even more special. The kids get very excited when Martin (our elf) makes his appearance and this year he was not only a look-out elf for Santa, but he became a messenger as well. The boys gave him their letters to take back to to the North Pole with him and when they would remember something that they wanted to add to their list I would hear them talking to Martin to see if he could pass along their message to Santa. It was so fun to watch and hear!

Christmas Eve is always spent with my mother's side of our family. This year while we were waiting to eat dinner, Santa called! I didn't think any of my three would even get near the phone, but I was so wrong! All three of them took their turn and answered his questions and verified that he knew what it was they were most looking forward to seeing under the tree the next morning. Braeden told me later that he was so glad he got a chance to talk to Santa because he had forgotten to tell him that he wanted legos when we had visited him at Kringle Candle but he remembered on the phone. Phew!

Our very own cookie monster!

 Let's get this party started!

 In front of Grammy and Grampa's tree between Church and dinner

Grammy Jean and Braeden 

Ciocia Julia (the hostess) and Maggie

 Grammy and the boys

Maggie has quite a bond with my cousin Katie! My aunt gave Katie a picture of herself making a funny face and Maggie thought it was the funniest picture she had ever seen. She carried it around showing it to everyone and then laughing hysterically every time she looked down at it. I don't always understand her but that girl cracks me up!

Katie and Maggie

Talking to Santa!

Saying good-bye to Martin and cookies for Santa!

I love Christmas Eve because it's the easiest night of the year to get the kids to go to bed! 

Christmas 2012

Christmas Day was pretty laid back for us. Roman and I got to bed at a fairly decent hour the night before which is good because we had Braeden jumping up and down in our bed starting at 5. I am all for getting up that early on Christmas, but convincing my other two that it's a reasonable waking hour is an entirely different story. We let Braeden go out and check to see if Santa had come and open a couple of his presents while we, not so quietly, waited for the other two to stir. He did a pretty good job of occupying himself, but it's really hard to wait when you can see everything right there in front of you!

We let him give Daddy the gift he had gotten him because he could hardly contain himself any longer. Braeden was totally into the spirit of giving this year. It was wonderful to see him delight in making other people happy. 

While we waited for Evan and Maggie, he and Daddy played Daddy's new gift, Battleship.

By six o'clock we could wait no more and went to wake up the others. Even Evan who does NOT appreciate being awoken before he is ready, willingly got up to see that Santa had visited during the night. 

They were excited, but a bit groggy still.. 

And then the fun began. Even Maggie was all about opening her own gifts this year. She's not as fast as the boys because, well she's 1, but she held her own. 

Then it was on to my parent's house to open presents with them and my brother's family. 

 These are the birdseed birdhouses that the kids made for my mom. They turned out awesome and are super easy to do!

It was a wonderful Christmas. We celebrated with friends over the weekend and then spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with family. I think the kids had a great time without being overwhelmed. I was able to relax and enjoy it all which was fantastic.