Christmas Eve and Christmas

Our Christmas really started Christmas Eve this year.  In the morning Auntie Kina came over for cinnamon rolls and our gift exchange with her.  Somehow I managed not to get any pictures but they had a great time with her.  They are always so excited to see her and can hardly stand to give her time to breathe.  I got to spend the early afternoon with her before she had to leave and we were getting ready to head up to Grandma and Papa H's.  Christmas Eve is our standard dinner with Daddy's family.  The kids had a great time playing with cousins and we stayed as long as we could before it was time to head home and get to bed.  

We've started letting them open one present from us on Christmas Eve.  This year they all got new robes.  I was debating whether or not to do it because I didn't feel like they used them much before but so far they are spending a TON of time in them. Besides, it gives them something quick to put on and stay warm for Christmas morning!

This is a big hug from Carson saying thank you.  He has taken to jumping onto Kayda or Dillon when he is hugging them and they all think it's hilarious.  It always ends in more hugs and a lot of giggles. 

 Hu

We managed to slow the opening down quite a bit this year.  They started the morning with their Santa gifts and doing a video chat with Grandma and Papa G.  It is really neat that they can be in South Dakota and see the kids open their gifts in real time (and vise versa).  Then we paused and played with those gifts for a while.  Kayda and Dillon both got legos, Kayda had all of hers done by the end of the day.  Dillon had his done by the following day.  Fortunately they don't build them and forget about them.  They put them on display in their rooms and play with them as toys as well. 

In the afternoon Grandma and Papa H came to visit.  We made the decision to stay home for Christmas instead of going to their house with everyone else.  It was an incredibly relaxing Christmas and it was so nice for them to come to us.  We got to visit and exchange gifts before they headed home to unwind from the chaos.  I remembered to take a picture this time!

We are so blessed to have so much love and support for our family.  The kids have no doubt that they are loved!  We are fortunate enough to be able to spoil them for Christmas and birthdays.  Watching them open presents is always so much fun.  Even just looking through the pictures for the blog makes me want to do it all again.  Merry Christmas!

Warming up for Christmas!

Around here we're fortunate enough to get time off school before Christmas.  This year was different than previous years in that the kids were BORED and didn't want to go do anything.  Carson especially seemed like he just wanted to go back to school.  To try to help them we did a handful of crafts. 

They LOVED making their snowflakes but we ended up needing hot glue instead of standard glue so they couldn't do it as independently as we'd have liked.  Kayda's is the top right, Carson's is left and Dillon's is the bottom.  

We decided to try making cinnamon ornaments again and it worked out really well! The kids had a great time using the cookie cutter to cut them out and an even better time decorating them!

Carson's favorite was making the no-sew penguins.  He thought they were a blast to play with and I had to keep tracking them down around the house.

Dillon and Kayda took it upon themselves to make a nativity out of legos.  I thought it turned out pretty well!  The sheep are my favorite part!

They also colored nativities, I tried really hard to make sure we talked about Christ more this year and the kids loved talk about him.  Kayda was especially interested and wanted to read about it straight from the Bible. She was the only kiddo who didn't actually finish her nativity.  Her hand got too sore and then we forgot about it.

Of course we HAD to make sugar cookies.  I was very relieved when I brought them to Christmas Eve dinner and they disappeared!  I seemed to be the only one eating them at home!  The kids LOVED cutting and decorating.  Dillon cracked me up because he wanted to be sure there were the same number of gingerbread men as there were gingerbread women so they could all be married.

One night we went to a live nativity story that was put on by a local church.  It wasn't all lined up exactly as I would've thought but it was close enough for the kids.  They got a kick out of it, even if it was REALLY cold out.  They had a market place, King Herod, the angels singing for the shepherds, live animals at the manger and the story was told as you went from one scene to the next.

Last but not least we HAD to do gingerbread houses!  I cheated and used graham crackers and hot glued them together!  Kayda was very meticulous about her house.  Everything needed to make sense and she wanted it to have a very specific look.  Dillon made his into a fun house with a pool and everything.  Then there was Carson.  His favorite candy to use was the gummy bears, he had them sliding off the roof and falling into piles and he gave his house a mohawk.  Pretty soon Dillon and Carson were talking about the traps around their houses and creating elaborate stories about what would happen if people came to visit.  Kayda made it quite clear that she would never go to their houses and  that she didn't think they should have traps.  

Santa!

We finally made it to see Santa! Between Santa being sick last Saturday, and the kids being sick starting Sunday it was tricky! All 3 have strep throat but I was able to get them on antibiotics early enough for them to go see Santa without being contagious.  Thus was a great Santa's helper too!  The kids each had a chance to chat with him.  Carson was a little shy but I think it was more about the pictures than about Santa.

Kayda's Birthday

Kayda really wanted to have a sleep over for her birthday so Saturday we had Ella and Chase stay the night.  They had a great time, ate pizza, watched a movie, had popcorn and eventually went to sleep.  Kayda was SO excited for them to be there. In the morning Kayda chose french toast and of course we opened her presents.

 Kayda got a camera this year and had a fabulous time playing with it.  These pictures are hers.

 Kayda wanted to make her cupcakes "from scratch" this year instead of just using the boxed variety we normally do.  She and Ella did great I just supervised but most of it was just the two of them.  Well, Carson dumped in ingredients after the girls had them measured out.

We went to dinner with Grandma and Papa H also.  She was quite happy with the way her birthday turned out.  I am so blessed to have this girl and to have so many people around her that love and support her too.

Christmas prep and Clara

 We decorated for Christmas a little earlier than normal this year in anticipation of Uncle Justin, Aunt Ayana and Clara's visit.  The kids always get so excited and this year was no exception.  I pack their ornaments all separately and I love to watch them sort through theirs before hanging them on the tree.  They are of the opinion that all their ornaments need to go up high but without a little one in the house that isn't really true anymore.  Though we did have Clara coming she never actually got interested in the tree.

We spent Thanksgiving with Daddy's family.  There were about 30 people there.  The kids had a blast, though Kayda struggles when Kimber is there because she doesn't get Ella's undivided attention.  The girls (Ella, Kayda and Kimber) are all enamored with Eliza (not quite 1).  Kayda and Carson helped me make pies and Kayda also helped me peel potatoes (which she loves).  Then they played hard at Grandma and Papa H's house.  

Friday Aunt Ayana, Uncle Justin and Clara (about 1.5 years) came to visit.  The apple cup was on but according to them it really wasn't a very interesting game.  Carson and Kayda had a blast playing with Clara.  Dillon played occasionally but it was mostly Kayda.  It was fun watching Clara with them.  We had the Christmas train out and she would tell Kayda "stop" and "go" for the train and then she bossed Carson around in the playroom.  She is full of spunk and my kiddos were happy to spoil her.  Though when they left Kayda said "She's exhausting!"  Considering how many times Clara wanted to go between the family room downstairs and the playroom upstairs I can imagine they'd both be worn out.

We didn't get the outside decorations up until Sunday because it was a crazy weekend but it sure was fun!