Christmas 2016

After lunch on Christmas Eve (before any guests arrived), I decided to let the kids open their traditional Christmas Eve gift from Steve and me: new pajamas to wear that night to bed and the next morning after Santa has arrived.

The softest pajamas ... ever!

I don't usually buy matching pajamas for the girls, but this year, I struggled to find any others that I really loved.  When I saw these, I decided to go for it.  (And I am so happy that I did because the girls looked adorable in them!).

Jimmy was mostly just interested in the tissue and wrapping paper:

We celebrated Christmas Eve at our house this year with a spaghetti dinner -- we always seem to have Italian food on Christmas Eve with Steve's family.  The kids were so excited/anxious to open gifts so we played a quick game after dinner and then migrated into the living room for the lengthy opening of the family gifts.

Mostly everyone was looking at the camera ...

Jack's very first gift that he chose to open was a new chainsaw from Grandpa.  Oh, the excitement from that boy was contagious. 

Steve's sister bought me a beautiful set of pearls.

James wasn't quite sure what to do with his life-size dinosaur (it has now become a favorite for him though).

Puppy Surprise!

Reading books with Daddy:

Jack LOVES Spider-Man right now:

These girls were certainly spoiled!

A new (much-needed) bathrobe:

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James slept in on Christmas morning, so we let the three older kids begin without him.  While we waited for Steve to get his coffee, I took a quick picture of them waiting so patiently in our room.

They opened their stockings first, while leaving Jimmy's for him to open a little later.

Jack took his time and opened each item so carefully.

A Flip-a-Zoo animal that Sophia had asked Santa for:

Spider-Man, again!

Jimmy finally woke up and joined this crew for some fun:

He found Jack's chainsaw and played with it for a bit, while also knocking over his bowl of Cheerios that I had given him to hold him over until breakfast (hot cinnamon rolls!).

A gift from his dad, two new Tonka truck:

Sophia loved her hat so much that she opted to wear it for most of the morning:

He knew that this toy was for him:

Helping his momma open one of her gifts:

Ready to take his trucks outside to play!

Christmas Cookies

The very first day of Christmas Vacation this year was spent baking cookies.  The girls chose four recipes that we would make -- nut tarts (a recipe from Aunt Chris and one of my most favorite Christmas cookies ever), peanut butter blossoms with chocolate kisses, gingerbread cookies and sugar cookies.  During the boys' afternoon nap, we set to work rolling the dough(s) and cutting shapes.

But first ... the girls made hot chocolate to sip on during the baking session.

Sophia loved going through the plastic tote of cookie cutters to choose her favorites.

The girls took turns with the dough, cutting each and every shape.  And then I arranged them on the cookie sheets and baked them.

They took turns and had the best time.

In fact, the difference in just the last year is remarkable.  They understand the importance of teamwork now and there is no fighting over who has cut more cookies or which cutters they want to use.

After the last of the sugar cookies were cut, we cleaned off the counter, refilled the hot chocolate mugs and prepared to make gingerbread cookies. 

It was perfect timing because Jack woke up from his nap and came into the kitchen, just as we were finishing up the last batch.  He immediately washed his hands, donned an apron and grabbed the rolling pin.

And he was an instant pro.  I mean, the kid cut cookies like he has been doing it for his whole life.

And just like that, we were done. 

I stored the cookies overnight in a plastic storage container and then told the girls that we would decorate them the next afternoon (during the boys' naptime).

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I made homemade icing and chose 6 colors and then let the girls be as creative as they wanted. 

It took them a few cookies before they understood the technique of not using too much icing; otherwise, it can be runny and a bigger mess than necessary.  And it takes longer to set up.

The girls took their jobs seriously and I often overhead them talking as if they were running a cookie decorating shop with an assembly line.  I just love their imaginations.

In the meantime, I had a table set up in the kitchen --- covered with a disposable tablecloth -- to set the cookies on once they were decorated and waiting to dry.

It was the perfect set-up.

And of course, there was more hot chocolate and the sampling of at least one cookie!

Like the day before, Jack joined in towards the end, well-rested and ready to partake.

Meticulously adding sprinkles to his masterpiece:

My little worker-bees:

Just finishing up ... Look at all those cookies!

Jack's Preschool Christmas Party

Holiday parties at school can be a bit tricky for me.  I currently have three kids in three different schools and an infant at home.  I try to go to as many of the parties as I can (the kids love to see me there!), but have also given myself a little grace so that things are not too hectic.  If I cannot attend each and every party, I still make sure to sign up to bring something or donate a craft.  That way, the kids know that I am still contributing and I feel better about not being able to be everywhere at the same time.

For the Christmas parties, it worked out for James and me to attend Jack's party.  We made Christmas tree cupcakes for the sweet treat:

Jack started with an adorable painted Christmas tree that we later brought home to hang up as an ornament.

It was a simple craft for the kids that was age-appropriate and a wonderful keepsake.

After the kids cleaned up, their teacher called them over to play "Pin the Carrot Nose on the Snowman."  None of the children wanted to be blindfolded, so she simply had them close their eyes and she spun them around.

Then, Mrs. Merrell set up chairs for the kids to play "Musical Chairs" with Christmas songs.  This was the most hilarious thing EVER because none of them understood the concept of sitting down in whichever chair was closest to them when the music ended.  As 3 and 4-year olds, they all wanted to sit down in their original chair.  In fact, there were quite a few disagreements about it.

In the end, it was down to just Jack and his friend, Derreck.  By then, the boys were finally getting the hang of the game.

Meanwhile, James just hung out on the carpet and played with toys.  SO MANY NEW TOYS for him!

There were a few more games set up for the kids and they rotated from station to station, but Jack's most favorite game was this one:

He must have thrown that snowball 40 times before the party was over!

After their snacks and goodies, the kids gathered back on the rug and exchanged their gifts.  Jack received a math game that is perfect for him and he gave his friend, Tyler, a race car.  Tyler loved it and was quick to give him a hug.  I might have just melted right there ...

Afterwards, we braved the strong winds and blustery snow to make it home for lunch and naps.  Then, the girls arrived home at 3:30 pm to start our much-anticipated Christmas break!