The Weekend After Christmas

Our holiday continued with a visit from Mimi and Grandaddy the weekend after Christmas. We had a nice weekend at home catching up and the girls had a great time.

Look how cute I am in my new PJs!

Christmas Day

Skyla was so excited this year about Christmas morning. She did not want Santa to come to our house and was afraid of the whole idea but wanted him to magically send his gifts. Les worked out those details at bedtime and surprisingly they went to sleep. On Christmas morning they ran in to the front room and were so excited to find their new dolls and art easel. This is the first year that Skyla has been this excited about everything. August is still figuring it all out but definitely enjoying the ride. By far Skyla's favorite thing is to look in their stockings. We went to Grammy and Grandpa's after opening gifts at home and the fun continued! On Christmas day while Skyla was going to bed she finally lost her first tooth. It has been on its way out for a couple of weeks. She was very clear about the fact that she did not want the tooth fairy to come to our house.

Christmas Eve Traditions

My mom always took a picture of Sarah and I on the 24th when we put the star on the advent calendar. The girls have loved having this in their room. They have worked out some kind of system on their own to make it fair when in comes to picking something from the pockets each day.

We had a nice day at home. Playing with their new paper dolls and writing a note to Santa. We also went to the candle light service at church and it was absolutely beautiful.

My family also had a tradition on Christmas Eve sitting by the fire where we would drink egg nog (or at least my parents did), my dad read from the bible and we also read, "The Night Before Christmas," and another poem. I'll have to ask Sarah if she remembers more details. We have started a similar tradition reading the same book by the fire with candles.

The Weekend Before Christmas

We always celebrate Christmas with Val's side of the family on the weekend before Christmas. We missed Val and Gene this year. Unfortunately Val was ill and they were not able to make the trip. We are looking forward to their visit next weekend. Brooke and Trey spent the night with us and the girls were delighted to have them in our home. Brooke tirelessly played games and did crafts with the girls. I regret not taking any photos but I do have a few Brooke shared.

My Little Elf

I had to take a picture of Jude is his new jammies from Aunt Brooke. As if he isn't cuddly enough these soft and snug long johns make me want to squeeze him. He has been quite the party animal lately being toted around to holiday parties with mama. He seems to be more than ok with these social outings. He hangs out in my sling and naps when needed. Smiling most of the time even when no one is looking at him. He has two little teeth coming in on the bottom now and they certainly add to his baby charm.

Christmas Baking

This year I decided I wanted to be done with all of my shopping, errands, wrapping and all the craziness that comes with the holidays by the weekend before Christmas. The plan is to have the week of Christmas all about PEACE and LOVE. Yesterday was a great start with a visit from Grammy and GG. Today we made our Christmas cookies for Santa. It was pretty much an all day event. I did have to keep reminding myself of the PEACE and LOVE thing to replenish my patience. Tomorrow I have some paper dolls to surprise the girls with and then maybe a glitter/glue craft or some books by the fire.

Drawing - Skyla age 5

I'm so excited that Skyla has started drawing more. One of my plans for the new year is to have art materials even more accessible to the kids so they can work on a picture when ever they would like. Skyla has shown an interest in looking at illustrations and trying to draw them. Here are a few pictures she drew following the steps from an Ed Emberley book.

Decorating

Today we went to Grammy and Grandpa's to visit with GG and get out some Christmas decorations. The girls had a dentist appointment this afternoon so we didn't have as much time as we needed. Six kids and a short window of time = chaos, laughter, fun, tears and I'm sure a few crumbs here or there.



























Finn doesn't need any toys for Christmas he already has a Jude.

The Elf

Les and I love the idea of creating traditions for the kids to remember and perhaps continue with their own families one day. This cute little guy begins to hide every night starting on December 1st. We take turns hiding him and the girls have to find him in the morning. I love to hear them walking around looking for him and then scream with delight when they find him. We have just as much fun trying to come up with new hiding places. After Christmas he will be packed up with the rest of the Christmas decorations until next year when he will come out to play again.

Chiropractic Care

August does pretty well entertaining her self during the time that Skyla and I work on her home school lessons. She usually likes to color, cut, glue or some thing that feels like she is also "doing school." She loves these counting bears and recently lined them all up in rows. Skyla asked her what the bears were doing and she said, "Getting their backs checked."

Skyla's First Poem - Age 5

This book was a gift from Grammy last Christmas and we have been reading it a lot lately. One morning Skyla came in my room and said she had a poem for Jude. I was so happy to hear this and offered to write it down for her. Here it is:

The Poem

I love my baby brother so much that I want to make him in a poem

I love my baby brother so much that I want to kiss him all the time

And that little baby I love him so much

Oh yes, I love Jude

He is only a little bitty baby

I love Jude, the poem

Around The House

Sometimes I see things around the house that make me smile. Lately Skyla has been drawing smiley faces all over any notes or pieces of paper I have left out. August likes to leave the last bite of whatever she was eating in random places. I want to occasionally post pictures of some of these things. If only I could find such light in the HUGE messes that occur through out the day in their creative play.

Chalkboard in the kitchen:

A little bed for a loved one in the box of books.

I'm not sure who shared their baby with Jude but that definitely made me smile.

Pumpkin Bread

The girls and I love to make pumpkin bread this time of year. This time we decided to alter our tried- and- true recipe to make it a little healthier. We substituted the sugar for honey and used whole wheat pastry flour in place of white flour. We all agree it is quite yummy! Of course how can you go wrong when you add chocolate chips!

Thanksgiving

We usually spend Thanksgiving with the Brannen side of the family. These visits to "Papa's" house are always a relaxing way to escape and slow down for a little while. We are hoping these visits will be great memories for the girls as the grow up. Spending a little time outside of the city and enjoying all of the animals too. The girls love to see the Alpacas and the Macaws and now there are also horses right across the street.

















This year we were also excited that Brooke and Trey (the newlyweds) would be joining us. The girls are full of admiration for Aunt Brooke and love any time they get to spend with her. We are thankful for this wonderful time spent with family.