December 2013-

We had a fun December.  My focus was to try my best to enjoy the little things and best parts of the Holiday Season by making sure I wasn't to busy to enjoy them. 

The first holiday activity was inspired by my Aunt Shauna-  she remembered when she was a kid all she wanted to do one Christmas was make & decorate sugar cookies but life was busy and they didn't do it.  So, one night we decorated cookies.   

My kids got to dress up as Mary, Joseph & a little shepherd for the nativity in our ward Christmas party.

Ava took the job very seriously and reverently thought about being the baby Jesus' mom. When she walked out to the manger, she had a chair but instead wanted to kneel down to hold the baby Jesus.  Owen was a good sport but wasn't as excited as Ava.  And Isaac made a cute little shepherd-  he was good at sitting there for a while but with all the people watching the temptation to do something funny was to great and he started throwing his little sheep.  

And Lily got to watch with me but the next day, a lady in my ward brought over this cute little angel outfit that was pretty adorable.

On the 19th of December Isaac got more tubes put in his ears.  Surgery is always scary but it was a quick thing and he went happily with the anesthesiologist and did great.  It was also so much easier than our experience of trying to get one of his tubes out of his ear that was miserable, long & bloody so it didn't seem like a big deal.  

Isaac & Lily have been enjoying each other so much and are great friends.  They usually have bathtime together and after they were just to cute in their diapers.  Isaac was playing peek-a-boo with Lily.  

Book Find:  Another great year of the fun tradition of my parents wrapping a book for each of us in different wrapping paper and hiding them then giving us a little swatch of what our wrapping paper looks like.  Then we get to find them and enjoy the books together.

Isaac was closely watching my Dad sign in the front cover of our books and has written in a few books since.   

Christmas Eve:

We got play a fun bingo game that my sis-in-law Emily brought that we got to create our own bingo cards.  The kids loved it. 

That evening we read the Christmas story and got to act out the nativity again. 

Then we sang & my mom & the kids danced out the 'Twelve Days of Christmas' song.

'5 Golden Rings'

'4 Calling Birds'

'2 Turtle Doves'

Lily Kate loves to party. 

Then we came home and got some new Christmas jammies.  

That night we put wrapping paper over the entrance to our living room that they got to break through on Christmas morning.  It was awesome. 

Christmas Morning:

Christmas morning opened presents, relaxed, ate cinnamon breakfast cake, and tried out the new stuff.  

Ava made a calendar with her handprints on each picture that talks about how she's only little for a short time that totally made Matt & I cry.  

Then that night we got to party with more family! It was a great day.