A Very Merry...

Just like this past Halloween, I think we got our Holiday on again!

Where do I begin? 

How about Brooklyn's first encounter with the big jolly man 

She didn't really have a reaction. She was just cool with him. And Santa, how is it possible that you were the one not looking at the camera? 

This was a different Santa... she wasn't as big of a fan. I think she likes her Santa's to have a little more meat on their bones? Or maybe she was sad her legs were all zipped up? Who knows.

Avery was lucky enough to go on a field trip with her little preschool to see Santa. She told him that she wanted a sewing machine. Silly little girl, that is what I am asking for this year!

I'm a sucker for fun traditions, so this year we did the advent calendar for the 12 days of Christmas. Starting December 13th, one of Santa's elves would sneak into our house and slip a piece of paper in the pockets of the calendar. It was a note from Santa explaining to Avery to have some Christmas fun.

That little elf was sneaky! When we least expected it, BAM! there would be a note in the calendar.

 I have never seen Avery's eyes get so big, and that's saying a lot, she had ginormous eyes as a baby.

Some fun things we did...

*Drank eggnog while watching home videos from the past Christmas's (our kids were so not interested in the home videos, I don't get how they weren't, Trav and I can't get enough home videos, they warm our hearts).

*Gingerbread houses

*Ward Christmas party

This was Avery after she found out the elf had come

And there is Avery sneaking up with all the primary kids as they sang a Christmas song in front of everyone. Sorry about that primary presidency!

*Went downtown to the Crown center and Union station to see the trains and the pretty lights

Fun but freezing!!

*Drank Hot cocoa and watched Rudolf the Red nosed Reindeer

*Decorated Christmas trees

Maybe Brooklyn is a tree hugger and that's why she was upset?

*Made peppermint popcorn 

*Made and delivered treats to our neighbors

*Made Santa cookies and reindeer food

*Went and saw an amazing light show in Lees Summit!

*And more that I'm forgetting I'm sure

It got to be a tad bit exhausting towards the end, but our kids LOVED it! And I'm afraid it might be a tradition every year :) 

Another fun tradition we do, is one from my mom. To keep the Christ part alive in Christmas, my mom sends 12 really great Christmas stories to read to the kids. I think Avery got it this year!

In the beginning we would ask her why we had Christmas, and she would say, "to get presents." Towards the end, she said, "because its Jesus's birthday." Bravo Tammy, way to teach our child!

Christmas Eve

Luckily for Trav, we stuck around Kansas City this year for Christmas because he got a free ticket to the Christmas Eve Chief's game!

... and they lost! Trav, Chiefs are 0-2 when you go see them... maybe next time you can give me the ticket?

That evening, we kept it low key and went to our pals, the Taylor's,  along with the Hendricks for dinner.

When I say low key, I guess I mean a crazy dinner with 5 kids hyped up on sugar and Christmas adrenaline! I have a feeling quiet peaceful Christmas's will not be one of our traditions for a long time.

I honestly was in a diabetic coma due to these

Sarah's desserts kill me!

We went home that night, opened up our jammies, put out the Santa cookies and reindeer food and that was the first time Avery asked to go to sleep, ever!

Christmas

It was so fun for us old parents to see how excited Avery was. Seriously, the best! Last year, she was way annoyed at opening up all the presents. She just wanted one present. This year, she couldn't get enough, and believe me, she had enough presents!

And Brooklyn Mae, I thought you would have been an attacker of the presents, but you kind of just wanted to climb around instead of opening presents.

Happy 1st Christmas baby! 

She took about 5 steps on Christmas day, I think with the help from this toy

And here is our wonderful Christmas breakfast. 

We had to have "halftime" while opening presents. As I started to make waffles, there was a knock on the door. Our neighbors brought over their extra cinnamon rolls and crepes. I quickly put away what I was making and embraced a yummy and labor free breakfast. Thanks Beards!

This is what I got for Christmas this year

That's right, a vacuum, a sewing machine and a Shark mop. 

What have I become? 

The sad part, is that I was really excited about them all!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! We are so grateful to all of our wonderful friends and family, and above all, our Savior!

Merry Christmas and have a great New Year!