Dreaming of a Cheeto Christmas

Santa brought Cheetos in the kids' stockings. (He usually brings a snack.) The kids woke up at 3am or so an we told them to get back in bed. The baby wrapped her little body around her bag of Cheetos and fell right back to sleep. Unfortunately, the little dude was bouncing around until well after 4am. Ugh.

We got yet another bag of Cheetos to split on the ride home. Here they are in all their absurd glory:

I also bought wet ones at the gas station to wash their hands and faces.

The Grinch

We are all fans of the book "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas." Eric read it tonight. It's so intense!

Christmas Outings

We went to see the Nutcracker on Saturday. It was a late night for the kids, but they had a great time. Here's the sleepy little guy when we got home:

And here's the sleeping girl:

Crafting!

I bought the kids these cute little wooden gingerbread house kits the other day. Real gingerbread houses gross me out-- they are such roach magnets! Yuck. These, though, are super cute!

The kids had a great time making them.

The little dude even put together a backdrop made out of construction paper for the houses to sit on.

How lovely are your branches

After we got the tree back and in place on Saturday night, I strung the lights and Emily and the kids decorated it before Grandma and Gramps left. I think they enjoyed watching the little ones get excited for Christmas. Here is the kindergartener in front of the fully lit tree this morning before school.

It's always nice to ready for Christmas.

O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death's dark shadow put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O Christmas Tree

We took my parents to go pick out a Christmas tree at the same farm we went to last year. It was fun! The little guy is old enough to read all the cheesy Christmas jokes himself.

The baby had clothing on her lower half this year.

My mom had a nice time AND offered good advice on swag selection.

And my dad and the little dude only almost clotheslined one person with the measuring pole.

All in all, I'd say it was a huge success!

Warm Memories

Because it didn't get above 30 degrees today (in NC! Ugh.), here's a picture from Christmas day in warm and sunny Florida:

My dad and I walked with the kids to this drainage pond to burn off a little energy before dinner. It was so nice out that day. Mmmmmm.

Helper Elves?

The little  guy had a blast helping his sister open her presents at Christmas.

She had a blast commandeering everyone else's gifts! (That's *my* scarf!)

Merry Christmas!

The little dude has been singing We Wish You a Merry Christmas all month. The other day I chimed in with the so bring us some figgy pudding verse and he just looked at me and said "What are you singing?" with complete disbelief in his voice.

Jingle Bells

Our family performed a lovely rendition of Jingle Bells this evening. Eric played the jingle bells, the baby played the drums, and the little guy is off-camera playing the kazoo.

Movie Night (again)

The kids have had a lot of special-occasion-type events lately, and they are pretty beat by the time dinner is over. We've been watching a lot of Christmas shows in the evening instead of playing since they are so tired.

It's nice to have the quiet time together.

Christmas Cooking!

The little guy and I made three batches of cookies today: m&m, thumbprint, and vanilla kipfel (thanks for the recipe, Gram!). His special job was to make all the thumbprints!

He's getting to be so big!