Merry Christmas 2008

This is the time of year you take a step back from your everyday busy lives and realize what is truly important to you. I couldn't feel more blessed than I do right now. I have two beautiful boys, a sweet and loving husband who makes a wonderful father to our children, two sets of parents that continue to pour their love into our family and some amazing friends we can always count on. What more could you ask for?!

Well, we definitely had a great Christmas this year. Santa was good to us all. So, here's our week in review......

We started out celebrating at the T's on the 23rd with the annual Ham Fest. We love going to this because it brings back a somewhat lost tradition. Besides the good food and company, we all get together and sing Christmas carols accompanied by the T trio, with Uncle John on sax, Aunt Lori on the piano, and Mr. T on trumpet. The kids love it. Kyle made a special request this year for Frosty the Snowman and they came through, much to his delight. Thanks T's!

On Christmas Eve we took the kids to see Santa. Better late than never :) We started out at the mall and waited in line a good 20 minutes or so only to see Santa get up and leave the building. No one bothered to let anyone standing in line know that he would not be returning for an entire hour! No kid is going to stand in line for an hour, even for Santa. When we caught wind of this, let's just say Daddy gave the elves a little piece of his mind :) So, we told Kyle that Santa had to get to his next destination and that we would meet him there instead. We packed up the kids and followed his sleigh and 8 tiny reindeer to the next location. Here's how it went......

As you can see, Ryan was not a big fan of the man in the big red suit! Oh well, maybe next year!

That evening we all went to church and then headed over to the S's for some food, drink, and fun. This kids got some practice in, opening a few presents before the big day.

Then we went home to get ready for bed, set out the cookies and milk, and write Santa a letter. This wasn't just any letter. This was a letter from Kyle telling Santa he didn't need his pacies anymore and that he could give them to all the new babies, knowing that he would get presents in return. We have been prepping him for this for weeks. So, we wrote the letter. He wrapped up all the pacies and we set them out with the cookies and went to bed.

Ok, maybe the going to bed part wasn't that easy. Given all the excitement on top of no paci, we shed a few tears and FINALLY fell asleep by 11:30 p.m.! We were thinking we would at least be able to sleep in a little (past 7:00) since he was up so late.....Wrong! 6:00 a.m. rolled around and someone was standing at the side of my bed looking for his paci. When I told him he only had one hour until morning came, he was proud of himself for about a minute. So, as to not ruin what progress we had made, we took a sneak peak to see if Santa had left any presents. His eyes were as big as golf balls when he saw all of those presents under the tree! So, we snuggled back in bed for the next hour with Kyle watching TV and Mommy and Daddy trying to catch a few extra Zs. 7:00 a.m. rolled around and we decided to wake up Grammy and Papa and begin the unwrapping frenzie.

We had such a fun morning opening presents. Here are the boys with their very 1st presents. I don't think big brother wants to share this one. It's MINE!

Kyle was very pleased with his Leapster, as you can see.

Ryan loved his new little chair. Just my size!

Ahoy there, Maties! Thanks G-daddy and Nana!

Ryan couldn't get on his new ATV quick enough! Thanks Grammy and Papa!

This year the big kids in the house got a toy of their own, thanks to G-daddy and Nana! Nap time is now Wii time for Mommy and Daddy! It's so much fun! We even let Kyle have a turn every now and then :) He's actually pretty good at bowling. Here's Daddy teaching him how to play Mario karts. For anyone who knows Rick, this is definitely a proud moment.

We then wrapped up the afternoon with a nap. Remember that paci? Well, someone else did too. He decided that he didn't want any more presents and that he didn't like Christmas Day. He just wanted his paci back. Simple as that. So, trying not to ruin Christmas for the poor kid, we decided to give Santa a call. Lucky for Kyle, Santa told Daddy he hid one in a dresser drawer just in case Kyle might need it. When he overheard Daddy's conversation with Santa, all of sudden we were singing Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer. Talk about flipping a switch! The only good thing is that we're down to one and he knows once it's gone, it's gone. So, for now my 3 year old still has his paci (sigh). I guess we'll give it another shot in a few weeks, and no, cupid is not taking it!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!