Better late than never, right? As in most American households, December arrived rather abruptly, sent us reeling and then swooshed passed leaving us to pick up all the pieces and highlight on our 2013 resolution list: TAKE TIME TO ENJOY THE HOLIDAYS!
It was a wonderfully fun month, though. We were able to make it through nearly all of our family activities to celebrate the season.
Our homemade treats we took to our neighbors!
One special seasonal event on our list was my dad's annual firehouse Christmas party. Though our family does not traditionally celebrate "Santa Clause", the kids do still find joy in pretending that there is a "Santa" out there who brings them gifts.
Our "santa" happens not to make an appearance down our chimney flue, but rather lands with a thud on Paw-Paw's firehouse roof -- or arrives in his bright red sleigh firetruck -- during our annual firehouse Christmas party.
There are presents for each of the kiddos, yummy firehouse pizza... (seriously the BEST pizza you could ever have. Firemen not only know how to put out fires, they also know how to build them just right for baking pizza crusts... Who's hungry?) ... and a Santa so believable even my dad whispered a few things in the big guy's ear this year.
What? You don't see a picture of MJ or Jordynn with Santa?! Hmm, that could be because they cried their eyes out at the very sight of him. I'm not bitter. No. Not one BIT.
Something not listed on our activity sheet for December was a viewing of the holiday ballet, The Nutcracker. My parents purchased tickets for all of us girls and we had a lovely time. It obviously didn't hold Morenna & Jadyn's interest entirely, but they did a darn good job at sitting through the 2-hour performance. We had a marvelous girl's night out at one of the fanciest old-time theaters around.
A notable household event this month included MJ's discovery of my crafting bag of feathers. Between him and his dad they had the floor covered within a matter of minutes. Wish the clean-up job was as quick. :-)
Matt's family was unable to join us for the holidays this year, but his mom had a wonderful way of spanning the distance by sending the kids Christmas art projects during the early part of December. They had such fun doing the same crafts that Nana was doing with the preschool class she teaches.
MJ not only discovered feathers this month, but also that glue needn't always come in a stick.
One huge milestone: Morenna and Jadyn had their first sleepover! Here they are with their little friend B... I don't think any of them took their dress up clothes off the entire time. And contrary to popular belief... Matt and I did get some sleep that night. :-)
Christmas Eve found us with my Dad's side of the family as is tradition. We endured enjoyed the chaos of 17 children ages 4 months - 11 years (?) stripping their festively-wrapped gifts bare in a matter of seconds. Afterward, we packed our kiddos up and made the long trek walked them next door to my parent's house and put them to bed. Matt and I then enjoyed a relatively quiet evening at home wrapping gifts until 1AM.
Christmas morning was wonderfully relaxing. We returned to my parent's house to rouse the little ones and passed nearly no one on the drive there. The sunrise was breathtaking! And for those of you who claim my children are always smiling... I give you the first take of our Christmas Morning Photo:
As you can see... it takes a bit of song and dance to get our kids looking happy sometimes. :-) I give you, Christmas 2012:
Of course we still had a couple of unhappy people to contend with... but one of them made up for it later with the winning entry for "cutest picture of the month".
No, her ears don't always resemble those of an elf. Observe: sometimes they appear at random on the top of her head.
Jordynn, 3 months
At any rate, from our home to yours... a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! And thank you for reading this rather disjointed little update. I believe I'm in need of a nap...
