Christmas 1, 2, and 3

We celebrated Christmas three times over the weekend.  On Sunday morning, we had a nice morning at home with our family of four.  Gimli, our elf on a shelf, had previously talked to Santa and told him we were heading out of town.  So, Santa said he would come to our house a few days early.  Santa brought Buddy a moose (and a giraffe) and Punky got a Tinkerbell doll and a Hello Kitty brush (that surprisingly doesn't hurt her hair!).

When you ask Buddy to show you his "beautiful smile", this is what you get!

We are able to skimp on the Christmas presents again this year. We got the kids only three gifts each. I wonder when they will realize we could do better! We finished the morning with homemade caramel rolls and bacon- definitely our new Christmas tradition!

On Christmas Eve, we went to church with Grandma, Auntie and Ryan. Punky and Buddy are used to going to Sunday school and the nursery, so sitting through an entire church service was a little difficult for them.  Candles were passed out and lit at the end of the service during "Silent Night".  That was quite the adventure with a 2 and 3 year old!  Buddy wanted to hold a candle, but we wouldn't let him.  I carefully had to wrestled a lit candle away from him and pry his fingers from mine.  Punky did pretty good at holding her own candle.  Although we later noticed that her purple headband somehow melted a bit! 

After church, we went to Great Grandma Margene's house for dinner.  Their traditional meal consists of lutefisk, meat balls, mashed potatoes, cranberries, lefse and salads.  Punky only ate two bites of cranberries and Buddy didn't do much better.  Surprisingly, their empty stomachs did not lead to any meltdowns that night.  They had a fun time opening gifts and seeing family!

Great Grandparents

Great Great Grandma

The next morning we opened presents with Grandma Trudi, Grandpa Scott, Amber and Ryan. Punky got her Pop the Pig game and Buddy got a few more animals (a panda, two alpacas, and a kangaroo!). They were spoiled, but not so much that we'll have to move to a bigger house. :)





We missed Uncle Sean and Hilary this year. Punky and Buddy really enjoyed the gifts they sent.





This weekend we travel to SD to celebrate Christmas with Grandma Debbie, Grandpa Max and Auntie Shannon and her family. It is always a little sad not to get to spend Christmas with everyone you love. But, I am also glad for a few days for Punky and Buddy to recuperate!

I lub it!

This past week has been pretty busy.  It feels like I blinked and now here we are four days away from Christmas!  Last Saturday we headed to Maynard for a Christmas celebration with some of Daddy's grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.  We usually only see his cousins on this side of the family once a year, so it is always a day we look forward to.  We eat a big meal, the adults play a present-swapping game and the kids open a present too.  Before this day, I think Punky and Buddy had forgotten that there were presents involved at Christmas.  It didn't take long for Punky to remember and already she is expecting a present every.where.we.go.  Um, no, that is not how it works!  As Buddy ripped open the paper and took out a shoebox he exclaimed, "I LUB IT!" without checking the contents inside.  Too cute!

Four Generations

We didn't spend the weekend at Grandma's because Punky's church school class was singing two songs at church on Sunday.  The first was Away in the Manger and the second was a super cute Christmas song with animal sounds and actions.  Punky and her BFFs were front and center and did so well!  They sang along and did a great job remembering the actions.  It is hard for me to think that next year, the girls will be bigger and be in the back row and Buddy will be one of the littlest ones standing in the front row.



Today we attended a Christmas party at daycare.  After nap time, all the kids gathered together and waited for Santa's arrival.  Santa told a few jokes (very awkward with 2 and 3 year olds!) and then the kids took turns sitting on his lap.  Again, Buddy asked for a moose and Punky asked for the Pop the Pig game.  Afterward, Bobbi asked the kids to form a circle and sing Jingle Bells for Santa and Mrs. Claus.  Everyone participated and Punky was by far the loudest.  About three verses in, everyone realized that the kids only knew one verse and were singing it on repeat.  After six or seven rounds, we had to cut them off because they didn't know how to end the song!  Afterward, Santa asked if Punky had an off switch.  Nope.





We ended the party with a small gift exchange while Bobbi read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas.  It was another fun day that ended in overtired kids.  We're going to have to work on taking naps next week!     

Let it snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!

Derek and I woke up this morning to Punky yelling from her bedroom:
"Mommy!  Daddy!  It's wake-up time!"

and then:
"Woooooooow!!!"

and then:
"Buddy, it's Christmas!"

The first snowfall of the season is always very exciting, especially as a kid.  After we reassured Punky that it was unfortunately not Christmas yet, we promised Punky and Buddy we'd play outside later on in the morning.  

I should preface these photos by acknowledging that my kid's winter gear this year is not picture perfect.  Heck, It doesn't even match.  Maybe it was because of the lack of snow last year, but I procrastinated buying appropriate winter clothing for the kid's this year.  Now I am wondering if there is even any winter gear left at the stores.  I bought Punky's winter coat online this year and it isn't as warm as I had hoped.  Luckily, Great Aunt Traci found a cute warm down coat from Baby Gap at a garage sale this summer and bought it for us.  Punky doesn't have coordinating snow pants because I couldn't find the perfect shade of pink to coordinate with her not warm enough coat.  So, a pair of black garage sale snow pants that Traci picked up for Buddy to wear next year does the trick.  Buddy only has knit mittens, not any waterproof ones.  So he got to wear a pair of Punky's pink mittens.  Luckily neither kid knows the difference.  It's just their mama who is bummed that they aren't matchy matchy.  I should just convert these photos to black and white.     

Buddy had a hard time standing up

Snow Angel

Catching snowflakes on her tongue

Buddy was most interested in eating snow

Tis the Season

This weekend was chock full of Christmas related fun!  On Saturday afternoon, we took Punky and Buddy downtown to see Santaland at Macy's, visit Santa and watch the Holidazzle Parade.  It was a full day, but we had a great time with only a few meltdowns (supper never seems to be easy these days).  Macy's Christmas display hasn't changed in the past few years, but I hadn't been in years and Daddy, Punky and Buddy had never been, so we didn't mind the repeat decorations.  We waited in line for close to 30 minutes and tried our hardest to keep Buddy from running around.  He was very good while going through the displays because he was intent on finding reindeer and other animals.





The line to see Santa went very quickly (we think there were at least 4 different Santas behind the closed curtains).  Last year, Buddy was scared to sit on Santa's lap, so I wasn't sure how he would react.  But, there wasn't a hint of fear in Buddy's eyes this year!  Punky and Buddy climbed right on Santa's lap.  Punky asked for the Pop the Pig game and Buddy asked for a moose.  Santa gave a chuckle at Buddy's request and told Buddy he would give him a stuffed moose or a toy moose.  I think he thought Buddy was asking for the real thing!



The weather on Saturday night was nearly perfect for watching a parade outdoors.  In December.  In Minnesota.  We all wore hats and mittens, but both kids shed them by the end of the parade.  Punky sat on Daddy's shoulders for the first few floats.





Buddy was too wound up to watch the parade from the back row.  He invented a little game where he put his hat on his head and tried walking around without being able to see.  It was hilarious and kept him occupied!







Soon, a nice group of gentlemen asked us if we wanted to sneak up in front of them.  Punky and Buddy ended up with front row seats while Daddy and I stood behind them.  Buddy got frightened by one of the floats (the witch from Hansel and Gretl) so I had to hold him part way through the parade. 

On Sunday after naptime, we decorated our Christmas tree.  We didn't put on any glass balls, and our special ornaments are up high. We gave Punky and Buddy (mostly Buddy) a strict lecture on how we should not touch the tree or the ornaments (or instruments as Punky called them)... We'll see how that goes.





I enjoy making traditions and creating memories like these.  It is so much fun to see the joy and wonder of Christmas through the eyes of children.