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!