Christmas Eve

We had such a wonderful Christmas this year! Christmas Eve was at Mimi and Papa's so we all played and even one napped before we headed out. When we got there Mimi had tons of food cooked and waiting for us! We all sat and chowed down on yummy lasagna and all the extras. After we got done eating it was time to open the presents. The boys jumped right in and started handing out presents. Nathan was doing a great job but has a little trouble reading the names still. He was able to recognize his and Nolan's which was fun for him to pile up.
Nolan kept walking around with the one present trying to give it to everyone . He decided to sit on a present under the tree and rest until everyone was done.
After the presents were handed out it was time to open! Nathan jumped right in and started opening what seemed like a million presents from Mimi and Papa. He was so excited.
Nolan was more interested in walking around and visiting with everyone. He was not opening any so Chad helped out and kept him interested in what seemed like a never ending pile of presents!
After all the boxes were opened Mimi said she had another surprise for the boys. WE went in the bedroom and came out with their new KITCHEN! Nathan was so excited!!! He has wanted a kitchen to make his play food in for a while. He immediately put on his new Chefs outfit Mimi got him and went to cooking. They have both played with it everyday since then. It is a huge hit in this house.
After presents we all got to hang out and visit with everyone. It was getting late so we got the boys in their pajamas for the ride home. Daddy and Nathan got on the computer to track where Santa was so we wouldn't miss him. He was in Brazil! We had to get home quick.
We loaded everyone and the toy store in the car and headed home.
When we got home we ran outside and sprinkled out reindeer food all over the front yard so they could see where to land. We also had to put out some of Santa's special cookies we made. Nathan picked out 3 , one for him, the reindeer and his helper.
Then it was off to bed! Nathan told me before he went to sleep that he wasn't sure if he could listen to his nighttime Christmas music because Santa might think he was awake. He thought a while longer and said " Oh Santa will know I am asleep, he is Santa" He turned on his nightly Christmas tunes and feel asleep before I even got downstairs.
This was perfect because Santa's helpers had A LOT to get down before morning

Cookies for Santa

Christmas just snuck right up on us this year and we didn't get to make lots of goodies like usual. The night before Christmas eve I had baked up all the cookies to have ready for decorating the next day. After breakfast the boys and I got down to business. We got out all the icing , sprinkles and candy. We had to make some fancy cookies for Santa and his helpers!
Nathan of course got right in and knew what his plan was. Nolan would reach over here and there running hands and arms through icing while eating the sprinkles. He also had to have a plain cookie to snack on while decorating the other. They make me laugh so hard sometimes just seeing them together and how completely different they are. Here are some pictures of the decorating process. In case you are wondering Santa must have approved of his fancy cookies because he left lots of goodies in exchange!

Special Visit!

This last weekend we had some special visitors! Claire and Madeleine came to visit and go to the breakfast with Santa at Cash and Brady's house.
We snagged up as much time as we could with these adorable ladies.
On Friday afternoon their daddy was sweet enough to drop them off as soon as they made it to town! Nathan was soooo excited to see Claire . We all just got to relax and play for a few hours! The mommies also got a little treat and were able to leave the kiddos with the daddies so we could talk and eat dinner together!!! Whew hew!
The next day we went to breakfast with Santa and had so much fun. Nolan could barely keep his hands off of Claire and Madeleine. Every time he sees Madeleine now he says " Hi Baby" and follows her around. It is so cute. I guess he figures Claire is already spoken for so he better get to charming Madeleine.
The next morning was their last day in town so we did what we always do and had our goodbye breakfast. Katherine pointed out that they are starting to catch on. I hope this doesn't mean that Nathan will soon hate bacon because he associates it with Claire leaving. He really loves his bacon . ha ha ha.
We had such a nice breakfast with everyone. Nolan charmed Madeline a little more while eating next to her. The mommies and daddies got to visit and hear all about Claire and Madeleines new house in Ohio! We played outside on the patio with our new paper airplane kit Claire gave us for Christmas. They had so much fun!!!!
When it was time to leave it was very sad as usual. Claire was mad. She caught on a lot sooner than Nathan . He thought she was coming back to our house so It took him a minute to figure that one out. Claire knew as soon as we started to leave. I hate seeing them so sad. It is so hard for them. They just get along so great and really do have personalities that just work together. They are so funny and sweet to watch and I love that daddy got to hang out with them lots this time too. These girls have such a special place in our hearts . We are going to miss them so much . The Ohio trip planning has already started!

Breakfast with Santa

Saturday our friends Brady and Cash had a special visitor over and they were so sweet to invite all of us too. When we got there their mommy had set up all kinds of yummy donuts and hot chocolate for us to chow down on. There were also lots of crafts like gingerbread houses and ornaments with everyones initials on them to paint.
At one point the kids ran out to the balcony because someone said they could see Santa and his reindeer!!!! OH MY. When the kids came back in Santa appeared right by the fireplace to deliver some special before christmas presents and chat with the kiddos!
Nolan was not really cool with Santa but did want his present. Lucky for him daddy is so brave and carried him up to see Santa. Nathan was trying to play cool but seemed a little nervous around the big guy also. He walked very fast to get his present turned around and walked even faster back to his seat.
When Santa asked the group what they wanted for Christmas Nathan quickly decided to go and have a talk with Santa. He was his normal serious self and explained to Santa that he wanted two things ( he says this while holding his two fingers in the air so you know ). One is a playhouse and two is a kitchen. He has told us you can only ask for two things so he has been going back and forth between the kitchen and a railroad crossing sign to play cars with . Lucky for him he is super spoiled and wont have to pick between these two. :)
Santa told him that sounded like something he could do and Nathan seemed very satisfied with that answer.
After Santa had to head back to the workshop and the kids went back to playing. By the time we left the boys were wiped out so Mommy and Daddy even got a little bit of lazy time ! Fun fun fun.

Christmas Play!

Today was one of my favorite parts of the boys school. It was their annual Christmas play! This was Nolan's first year and Nathan's third. It is so hard to believe how old he is getting. The boys had quite and audience. We had to save lots of seats for Mimi, Papa, Daddy, Aunt Kathy and me! This year they had all the kids sing all of the songs together. I think Nathan was a little disappointed because he usually loves to get up and dance and sing to his classes song. He had to sit his little bootie in a chair the whole time which I think was a little hard for him. They both did an amazing job as usual!
We were worried that when Nolan walked in he would see either Daddy or Papa, two of his favorite people, and want to leave the play at once! He walked in with his classroom and saw Daddy. He gave him a little giggle but you could see the wheels turning in his head. He then came by our row and saw everyone. He did really good and kept walking with his class but by the look on his face he was very confused.
Nathan walked by and gave us all a big smile and wave. He is an old pro at this.
They sang lots of Christmas songs but not Frosty the Snowman? Nathan has been singing Frosty for about a month now over and over. He told us that is what he was singing in the play. He even said there was a dance that went to it. I am not sure what this dance was but it was not part of his play? Hmmm. Maybe we will be getting a special performance on Christmas.
Nolan sat in Mrs. Kama's lap the whole time and did great. No one who knows Nolan would have ever thought he could sit there that long. It is amazing the things they can do with kids at this school. As Nathan would say " it is magical" :)
After the show the boys went back to their classrooms for the cookie decorating and book exchange.
This was the first time Papa and Kathy had seen the boys school. Nathan and Nolan thought it was neat to have them there. Nolan was already sitting at the table, by himself, waiting for his cookie when we got to his room . He was so serious and it is funny because Nolan never sits still that long without being strapped into a booster seat.
Mrs. Sandra gave him some icing and Mrs. Kama gave him some sprinkles and he was in heaven! He tried to share with Daddy who always seems to get Nolan's yummy have licked treats. :)
I ran down to see what Nathan was doing and his class was making Reindeer food! It was so pretty . Nathan got to stir in the special glitter that lets the reindeer see the food at night!
Mrs. Cindy packed up his cookie and special book he had picked out for his book exchange. He gave all of his friends big hugs and wished them all a Merry Christmas. When we got back to Nolan's room he was "fishing" for a Christmas treat from his teachers! With a little help from Mrs. Sandra he caught a stuffed puppy dog! He was so excited and immediatly ran over to show Mimi and give him a kiss.
After all the fun and goodies we packed up and gave lots of kisses to our teachers . We then went and ate lunch with Mimi, Papa, Kathy and Laurie at a little seafood place down the road. Nathan of course got his favorite fired shrimps and ate them all. They both ate so much. I think all the excitement made them very hungry. On the way home you could tell they were both exauhsted. Nolan let out a huge sigh when I laid him down in his bed. The poor guy couldnt have made it a second longer.
Nathan and I rested while watching lots of Christmas shows on TV. Another perfect day in December :)

Chiristmas Playdate

Today we got together with our friends that we never get to see. They have moved away and boy do we miss them. It has been so hard to get everyone together since we are all coming from different directions.
We all figured out today was a good day and made fun plans for a Christmas play date.
We had lots of playing, lunch and cupcakes because what is a party without goodies? :)
Nathan and Nolan were so happy to be out with their friends. This playground was just perfect for the group . It was just right for Nolan to play on without any dangerous openings to fall from. He played with his buddy Aidan who is just a few months older than him . It was so nice to see them actually acknowledge each other and play! I love that Nolan has a little buddy just like him. After lunch Nolan decided to carry around his plate of icing. He would randomly lick some icing and then return to playing . I had to finally distract him and sneak it away after a good 30 minutes.
The older kids also played very well with each other. It was such a beautiful day. I am telling you it was just perfect. The boys were on their best behavior and Nolan loves anytime he gets to play with his big brother and friends. Needless to say after all the excitement Nolan passed out right when we got home. Nathan did not. He is such a big boy now that naps are in our pas. He did have some nice quiet time with his new Toy Story fishing game Amy gave him today!
Have I mentioned how much I love the holidays? :)

I love December

Have I mentioned how much I love the holidays. Today is one of the reasons why. I had gotten an email about the museum having snow, reindeer, and of course Santa Claus. I immediately sent it to Kyle and marked it on the calender!
Well this morning was the day. We got up and dressed which was a bit confusing since it was HOT outside but we were going to play in snow?????? What do you do ? We packed up a whole other set of clothes just in case.
When we got there we got our tickets which had a snow time on them. Perfect! They had thought of it all. Instead of having to wait in line they had given everyone a designated time to be there.
We headed over to the line for Santa since we had a good 45 minutes. Well 30 minutes into the line Santa decided to take a break. I was so sad and hoping it was only a potty break . The boys had been sooooo good in line. They were picking leaves, riding daddy's back , peaking over the bushes and looking at the reindeer. I was so proud of them and now Santa had left. Oh no! We heard them say he had gone to lunch and wouldn't be back till 12:30. We stayed in line thinking we would be cutting it close but we could do it. Well 12:30 came around and no Santa. 12:45 came around and no Santa. Luckily Kyle had gone and asked the people in the snow line what would happen and they said we could just come to the next time. Whew.
Well the boys started to get a bit restless , who could blame them , they were in line for over an hour.
We talked them into playing in the snow and seeing Santa some other time. They surprisingly were okay with it and went along with the new plan. We got over to the snow line and filtered into the "snow". Luckily the boys have no clue what real snow looks like so they weren't confused by the crushed ice being pawned off as snow.
Nathan kept telling me it was "Magical Snow " because it had glitter in it. I agreed it must be some kind of magical if it wasn't melted in the 80 degree weather! :)
Daddy showed Nolan how to throw the snow so of course that was hilarious to him. He kept picking up little handfuls and throwing it at Kyle and then laughing so hard. Nathan decided to make a snowman!!! Kyle helped him break up some of the snow to make snowballs. He was so proud of his snowman and then SMOOSH! he stepped on it. I seem to forget how boys work sometimes and am very thrown off for a minute or two until I remember.
After the snow we wondered around and looked at all the Christmas trees the Museum had set up. They also had lots of decorations that the boys loved.
It was getting late and we were hungry. Daddy had the greatest idea of the day. He took us to Nikos Nikos , one of the best restaurants ever! We even had the best desert ever that they make. It is like little dough balls fried and drizzled with honey water that they soak up. When you bite into them they are like little bursts of heaven. Needless to say the boys share in our love of yummy food and loved it as much as us!
We got home and everyone laid down and just hung around being lazy. I must say I love love love days like these. I would not trade days like these for anything in the world.