Merry Christmas! {Oh, and Happy New Year}

**Most of the pics in this post are unedited due to… well, I have a baby.  I think that about sums it up ;)  Oh, and don’t judge the pics too harshly.  I used flash in many of them (big no no, I am well aware) but the lighting in my house SUCKS (excuse the French) and I knew Christmas Eve and Christmas would be filled with excitement and lots of movement which would result in blurry pics without Auto Mode.  Thank goodness for Auto Mode!

Some blogger I am, eh?  Sheesh!!  It’s been on my mind for weeks now but I just couldn’t seem to pull it together enough to get it done. 

So, here I am… weeks later.  2013 is my year!  I feel it!! 

Christmas around these here parts was wonderful.  I hope you had a great one, too.  It’s probably too late to blogging Christmas but I figure I’ve only missed ‘the window’ by a couple of days.  Let’s just pretend I got an extension. 

Our December didn’t quite turn out the way had planned.  There was talk of going downtown to see the lights at Temple Square, seeing the candy window displays at Macy’s (which I was quite excited about), building gingerbread houses (or graham cracker houses, same diff), driving around to see fancy lit houses and oh so much more.  None of it happened.

But let’s not dwell on the things that might have been.  We did have a pretty great holiday season even if we couldn’t jam everything into our busy schedule. 

To start us off, our ward held the annual Christmas party early in the month in hopes to get more people to attend.  I think it worked!  And wouldn’t you know it, Santa was there!  It probably wasn’t the best move on the part of the planning committee to have a couple from the ward play Santa and the Mrs. but I have to admit they made a pretty cute Claus couple.

 

On the lists:  K wanted a Digital Light Designer and an American Girl Doll (Caroline)

A wanted an American Girl Doll (McKenna) and a horse for her dolls

H wanted a kitchen set, a cabbage patch kid, and a snow globe

B wanted Toy Story Toys

Baby – he didn’t really have a list.  He’s got the largest wardrobe in the family and doesn’t really need anything other than diapers at this point.

Anthony wanted a Nike Sportswatch and heart rate monitor

Brooke (that’s me!) wanted a Kindle Fire and new lens for my camera (don’t laugh, I know I’m not a great photographer but I can dream ;))

And now for C’s list.  I saved it for last because it truly is the best!  He wanted a bike, a ‘cut toy’ (toy chainsaw) and… are you ready for it?… a port-a-potty!!!  That’s right, my friends, he wanted an OUTHOUSE! 

Driving home one day from K’s dance class we stopped at a red light next to a truck carrying 4 outhouses.  C excitedly tells me that truck “has lots of bathrooms on it.”  Then he says, “Maybe we can ask Santa Claus for one!”  I told him that I would rather not, to which he replied, “I do.  I will ask him for one!”  And he did!

In case you’re wondering, no he didn’t get one.  It just wouldn’t fit in Santa’s sleigh.  But he hasn’t complained so I think we’re good. ;)

We celebrated A’s birthday with a Birthday Breakfast for family and friends.  Never done a breakfast before for a birthday but it was pretty darn fun.  It might become a tradition.  Having a birthday in December with all the Christmas hoopla isn’t easy.  I’ve tried to convince A to celebrate in early November but she always objects… something about it “not feeling like [my] birthday”. 

Ok, that makes sense, I guess.  No pics to post right now.  Just know that it was a good time!

We also had a couple of family Christmas parties.  Lots of fun, food, and white elaphanting…. it’s a word, as of now!

Little C may have been disappointed with the squirrel feeder he got but lucky him, my uncle stole it from him (to be nice) and C ended up with a fairy coloring book.  Also a huge disappointment because “it’s for girls!”  Well, thank his lucky stars, there were lots of little girl cousins there and one of them stole the coloring book from him.  Finally, he ended up with a pocketknife. 

Good heavens!!  C and a pocketknife, what a combo.

He couldn’t have been more delighted!  In fact, he hugged it.  Then and there my uncle declared that if anyone hugs their gift it can not be stolen. 

Thanks Mark!  Thanks… a lot.  **Sigh**

So now, C is the proud new owner of a pocketknife that lives on the top of the bookshelf, unopened… for now, at least.  But fear not, C checks on it every day to make sure it’s still there and to ensure that we all know that it is HIS pocketknife. 

We know, little man, we know.

Moving on, K had a dance recital for clogging.  It was fun to watch her dance.  I haven’t been able to watch her at all other than practicing at home so it was fun to see how good she actually is.  And she even performed her routine for the talent show at Anthony’s family party. 

A was asked to do a small part in the Christmas program for Sacrament Meeting at church.  Just a short little poem.  There were lots of singing parts in the program and I, admittedly, wish that they would have asked her to sing something.  She really does have quite a beautiful voice. 

Then there was of course the traditional opening of PJ’s on Christmas Eve along with new ornaments for the kids from Grandma and Grandpa.  This year it was decorations bigger than the baby.  The kids all LOVE their new nutcrackers!!

 

Christmas morning came WAY too early for Anthony and me.  “Santa” didn’t get to bed until almost 4:30 in the morning!!  What a crazy guy.  Just when you think you’re almost done you realize that you have way more than thought.  And I’ll be darned if I could get the Toy Story gang to shut up!!  I thought for sure we were gonna be found out.  Little did I know that they react to movement… and each other! … so as I was trying to unpackage them so they would be ready for immediate play (because what kid wants to wait for you to cut and remove every stinkin’ twist tie, screw, and plastic packaging Christmas morning) they just wouldn’t be quiet!  And they are LOUD!

The big pic of B below is by far my favorite from Christmas this year.  You can’t tell me it’s not fabulous!  I laugh every time I see it.

In the end it was a fabulous Christmas and everyone got at least something that they really wanted.  I have to show off my husband’s (Uh, I mean the elves…) mad skills.  He (They) was able to turn this old desk that had sat in the girls’ room forever…

 … into this darling little kitchen for H. It cost so much less doing it himself than it would have to buy even a cheapie one from the store. And it is so much better! Plus, it doesn’t hit her at the knees like most of them. Didn’t he do a marvelous job? I couldn’t have asked for it to be any more perfect!

This was the first Christmas in YEARS that Anthony and I were able to get something for each other.  It felt so good and it was so much fun trying to sneak around and make sure he didn’t know what he was getting.  We were both pleasantly surprised.

For breakfast, my family has a tradition that I just couldn’t live without.  I can go without presents and I can go without snow (though I’d much rather have a fresh blanket of white) but it just isn’t Christmas without our traditional waffles with ice cream and strawberries with my entire extended family.  THAT is Christmas to me!  Has been as long as I can remember.

 

I hope your Christmas was just as perfect as ours turned out to be.