This is gonna be a long post so beware! I am behind in writing about Christmas so lets go back to a few days before the big day.
Sissy loves Santa and will say "Ho Ho Ho" when she hears his name. I was hoping to get a picture of the kiddos with Santa before Christmas so this was good preparation.
Here was our family picture taken at the Polar Express Party we went to earlier in the month.
We stopped by to see the kiddos Great-Grandma who lives in assisted living a few hours south of us.
The kiddos acted a bit shy but it was still a good visit and she even sang "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" to the kids.
We went to our church's Christmas play. Because of moving our kiddos weren't in the play but they really enjoyed watching it. Sissy also got to hang with my old college roommates lil girl who is just 2 1/2 weeks younger than Sissy. They could almost pass as sisters.
We went and saw Santa at the mall. Bubby wanted no part of Santa but Sissy did pretty good as long as Gampa didn't get too far from her.
Daddy even got a visit from Santa at his dealership where he works.
Sissy could've been Santa with that cottage cheese beard she has going on.
We also needed to get going on our Christmas presents for the grandparents. This year we decided to make pillowcases for each grandparent. I wrote above the pillowcase exactly what I wanted Bubby to write on the pillowcase.
And with a pencil he started writing. He's only 3 1/2 so it took us awhile.
But he did a good job. After he wrote it out in pencil then I wrote over it in a fabric marker. We also did one for Grandma, Nana, and Gampa. We threw in some of Sissy's handprints and footprints different places to put her touch on it too.
I was very proud of Bubby's determination to get these presents done before Christmas.
We also ended up with a new member of our family. I'm an aunt again. This sweet lil girl was born on December 22 and is absolutely perfect in everyway. She lives all the way in Kansas so I haven't got to hold her yet but I'm anxiously waiting the day.
On Christmas Eve the kids made their cookies for Santa. We didn't do the homemade sugar cookies that most families do but the kids had fun with the pre-packaged and ready-to-go chocolate chip cookies.
Bubby Talking About Santa With Daddy
The kiddos helped me pack all the grandparents pillows with their specially made pillowcases into big Christmas bags.
He loved helping.
On Christmas Eve we went to Grandma and Papa's house.
Here Mr. G is telling Bubby and his cousin exactly where Santa is at delivering presents. He was using an app on his phone that was tracking everywhere Santa went and just how close he was to getting to our house.
Sissy was in the kitchen where the cooking was going on. It's hard to see in the picture but she has her hand up in hopes they would give her a sample before dinner.
Goofy girl was thrilled when it was actually time to sit and eat.
A precious picture of our baby girl with her Christmas attire on.
And our sweet boy who was beyond excited about opening up presents.
It was finally time and Grandma began the process of passing out the gifts.
Sissy wasn't too big in unwrapping her presents. We kept catching her taking her own presents and handing them back to Grandma and Papa.
Bubby was helping pass out presents.
Reading the names on her present.
About that time the littlest one woke up from his nap. Actually I think they woke him up so that he wouldn't miss out on the Christmas fun.
Sleepy eyes.
Love the excitement on Bubby's face as he's opening his presents.
A new Ninja Turtle alarm clock. He was psyched.
All the kids crowded around to watch as the littlest guy opened his presents.
It was a Jack-in-the-Box....so you better believe that Sissy was hanging pretty close to that toy even though it wasn't hers.
The boys diving in to their next gift.
Talk about an excited lil boy.
My other nephew was just as excited especially about his new Leonardo.
A big box of Tinker Toys.
Daddy working on getting Bubby's Leonardo open for him.
Sissy checking out her new book.
Daddy opening her new baby doll....
Sissy loving on her new doll.
Speaking love....Bubby's cousin was showing him lots of love while they posed for a picture in front of the Christmas tree.
Then it was time for the big gift. We had the kids sit on the couch and cover their eyes. Sissy was not a fan of that idea.
It took a lil bit for us to get the present out and ready but the boys were very patient.
Grandma had made each family a playhouse that she had made to go over a card table. One side has a cow, one has a pig, and the other side has window. As you can tell the boys are already inside enjoying themselves.
Check out Sissy's new chair. This lil girl loves sitting in chairs so she was pretty pumped about her pink and white elephant chair.
Laying her baby down in her baby bed.
And giving her goodnight kisses.
She's gonna be a good mommy someday.
Playing with his batman that his cousin gave him.
Time for a group photo. Definitely didn't turn out quite like we thought it would.
Later we went to church for the Christmas Eve service. The kids did pretty good entertaining themselves with coloring pages, mazes, and some interesting "entertainment" that happened right in front of us. Sometime if you think of it and see me around you'll have to ask about this "entertainment" that we saw.
Anyway...the kids did good and it was an enjoyable time being with fellow Christians on Christmas Eve.
When we got home that night we set out our Christmas cookies for Santa and some chocolate milk....because according to Bubby Santa likes chocolate milk....and we put the kiddos to bed. It was actually the fastest Bubby has ever gone to sleep. I took a quick picture of everything in front of the tree. And yes....that's our own lil roller coaster. Excited to see how the kids do with it in the morning.
The next morning the kiddos woke up and the first thing Bubby saw was his Ninja Turtle playhouse. He was so excited.
Sissy, on the other hand, just wanted cuddles...
And her breakfast.
Bubby started diving in and opening his presents.
The first thing Sissy wanted to do was ride the roller coaster. She couldn't get enough of it....of course, that is after she finished her breakfast.
She even opened some of her presents while sitting on the roller coaster.
Had just opened his new Ninja Turtles slippers.
Princess play shoes.
A Ninja Turtle car....actual name is the Shell Raiser but I only know that because Bubby knows every name of everything that has to do with Batman and Ninja Turtles.
Some Christmas sibling love.
Sissy and her new dancing bunny rabbit.
Daddy reading the story of Jesus' birth to us.
What do you do if your Bubby won't let you have a turn on your roller coaster???
You lay down on the tracks so he can't ride either. Smart lil girl.
Here is a video of each kid enjoying the roller coaster.
Sissy on the Roller Coaster
Bubby on the Roller Coaster
We then got ready and headed down south to do Christmas with our other side of the family. Love these three girls.
Everybody enjoying a show on Magic Johnson and Larry Bird while we wait for our brunch.
Gampa and a couple of his granddaughters.
A cute picture of the boys in front of the Christmas tree.
Time to start opening presents.
Bubby got the Batcave which was the only thing he had asked for Christmas.
I tried to get him to smile for a picture with his new toy but he couldn't stop playing long enough to look at me.
My niece excited about her new diary.
My other niece was seeing her new roller blades for the first time.
Nephew....love the look on his face.
My niece helped Sissy open her gifts.
Peaking in on what Sissy got.
It was a new dollhouse.
My beautiful niece and her new rollerblades.
All the kids had their roller blades so it only made sense that since it was a beautiful day outside that we all needed to go out and give these rollerblades a try.
The boys got out first. Talk about a beautiful day
Apparently the girls had never rollerbladed before so this was a VERY interesting experience.
VERY interesting.
It was interesting but fun. Praise God nobody got hurt.
The grass seemed like a better place to practice for the time being.
During all the excitement Sissy decided to take off.
Goofy girl.
Still practicing.
Sissy taking Marley for a walk.
My sister-in-law trying to save two of her kids from falling.
Love this picture.
This lil girl loves the outdoors.
Bubby playing with Rudy.
Bubby trying to keep his cousin steady on her feet.
Nana and Sissy.
Nana and my niece and Rudy.
After a while we talked the kids into getting out of their skates and we headed down to the creek to play. We had all decided that if it wasn't a white Christmas then we loved it like this.....warm and sunny.
My lil niece trying to carry Sissy up the hill.
This worked out better.
My brother's new place has some beautiful property and it was fun to take pictures on it.
Getting our exercise by walking the property.
Wonderful memories.
After our outdoor excitement we then headed to the gym for a few hours to shoot around. My kids had a blast.
After the gym we did our traditional Chinese supper on Christmas night and then we headed home.
It was a wonderful Christmas for our family and we feel so very blessed. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. I had said all along that after Christmas I was going to need to start getting ready for the baby. We have about 8 1/2 weeks until my due date and I have done absolutely nothing...including picking a name. We got lots to do but I'm looking forward to all of it. These are the best days of our lives and we couldn't feel more thankful and blessed. Lord Jesus....as we went through all of the giving and usual holiday festivities we are always most thankful for the gift of your Son so that we can spend eternity with you. Nothing else compares to what you have done for us.
Merry Christmas!!!
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