Christmas!!!!!

Christmas is always fun, and always special; I have loved Christmas at every stage of life.  But being parents brings Christmas to a whole new level because Christmas is so much fun with kids!  Nathan is big enough now to really get excited about Christmas and this year he knew exactly what he wanted Santa to bring him.  The last 3 years Curtis and I have let "Santa" know what Nathan would enjoy, but this year Nathan could speak for himself.  Starting way back in October when the first signs of Christmas were showing in the stores, he has been saying that he wanted a blue bike with two wheels for Christmas.  He never changed his mind and the color never varied.  Everytime someone asked him what he wanted for Christmas he would reply "a blue bike, with two wheels."  And so Santa's elves did their research and found him a blue bike with two wheels.  A really cool thing that Nathan enjoyed this year was his email video message from Santa.  My sister-in-law introduced me to this site and it is amazing.  Nathan LOVED his video message and watched it every night for his bedtime story.  Nathan was totally amazed that Santa knew so much about him and especially that he wanted a blue bike for Christmas.

 Christmas Eve after "Santa" came to visit.

 Two tired Elves ready for bed.

  

 

Christmas morning started at 7 am, the boys usual wake up time.  Nathan was slightly dissapointed at first about the training wheels until Curtis explained to him that they are temporary and that we will take them off when he is ready to learn how to ride the bike with only 2 wheels.  After that Nathan was totally syched and rode his bike all around the living room.  And yes I believe Curtis is asleep standing up.  Bracken didn't need us to introduce him to his wagon, he somehow knew it was for him and walked straight to it and started to climb inside.  A funny fact, Santa's Elves didn't realize that the wagon required so much assembly.  Curtis had the bike ready several days before, but we waited till Christmas Eve to take the wagon out of the box and come to find out that the rear wheel axel rod was missing.  There was nothing we could do at that point so we just put the back wheels insice the wagon and hoped for the best.  Luckily Nathan didn't question the fact that Santa had left a deffective wagon for Bracken.  And on Monday Target was really great about giving us the rod from another box when we told them our little problem.  

 

 It didn't take long for Bracken to find the half eaten remnants of Santa's cookies; Curtis thought it would be fun for Nate to see one of the cookies with bite marks in it.  He zeroed in on the plate and in his attempt to claim the cookie for himself spilled the cookie and sprinkles on our keyboard.  Next year Santa is going to be more careful about where he leaves his plate of cookies when he is through eating them. 

  

 

 Over all it was a successful Christmas morning.  It was paced just right, I like it to linger and not pass too quickly.  The kids would open a gift and then stop to play and explore it.  That gave me the time to drink in the splendor.  Curtis made out with a GPS device and movie projector, and I got my sun oven (SQUEAL) and some new piano music.  Curtis has purchased new music for me every year and I love seeing what he picks out.  

  

 

After the kids had a nap, we headed out to Grandma and Grandpa Kleinman's house to open more presents, eat more yummy food and spend time with family. Couldn't ask for more.

Christmas Activities

This year I added a little twist to our Christmas Advent Calendar.  Each day had a few little treats for the boys along with a Holiday Activity to do.  Nathan loved the activites more than the chocolate.  Some day were BIG things like going out and doing something like visiting Christmas lights and displays around our town. But most days were simple things like wrap a present and put it under the tree (Nathan loved helping wrap presents and he was really good at keeping the presents a secret), make Christmas sugar cookies, play a game sitting under the tree (we did this once a week and we all loved it!) and play Christmas songs on the piano and sing along ("Singing loud for all to hear is the best way to spread Christmas cheer!").  These little activites really helped bring a festive mood into our daily routine. Here are some pictures from a few of our Christmas Adventures.

 

 Mesa Temple Christmas Lights

Nathan was BURSTING with excitement.  At one point his energy was out of control so we took him to a remote plot of grass that was out of the way and let him run it off.  We finished our evening with hot cocoa and sugar cookies that we ate while sitting surrounded by the beautiful lights. 

Nathan loves Christmas,  and not just the Santa and presents part.  This kid LOVES everything about it.  The music, decorations, smells, foods, parties and lights, lights and more lights.  He is bonkers for Christmas lights.  Our own Christmas decorations were not complete in his eyes till the lights on the house were up.  Curtis and I were sick for the first half of December.  I believe there should be a decree somewhere out there in the Universe that parents should be immune from sickness, it is totally not fair for both parents to get sick at the same time.  Anyway, putting up lights on the house in the cold was not a task we were feeling up to but we managed to get a few strands of lights along the roofline in the front, and Nathan adores them.  Next year we hope to get more up around the yard as well.

 Curtis and I at a Phoenix Suns game.  The Suns lost, but it was a fun date night.

 

 Checking out the Gingerbread House Display at Prescott Resort.  Nathan's favorite part was of course the train that went around the entire display.

 

Nathan has been anticipating this winter season because he is hoping for some fun in the snow; which we have actually been enjoying these past few days but that is another post.  After Thanksgiving my sister Marci took Nathan to the Christmas Lights Parade and she wore a scarf to keep warm.  Nathan was very concerned that he didn't have a scarf so I let him borrow one of mine and he was satisfied.  I thougt it would be fun to make him one because Nathan loves it when things are "just his size."  He picked out the fleece and we made it together while we watched Elf.  We made one for Bracken too and I think they turned out totally adorable.  We have been putting them to good use too. 





 

 One of the highlights for me was writing and planning the Preschool Nativity Play.  Aren't the kids so cute in their costumes!?!  Bracken and Nathan were shepherds.  The evening itself was a slight dissapointment because 3 of the 6 preschoolers and their families didn't show up.  It was a bit chaotic getting things figured out which gave us a late start.  By the time we got things rolling the kids were out of patience and ready to rip off their costumes and play.  But we managed and in the end it was a great experience for those who were able to participate.  A BIG thanks to those sweet kids and families who came and made the whole program possible. 

And our final Hoorah was of course Christmas Eve.  We had our good friends the McCormicks and my sister and her family for our traditional Christmas Eve festivities.  Our food: buffalo chicken strips, buffalo wings, chicken nuggets, spinach pasta salad, layered salad, 2 different crab dips w/ crackers, egg nog and Alder Inn Drink; a King family tradition we picked up in Blackfoot, ID from a bed and breakfast called the Alder Inn, part OJ part strawberry kiwi soda and completely scrumptious.  We had Nathan open up one of his presents early, the Toy Story 3 movie and we all ate in the living room and enjoyed the show.

Early Christmas

Nathan has always been really good at making friends. 

He loves people and people love him.

We lived in my parents basement for 7 months before we bought our home in PV and during that time Nathan made a lifelong friend in the little neighbor girl, Taryn.  Taryn is an only child and Nathan became her "little brother".  I teach Taryn piano lessons and Nathan lives for Wednesdays when Taryn comes over to play.  As Taryn has grown older she has passed down some of her favorite treasures to Nathan.  A few weeks before Christmas she showed up at our house with this little beauty, her Power Wheels Jeep!

Nathan has adored this Jeep for a very long time.  When we lived next to Taryn she would invite Nathan over to play and she would drive him all around her yard.  They would drive until the battery was out of juice.

After we moved out to PV, Nathan's Jeep trips were few and far between but he never forgot about it.  At least once a month for the past 2 years Nathan as asked Taryn how her "green Jeep" is doing and if it was all "charged up". 

 Nathan could hardly believe his eyes, when he saw Taryn pull up to our house with the beloved Jeep in the back of her Dad's truck.  Taryn had out grown the Jeep but she knew there was a little boy who would love to give it a new home.

Nathan was thrilled beyond description.  After thanking and hugging Taryn, the first thing he said to me was "Mom, the Jeep isn't green!"  In his little 3 year old memory he has always thought it was green and called it "Taryn's Green Jeep".  But now after seeing it again he has decided it is brown. 

The Jeep needed a new battery before it could be up and running, but Nathan waited as patiently as he could.  He would go out and sit in the Jeep and pretend to be driving it.  He would even pull it around the yard to different locations for a more realistic experience.  Taryn brought the Jeep over on a Sunday so we couldn't go out and buy a battery right away, and then once we had the battery it had to charge for 18 LONG hours.  After waiting 2 days, the Jeep was finally ready and Nathan took off for the first time in the drivers seat and he has been driving ever since.  At least when weather permits. 

Nathan is a natural; he drives like a pro.  We didn't tell him how the Jeep worked he just took off and knew how to shift from slow to fast to reverse.  He loves to give Bracken rides and Bracken loves to get rides.  They could drive around for hours at a time, totally in heaven.  Nathan loves his new Jeep, Taryn definitely made his year with this amazing gift. 

Snack Time

 I love it when everyday tasks turn into memorable family moments. 

A simple thing like snack time usually passes by without us taking notice.

But every now and then I am impressed with how easily the ordinary can become extraordinary.

I find myself overcome with gratitude at how blessed I am to have these special boys to call my own.

 

Spitting

Bracken loves brushing his teeth. 

He especially loves brushing his teeth with Nathan.

In true little brother fashion he copies everything Nathan does.



Christmas Tree Picnic for Breakfast

Saturday morning Bracken woke up extra early so he and I had fun snuggling and playing in the living room with all the Christmas lights on.  We were having so much fun I decided that we needed to take advantage of this easy going morning, so when Nathan eventually made his way into the living room too I figured it was time to wake up Papi and get some backup to pull off my plan. 

Curtis took over playing with the boys and I whipped up some waffles with bacon for breakfast. We were all enjoying our Christmas tree lights so much that I didn't want to stop the magic and make everyone come to the table. I pulled out some serving trays and we ate our breakfast in the living room surrounded by twinkling lights. It was a special morning. 

  

  

Tables, Curtains and Balls

Today was one of those days where I felt like MONSTER MOM, a lot.  Both Nathan and Bracken had several trying moments today and I probably didn't handle them as well as I should have.  The morning was rough, Nathan had already had 2 tantrums and it wasn't even 10am (that's when I usually let him watch a show) and Bracken was extra clingy and needy.  The poor little guy must be having some MAJOR teething issues right now because he has a runny nose, over active drool gland, loose diapers, picky appetite, and over all moody disposition.  Then to top it off Bracken's morning nap was cut short by some inconsiderate sales person who called my cell phone, which I could not find so it rang a ton and woke Bracken up.  Needless to say by lunch time I was not a happy camper myself.

I knew something had to give or things were going to get ugly and fast.  It didn't look like Nathan or Bracken were going to suddenly become angel children so that meant I needed the attitude adjustment. Since I had been trying to finish up the Chrismas decorations for that last 2 days I decided that some jolly Christmas tunes were the thing I needed.  A little pandora Christmas station, and all of a sudden I was nice Mommy again.

Here we are decking our halls.

Now wonder it has taken me 2 days to get the decorations up, these guys are just so much help.

By evening our day had completely turned around.   After dinner and baths, the boys started doing laps around our table.  Bracken did about 30; he was like the energizer bunny he just kept going and going.

Eventually our jumbo balls made their way out and lots of bouncing, rolling and catching added to the fun.  Here Bracken is trying to herd both balls with is 2 little arms.  It was very entertaining.

And this is what Nathan gave me when I asked him to look at the camera.

And to round off our night of fun some curtain hidin' n' runnin'

Natey and Bracky went behind the curtain, then ran out from under the curtain and landed on our couch.  They were giggling up a storm for 20 minutes.  But the fun came to an end when Bracken forgot to stop running on his way back to the curtain.  Let's just say Bracken 0, Wall 1.

He was fine, he just needed some lovin' from Mom with his special blankey.

By the time I snuggled them into their beds my children loved me again and they had completely forgotten about the visit from Monster Mom earlier this morning.

That's one of the beauties of children, they easily forgive and forget.

Goodnight my loves!