Faith's 1st, Tanner's 3rd, Jake's 5th, My 37th, and Brian's 39th

It was definitely a sports themed holiday around our house- the boys got Bronco State uniforms from Auntie Sue and a foosball table from Santa, Jake got a Tom Brady Patriots jersey from Grandma Mary, Faith got a baseball glove and ball from Daddy, and we all got Giants pajamas.

Other favorites included Faith's "build a bear" (a purple hippo named Ballerina Bear) that Jake made for her (given by Auntie Sue), an Elmo vacuum cleaner for Tanner, and Brad Paisley tickets for me (YIPPEE!!!).

It was a great day filled with lots of football (Tanner "hikes" it, then Jake runs the play with help from Dad and me), foosball, chess (I'm still trying to beat Jake!), napping, eating way too much junk food, and snuggling on the couch.

Merry Christmas everyone... no matter what number it was for you, we hope it was your best ever!

Traditions

A conversation I had with my sister on Christmas Eve got me thinking about family traditions and what my kids will remember about their childhood, especially with regards to the holidays.

I have so many incredible memories of Christmas: I grew up baking elaborate and time consuming cookies with my Grammy, mom, and sisters, singing Christmas carols and playing charades on Christmas Eve, eating a "snacky" dinner while decorating the tree...and a hundred other little things that made the holiday special. What will my kids remember?

I know what I HOPE they remember...

• Making (and eating large quantities of) Chex Mix with Grandma
  
• Baking cookies with Mom (Tanner's favorite this year were the Mexican Wedding Cakes!)
  
• Putting on silly Santa hats and aprons and making a big pancake breakfast with Daddy on Christmas morning
  
• Opening a tool (from Dad) and a book engraved with their name (from Mom) every Christmas from birth so that when they turn 18 and go off to start on their own in the world they are equipped with a full toolbox and 18 classic novels
• Taking turns getting to put the angel on top of the tree. Jake did it in 2005, Tanner in 2006, and Faith had the honors this year
• Throwing a quarter at the tree and having the present it hits be the first present opened on Christmas morning
• Always opening new jammies on Christmas Eve
• Leaving cookies and milk on the table at bedtime and finding a thank you note from Santa in their place the next morning
• Singing "Baby It's Cold Outside" (Brian and I's favorite "carol") about 500 times during the month of December (We have 4 different versions!)
• Watching Shrek the Halls (This is a new tradition since it just came out this year, but it is hysterical and I hope it becomes a yearly thing! Jake and I have been quoting the movie for weeks now. My favorite lines? "That wasn't Christmas, that was CHAOS!" and "Christmas ain't Christmas until somebody cries!")

Of course there is the downside to creating such a magical time....As I was putting Jake to bed on Sunday night he looked sad. When I asked him why he was down he said, "Mom, I don't want tomorrow to be Christmas Eve!". Thinking this was strange since all he had been talking about for weeks was how many days it was until Christmas finally arrived, I asked him why. "Because that means that the time is almost over. I don't want this special time to be over, Mom!".

A boy (for better or worse) after my own heart. I always had a little holiday letdown, too (although usually not TWO FULL DAYS BEFORE CHRISTMAS DAY!).

'Twas The Night Before Christmas...

And all through the place
four feet and two knees around the house they did race

We made Chex Mix with Grandma, played chess, baseball, and blocks
While waiting for Santa to fill up our socks.

We started with dinner, we ate that ham fast,
then left glitter for reindeer and oats on the grass.

The boys had dessert- a blue Jello with fish
An easy, fun bedtime was all that we wished.

The kids all opened a traditional present of PJ's
then headed for the tub- always a favorite of TJ's.

Snug in their jammies and clean through and through
the kids made a plate for Santa and crew

After singing some carols all warm in their beds
the boys fell asleep with Christmas dreams in their heads

We did the "Santa stuff"- completing the ruse
Then crawled into bed too excited to snooze.

White Christmas OR Our local weathermen are idiots!

So every weather forecaster here assured us that it would NOT be a white Christmas....that it would snow up in the mountains, but not here in the valley.......So this is out in front of our house today, and the snow is still coming down. Granted, it's not Sierra Snow Park like, but we got to sled and have a good time and it looks like it will be a white Christmas after all.

Shameless Love from Daddy

When they told us that it was picture day at Tanner and Faith's daycare, we were a little amused. They are a little young for school pictures, we thought as we disregarded the picture date and didn't even remember on the day of, dressing them in their normal grubbies. Imagine our surprise when this is the photo that came back for Faith (Tanner's were nothing special). I had to put it in here so everyone can see what a beautiful baby girl she is (no, these are NOT our clothes...the photographer must bring them to the daycare to change the kids into).

She is getting bigger by the day. She is starting to eat regular food and has just begun to wave bye-bye. She attacks the presents under the tree with gusto when not properly policed by her big brothers and loves to knock any tower taller than two blocks to the ground with one swing of her arm. We are looking forward to her first Christmas, and are more in love with her everyday.

Don't Try Looking For Him... He's Not There

Our big holiday event of the season- the R-House Christmas Program and Party- was on Saturday. Tanner had been rehearsing at school for weeks. They take their holiday program VERY seriously at his daycare. He was involved in 8- count'em- EIGHT little songs/skits complete with hand motions and simple costumes. He had been showing us glimpses of what was to come throughout all of last week. A few notes of "Silent Night" here, an action of a tree growing there... So, we were pretty excited to see the performance. We dressed to the nines (Well... Faith did!) and headed out to cheer our little guy on. As soon as we arrived Tanner began acting a little strange- hiding behind my leg, not wanting to play with the other kids, being shy with his teachers, etc... but when it came time to take him in the back room to get ready we were surprised that he willingly went with his teacher. About five minutes later, though, he was brought back to us, sobbing. Heaving sobs. He had no desire to perform. He was apparently terrified. So, while the rest of his group (see picture) carried on, Tanner gave me a private concert. He sat in my lap and sang the songs in my ear, occasionally adding in some appropriate hand gestures.



As if this all wasn't traumatic enough, Santa showed up after dinner. Even though Tanner seemed interested and watched as his sister smiled at the jolly guy and accepted a gift, when the time came for him to sit upon his knee, he wouldn't have any of it. That's Miss Rhonda (the owner of the daycare) in the picture with him. He screamed, "Mama! Mama!" and reached for me. After a few seconds Santa handed him his present and through his sobs everyone heard him say, "Thank you!" as he was handed back to me. That night he slept in our bed after awaking to a bad nightmare: We are pretty sure it is Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like.... a bigger hole in the ozone layer

As you can see we - and by "we" I clearly mean "Brian"- decorated the outside of our house this weekend. At Costco we purchased a Holiday Lighting and Storage Kit which included a revolutionary new system for hanging lights on high eaves (I am only being SLIGHTLY facetious). Really, it turned what used to be an all day adventure full of danger (icy roof) and lots of swear words into less than one hour consisting almost entirely of Brian yelling in the windows things like, "You gotta call your mom and sisters and tell them about this thing! It's SO GREAT!" and "Really, Honey. Call up everyone we know and send them to Costco!". The best part (Brian wants to be sure I tell you all this...) is that all of the lighting, including Santa and the reindeer (named "Santa Alan" and "Pouncer" by Jake) are controlled BY ONE SWITCH. I've never been prouder. An auspicious start to our holiday season, for sure.

Ho, Ho, Ho!

We took the kids to see the big man in the red suit at our annual holiday party this Saturday. As you can see, the three kids had vastly different reactions:




Jake: "You're my best friend, Santa!"














Faith (Having been rudely awakened by Mom after falling asleep on our neighbor Greg's shoulder): "I don't think you're the guy I fell asleep on... and what's up with that goofy hat?"









Tanner: "I don't care if he DOES have candy and presents.... get me the hell out of here!"









The kids gorged themselves on holiday treats- even Faith got into the Christmas spirit and spread goo from a frosted sugar cookie all over her red dress. Jake got the chess set he had been asking for,Tanner got a Spiderman umbrella and proceeded to channel Gene Kelly out on the deck of the barn, and Faith (taking after her mother) got clothes.