It's Beginning To Look a Lot Like Christmas

My favorite part of Christmas is not really Christmas day, although I like that. It's Christmas month - all of the decorations, fun preparations, Christmas music, and good cheer all around. This year we had a brand new screamy-baby, so doing the usual holiday stuff was a challenge, but we still got everyone what they needed, got the Christmas cards out, got the family calendar done, and really enjoyed ourselves. Actually I changed my mind. My favorite part of Christmas is seeing the kids enjoy Christmas month. Josh and Noah both had countdown chains, and were constantly begging me to let them rip off a link, as if Christmas would somehow come faster if their chains dwindled quickly. Love it. Here are a few of our doings leading up to the big day.

Josh takes a lot of pictures when he gets a hold of the camera. Sometimes I like them, like this one of Andrew that I think shows a little of his silly side.

My kids got to tell Santa their Christmas wish at our ward Christmas party. I told them they could each ask for one thing, and they were pumped for the occasion. (They know which things are not okay to ask for. We'll see how many years this works.) Afterwards Josh was a little deflated, though, because apparently Santa said, "I'll see what I can do." :)

Noah gets his turn to talk to Santa.

Andrew didn't quite know what to do. But at least he was interested.

The boys LOVE giving Lissy a bottle. After this time Gary said, "Well, that was fun for them." (As in, not so much for him.) What a patient dad..

Lissy liked this arrangement for longer than most any other that didn't include being held.

Noah's little neighborhood preschool had a little show and it was hugely adorable. Here they are getting ready to shine . Noah is the one in the bulldog shirt. He said he chose that one because it is the same color as Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer's nose.

Noah's friend Cooper was trying to get him to take center stage.

Before the show the kids all made their parents a cookie to enjoy while watching . This was mine.

I had an extreme disadvantage when trying to photograph the event because I was in the back of the room nursing  and trying to zoom with the camera between people. Here, the kids jingled the bells on the back of their hats while singing "Jingle Bells." Too cute.

After the show the kids and spectators got to make a cookie for themselves to enjoy. Here is Andrew and his friend Cannon enjoying that portion of the day.

Noah with his cookie. This one was for him.

A couple of days before Christmas we met Gary's brother Taylor, wife Sara, and their 5 boys to eat at Crown Burger then see the lights at Temple Square. It was gorgeous, as always, and the 8 boys + one baby girl were fun. The kids enjoyed each other, and we didn't start losing them until the end. Seeing the temple at Christmas is such a wonderful thing to feel the Spirit confirm what is really important.

Andrew and Noah

Andrew did not want Noah pushing the stroller.

Andrew in blue, then Christian and Michael

My little Christmas picture with Josh and Noah, Michael got in there, too.

Ethan, Josh, and Michael. I think this reflecting pool with the nativity in the middle is breathtakingly beautiful.

I Found the Batteries, But Now I Can't Find the Toy

That phrase came out of my mouth the other day, and I started laughing. It pretty much distills how my life goes right now into one sentence. Pretty nuts, but these kids are pretty great. I have loved not having Josh in school this week. It seems like things are so much less stressful when I don't have to worry about that, and can just do things like expand the train table for them and watch them play. And then attempt to put batteries in the railroad crossing.(It eventually came together, and was a hit.) And since we've been sick, we've had time to be together, and to drink 7up. :)

I am not ignoring the fact it was Christmas yesterday, it's just that I wrote this entire thing last week (including the last paragraph), and in my bit by bit fashion, this is what is now ready to finish and post. But we had a good Christmas. Relaxing, fun, naps, roast beef, Wen . . . hope you had a good one, too!

Lately our boys have been a little more destructive than usual, so one day Gary told them we'd have to take back some of their Christmas presents to pay to fix stuff. (Not mean, it's just a concept that hits home. :) ) A while back Josh squirted green glitter glue all over the place, and a huge glob is still on the ceiling. When we pointed that out he said, "I have an idea. Why don't you just tape a paper towel over top of it to cover it up? That won't cost a lot."

We asked the kids at FHE what they think Jesus would like as a present for Christmas. Noah said, "Jesus would want important toys, like toys about baptism."

Noah kept waking up in the night for various reasons (abnormal for him, turns out he had an infected finger), and after several times of going in to comfort my sobbing son, I said, "Seems like you're really having a hard time, bud." "Yes, I am," he cried, "That's why I always have bad news!"

One day while I was working on projects they formed this band. The video is funnier because  Andrew keeps rotating instruments, and the song is pretty sweet.

I think Lissy looks like Noah's doll.

Andrew found a way to get past the childproofing. See it sticking out all ineffectively . . .

Noah talked about pirates in school, and decided his Walmart sticker would be the perfect compliment to his hat.

Somehow its just more awesome to have a bed on the kitchen floor.

This is where Lissy gets to lay while I switch around laundry.

Just Strike a Pose, Lissy

I think my baby is really cute. I don't think she wants you to know it, though. Between her lack of cooperation and my lack of schmancy camera, I do my best. I've sat her down, and held her up, in various positions. I've tried telling her she can be the next top model, I've tried saying, "What would the boys think if they saw you like this?" But she always cries anyway. (Last comment courtesy my grandma.) She's started smiling a little these last couple of weeks, and cooing, too, mostly at Gary. Dad's just a great listener, I guess. It's pretty cute, too. I will try to capture that on film (memory card?), but for now, behold my efforts of photographing Elisabeth Kae, ages 2-4 weeks.

This one is courtesy of Noah. He knew that Lissy would really love to hug a doll while swinging.

She looks so adorable in her towel after a bath. I didn't get a picture of what she usually looks like, but I think this one is funny.

We Each Got Some Strikes - The Good Kind

We don't often take pictures at get-mom-out-of-the-house nights (wait, was this for this kids?), but this time we had extra fun and went bowling, and kids look cute bowling, so I had to capture it. They all loved it and felt proud of each pin they knocked down, and Gary and I had flashes of brilliance (followed by gutter-balls, but strikes are still awesome). We treated ourselves to all-you-can-eat wings after the bowling, and laughed at how healthy we were having such a meal just days before Thanksgiving. Oh, well. Sometimes you just need bowling and chicken wings to make everything right. Sometimes as in that time.

Andrew and Josh, ready to go. I love that Andrew wore bowling shoes! (He actually didn't want to put them on until he saw everybody else doing it.)

A big part of the fun is watching to see how many pins you knocked down. The ball rolling down the lane portion of the activity lasts a while for these guys.

Equal parts technique and determination . . .

Josh coached Noah on how to do it the entire time, since he knows what he's doing.

This is how Lissy enjoyed the night.

Andrew LOVED bowling, it was adorable. Only problem was, he wanted it to be his turn every second. We were pretty weary from holding him back at the end. It was hilarious to watch him lug the balls over himself to put them on the baby bowling thingie. That kid is strong.