Whew! What an amazing week we had. It started off with an "adult" family Christmas...not X rated (well, not quite)....but definitely not one that was appropriate if the kids had been home!
We had a white elephant gift exchange that ended up containing mostly bathroom humor gifts. Kevin's toilet mug was a favorite, as was the fanny bank. The abundance of Flarp created an environment of gut laughter that lasted for days (and it even travelled with us to Grandma June and Grandma Jean's houses!)
Kevin's toilet mug, complete with a serving of Pabst...classy Christmas...
It's an Emma sized toilet!
Dad played Santa Christmas morning for all of us big kids - we had a wonderful, relaxing morning of gift opening and more laughter. Kevin made an amazing brunch, and we spent the rest of the day lounging, watching movies in front of a fire and then finally getting ready to head to Grandma June's for Christmas Eve #2.
Santa Dad
Homemade gifts for the parents...just like when we were little!
Christmas Eve at Mom's/Grandma June's house (kids are back with us!)
Matthew loves Flarp...and not just for the noises it makes!
Grandma June, however, thinks Flarp is gross and should only be played with in the bathroom. We turned her around by the end of the night, though:
More big kid inappropriateness ensued at Grandma June's house.
This is Mel's version of 50 Shades of Legos:
The next morning was technically Christmas Day, but we decided to ask Santa to wait one more day to visit the boys, so we could get an early start at Nana Dee and Grandpa's house for Christmas with the cousins. It was a very Lego Christmas for all four boys!
Baba has since spent substantial time every day helping the boys put together all of their new Lego sets...
...with a little time thrown in for some Magic...
This Lego building is serious business!
After a wonderful Christmas Day with family, we headed back home for Christmas Eve #3 - the "real" Christmas Eve for the kiddos. Here's Baba doing his annual Night Before Christmas reading before bed. (It only took Andrew 3 hours to fall asleep. That's right. Three hours.)
We all woke up to the excitement of knowing Santa had visited - so excited to see what he left for us! Matthew had slept with his fingers and toes crossed, praying he'd get his Ninjago Encyclopedia. "I hope Santa didn't forget me," he said. Of course he wasn't forgotten! I'll never forget the look on his face as he opened his most wished for gift. So precious.
It's tradition for the "kids" to be barricaded with chairs in the hallway before making an exit into the living room. The parents always go out first to turn on the tree lights, start a fire and get coffee and tea. The kids bounce around excitedly, begging for it to be time to rush their gifts!
Matthew was posing with a roll for this shot (Mom's attempt to feed the beast before he got wrapped up in all of the new toys)...
Pop signaled the boys with a "Ready, Set, Go!" and they rushed the living room....very politely. We have some seriously sweet kids here. :)
Present opening was so much fun. So many special gifts from Santa this year!
My boys got me nail polish! They did good :)
Mel got an awesome scarf from Dad and Margaret - big enough to share!
We ended our Christmas Day by visiting Grandma Jean and Grandpa OB - just like when I was little!
Emma got decorated...
And everyone put in their gender guesses for tomorrow's ultrasound! Boy guesses were more popular - Pop, Grandma Jean, Margaret and Baba guessed girl, though!
Margaret used my wedding ring and hair and got 'girl' results with this old wive's tale...
Andrew's Snap Circuits were a huge hit, as were ALL of the Ninjago treasures that Matthew received...
Thursday was baby day - we had an awesome family day - more in another post (click here to read about our gender reveal ultrasound experience).
Pop and Grandma Margaret packed up after spending over a week with us all. It was sad to see them go. The four of us decided to hit the Lego store at the mall and let the boys spend their gift certificates and Christmas money.
So, of course, there's more for Baba to help build...
We also had a lunch date - Red Robin....yum!
Andrew got some bath crayons from Pop and Grandma Margaret - he wrote the entire Pledge of Allegiance on the shower wall (and later learned that they are not face paints!)
We finally had a "normal" bedtime routine and decent bedtime hour last night. These two are the best of friends - they take turns inviting each other into their bed for reading time.
I'd say that was our best Christmas ever. From the dinner Mike and I had with Dad and Margaret the night before it all started (Chang's - yum!) to the last day of quiet family time with my guys - it was simple, special, cozy and just absolutely perfect. Counting my blessings that we're all healthy and together this holiday season!
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