Holiday happenings

Both boys got clean teeth for Christmas...

 

...and memberships to the cavity-free club!

 

Andrew and Matthew created these gorgeous sequined ornaments for their teachers...

 

...all that hard work takes a lot out of a boy! (and his mom)

Christmas

Here's how we get ready for Christmas at our house...

Baba works hard to put lights up while the boys ride on their bikes and mom snaps pictures:

 

After lights are up, we come in for a holiday treat: candy canes "straws" stuck into lemons. What is this, you ask? Here...watch a how-to video that the boys made:

 

 

Mom skips the straw...pure lemon is heaven!

 

...not sure if Andrew agrees :)

We also visted Santa one afternoon...silly mirrors while waiting in line to visit the big guy...

 

The boys were SUPER shy about visiting Santa alone, so Mom and Baba got to visit also!

 Wishes in the fountain before Jamba and Panda treats with Nana Dee...

 

This year, the boys decorated the tree all on their own. Big brother mastered the lights, little brother is an expert on ornament placement.

 

Gingerbread houses

This past Sunday, we went to Grandma June's for her annual gingerbread house making party. The four of us, plus Aunt Lindsey were the architects - Grandma June joined in to help Andrew with his tree at the end. She did all the grunt labor ahead of time - collecting the candies for decorating and assembling the houses so they were dry and read to be decorated when we got there.

Baba and Matthew teamed up to make an awesome scene...

 

Here is their final product:

 

...even a little Santa on the other side!

 

Decorating is too much fun - when mom was done with her house, she decorated her kids!

The big gingerbread house was last to be tackled - everyone enjoyed the mini houses this year.

 

Here's Mom's house in the front - and Lindsey's outhouse in the background...

And Mr. Andrew's masterpiece!

Mama's angels with Grandma June

An afternoon at Grandma's isn't complete without an afternoon tea (although I'm pretty sure the boys go for the candy that's served with the tea without actually drinking much tea at all!)

 

Thank you, grandma - what a fun afternoon! Can't wait to do it again next year. :)

Lights

We had a very special evening. After the boys were bathed, teeth brushed and in bed reading - JUST before they were to be tucked in to sleep - Mom found a letter in the kitchen for them. Here's what it read:

Apparently, one of Baba's friends is an elf, and had arranged for a special evening for them. Cozy blankets in hand, sweaters zipped up and hot cocoa in hand - we all piled into a preheated car (thanks for that, Baba!) and took off for our adventure. The boys kept saying, "Where are we going? But it's bedtime? What about the cocoa? Can we drink it? But we already brushed!" It was so, so cute...their confusion and wonder.

Well, we headed out to hunt for Christmas lights. The radio was blasting holiday tunes and we were cozied up together in the car. It was so fun to find our favorite lights, hunting through new neighborhoods for the best display. We ended the evening at a cul-de-sac near our home that always has an incredible display of lights. Nearly every home on this block goes waaaay above and beyond to bring some magic to the season. We got out of the car and walked until our toes froze.

 

I'll never, ever forget this night.

Christmas Baking

Christmas baking was especially fun this year, because the boys were so involved in helping - with planning, assembly and taste testing. In fact, SO much tasting has happened that I don't even have a full plate to share with friends at this point - time to do a little more baking!

Here's the result of about 6 hours of holiday baking this weekend:

Christmas trains - the boys made these completely on their own (just a little glue gun help from mom). They plan on giving one to their teachers, and have shared with family already also:

 

The cutest elves in the world!

Peanut butter maple balls:

 

Some of the bounty:

A completed plate, ready to be shared...Andes mint fudge, butterscotch fudge, peanut butter balls, candy cane blossoms, homemade salted caramels and chocolate candy cane hearts. The chocolate dipped macaroons were devoured before they made it onto a plate! Making a double batch next year, for sure.

 

Happy birthday, Baba

We love you so, so much. You're our favorite. <3 cake="cake" decorating="decorating" job="job" matthew="matthew" on="on" ood="ood" p="p" the="the">

Baba's birthday signals the start of the Christmas season - look at the gorgeous tree that the boys decorated all on their own!

Fall

Everything slows down this time of year...including my blogging. A few recent fall-y photos...