Another Visit with Santa

We made another visit to see Santa since Nana missed the first occassion.  This time we went to Legends to have breakfast with Santa.  It was a fabulous set-up with no wait!  Anna really warmed up to Santa this time and was eager to show him "Baby". 

 Jacob was thrilled to see Santa again and asked for an excavator and fleece pajamas for Mommy.  (He really wants me to have fleece pjs like Anna and him.)   

 

  We decided the rest of the family should get their picture with Santa as well. 

 

 After chatting with Santa it was time to eat!  The kids' favorite part of breakfast was "Fruit Loops"!

Earlier this week we checked our mailbox and the kids each had a package from the North Pole!  Santa wrote them each a letter and sent them an ornament for the tree.  They were very excited!

 

Preschool Party and Program

Jacob was very excited about his preschool party and having me attend. The kids did a cute foam Christmas tree craft with stickers.  On one ornament the kids listed what they wanted for Christmas.  Jacob said "an excavator and fleece pajamas for Mommy".  Such a sweet boy!

How cute is he in his antlers? 

I made these cute rudolph sandwiches for the parties. 

Anna was a little overwhelmed at her party but I was able to capture a smile with her teacher, Miss Michelle. 

Jacob loves Miss Allison and was quick to give her a big hug!

The kids had an adorable Christmas program at preschool.  The kids had been singing their songs at home for weeks and we were quite excited to see them perform.  All the kids wore their Christmas pajamas; it was so cute! While I videotaped the performance, I, unfortunately, left my camera battery charging at home so I only got a few still shots with my video camera.  They aren't the best but they are better than nothing!

Jacob was front and center and sang the entire time!

Anna was completely overwhelmed and didn't sing a single word or crack a single smile.  She held her sweet baby close the entire program. 

 

The kids were all smiles after the program with their reindeer pops!

Cookies and Crafts

 We've had a lot of fun this season baking and decorating Christmas cookies.  We tried a new white chocolate peppermint cookie recipe which was delicious.  The kids (especially Jacob) loved crushing the candy canes with the meat mallet!

Here the kids are decorating Christmas trees with mini M&Ms for ornaments.

My mom and I make spritz cookies together each Christmas.  Needless to say, the kids were happy to join us in our tradition.  Anna tried the dough each step of the way including when it was just butter and sugar.

 I am a brave mama when it comes to crafts.  I actually let my 2 year old paint in the kitchen.  Of course, a bath is always required right after.  She loves to paint the paper but mostly enjoys painting herself! 

 We've also done a lot of sticker crafts this season which make for much easier clean-up. 

These two pictures have absolutely nothing to do with cookies or crafts.  I just like them.  :)  My sweet kiddos asked me to take their picture while they were doing their gymnastics. 

Anna LOVES to "diaper" all of her babies and stuffed animals.  I find babies lined up on top of diapers everywhere.  So cute! 

O Christmas Tree

Choosing our Christmas tree is always a fun event but we were especially excited this year being in our new home.  We've previously bought our trees at Home Depot but decided to try a place close to our new home.  We unloaded and were all excited until we heard what they wanted for their trees.   We promptly loaded back up and headed to Lowes where we found a wonderful tree for much, much, much less. 

 We lugged the tree up the stairs and began stringing the lights.  We were almost complete when a strand of lights blew out.  We thought nothing of it and replaced it.  Then another strand went out.  We decided we must have old lights and replaced it with a new set.  Then the new set went out.  The third time we realized we probably had a whole lot more strands connected than we should as our tree is much bigger this year.  (I then read the light box and saw it said to only connect 5 strands. We had at least 12...oops!)  We took all the lights off and restrung them using two separate outlets.  We decorated the tree and got the vacuum out to begin clean up when CRASH; the tree fell down!  Thankfully no one was hurt but it was pretty unnerving.  Once again we began the process of putting it up, fixing the lights, and redecorating.  The next morning we felt the tree was leaning again so we adjusted it.  By the afternoon I was convinced it was going to fall and called Jimmy and told him he needed to come home for a "tree emergency".  He did and we decided the plastic things on our tree stand were the problem.  We removed them, rescrewed it and have since been enjoying our beautiful tree.  What an adventure!  The kids love the tree and have had so much fun decorating it and making more and more and more ornaments to put on it! 

Pancakes with Santa

We took the kids to my parents' neighborhood "Breakfast with Santa".  Nana was out of town this year but Gramps was happy to take us for a visit with Santa, pancakes, and playtime.  Here are the kids when they spotted the man in the red suit.  

 

 Jacob was super excited!

Anna was a little nervous.

 

 

 Jacob is telling Santa he would like an excavator for Christmas. 

 Santa tries to talk with Anna but she isn't interested. 

 Jacob is more than happy to get Santa's attention back to him.  :)

 The festivities this year included pony rides and a train ride.  The kids didn't want to ride the ponies because they were "stinky".  Fair enough.  They both wanted to ride the train and it is quite the ride so I went with them.  Yes, I am the only adult on the train.....

 Jacob was very excited about his candy cane until he tasted it. 

 After the train ride it was time to hit the playground.

Such a wonderful morning!

A Sweet Start to Christmas

Nana came over with a Mickey Mouse themed Gingerbread house for her and the kids to put together.  As expected, they all had a great time!