Merry Christmas

The greatest Christmas gifts of all...

E, O, R

 

 

Ryan's awareness made this Christmas particularly exciting. 

 

This was our first year to do Elf on the Shelf.  At first, Ryan was concerned about whether or not the elf was alive.  My answer, he's magical.  Ryan's comeback, but is he real?  Once he came to terms with his mere existence he was very excited.  After much thought he named him Ernie.  I expected Ryan to enjoy the daily search for Ernie, but what I didn't expect was the twins to have so much fun with it.   I think they were more excited to find Ernie than Ryan.  On Christmas eve Ryan told me he was excited for Christmas but sad that Ernie would be going away. 

 

In Christmas morning we waited for all boys to awake before going downstairs.  Ryan led the pack, followed by the twins, all of whom were super excited to see Santa's delivery.  Ryan ran to find his stocking and then helped the boys find theirs, so sweet.  The twins both went straight for their cozy coupes.  It was quite a whirlwind.  We took a break for breakfast and then opened presents.  The twins didn't even make it through their presents before they were off playing with their gifts.  The rest of the morning was spent doing just that, playing with their loot. 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All and all, a great day!

Christmas Eve - 2013

Here are a few 'day before' memories...

 

 My attempt at a felt tree was squashed by the destructive hands of my 2 littlest loves. 

 

 

Ryan counted down the days til Christmas by adding a cotton ball to Santa's

beard each day in December.

 

 

 

The boys helped Nonna make 'fluff'.

 

 

And Ryan shared his love for said 'fluff' with Ethan.

 

 

Ryan watched his first movie ever, Toy Story. 

Well, actually he only made it through half and then watched the rest on Christmas day.

 

Since our oven started a downward spiral shortly before Christmas,

Ryan left pretzel rollos for Santa (on gluten free pretzels, of course). 

And now for the oh so hard wait for the big guy in the red suit.

Ryan's Christmas Sing-a-long



Ryan's preschool has 2 'sing-a-longs' a school year.  December brought the years first.  Ryan was so excited that his brothers would be coming to his school.  He said he would hug them as soon as he saw them.  And he did.  He's so darn sweet.  

 

 

The preschool has a 3 day and a 5 day three-year-old class and they joined forces to sing the following 4 songs:

 

1 Little, 2 Little, 3 Little Reindeer

On Christmas Night

Down in Bethlehem

Christmas Jazz

 

After all the classes sang, the entire school sang 3 more songs:

When Santa Got Stuck in the Chimney

The Night That Jesus Was Born

We Wish You a Merry Christmas

 

 

 

The littles quickly made themselves at home.

 

 

And leave it to Ethan to find the book corner!

 

 

 Ryan is in the back right in the first 3 clips and then closer to the front in the last ones.

 

Of course it was adorable.  He's adorable.  I just love that kid!

December Water Play

We took a short trip to Great Wolf Lodge for a bit of December water park fun.  Ryan was excited for the trip and the littles caught the excitement as soon as we got there.  After a summer of lackluster enthusiasm for the pool, I was surprised that all 3 boys took to the water like fish.  They were extra excited to see Nama and Papa.

 

Owen's first look...

A ride on baby sister...



The hotel room was fabulous for our family.  Our suite with 2 rooms and a living area was perfect for the boys early bedtimes.  I wish we had a tub this size!



 

 We headed into town for a walk, some shopping, and lunch...

Ethan

 

More water fun (Ethan)...

(don't let his ribs fool you, this boy is a fantastic eater)

 

 Ryan

Date night...

An attempt at staged photos...

On our last morning we enjoyed a little Christmas show in the lobby and as the participants sang "Let it Snow" it started snowing on us.  Ryan thought it was fantastic.  The littles were intrigued, but they've never actually seen snow.  I thought it looked quite real!  Overall, a great time was had by all.  I can't wait to go next year and bring baby girl and maybe a cousin or two!

Santa - 2013

Apparently Daddy's pretty scary!  Contrary to his facial expression, this was Ryan's best year yet.  He was excited to see Santa and even told him what he wanted.  The twins, however, made him question his comfort level, hence the concerned look.  Overall, I consider the visit a success!