My little Christmas obsession

I have a little obsession with Christmas cards as my husband will tell you. I love to go to the mailbox and see who we got a card from that day, read about what they are up to or see pictures of their families. When I went home to IN, Jason was instructed not to open any cards until I got back. He, of course, rolled his eyes at me and my mom told me that that was his only form of entertainment while I was gone but still, being gone the second week in December, is prime time to get cards. He was good and only opened a few:) Anyway, I love that people we don't normally keep in contact with will send us a card with a new family member or address or just a "hi" and we feel for a second we know what they are up to or, for people we see all the time, we get some cute pictures of their families :) Until next year...

Are There 2 Santas?

One night as Tate was getting tucked in bed, he asked "Are there 2 Santas?." I wonder why?? And this doesn't count the one we saw at the movie theater, grocery store.... Maybe we should limit our Santa visits next year or someone might figure the whole Santa thing out:)

Wrapping up Christmas!

We had a busy and full month enjoying lots of Christmas activities! I didn't get a chance to post all the happenings so here is the short version:

We decorated the tree....

made a gingerbread house and cookies at the Children's Museum...

had a fabulous dinner party with our friends....

visited Scooby Doo and friends at Six Flags Holiday at the Park....

made a trip home to visit our family in Indiana....

went to the Holiday at Sea World to visit Shamu....

made lots of cookies for our friends...

and, most importantly, enjoyed each other. Jason worked most of the month (gotta love the retail world during the holiday season!) so we had enjoy him while we got the chance. Now, with the holidays over, we have the exciting task of putting all the decorations away, cleaning out toys to make room for the new ones and get organized for our Disney cruise in 3 weeks. Yeah:)

Merry Christmas!!

I love the excitement of Christmas morning! For some reason, Tate was in our bed this morning and the first thing he said was "I'm going to run downstairs and see if Santa came". After stopping him to explain he needed to wait for his sister to wake up, he just couldn't stand it. The suspense was killing him. We, finally, went into Maren's room and she immediately popped up with a smile. (Which is always a good thing). We, then, opened the gates. Tate ran down the stairs while Maren, I think she thought Santa was actually downstairs, was a little hesitate because they have this on-off relationship. Tate was in awe of the presents and his new bike! Maren, instantly, began jumping on her trampoline. They quickly paused for a picture in front of tree and then once again had to wait. Bella was not going to let us have a peaceful morning unless she got her walk so Jason walked her while, lucky me, got to stay with 2 anxious children in front of a pile of presents.

They had a blast! Besides the bike, Tate got a racetrack, John Deere boots, a Leapster, games, Buzz Lightyear and a guitar. Maren got an American Girl BittyBaby, which after many names, she decided on Gabby, highchair for her baby, a Leapster, puzzles, dress up clothes, scooter and helmet and, also, a guitar. Of course, that is the big stuff and there is plenty of other gifts to keep them busy for a long time.

While reading the paper this morning, I came across an article that I thought I'd share. Michael O' Rourke in the SA Express says it best..."I will spend the day memorizing. It won't be hard. You only get so many Christmasas in a lifetime, even fewer when your children are young, so the memories become etched....Today will speed by just as fast as the days leading up to it raced by. The trash can will be festooned with ripped paper, ribbon and bows. The coffee on other days won't taste nearly as good. Some gifts will fit: some won't. But the best gift of the day is the time spent together. Time is the absolute perfect gift. Time always fits. I only wish it last longer. I'm just glad the memories last forever."

After reading this in the paper this morning, while drinking my coffee and eating our traditional coffee cake, I changed my outlook for the day. We had not a single plan for the day so instead of trying to pick the house up, do dishes and worry about messes, I laid on the floor and watched my children mesmorized by the new racetrack Tate got and took in every part of them because they will and are growing up so fast and before we now it these days will be gone. Tomorrow I can start it all up again but, today, I decided to relax and enjoy the excitement of the day and we did. We watched the Spurs win, played outside, watched movies and had a good dinner. What a perfect day to spend at home together! Of course, we would love to be closer to our families on the holidays but, if we can't, this is the way to spend it!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and that everyone took time to enjoy!

Tate's Christmas Program

Tate had his Christmas program on Wednesday night. What handsome reindeer! His class sang songs which included "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" and "Santa Claus is Coming to Town". They did a fabulous job! Afterwards, they got to see Santa Claus and have punch and cookies.

Here is a clip of his performance:)

Tea for Twos

Maren had her school Christmas program, Tea for Twos, today. The 2 year old classes dressed in their pajamas and sang Christmas carols in the school atrium for all the parents. Let me just tell you that it was amazing that they could get 30 2 yr olds to sit still and sing for a whole 10 minutes. I was skeptical of Maren but she saw me in the crowd and sat in her seat, shaking her bell, and didn't even attempt to get up. She then proceeded to sit on Santa's lap! I'm so glad to get that on film because daddy would need proof. (Maren claims she "doesn't like Santa") She is scared of characters that are dressed up. She doesn't have a good track record with Santa. It's amazing what a little bribery with candy canes will do:) We had punch and cookies in their room afterwards and then on with our day. What a cute program!

Tate's First Basketball Game

Tate had his first basketball game on Saturday, which makes his dad so proud:) He had a great time and was so cute! He is the big #23!

The cheering section (and Jason isn't coaching! Yeah!)