Christmas Eve traditions

This was the first year we've spent at home with just our family since the year William had his first Christmas. Since he was too young to remember anything, this is the first year we've really had to think about what traditions we want to start. We spent the day around the house just playing with the boys & talking about Santa & Baby Jesus. We ate a very early dinner (3:30 PM) and then got dressed for Mass. Mass starts at 5, so we had a hard decision to make--get there early & have to entertain the kids for an hour PLUS Mass time, or get there on time & risk having to stand. We chose to risk it! It worked out well, because, although Mass was crowded, I've definitely seen worse & there was a bit of room in the cry room. The boys did amazingly well during Mass, but Colin was starting to meltdown towards the end, so we rushed home to put him to bed. Then, the big boys each got to open one gift:

From Christmas 2009

We then headed over to our neighbors to bring their girls a little something we'd gotten them and have some grown-up Christmas time! William's gift from Maddie & Allie was Spiderman roller skates & I think they might just win the contest for favorite gift this year! Daniel got a Buzz Lightyear & had to sleep with it, so I'd venture to say it was a success, too.

From Christmas 2009

Since William hadn't napped, we weren't sure how long we were going to be able to stay, but they both made it until 10! It was nice to spend the evening with good friends & let the kids have some crazy time! The girls even sent our boys home with a little something special that we had to sprinkle around the yard before we could go to bed:

From Christmas 2009

We couldn't take a chance on the reindeer not being able to find us!!

Then, it was into the house to put out cookies & milk for the big man (William didn't insist on any fruit this year!), then upstairs for the traditional reading of "Twas the Night Before Christmas". Our boys definitely went to bed with visions of sugarplums dancing through their heads!

Colin's First Christmas

For all of my boys' first Christmases, I've had their picture taken in their diaper & a Santa hat. This year, we did them at our local JCPenney's. Colin was his usual curious self when we walked in, getting very serious & checking everything out. As a result, the first few of our group Christmas shots include a very solemn-looking baby. As he warmed up, he returned to his usual smiley self. By the time we were done with the group shots, he was having a blast! Here are his "first Christmas" pictures:

From Christmas 2009

From Christmas 2009

From Christmas 2009

From Christmas 2009

And, then to take a trip down memory lane, here is William's first Christmas picture (11 months old):

From Christmas 2009

And, Daniel's (5 months old):

From Christmas 2009

And, here were the two best group shots we managed to get:

(No smiley Colin yet)

From Christmas 2009

(and, the return of the smile)

From Christmas 2009

Merry Early Christmas!

Brunch at the O'Club

We went back to the O'Club for brunch with Santa again this year. We had to make a much later reservation than last year because I was working the weekend he was going to be there. Since I'm always out by noon on Sundays, 1 PM it was. Our good friends the Bautzes came with us. We weren't able to stay as long as last year because it was directly during Colin's naptime, but in standard Colin form, he was a trooper.

William & Luke:

From Christmas 2009

Daniel & Will (there's that "in severe pain" face I was talking about a few posts back!):

From Christmas 2009

Cutie-pie in his high chair (think that thing was around when I was his age!):

From Christmas 2009

And, trying to stay awake after he ate:

From Christmas 2009

Getting slap-happy with Daddy:

From Christmas 2009

On Santa's lap--William was thrilled, the other two not-so-much! (Daniel insisted that he didn't want Santa to come into his house):

From Christmas 2009

And, our two with Luke & Will:

From Christmas 2009

Overall, it was a good lunch, if a bit quicker than we'd have liked due to Colin's impending meltdown! There was live entertainment & the four big boys entertained themselves by running around in the back of the room & dancing to the music. Hopefully, next year, we'll have more than one excited to see the jolly old elf!

Daniel's three-year pictures

We were a little late on Daniel's three-year old pictures, but at least we got them done before he was four! We took these at JCPenney Portrait Studios last month & I was very impressed by how great a job they did. Daniel tends to want to smile & say, "Cheese!" and, as a result, ends up looking like he's in severe pain. While we did get a few of those, we mostly got some really cute pictures of my little man! Here is a sampling:

From Big kid pics

From Big kid pics

From Big kid pics

From Big kid pics

He's looking more grown-up by the day!

Christmas goodies, and goodies, and goodies!

I baked this year. I usually make a few treats to hand out, but Scott wanted to send stuff to the guys he works with, so instead of the very simple things I've done in years-passed, I decided to go for broke & expand my baking experiences. Wow! It was fun, but much more involved than I'd thought it was going to be. And, the worst part of it was that I couldn't even eat 90% of it because of my non-dairy diet. Did I mention that I went through 3 BOXES of butter???? Here is a quick snap of my kitchen at its worst:

From Christmas 2009

And a sneaky shot of my wonderful husband helping out (I was joking when I asked, but he took me seriously & agreed, so who was I to turn him down?!?!?):

From Christmas 2009

Here are a few things I learned about myself and my kitchen-gadget obsession during my two days of torture, um, I mean baking:

1) I have NO patience for things having to "come to a slow boil" or "melt slowly over medium-low heat"

2) While I don't love the Pampered Chef chopper for vegetables, it's a must-have for chopping nuts, peppermints, and chocolate chips!!

3) The Pampered Chef small scoop is a must-have for mini-muffins and the perfect size for small cookies. I also used it to make meatballs for a party appetizer & it's the perfect size for uniform meatball appetizers, too! Who knew I couldn't live without a teeny scoop???

4) I hate kitchen mess. I kept having to stop what I was doing & wipe the counter down. I mean, I knew I was anal, but had no idea I was OCD!!! And, dishes in the sink DIRTY drive me crazy--I might need it for something & then I'd have to stop & wash it. Why not wash it now & be done with it?? (insert eyeroll here!)

5) Yes, you do absolutely need more than one size scraper. Little scrapers just don't do the job on big bowls.

6) I actually like to bake. And, I mean LIKE it. Who knew???

And, it only took me about 3 dozen gooey-caramel bars, 6 dozen chocolate peanut clusters, 2 dozen peppermint meltaway cookies, 2 dozen cinnamon candy-cane cookies, 2 batches of chocolate pecan fudge, and 6 dozen triple-nut bars to figure all this out. PHEW!

Happy Birthday again!

So, today is my "little" sister's birthday! Hard to believe she's as old as she is (especially since I'm only 26???). I remember her looking like this. Amazingly enough, she looks like Daniel, or I guess I should say he looks a lot like her, thus the title of that blog post. It's so hard to be away from family during the good times. Happy Birthday, Little Sister!! We love you.

Happy Birthday to me!

My (26th?) birthday was Wednesday, the 9th. Corey & Dawn took us out the following Saturday to celebrate! We ate at this wonderful German steakhouse called Kreis' Restaurant (prounced Chris's, apparently!) that was fabulous. Prime rib is not my favorite cut of meat, but I'd definitely recommend it from this place. And, the atmosphere couldn't be beat. After dinner, we headed over to the Fox Theatre for a production of Charles Dickins's "A Christmas Carol". The play was quite entertaining & our first non-kid live production since we moved here (the boys & I headed to the Fox for Backyardigans Live last year). We've vowed to return soon! (Maybe even in January for "Grease"?) Here are a few snaps of us out to dinner:

From grown-up pics

From grown-up pics

From grown-up pics

From grown-up pics