The last day before Christmas break, Luke and I helped with Jacob's Christmas party at school. (I have been alternating parties -- I helped with Hannah's Halloween party and it was Jacob's turn to have us celebrate with his class.) The kids made gingerbread houses. Luke is always so shy at first - but eventually he warms up. I am trying to expose him to school experiences as much as possible as he will be starting Kindergarten this fall and he's not going to preschool this year. Here are the boys working on their houses together.
His teacher had them use a small milk carton as the base to stick their graham crackers to -- a good idea for a frame to help kids get it started.
Jacob's class -- holding their creations and ready to go home for Christmas Break.
Third graders are funny!
We headed to the farm the day after school was out. We spent a little over a week at the farm - which included Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
The kids were showered with gifts -- from Nana, Uncle Tom and Margaret, Uncle Mike, and Mommy and Daddy. We tried to spread the opening out a bit so we started early. It was like the 12 days of Christmas.
But first there was a birthday to be celebrated....
We celebrated Lois' birthday a bit late -- for two reasons: we didn't arrive until a few days after her birthday and when we got to her house, I got sick with the flu. So her Black Forest Cake had to be put on hold. It was a fun party nonetheless. We gave her a "winter survival kit" which included: a warm hat, a six pack of 2 below beer, a book and some homemade fudge. Happy Birthday, Lois!
I brought our pickle with us to the farm to hide on the tree. Hannah found it this year! (this was the first year we carried this tradition out - one that will be repeated!)
She got to open the first present. We opened a few of the kid's presents from Pat and I early because Pat decided to leave Christmas Eve morning because he was having trouble with allergies. Here are the kids on Christmas Eve morning -- Jacob being goofy, as usual....
Hannah got a veterinary set from Lois.
Luke got a wooden car loader from Mommy and Dad.
Sophia got a stick pony that sings from Nana. Luckily his batteries are running low. I told Sophie he was tired and so now she tells people "he's tired."
Jacob got new football cards and a sports book.
Uncle Tom and Margaret came for Christmas too. (sorry no pic of them either...I need to be better about capturing family on film.) Margaret made each of the kids a fleece blanket and wrapped presents for them inside the blankets. They had fun unfolding them to find the hidden presents. Then they all snuggled up in their blankets on the floor. Couldn't resist taking their picture.
Sophia's hair after unrolling from her blanket....
When we got home from Christmas Eve service we took pictures in front of the tree. The kids cooperated only because I let them do silly pictures. Hannah was starting to catch the bug I had, so she never posed for a silly picture. Here they are....
Hannah and Sophie got new hats from Nana and we gave all the kids footy jammies. Funny thing about this -- they all stopped opening gifts on Christmas Eve after church to change out of their church clothes and put on their cozy footy jammies. Usually clothes get tossed aside -- but these made the cut. (wish I had taken a pic of all four in their jammies together...)
The three big kids got Bison hoodies -- Go Blue!
Jacob asked for a Browns T-shirt/sweatshirt for Christmas. I found one on-line for him. He loves it and wears it as soon as it's clean. He now has shirts for all of Cleveland's pro sports teams.
I got dolls for the girls from the Christmas in the Hills craft fair that is held each year at the beginning of December. The dolls weren't anything special but they had cute hand-made, fleece sleeping bags. The same booth had pretty flower clips. Hannah got pink and Sophie got purple. They both named their dolls Molly. I told Hannah she had picked the same name as Sophie but she said "my doll's name is spelled M-a-l-l-e-i-g-h (like a girl in her 1st grade class). So we have two new Mollies in our family ;-)
Uncle Mike gave Sophia a new puppet -- she named him "Jack".
Hannah made reindeer food at Daisy's and we brought it along to Nana's farm. Here she is sprinkling it on the ground. She was determined to check and see if it was still there in the morning -- but with the excitement of opening her stocking, she didn't remember. I wonder if it was gone?
Lois traveled to Germany in the fall and brought back souvenirs for the kids. The girls both received Austrian dresses. This package came on Christmas day. The girls wanted me to put music on so the could dance in their new dresses. They twirled around for a long time. Luke and Jacob got boiled wool sweaters but Jacob was too busy playing with other toys to bother with getting dressed up in his new outfit. Luke joined the girls and danced with them, but I didn't get a good picture of him. The Sunday after Christmas the kids all wore their Austrian outfits to church. They looked like the kids from the Sound of Music. I wish I would have taken a picture!!
Jacob took this picture of Sophia -- not bad, huh?
Sophia carried her new kitty blanket from Uncle Tom and Margaret around everywhere for the rest of our visit on the farm....(notice she also has it in the pic above)
She also enjoyed tinkering on the ivories...
Nana and Uncle Mike came back with us and got stuck in Hot Springs as a big storm was brewing to the east and west of us.
We came home to more Christmas -- packages from Nana and Papa had arrived while we were gone. The kids were so eager to open the presents. They never get tired of opening presents, do they?
Here they are checking out the presents before we opened them....
Lebron James Cavs Jersey - Jacob is still proud to wear this. And a metronome to help him keep the beat while playing his recorder.
Hannah had fun making her own watch and building and decorating a jewelry box.
After vacationing this summer with her cousin Kailyn, she wanted a mermaid doll she could take in the bathtub. Nana and Papa made this wish come true.
A new nightgown! Hannah loves this.
Luke got a lego set -- He is a lover of legos
Luke's deep in concentration playing his new BINGO game.
Sophia's new dress-up princess set and pink bathrobe.
Sophie is funny about her bathrobe -- she wants to wear it throughout the day -- not just in the morning and at night. When I help her put it on she always tells me "give me bunny ears" - she wants her belt tied in a bow. She loves her robe.
And Christmas would continue with more presents from Aunt Carrie's family in a few weeks.....
It might have been more like the 3 weeks of Christmas this year --- but I can handle that - it's my favorite holiday and I love all the traditions that surround it - so stretching it out is a joy for me! I am so thankful for a memorable Christmas with my kids!
