Christmas Day

Christmas came SO fast this year and once again it really didn't feel like Christmas at all. As much as I love the weather here, 70 degrees just doesn't scream Merry Christmas. :)

For the first time since having kids, we were not the first ones awake. Emma and Alyssa woke up around 7 and Matthew followed a little bit later. We finally woke Ellie up at 8 because the kids couldn't wait any longer.

The set up. I love the kids expressions when they saw everything.

Emma wrote this letter to Santa: Dear Santa, I have some questions for you. Is Rhoudohlf real? Can your reindear really fly? Are parents your elfs? How do you deliver presents to the whole world on time? Please tell me the answers.

On the back she had provided spaces for the answers and she was thrilled to see that Santa had answered. His answers were 1. yes  2. yes  3. parents help me sometimes 4. I can only deliver the presents because children believe!

Matthew's Hot Wheels track was the hot item of the morning. I really didn't want to get one, but it was the one thing he had been asking for for months and the only thing he said he wanted. Jon talked me into keeping it after I bought it and I have to admit it's been a lot of fun. 

Ellie got this fold out couch bed. She plopped down on it and did not move from it for most of the day. And now she sleeps in it every night and all the kids try to sit on it when they watch movies. Definitely a great purchase! 

So excited about her crystal growing kit! We've only grown one of them so far and it was really cool. It's a pretty involved process so Jon has to be around to help. We can't wait to see the rest.

Alyssa hung out with us for a little bit and then went down for a long nap.

Hooray for headphones! While they were Emma's gift, they were just as much for me as for her.  :)  She LOVES playing the piano, which is awesome, but it's so nice to let her practice in silence sometimes too.

Lego treehouse set

And the Lego cafe set she's wanted for months!

I got a laptop (okay...I bought it for myself). Our laptop died several months ago and the desktop is just not the same. I am so so happy to have a laptop again.

So sweet

After hanging out inside all day playing with our new toys and games, we decided to take advantage of the gorgeous weather and ride down to the park. It was the perfect end to a great day.

Jon spent a lot of time putting Lego sets together with the kids. Can you tell he loves his Ninjago dragon?

I love how magical Christmas is with kids. We had just as much fun watching them enjoy everything as they had playing with everything. I loved hanging out together, just our family, in pajamas all day. Aside from some tummy trouble Alyssa had in the afternoon, the rest of the day really was perfect. Lots of game playing, lego building, cuddling, and laughing. I felt so overwhelmingly blessed at the end of the day.

Halloween

A little catch up post from way back in October...

The Saturday before Halloween we went to the pumpkin patch. The kids had been begging for weeks, but with a brand new baby, it just hadn't happened. It was a gorgeous day and we had a lot of fun.

The pumpkin picking was serious business.

We loved having my mom here for all of the Halloween festivities.


We had a lot of fun carving and decorating our pumpkins

little Halloween baby

Bumble bee...this was a repeat costume from last year.

Ellie's bumble bee was also a repeat from last year and Matthew's fireman costume was a clearance find a couple days before Halloween. Yeah, I really wasn't on the ball this year and I'm totally okay with that!

We went trick or treating up and down 3 of the streets in our neighborhood and called it a night. Between that candy and the candy from our church Halloween party the weekend before, they were more than set. Halloween is definitely not my favorite holiday...it's probably my least favorite holiday, but it's always fun to experience it through the kids.

Christmas Activities

A little rundown of our pre-Christmas activities this year...most of these are cell phone pictures, so excuse the poor quality.

We went and picked out a Christmas tree the Monday after Thanksgiving. This will probably be our last live tree for a long time because we bought a nice fake one on an after Christmas sale (hooray!) Jon prefers the big, beautiful real trees, and while I like them, the practical side of me really prefers a nice, beautiful fake tree that doesn't shed needles and doesn't have to be bought year after year. And having a pre-lit tree doesn't hurt either.  :)

 An unplanned visit with Santa at the mall

 The kids thought it was hilarious that Alyssa fit in the stocking

 And a random non-Christmas picture that was taken last month. Cute kiddos hanging out.

We were able to spend a couple different days with Jon's family before Christmas. The Saturday before Christmas they had their annual family Christmas party. They went all out for their Polar Express themed party. We received our tickets for the Polar Express in the mail the week before. The kids thought we were really going to ride the Polar Express and were ecstatic. It was a little sad to let them down, but they were still thrilled that they got to go to Grandma's house. We hung out that day, had a yummy dinner, decorated gingerbread houses, watched The Polar Express, and had a yummy hot chocolate bar. And I didn't get a single picture!

On Christmas Eve we went out to their house again. We went roller skating during the day, which was quite the experience with 3 little kids. Emma was terrified at first, but got the hang of it and ended up loving it. Ellie LOVED it, but someone had to hold her up and basically carry her around the rink because she wasn't holding any of her weight. She was just along for the ride and having a great time. Matthew hated it and only went around the rink once before sitting out and playing games on the iPhone. Ah well...good times!

We had an amazing dinner, opened sibling and grandparent gifts, and the grandkids acted out the nativity. Such a fun night!

Ellie loves the soft teddy bear and the blanket that Grandma made

 The Ninjago golden dragon with the golden ninja has been on Matthew's wish list and he was thrilled

 And the airbrush art set was a huge hit too

 I'm pretty sure that Emma is always Mary and Owen is always Joseph. And of course whoever the baby is that year gets to be baby Jesus. Ironically, all 3 of my girls have had a turn being Jesus. Matthew is the only one of our kids who never got to.

 The crew this year consisted of Mary, Joseph, a shepherd, and two adorable angels.

The Monday before Christmas we went to a live nativity event called Bethlehem A.D. It was seriously awesome and something we'll definitely do again. If you live around here, check it out! It is put on by a church in Redwood City. They build this massive replica of Bethlehem that you walk through. You pay your taxes, sign the census, walk through the town center and see all the shops. There are tons of animals that you can pet (the kids loved the camels!) and then you end up at the stable where Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus are. They have the kids come sit up in front of them for a few minutes. Very cool! Before going to the program we ate dinner at The Old Spaghetti Factory, which is one of our new favorites, and after the program we drove around looking at Christmas lights. Alyssa miraculously slept the entire 4ish hours we were gone and we had a great time.

And to finish off our pre-Christmas festivities...the kids on the Sunday before Christmas. I had wanted to get a picture before church but we were late, so this is what we ended up with after our afternoon church...and it cracks me up. Some very obviously over-tired kids. Matthew had been crying the whole way home and Ellie's hair looks...awesome... Real life in all it's glory.  :)

Ellie's First Haircut

At 2 1/2 years old, Ellie finally got her first haircut...unfortunately she did it herself. She is the first of our kids to take the scissors to their hair, but if anyone was going to break that streak it was going to be her. She actually did a pretty good job. So good that I didn't notice until I was putting her in bed that night! She gave herself some cute side swept bangs, but they were a little uneven. The rest of her hair was still thin and scraggly and pretty long, so I decided to take her in and see what could be done with her hair.

She was really excited about getting a hair cut until we got there. As soon as we walked in she got super nervous and was really quiet. She had her choice of cars to sit in. I was sure she would choose the Barbie Jeep, but Lightning McQueen won. The lady started combing and getting her hair wet and Ellie's lip started quivering. I don't think I have ever seen her so terrified in my life. They had a tv at each station, so we turned on Angelina Ballerina and that helped her calm down. But every few minutes her bottom lip would pop out and start quivering and she would look at me like I had betrayed her. It was so sad! 

Finally, the hair cut was done. She got to pick a flower clip for her hair, and life was good again. I think it turned out really cute.

The price of the haircut includes a manicure, which Ellie LOVED. She ended up with green and pink nails with a layer of glitter polish over them. On our way out they let her pick a lollipop, which sealed the deal for her. She's been asking almost every day to go get another haircut. I'd say it was a success!

Two Months

 At 2 months Alyssa is 10 lbs 11 oz and 22" long. She is awake a lot more, but still a good sleeper at night, and has started to make some really great faces. She is smiling a lot more, is ticklish all over, and has laughed the cutest little laugh a few times. 

We really have been so blessed with how easy going she is. She loves sitting and watching us or staring at the Christmas lights or the windows and she LOVES her baths. She rarely spits up and only poops once every few days (this is a first for our babies, but apparently it's totally normal). It's been awesome. :)  

We get told all the time that she looks just like Matthew, and while I believe that she probably does, I think she mostly just looks like herself. She also gets lots of compliments on her long eyelashes and thick, dark hair. I would love it if she kept the dark hair, but I'm pretty sure she'll go blonde like the other 3 kids have.

We love this little girl so much! She came as a big surprise and it took me a long time to come to terms with being pregnant when I was not at all ready for another baby. We've had our ups and downs, our good days and our rough days, but we can't imagine life without her now.