Christmas Eve

Lexi was so excited for Christmas.  During the month she would ask me different questions to try to figure it all out.  She asked me what this list was all about she had heard about.  I told her that there was a naughty and nice list and explained that you had to be on the nice list to get presents.  She said she thought she was on the nice list but then got panicked and said, "Mom, Carter's so naughty he's going to be on the naughty list."  It was so funny.

Christmas Eve was a lot of fun.  I could tell the anticipation of Christmas was wearing on my kids though because they were a little fussier than usual.  We started off by going to the Ellison Christmas party.  It was fun and we enjoyed the food, pinata, and white elephant.  Cole passed on the toilet seat gift and added a picture of himself to it.  I laughed so hard though because the people that gave it to Cole ended up with it. My Grandma Irene dazzled us all with her mini skirt out-fit that beat out all the competition for the ugly sweater contest.  She even sang and danced for all of us.  I love her spunk.  It was a fun party.

In between the parties Cole played outside in the snow with the kids.  It was so fun to have a white Christmas. 

In the evening we went to my Moms house for a delicious dinner.  The kids were all so excited they could hardly eat.  We played a few games and then my parents had the kids open their gifts.  My kids were thrilled with their gifts.  We then went home and put the kids to bed.  It was a very fun and exciting day!

Birthday Party

We baked our traditional Birthday cake to help us remember Christs birth.  We started the tradition last year when Lexi asked us if we were having a cake to celebrate his birthday.  So on Christmas Eve we leave cake for Santa instead of cookies so Santa can celebrate his birthday too.  It is my favorite tradition we have. We sing Happy Birthday and enjoy cake while remembering the real reason we celebrate Christmas.

Breakfast with Santa

We got to go with my family to breakfast with Santa.  The food was good and the kids got their faces painted and decorate cookie.  It was really fun and both my kids enjoyed it.  Lexi was excited to tell Santa she wanted a Barbie house.  When our turn finally came to see Santa she went right up and did a great job.  Carter clung to me.  I think every kid needs a picture of themselves screaming on Santa's lap so I made him sit on his lap. He didn't disappoint.  Once I got him off he was fine and even waved at Santa and said Bye Bye.  After breakfast we went bowling.  It was Carter's first time and he loved it.  Lexi was more concerned about making sure no one used her pink ball than the number of pins she hit down.  It was such a fun day and we had a lot of fun being with all our family.

Dance Recital

Cole and I got to go watch Lexi's informal Christmas dance recital.  They had it at the studio and did two dances and a mock class for the parents to watch.  It was one of the most fun things I have ever done as a parent.  I was so proud and loved every moment of it.  Lexi was by far one of the best dancers out there (and I'm not just saying that because I'm her Mom).  Half of the girls wouldn't even participate.  Lexi not only participated but she knew what she was doing and lit up the room with her charm.  She told me they were going to call her name and she would get to dance by herself.  I didn't know what she was talking about but they did.  Each girl got to get up and dance.  Again, most of them wouldn't, but Lexi got up and did a little shake.  It was so cute and we cheered extra loud for her.  They did a dance to Here Comes Suzy Snowflake and one about a little brother that got a lump of coal because he was naughty.  Lexi would sing the words while she danced.  It was adorable.  Cole and I left beaming.  She was just so good and cute!

Carter and Lexi

Lexi and Carter are still making us laugh everyday.  Lexi is still very sweet but also has a very strong desire to be a mother hen.  She has fallen into her role as oldest child very well.  She is very helpful and kind.  Carter teases her endlessly.  She never hits him back.  She just comes in crying to have us help her.  Thus, Carter totally dominates her!  Sometimes we wish she would defend herself so he would stop being so mean to her but I am grateful she is so sweet.  He knows he isn't allowed in the bathroom so the minute he hears that Lexi is going to be using it he races her to the door to try to sneak in with her.  She has gotten so frustrated that she throws herself to the ground crying because she can't go to the bathroom because he'll get in.  It's sad and funny.  Lexi is still a great singer and knows the words to most songs on the radio (which keeps me on my toes to make sure they're appropriate).  She is now in CTR 4 and said the prayer in primary last week. 

Carter is going through some changes right now.  He recently got very sick with diarrhea so we had to take him off milk.  We decided that would be as good of time as any to get rid of his bottle but it's been very hard.  He used it for comfort and nourishment so he is very unhappy with this transition.  Hopefully it will get better soon.  He has started singing.  He sings the clean up song and tries to sing parts of Old McDonald and Bringing Home a Baby Bumble Bee.  He loves to dance.  On New Year's Eve he stayed up until past 11 while we played Just Dance and danced the entire time we played.  It was so cute and funny.  He is talking a lot and speaks in short sentences.  He will say, "I want Mommy", "I want some", "Here you go", etc.  He's started calling Lexi, Sissy, which is what Cole and I call her.  We are so blessed to have such wonderful kids!

Cole's Sibling Party

We decided to host a Christmas party for all of Cole's siblings that live around here.  We love having family around and enjoyed having them over.  We had wonderful food and played some minute to win it games followed by a white elephant exchange.  We laughed and had a great time and appreciated everyone coming.

Thanksgiving

I am so behind it is hard to remember everything but I will try.  We had a wonderful time in Arizona at Eden's house for Thanksgiving.  I was really nervous about driving that far with the kids but it was actually our best road trip yet.  Both of the kids handled the ride well and we had great weather.  We got to stop at Oregano's in Flagstaff on the way and enjoyed that.  Eden did a great job putting together a delicious feast.  It was fun to eat Thanksgiving dinner outside in flip flops and bare feet.  Lexi and Carter enjoyed playing with their cousins and going swimming. I loved hearing Lexi and Makani singing "How much is that doggy in the window" with Aunt Eden.  It was fun getting to know everyone better. I loved black Friday shopping with Cole's sisters.  It was my first time going and I thought it was a lot of fun.  We really appreciated Eden and her family letting us come and enjoy the holiday with them.