Santa... I know him!

 I felt like a kid again on Christmas Eve. I was too excited to sleep, because I knew that Santa had filled the stockings and delivered the gifts under the tree. Owen understood who Santa was and that he was bringing him presents. I told him that he had to close his eyes and go right to sleep so that Santa could come, and he didn't even fuss. I am pretty sure he was asleep in 5 minutes, when he sometimes sings and talks in his room for 30 minutes. The next morning when Owen woke up and came out to the living room he asks, "where is Santa?" So, he almost understood the concept. He was appreciative of the man leaving all the gifts but was disappointed that he left without even saying hi or goodbye. Owen was in charge of passing out the gifts and was even a little concerned that we did not have as many as he did. We were all having such a good time that we forgot to take any good photos.

 Playing in his club house tent.

For Christmas dinner Adam put on his very best holiday outfit and Aunt Betty just so happened to have the exact same idea. Twins! 

I love holidays in PJs

Our Christmas Eve tradition is perfect because we get to stay in our pajamas all day long. It used to be sort of a forced tradition because I had to work at the Zoo during the free admission pajama day. But this is still a fun event to attend when we get to go by choice. Zoo people sing carols at you as you enter the zoo and force candy canes into your child's hands :). Once we are all hopped up on sugar we can make our way around to see our favorite animals and this year Owen brought grandpa along too. Owen got up close to wish the otter a Merry Christmas and it was the perfect way to start our Christmas Eve.

Classic leaf pile baby

I wonder if the neighbors think I am pushing child labor when I give Owen a little shrub rake and put him to work in the yard. I figure pretty soon he is not going to be so willing to help with chores so I ought to take the help while I can. He was not half bad at raking his little sections. The real hold up was that he kept jumping in the middle of the leaves and spreading them all out again.

Sleeping like a baby

Christmas shopping is exhausting for everyone and after a long day shopping and refusing to nap at the regular nap time this kid is finally out. It was so late when he finally fell asleep that I just let him sleep on the couch hoping he wouldn't sleep too late. (It still screwed up his bedtime but he was so crabby without his nap) Watching him dose reminded me of when he was a baby and could sleep anywhere.

Oh Christmas tree

My little elf was actually a pretty good helper this year in decorating the tree. The bottom half might be a little unsymmetrical but Owen was really proud of his ornaments. He made little families too. The rocking horse, reindeer and zebra all together and a family of globes. Each night he says goodnight to his favorite ones and gives them all a kiss.

Party boy

 

Somehow the second Saturday in December has become the busiest day of the month. Our family Christmas party falls on this day each year and so does Owen's friends birthday party. There is also Holiday Magic at the zoo, although we did not go this year. And my office party was also on the same day and we did not go. Owen loaded up on pizza and ice cream at the birthday party and then ran all over playing games and was so wound up he couldn't take a nap. And when we got to the Christmas party he was so excited to play with his cousins that he stayed up way, way past his bed time until he finally crashed. He is usually not a very deep sleeper but this night he stayed asleep when we transferred him to the car and then to bed and even changed his clothes before tucking him in with a kiss.

All Aboard... the Polar Express

Last year we had such a wonderful time on the Polar Express even though Owen was too young to really understand Santa. This year Owen is really excited about Christmas - the decorations, the tree, the lights, the reindeer... and the big man, Santa. So when we told him we were going to ride the Polar Express train to the north pole to see Santa he couldn't stop talking about it. When the big day arrived we got all dressed up in our finest pjs and cousin Stone brought his parents down to join us. We got our pictures in front of the trains.

 

 

 

 We ran with true excitement to see Santa.

 

We waited patiently in line at the train station.

 

And cuddled with our family.

 

All aboard, and take your seats.

  This kid is a natural on camera.

Did you hear... Santa is coming!

Can you see him, look there he is.

  I see him, I see him.

I believe, I can hear the bells.
  
Thanks Santa, this has been so much fun.

 

Merry Christmas!

Clayton's first buck

Our guest subject today is our nephew Clayton on his first deer hunt with Uncle Adam. Adam said it was the most rewarding trip he has been on and he was so proud in that moment. A lot of time and effort goes into planning these trips and Adam and his dad worked really hard to make sure this would be a great trip, even heading out a day early to scout out the area and set up camp. Clayton got drawn for a special junior hunt and was the only one hunting on this trip, but Adam and Lon probably were just as excited as Clayton was at the end of the day.

Snuggle bug

Pene tries to put up with this kid who seems to be in her space way too much. I just don't know how she can resist this supper adorable kid when all he wants to do is snuggle up next to her. He even brought his own blanket over, but forgot his pillow. It isn't too much to ask if he wants to use Pene as a pillow, is it?

Who's the Turkey

The cutest turkeys ever! We are so lucky to be able to spend this holiday with our family (even if that means Thanksgiving falls on a Wednesday this year).

And even though these kids are cute they sure can be difficult to photograph...

can you sit still for two seconds...

No crying allowed on this day of thanks... and no little dogs jumping on the kids.

After our disastrous photo shoot we got everyone to sit down for dinner and I was a little surprised to see the little kids were willing to sit at their own table away from the parents.  But they sat and ate and chatted and stayed in their seats, man they are growing up fast.

Here fishy, fishy

Turns out you can't catch a lot of fish without a hook or bait. But it is a lot more fun to practice casting with a rubber tire on the end of your Lightning McQueen fishing pole.

Dump truck race track

Sometimes I am amazed by the creativity of my husband, mostly because I never think of these things. The boys spent an afternoon chalking our backyard with a racetrack and lots of fun designs. And then raced the dump truck and tricycle all over the yard. Too bad it rained the next day and washed it all away.

Boys day out

 The boys had a fun zoo day, although you can't really tell since all these pictures are just of the rides.

The maintenance inspector

So amazed by the maintenance guy, Owen just had to check out his work. He pulled up his little chair and patiently sat watching him all morning. What is it about workmen that is so interesting to little boys?

Little Gymnast

Thanks Auntie Jessi Sue, I love my birthday present! I get to jump, swing, run, follow the teacher, say "ta da" a lot, and burn off some extra energy now that the sun is not around very late and I can't play outside in the evenings. My favorite is the tumble track and the rainbow... and the stamps at the end of class.