Christmas 2011

It seems that the older the boys are getting the more pre-Christmas excitement they seem to have and the more fun they are having with all of this Christmas stuff. The funny part is, Nathan and I seem to be having more and more fun right there along with them! Their giddiness during the holiday season this year was so contagious!

My parents and sisters arrived on Friday afternoon and the Holiday energy in our house escalated by about ten. After Thanksgiving we were having a hard time explaining to Drew how long it would be before Christmas arrived, so after a while I stopped trying to explain time and started explaining that Christmas would come shortly after Lala and Poppi arrived. Well, Drew didn't forget that one. Lala and Poppi walked through our door and the very first thing Drew turned to me and squealed was, "It's almost Chriiiiiiiiiiiistmas!!"...and although I'm not sure Collin truly understood what all of the hoopla was about, he was more than willing to be a thoroughly enthusiastic sidekick and follow right along with his brother in all of the excitement.

This Christmas season my heart was so full. I feel like there was so much to be grateful for aside from all that I received. Grateful for my beautiful boys, my gracious husband, and the best-friends-I-could-have-ever-asked-for sisters (that includes you Kimmie!). Christmas day itself was just icing on the cake. While I could go on and on and on about all things Christmas this year, I won't. However, there are a "few" things I'd like to remember about the Christmas season this year:

-Our elf "Broc" and his many shenanigans throughout the month.

-Having my parents join us at our house this year and all of the fun that went along with that.

-Tamale dinner on Christmas Eve with my family (my absolute, hands down, favorite meal of the entire  year!) . With this, my mom's beautifully pieced story of Christmas that we all went around and read....I loved this.

-Walking Candy Cane Lane Christmas Eve with the family (Yes, it was our third time walking this in the month of December. Yes, I love it that much.).

-The boys finding that Santa had come early while we were out at Candy Cane Lane and had left them each a gift on the hearth.

-Matching Jammies and Drew's "shake your booty" dance upon putting his on.

-Waking up on Christmas morning and opening stockings in bed with all my sisters (and hubbies, and the munchkins). I tried to explain this tradition to someone a little while ago, and it wasn't until halfway through explaining that I realized how ridiculous it all sounded. ("What's my favorite holiday tradition? Oh,  that would be waking up Christmas morning and opening stockings with all my sisters in bed". "One bed?". "....Uh, yeah. Did I mention we also cram our hubbies and my kids into the bed as well??").  Ok, so now that there are a few more of us, we've spread out to one room, but still. My sisters and I have been doing this as long as I can remember and I love it. Santa has always placed our stockings by our bedroom doors (I think it was my parents' plot to keep us entertained and allow them a bit more sleep when we were younger) and we've just continued the tradition and added to who joins us in bed over the years. :)

-Having our family friend, Kristen, from Eugene join us for Christmas. She was originally the girls' friend in Oregon and I have shamelessly stolen her as a friend of my own. She's currently a flight attendant out of San Franscisco and happened to be on the schedule for the afternoon of Christmas day. This meant that she couldn't go home to Portland to be with her family, so we stole her away from San Fran to be with us. Unfortunately, a few days before Christmas she came down with something and called to tell us she wasn't going to make it. We weren't having any of that business...she couldn't be alone and sick for Christmas! To our house she came!

--The pure excitement of Christmas morning on the faces of a 3 1/2 and a 1 1/2 year old

-Giving Kelly the quilt I had made her (and you all wondered where all of my free blogging time went....)

-Watching my Dad and Kelly argue over who had the rights to said quilt. (Every time Kell left it unattended my Dad would be found all snuggled up in it).

--Enjoying an afternoon of fun, laughter, and good family time opening gifts with Nathan's side of the family.

--Christmas dinner with the Hagens (apparently I like to eat, because once again, just like on Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve dinner, I have only a photo of the table...no people or food.)

- I almost forgot this one, but it was one of my favorites of the season! Drew and Collin playing "Baby Jesus in a Manger" (and yes, that's what they actually called it). Drew would usually be Joseph and Collin was "Baby Jesus Collin" almost every time. 

All in all, a really enjoyable Christmas season surrounded by the people I love most in life!