Christmas Day

We had such a fun time with Christmas this year.  Sydney really loved everything about this magical season.  She loved spotting the Christmas lights as we drove in the car.  She loved putting our tree up.  She loved listening to Christmas music, making a snowman & snow angles, meeting Mrs. Claus, looking for Criddle the Elf every morning, writing a letter to Santa Claus, going to family Christmas parties, watching Christmas movies, making Christmas cookies, playing with her nativity set, holding baby Jesus from our nice nativity set, tracking Santa on the computer, and reading the Christmas Story in her picture book.  It was so fun to watch her enjoy the Christmas Season.  I definitely think Christmas is so fun when you are a parent, it's like you were a kid again.  I even had trouble sleeping on Christmas Eve, because I was so excited to watch my kids wake up to presents in the morning!  On Christmas morning, we slept until Cooper woke up, and decided to go in and wake Sydney up.  We told her that it was Christmas morning, and she could go see if Santa had come, and she said, "no, I'm so sleepy..."  So we all sat on her bed for a few minutes and then all of a sudden she popped up and said "let's go see!"  She ran out to see all the presents Santa had brought and was so excited.  She was happy to see that Santa had brought her a cradle and a baby doll, plus a Tangled dress and a Cinderella dress.  She was also pleased that Cooper got a Woody and a "Lightning the Queen".... good thing Cooper has an older sister to show him which toys are the "cool" ones, ha ha.  After we opened all our presents we went over to my family's house for a traditional Christmas morning breakfast.  After breakfast we talked to Tim on the phone from Ghana, and during that time we were also conferenced into Alex's call from Argentina.  It was so fun to talk to both our brothers, and was definitely something we have been looking forward to!  Next Christmas they will both be home!  After we talked to Tim, we went home and had some naps and played around with presents for the evening.  And that night Matt pulled the mattress out into the family room and we watched Despicable Me, a movie Sydney picked out for Matt for Christmas.  It was definitely an exciting day!

Twas the Day Before Christmas

We had a busy, fun-filled Christmas Eve!  Matt had to work, so I made plans with Sydney to make sugar cookies for Santa, since they are his favorite.  My family came over to help us out and spend some time together.  We had a blast!

 Her finger kept getting side-tracked to her mouth...

 Sydney's very own cookie!

 Santa's plate...

 The kids ready to leave for Nana and Papa's house

Every Christmas Eve Nana and Papa host a get-together for everyone.  They make scones for dinner, have a small talent show type thing, and read the Christmas Story and sing hymns.  It is something we look forward to every year.  This year we played some chimes, for the talent show.  It was a lot of fun.  We love spending time with them.

Before bed we had the kids each open a present.  Cooper has really gotten into opening presents!  He enjoyed it much more than he did for his birthday.

Putting the cookies and milk out for Santa before going to bed

I love Christmas Eve, probably even more than Christmas.  I love the simplicity of it.  I love that it seems to be the time that we focus on Christ, while Santa and presents seem to be a Christmas Day thing.  I love reading the story of Christ's birth and feeling the spirit of that holy night present in our lives today.  I love that all the shopping and hustle and bustle is over, and that we can all relax and focus on our Savior.  It is a nice, relaxing, simple, spiritual night, and this year was no exception.  I pray that we can always keep Christmas Eve that way in our home.

Merry Christmas!

Our Special Visitor

 Last night we had a special visitor come to our house!  Mrs. Claus came to tell Sydney that Criddle the Elf has been flying back to the North Pole to tell Santa how good Sydney has been.  Mrs. Claus told Sydney that she heard she is a very good big sister.  She also said that Criddle told her and Santa that Sydney wanted a new baby doll for Christmas, a cradle, and a "Tangled dress."  Mrs. Claus said that only very good girls get Tangled dresses, because a lot of girls want them this year.  Sydney's face was priceless when Mrs Claus mentioned a Tangled dress.  It was full of surprise, just saying how on earth would this lady know I wanted that?  Sydney was a little nervous to have a stranger in our house, but hasn't stopped talking about "Santa's wife" since she left.  Mrs. Claus told us that Santa loves sugar cookies and the reindeer do too.  Mrs Claus' favorite cookies are chocolate chip, and the reindeer also can not have any chocolate because it makes them sick. Today we are planning on making some sugar cookies for Santa!  We are so excited that Santa Claus comes tonight!

In the Meadow We Can Build a Snowman...

Let it snow,

Let it snow,

Let it snow!

Cooper at 14 Months

I am coming to terms that my little Cooper is no longer a baby and is a toddler now.  He is fully weened from breastfeeding now, and the day I ended it, I was the one who cried, not him.  I have either been pregnant and/or breastfeeding for 4 years now.  It is weird to think that my body has literally been taking care of my babies for that long.  I 'm sure it will be a nice break to have it back to myself for a while though :)  Cooper is in such a fun stage right now.  His little personality is really shining through.  He is becoming a little chatterbox.  He likes to point at everything and can say several words.  Mama, Dada, ball, ba ba, done, there, hi, la la (love you), and ba bye.  He absolutely loves balls.  He can find a ball, or something that looks like a ball, pretty much anywhere we go, and calls balloons balls also.  I love to see him pointing out the window, as we drive, at a balloon with his little voice saying "ba!" He is also using grunts "uh uh" and pointing to get things he wants, rather than crying.  It is fun seeing him learn how to communicate more.  Cooper is becoming more interactive with toys and books.  He likes to point at the pictures in books and turn the pages.  One of his favorite things to play with is actually his toothbrush.  He loves to carry it around and chew on it, but he hates actually getting his teeth brushed... go figure. Cooper is still such a sweet tempered little boy.  He is pretty much always happy and can entertain himself well.  If I am ever sitting on the ground, he will come up and plop himself into my lap... probably the thing I am loving most about him right now :)  I love that he will cuddle with me and sit with me.  I just can't get enough of his smile and blue eyes!