Christmas Day

Christmas just gets more and more fun as the kiddos get older.  Both kids were so excited this year and it was so fun to watch them enjoy everything so much.

The kids actually woke up at a normal time, and we made them suffer and wait to get a picture before going downstairs to see what Santa brought...

Miley was so excited to get her first American Girl doll, Julie.  And Landon was thrilled with his new Cars table!  They had fun looking through their stockings, and then it was time for breakfast.  Cameron made his family's traditional ebelskivers with jam and bacon, orange juice and hot chocolate.  MOST of us couldn't wait to dig in, but we couldn't pull Landon away from his new toys from Santa which let to the biggest meltdown of all time.  Not the best way to start Christmas morning.  :)  But he got over it after a bit, and ate after the rest of us were finished. 

Once breakfast was over, we let the present opening begin.  We were all so spoiled by our family, and everyone was so excited!  It was such a nice, low-key morning, and so much fun.

Later that afternoon, we headed over to Don and Cindy's for Christmas dinner with ham, cheesy potatoes, rolls, jello, etc.  Cameron made pumpkin cheesecake for dessert.  It was all so delicious!  

It was a wonderful Christmas!  And phew, I think i have finally wrapped up 2013.  On to 2014!  What will this next year bring??

Christmas Eve

For the first time in our 6 and a half years of living here, we were able to spend Christmas with Don and Cindy and their family.  It was kind of nice to divide up the Christmas Eve/Christmas responsibilities.  We had them over on Christmas Eve, and we went over there for dinner on Christmas day.

Much of the day was spent just hanging out with our little family.  We did a Christmas Eve lunch at Chipotle, which is always yummy.  :)  Then the family came over at dinner and we made Hawaiian haystacks.  Afterwards, the kids performed the nativity (which was a little hard, because Landon was DISTRACTING!!).

After that, we swapped gifts with each other, and then they headed home so we could get our kids to bed.  But not before our kids opened their new Christmas pajamas and slippers, and put out cookies and milk for Santa, and carrots for the reindeer!

Visit With Saint Nick

I didn't think we were going to have the chance to get down to the big Macy's display, and see Santa Claus this year when it got to the weekend before Christmas and we still hadn't gone.  I was sure that if we went two days before Christmas, when all the kids were out of school, that it was sure to be a zoo.  Cameron insisted we go though, and I am so happy we did.

We went first thing in the morning, and got there about 45 minutes after it opened and there was no line!  We decided to take advantage of that fact, and zipped right through the display to get in line to see Santa, and decided we would go through the display afterwards.

Miley was so excited to see Santa this year, and hopped right up on his lap to tell him all her Christmas wishes.  Landon was a little hesitant, but once Cameron put him on there with Miley he seemed to warm up to the idea a bit.

We are happy we did things a little backwards, because once we finished with Santa, it was definitely getting a little bit more crowded.  The kids still had fun, though, looking through the display, "A Day in the Life of an Elf."

Again, I am so glad Cameron insisted on doing this, even at the last minute, because it is so fun to make these kinds of memories at Christmas time!

Christmas Best

I always try to get pictures of the kids before Christmas Sunday all dressed up.  they were mostly cooperative this year, so we were able to get a few good pictures.  Afterwards, Cameron suggested we set the timer and get a few family pictures...I am so happy we did, because I feel like we never get nearly enough pictures with all of us in it!  Not the best pictures of me, but still happy to have some of us all together.  :)

Holiday Dance Preview

Each year before the holiday break, Miley's dance studio lets families come in for a little mini recital of sorts to see what the kids have been working on so far in the year.  Last year, when Miley had a 10:15 am class, the show was during her class time, so the studio was quiet and it was just her class.  It was so relaxed and fun.

This year was a little different, because she is in a 6:30 pm class now.  There are probably about 5 other classes going on at the same time, and they did their little show with two other classes.  It was CRAZY!  There were so many family members there scrambling to get in and get the few seats in the studio.  We managed to get second row seats, but didn't have the greatest view of our tiny dancer.  Coupled with the fact that Landon was super wiggly and crazy himself, we were thrilled to get out of there once it was over!  But, we are glad that we got to see Miley doing what she loves.  :)

First Dentist Appointment!

Yesterday, Landon had his very first dentist appointment.  I wasn't expecting much, because it took Miley till her third appointment to actually let them do anything.  We have a great pediatric dentist though...they always go over all the tools with the kids, and let them touch everything.

Well, lo and behold, Landon was super brave, and they were able to do a full check up!  He hopped right up in the chair, and was excited to get the sunglasses to wear.  He let them check his teeth, clean them, and put the fluoride paste on them.  He wanted to hold my hand a few times, but really didn't think anything about it (I am sure it helped that Miley was in the next chair over having all the same stuff done....you can see her cute little legs behind Landon in the pictures.).

Fortunately, his teeth looked great, and now that he knows what to expect he should definitely be ready for his next one!  Can't believe how fast he is growing up!

Family Dinner

After spending much of Thanksgiving week at Don and Cindy's house, we were able to have the whole crew over to our house for dinner on Sunday night.  It was the last night that Grandma and Grandpa were in town, so it was nice to all be together again.

Landon was still loving all of the extra attention from everyone....

And at the end of the night we were able to snag a few more family pictures (looking our best in our sweats!!).  It was a great night, and a great week.  We definitely have a lot to be thankful for, and love this time of year!