Christmas

Christmas! I love Christmas, everything about it. Waiting for Santa, excited kids, and lots and lots of treats. I think I enjoy Christmas morning more as a mom than I did as a kid.

Coming down the stairs was a little interesting this year. The presents and tree are all visible from the top of the stairs, so it's challenging to get the kids to look at the camera at all. Makenzie is apparently playing peek-a-boo behind Olivia :).

Santa didn't leave any presents under the tree this year, but he did leave the kids boots, coats, and hats next to his cookie plate. The kids took the hint and went out back...

Santa for the win!

Pure joy on this boy's face :)

Kenzie's stocking was bigger than her! She has been our only child to be awake through their first Christmas morning, but she had these shocked eyes almost the entire time.

About mid-way through present opening (we started around 8) we talked to family on the iPad! My side of the family was all getting together the next day, but we weren't going to see Alex's family, so Facetime was awesome.

This is what happens when you forget to do breakfast until 10:00. Carter was so hungry he dove face first into his toast :). But for anyone who's worried, his stocking chocolate held him over.

We had such a relaxed Christmas, and had Amber's family over for Christmas dinner. I definitely miss family, but having holidays with just our own little family bring a new peacefulness that I have grown to love. It doesn't change the end result, Dad and Kenzie totally wiped out, sleeping on the couch. :)

The next day we started our J Family Christmas weekend! We had to start with a selfie...Amber's new selfie stick came in handy throughout the weekend to cause mischief.

Emily has a birthday just a couple days after Christmas, so we celebrated with a special breakfast. The grownups had crepes (from the best crepe bar I've ever seen), but the kids enjoyed Olaf pancakes instead. All the parts are moveable, so we got to watch them act out the whole movie as they ate the main character :).

This sweet boy is always asking to hold the baby. He sits so gently and pets her head and her hands. He often brings his favorite stuffed dog to share with her because it makes him happy. Teag's normal is so exuberant that I was nervous at first, but he is so soft with her that she has enjoyed sitting with him from the beginning.

I am in the background of this picture playing a game, so I missed this cute picture of a bunch of girls :).

I love this part of family get-togethers. We all just sit around chatting, watching the kids goof off, and laughing at each other. I could never get enough of it!

The evening of the 28th, we split up and sent the men to our house with our kids, and the women stayed at Amber's. We played a bunch of fun games, and I had a major accomplishment after Pass the Pig.

At one point in the evening, Mom and Tasha had to arm wrestle (during a game...anything to win!). Can you guess who won?

We had the traditional crazy present opening with 20 people in one room, and lots of fun. Our kids are pretty sure that Christmas lasts for a whole week, and I'm totally fine with that sentiment.  We were so wiped out that we totally skipped New Years (a few of us were sick with a bug). Overall a great holiday!

Lastly...this stage of baby-hood. I totally forgot the frequency that we find this ...sad baby!

Christmas Eve 2014

Christmas Eve was a great day. We spent the whole day playing and looking forward to Christmas, and didn't get out of our jammies once. In the morning, when all the kids were playing, I got out the camera for a photo shoot. At the time, I was focused on all the pictures that didn't work out, but when I look at them now, I realize how lucky I am to have these wonderful kids in my life.

Olivia was all about the photo shoot with Kenzie. She loves her little sister, and is always looking for ways to be a helper.

When we get all the kids together, this kind of picture happens. Poor Kenzie is always getting balls bounced on her or elbows smashed into her.

My adorable kiddos. And I love that my camera can capture these faces as I see them every day. Always in action, with a half-smile on their faces as they explore and create adventures for themselves.

I love this picture of Alex as he plays with the kids. He is such a wonderful Dad, I be luckier.

Later in the morning, we took our 'reindeer food' - which we made at Olivia's Preschool Christmas program. The kids were totally thrilled to have some food for Rudolph, which made up for the fact that we totally forgot cookies for Santa! :)

After a semi-healthy, mostly-sugary lunch, we had naps and rested to get ready for the fun evening ahead. Later we headed over to Amber's for dinner and a nativity. I took a million pictures during the nativity, but here are a few of my favorites...

Elli the star/angel and Teagen the wise man

Olivia as Mary, and Carter the shepherd

Kade as Joseph (and yes, this is the face I got when I asked him to smile. I'm not sure sultry is the look he was going for, but he's definitely growing up.

And a few scenes...first is the angel telling Mary that she will bear a child

Mary and Joseph traveling on their donkey to Bethlehem.

Joseph getting rejected at an inn

Mary and Joseph with Baby Jesus.

The shepherd minding his flocks

One of the wise men presenting his gift

The whole crew...

My favorite picture from the night.

After we finished our nativity, we rushed home to make is before Santa came. It was snowing, and Santa's elves had a big job ahead of them.

More Pre-Christmas

December always feels like such a full month, and this year was no different. We tried to make a list of all the activities we wanted to accomplish, and then threw in a few extra just to make the month insane. It's really a lot of fun, and I was SO glad to have Alex around so I could continue resting with Kenzie and getting refamiliar with life with a newborn.

One morning, Olivia, Kenzie and I headed to our cousins' gymnastic meet! They did SO well, it was really fun to watch. I'm always impressed with their skills and concentration (especially on the beam - how do they do it?). Maely got gold, and Elli got silver, which was a medal up from their last meet for both of them!

At one month and 3 days old, we got our first smile picture :) Kenzie, who seems to be following in her siblings' footsteps, and spends most of her time just watching and learning. She smiled first for her Dad, and this picture came a few days later. I love newborn smiles :)

When she was all smiley, I thought it would be a good time to take sibling pictures! Olivia and Carter will tell you that I do this too often, but I have this idea in my head of 'that' sibling face picture, and I will get it eventually :). This time ended up perfectly, I got a picture that is my favorite sibling picture so far.  The faces below sum up our life as a family of five. Olivia is so very much in love with Makenzie, and wants to hold and play with her at every possible moment. Carter, on the other hand, is curious from a distance. He knows that this baby has a belly button, but isn't interested in much else. Makenzie, our little sweetheart, is a little confused about this crazy life and family that she has been thrown into. We are so glad she's here though!

A few days later, we had another opportunity for a photo shoot! This Thursday was a big one for our little girl, who had her first school program and her first piano recital, all in the same day!

Beautiful hair :). Olivia did great at her school program. They did a little nativity, and Olivia was the angel. She was the only one in her class that had a line, but unfortunately the rest of the audience didn't get to hear it. When it was her turn to say 'Fear not, find baby Jesus in Bethlehem' to the shepherds, she walked right out, climbed onto her Daddy's lap, and buried her face. After a minute of unsuccessful cajoling, their class moved on with the rest of the show. O did join her class to sing Rudolph and Jingle Bells at the end of the program. I was a proud mom, and have a great blackmail video to show her later when she thinks she doesn't want to hang with her dad any more :).

 School program was of course followed by lunch at Red Robin, Olivia's favorite restaurant. Isn't Carter a little stud?

Later that evening, we went to Grace Retirement Center for our Christmas recital. Growing up, my wonderful piano teacher Nancy always had our Christmas recitals at a nursing home in Corvallis. I remember playing as Grandmas and Grandpas ate dinner, listening, and cheered loudly. Definitely my favorite audience. I was so proud of my three piano students, Maely, Kade, and Elli. They did amazing, and all seemed to love performing. I wish I had video of Maely dancing on the piano bench, as my sisters and I love to do. Olivia played Jingle Bells as a duet with Amber. It doesn't matter how many times I see her do something new, my grin never ceases, and I can't help but live a little through her excitement and accomplishments. I am destined to be 'that' Mom through her entire childhood.

After each kid played one or two songs for the recital, they all sang a couple songs to the residents before we left. We had a great time at Amber's for a post-recital party, The kids all did a great job! I was proud as a mom and as a piano teacher.

That weekend, we had some fun adventures in preparation for Christmas. One night we had the cousins over for the evening. I took this picture of Teagen holding Makenzie. He is so sensitive and sweet, he just sat and chatted with her for about ten minutes. I will never get over how cute this kid is!

Later that evening, I was putting kids down for bedtimes, and when I came out I saw Maely sketching Makenzie. She is so talented, and did this picture in about 15 minutes. I - as a non-artist - am so amazed by her talent and ability to just whip something out like that.

One morning we had major drama when Olivia declared that we needed to move the piano before Christmas. She was quite adamant, but eventually we figured out the problem. When we moved into this house, we realized that there was no wall for the piano. A piano isn't optional for us, so we sacrificed the fireplace to make room for it. I haven't regretted it for a moment, we love having music in the front room. Olivia, however, was quite upset at the idea that Santa wouldn't be able to get out of the chimney to leave presents. After a long while of explanation, we concluded that Santa's magic would surely work to allow him to squeeze through this three inch space.

Just a picture of all these kids staring at a Christmas movie and totally not eating their lunch. I can't remember the occasion, but we get together often, and learned on this occasion that the kids won't touch their food until the movie is paused :).

December 22nd was the first time that Carter held Makenzie! It was a big deal, he is mostly content to look from a distance. He is a great big brother, but is much more concerned with boy things than the sister that can't yet catch the ball he throws.

Gingerbread house day! I hope this is a tradition in the making. The kids were so creative with their house decorations, but Carter only got a few actually on his house without eating them. We had cotton candy snow, gummy trees, sour patch kid inhabitants, and candy walls and roof.

The next day was Christmas Eve, with dozens and dozens of pictures to remember the busy, wonderful day.