Waiting for Santa

We stayed busy in the week before Christmas. The boys were getting very excited for Santa's arrival. Caden and Cole made a gingerbread house with Mommy's help on the main construction. Most of the candy made it onto the house, but both boys were caught sneaking gumdrops. I think Caden is in mid-chew in this picture.
Here are Caden, Mommy, and Cole with the finished product.
Uncle Jason stopped by for a visit. He brought presents, so Caden and Cole were thrilled to open them before Christmas. It had been a year since our last visit, so it was great to spend some time with him. Here are the guys trying to get through the plastic, so the boys can play with the Incredible Hulk and Star Wars characters. Uncle Jason also brought Caden a V Smile Pocket, which is a huge hit.
On Christmas Eve morning, a delicious package arrived at our door. Here is Caden enjoying one of the snowman cookies sent by Kelly's Uncle Brad, Aunt Brenda, Brandon, & Brittany in Maryland. Yum!
We enjoyed our Christmas Eve traditions again this year despite Cole's first ever ear infection. In the late afternoon, we attended our church's Children's Christmas Eve service. Just two years ago, Cole, Curt, and Kelly played Baby Jesus, Joseph, and Mary during the interactive service. Where has the time gone?! After church, we opened our Christmas ornament presents and watched a Christmas show. We were ready for Santa!

Here is Caden with his treats for Santa (red velvet cookies and chocolate milk with a candy cane) and his reindeer (a carrot and oatmeal with sprinkles). Cole is not in the picture because he was in the middle of a meltdown. He was afraid that Santa would eat all of the cookies. FYI, the beer was not left for Santa. He was driving after all. :)
One last check of NORAD's Santa Tracker before heading to bed--If I remember right, Santa was in Canada. Amazingly, the boys fell asleep quickly. They were so excited!