Our Christmas

Christmas Eve is one of my favorite days. I love our family traditions! We attended the 3:00 Christmas Eve service at church. After church, we watched A Charlie Brown Christmas and ate pizza for dinner. After dinner, we watched A Christmas Story, opened our ornament presents, tracked Santa's whereabouts, and put out Santa's cookies and the reindeer's carrots. Finally, we read Twas the Night Before Christmas before turning out the lights.

Sporting their new Christmas pajamas that they received on the last day of school before break

Opening their ornaments--BB8 for Caden, Star Wars Death Trooper for Cole (same as his Halloween costume), Black Panther for Kieran

On Christmas morning, all of the boys were up bright and early.

Checking out their gifts from Santa

Jovie and Rey wondered what all the fuss was, but they were happy with their gifts. 

Santa brought Spongebob's Glove World to Kieran. He has been asking for it since before his summer birthday, so he was excited. 

After seeing their Santa gifts, we emptied our stockings.

Jovie and Rey were happy with their stocking stuffers too.

After breakfast, we opened presents from each other. I like to spread out the present opening.

It was a Pop! Christmas. Our boys love adding to their Pop! collections.  

Jovie guarding her gifts

Caden was surprised by his Back to the Future Pops. 

It was also a bathrobe Christmas. Each of the boys received a cozy bathrobe. They stayed in their robes for most of break. 

Jovie waiting for the presents to move, so she can claim her spot under the Christmas tree

Cole received several books, comic books, and graphic novels. 

Cole with his Niffler Pop from Fantastic Beasts

Clearly, Kieran was thrilled with his new pirate ship.

Caden and Cole had just been talking about how there should be Pops for one of their favorite video games, Overwatch. Surprise! They do exist!

Round 3 of presents with Nana and Papa

Rey was fascinated with the kittens and puppies on Hallmark's yule log. She could not take her eyes off the tv.

Beanbags from Nana and Papa for the basement video gaming area 

Can never have too many books!

Kieran was pretty excited about the new Skylanders set. 

With Nana and Papa

The first of many times playing Pop the Pig

Aunt Shannon and Uncle Josh arrived mid-afternoon.

Kieran demonstrating the new PlayStation Virtual Reality

Caden's shirt says one of his most common phrases/complaints, "What's Up With The WiFi?" 

Kieran happily lost PieFace Showdown. 

With Aunt Shannon and Uncle Josh

Even more presents

Kieran received Googly Eyes from Aunt Shannon and Uncle Josh. Such a fun game!

Nana and Papa were able to stay until Monday evening. We enjoyed lots of family time, good food, and some fun games. Aunt Shannon and Uncle Josh were able to stay until Tuesday afternoon. We enjoyed the extra time with them, including the introduction of our new favorite family game, Telestrations. LOTS and LOTS of laughter!

I introduced Caden to The Price is Right. If I was home at 10:00 during the week as a kid, The Price is Right was on. I can't believe I haven't watched this with the boys before now.

It was another very merry Christmas!

Our December

We squeezed lots of holiday fun into the month of December!

Kieran created a ninja gingerbread man for a school assignment.

We started Curt's birthday with our church's Breakfast with Santa.

Kieran and Cole decorating sugar cookies with Caden in the background as a helper

Kieran piled on the candy toppings.

Since it wasn't even 10:00 yet, Cole thought he should save his cookie for later. 

Sharing their lists with Santa

Got some good photos with Santa and the beautiful sanctuary Christmas tree.

Trying out Curt's birthday gift, a drone

Kieran lost his first tooth without any drama! The day before, he mentioned that his tooth was wiggly. I thought it would barely move since it was his first mention of it, but it was already barely hanging on. He couldn't wait to go to school to show his teacher and classmates.  

Jovie was the first to steal an ornament off the Christmas tree.

Rey lounging in bed with Caden...quite content with her situation

The 7th grade jazz band performed at the mall. They put on a great concert. Caden did a nice job on his solo.

Cole, Kieran, and I spent a weekend in Rankin. Curt was on call and Caden was participating in a fundraiser dodgeball tournament, so they couldn't come along. Our first stop on the way to Rankin was Hardy's Reindeer Ranch. Nana, Papa, Aunt Shannon, and Uncle Josh met us there. It was super cold, so we visited the reindeer quickly.  

After lunch, we toured Hoopeston and visited a couple shops. That evening, we introduced the boys to Henning's for dinner and drove through the park's light display. It was a snowy evening--perfect for Christmas light viewing.  

We also stopped in front of a couple of houses that put on coordinated music/light shows.

Caden spent the weekend with this crew at Jacob's house. Even though they lost, Caden and his friends had fun playing dodgeball. After the tournament, the boys gamed, ate, and roller-skated. We missed him in Rankin, but sounds like he had a fun time with his friends.

Ryan, Alex, Caden, Amar, and Jacob

I had the opportunity to join Cole's 4th grade class on their field trip to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum. As Cole pointed out, I haven't been able to attend one of his field trips in several years because Kieran was at home. So glad I was able to go! My group of four boys behaved very well. We had a fun time together!  

Rey watched Keanu with Curt and me until the kitten disappeared.

Laurel's Christmas Pageant...Wintry weather cancelled practice, but the kids still did a great job.

Cole as Joseph...He did an awesome job on his lines. A member of the church made new costumes this year. They turned out great! 

Caden led the congregation in a responsive prayer.

Kieran's class sang a few songs. He stood directly behind someone for all the songs, so I couldn't get any good photos.

Kieran face is behind the little girl's hand.

Cole created "stars in a bottle" sensory bottles for the 4th Grade Trade Fair.

Rey was known to push aside presents to find a comfy spot under the Christmas tree.

Caden and Rey vegging

Jovie girl

Classroom Winter Parties

Sugary snack station for Kieran 

Showing off the candy canes he caught in the fishing game

Creating a yarn Christmas tree ornament

Playing my ping pong ball toss into a snowman game...such a ham! 

I ran the game station for Cole's party in another room, so I didn't get any photos of the rest of the party. Here, Cole is balancing a cotton ball on a spoon in hopes of getting the most cotton balls in a bowl.

We created a gingerbread house village.

Jovie received a bed for Christmas. Here, she is sleeping next to it, of course. It took a few days, but she finally adopted the bed.

Rey (especially!) and Jovie are not sure about my new robot vacuum.

If someone will sit, Rey will definitely sit with them.

Cole and Rey lounging in a beanbag

Rey and Jovie received their own blankets for Christmas from Aunt Shannon and Uncle Josh. It took a few days, but they finally accepted them.

I took the boys to Sky Zone over break. Caden and Cole spent most of their time playing dodgeball. Kieran's favorite place is the foam pit.

Caden is looking.

Cole is looking. Of course, they cannot look at the same time!

We had a quiet New Year's Eve at home this year. We ate junk food, watched a movie, and played games. In the following photos, we are playing Headbanz Electronic.

I was the only one who made it to midnight. Everyone else tried but failed. At least, they made it to East Coast midnight.

Happy 2017!