December

 We started the Christmas kick-off Thanksgiving weekend. We went to the Opryland Hotel and saw this humongous Christmas tree.

 And this awesome Nutcracker, which Lily was all about because the Nutcracker was so in this year.

 But mostly we went for a free show called Shrek the Halls. We got to see some of the characters from Dreamworks movies. They danced around and sang songs and we hoped that some of these people were paid generously for what they had to do. It was definitely something fun and different to see and something perfect to start off the Christmas season.

 We also had our friend, Red, come from the North Pole to check on the kids and get into a little mischief. William and Lily absolutely LOVE Red and they counted down the days until he showed his rosy-cheeked face.

 Lily got sick one day in December and missed out on a class activity to make ice cream cone trees. So, thanks to Grandma, we were able to do them at home. Of course, William was excited to do one too.

 One of the things that Red brought the kids this year was a gingerbread house decorating kit. Since William and Lily had over 2 weeks out of school, this was a perfect activity to do.

 We did our annual new ornaments this year! William's took up most of our tiny tree, but he definitely loved it. I think we're going to have to upgrade to a bigger tree soon! It was a lot of fun this year to go through all of the ornaments we had all picked out over the years. It's one of my favorite Christmas traditions for us. It gives our tree a lot of trinkety character.

 The kids had fun with the decorating.

Also in December, William informed us that he wanted a new hairstyle. No more spiky faux hawk, he wanted a part. I think it makes him look older. The Sunday before Christmas, we had the kids dress super festive to church. William wore the sweater Matthew wore as a child and Lily wore a skirt I made for her the day before.

 They were awesome sports to let me take some pictures of them.

 But, of course, the perk is that if you take a good picture, you can take a series of silly pictures. It's funny because the silly ones end up being some of my favorites.

 On Christmas Eve, the kids sprinkled out Reindeer food and even saw a bright red light moving around the backyard. Of course, it was Rudolph.They all sang "Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer" at the top of their lungs to try and coax him closer, but I'm pretty sure they scared him. William and Lily opened their pjs. I made their pants and bought shirts to go with them.

  They put out some cookies for Santa, carrots for the reindeer, and gave Red a big hug goodbye with hopes of seeing him again next year. And Lily can't help herself...

 This year, our staircase lineup was a small one, but they still were excited, can't you tell?!

 William got his dream present from Santa. The Ninjago Great Devourer. A gazillion pieces and 4 hours later, Matthew and I had finally put it all together for him.

 Chef Lily got an Easy Bake Oven. She couldn't wait to try it out. I made her an apron with an "L" and a small spatula. Lily made us all cupcake sandwiches.

 

We had a good Christmas. Stressful, yes, but good. All I have to do is blink and it will be here again!