Christmas Eve

We had a very nice Chrstmas Eve. The kids were very excited and had lots of energy, so we decided to open our presents from Chris's family today. That way they had some new things to play with while I cooked and packed and those presents didn't get lost in the chaos of Christmas morning.

In front of the tree before opening presents.

Ian with his new drawing pads

Cara playing with her new Noah's Ark animals.

Lila was so excited about the new clothes for her Chloe doll! She had to change her clothes right away.

This just might end up being Chris's favorite present this year.

After the girls' naps we went to family service at church and then came home for a Christmas Eve dinner of crab legs, twice baked potatoes and asparagus. After dinner everyone got to open a present- new Christmas pjs!

Then Lila and I put out some cookies and milk for Santa and carrots for the reindeers before she headed to bed.

The Six Days of Christmas Outfits - Day 5

Both girls wore these shirts today, but Lila covered her face with her blankie while I was trying to take pictures. Here's a cute one of Cara, though!

The Six Days of Christmas Outfits- Day 4

Yesterday for their Christmas outfits, Lila wore a red shirt with a gingerbread man and Cara wore a shirt that said "good things come in small packages".

But, they were much more interested in rocking in the chair than posing for pictures.

The Six Days of Christmas Outfits- Day 3

The girls don't seem to be as excited about documenting their holiday outfits in pictures as I am... Yesterday's outfit was the same thing they wore to see Santa ,which is a much better picture. Lila is wearing a reindeer sweater dress and Cara is wearing her Team Santa outfit.

The Six Days of Christmas Outfits- Day 2

Today's outfit is a brown shirt that says sugar and spice and has two gingerbread people. They are also wearing pink pants because that's what Lila picked.

The Six Outfits of Christmas- Day 1

It's that time of year again where I justify the number of holiday shirts that the girls have by turning it into a series of blog posts. We kicked off Christmas week yesterday with their first holiday shirt. Neither one was very excited about sitting still for a picture, so you can't even really see the shirts, but they are purple and silver and say JOY.

Christmas Pageant

Yesterday was our church's Sunday School Christmas Pageant. Is there anything cuter or more joyful that Sunday School kids telling the story of Jesus's birth? Lila's class were the Heavenly Hosts, so they dressed as angels and sang Twinkle Twinkle Christmas Star. Ian's class sang O Little Town of Bethlehem. Both kids did a fantastic job!

We got SO lucky and were able to sit two rows behind where Lila's class sat. And they stood up and turned around in their pews to perform so we had the perfect view. Here's Lila giving us a wave.

And a smile

Singing all the words! With a blankie in hand for support.

They say "Glory to God in the highest. Peace on Earth, goodwill to all." Then the words to the song are Twinkle Twinkle Christmas star/Over Bethlehem afar/Up above the manger high/Dancing dancing in the sky/ Twinkle twinkle Christmas star/Over Bethlehem afar.

Here she is when everyone clapped.

Ian was in back because he's so tall and he didn't smile much, so I don't have many pictures. But he did a fantastic job and I'm glad he's still willing to participate at the old age of 13.

After the pageant there was a cookie reception. Cara reached over and grabbed a cookie off of Chris's plate without any hesistation and stuffed it in her mouth. She is a big fan of cookies.

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

Wednesday was the last day of the session for Lila's dance class so parents got to watch. They did a Rudolph song where they got to dress up, it was so cute! Lila did a fantastic job and is getting much better about performing and not being so shy when people are watching. I forgot my camera so I had to take pictures with my phone.

Dressed like Rudolph and wearing jingle bells.

Cara, the enthusiastic spectator

Christmas Program

On Saturday, Lila had her school Christmas program. The theme was Christmas Around the World, so each class sang a song from a different country. It is overwhelming to be in front of a church full of people when you're three, but Lila did great. She was shy at first, but luckily they sang each song three times so once she had a chance to warm up she really got into the singing.

Sitting in front of the church.

After she spotted us.

Singing Mary and Joseph, a Russian tune, with her class. The words are:

Mary and Joseph, God has chosen you/Don't worry, don't fear/God is with you/Call him Jesus, he will save us all/Call him Immanuel, God is with you

All of the classes singing Joy to the World as a rock song to represent America.

Swimming

Ian had a weekend-long swim meet last weekend and did a great job. That's him in the far lane.

Big Weekend

It has a been a fun weekend here at our house. First, my baking addiction is back in full force this year. I made about 200 cookies this weekend- roll out sugar cookies (maybe my best batch ever!), cranberry orange cookies, spritz cookies and peanut butter fudge- and I still want to make cranberry white chocolate chip and snickerdoodles.

Yesterday, we took the girls to see Santa. Having the baby sit in the sleigh is genius because she cried when we tried to get her to sit on Santa's lap. Lila told Santa she wanted a Thomas Train she can ride and a pink castle with blue turrets. Cara showed Santa her paci and her shoes.

We also had our first snow of the year Friday night and Saturday. Lila got bundled up in her snow clothes (yes, those are the same 18 month sized snow clothes she's been wearing for the last two years!) and played outside for quite awhile. Cara had fun watching through the window shouting "Lila!", "Dada!".

She liked falling down in the snow as long as it didn't get in her face.

Today, Lila and I took a ride on the Polar Express to the North Pole. On the way there we got cookies and chocolate milk and got to listen to the Polar Express story. Once we got there, Santa got on the train and rode with us!
Lila was the third one that talked to Santa so she was a little silly and unsure, but she did give Santa a high five and let me hold her down for a picture.

30 Days of Giving- Week 4

Final (very late) update on the 30 Days of Giving. I'm glad I did it. It was a great experience and it made it even more clear to me how easy it is to give. Opportunities are everywhere.

Day 24: Text READ to Target (827438) pledging to read to your kids and Target will donate a book to a child in need.
Day 25: Happy Thanksgiving. Honestly, I didn't do anything other than some minimal help in the kitchen, but I was VERY thankful for my family and the chance to spend a couple of low key days at home.
Day 26: Purchased a grocery gift card for the Peoples Resource Center's Christmas present drive.
Day 27: Donated to Toys for Tots at Pier 1.
Day 28: Volunteered for Make a Wish.
Day 29: Scheduled a donation to Amvets.
Day 30: Made a blanket for kids at Mutual Ground.