Ring It In Right

Well, if ringing it in "right" means to you what it does to me, we'll all be fast asleep by about 10 and never know when the ball drops. I am old - it is now official. I have often said that no matter what time I choose to go to bed, my children will still be up bright and early at 6ish. And EVERY.SINGLE. DAY. they want to be fed. The nerve...

I finally uploaded all the pictures from December, and we have packed in a ton of activity in one little month. Of course, the month started like this:

Eat. him. up. He is the sweetest little man, and my heart hurts a little at the fact that tomorrow he will be a year old. Just yesterday it seems like I was waking Jason up to tell him I thought that New Year's Day was going to be "the day." He is waving and saying "bye, bye," trying to mimic any sound you make, crawling like crazy, and he just started standing alone for a few seconds. Before you know it, he will be running after his brothers. Be still my heart (and the clock).

We got to go to Washington, GA while my brother and his family were in town. It was great to see everyone. They live in Kansas, and the last time we saw them our oldest kiddos were just over a year old - it's been a while. We packed it up and headed to my mom's. Of course, my children (well, one larger child in particular) decided this would be a great day to act like a total heathen. I mean, really. When we got in the car to come home one of the first things he said was, "Mommy, I made some bad decisions today." Ya think, son? We did try to get a picture of them all. Two four year olds and two two year olds doesn't exactly scream "great photo op", but we did get one with all of them in it.

We even got to see sweet Lorelei



I love this pic because she is making Tucker laugh.
 

On of the first orders of business for December was Christmas lights and Christmas music. I promptly found the 24 hour Christmas music radio station and left it there. It drove Jason crazy. The boys and I loved it. They didn't remember any of the songs from last year, so they had to relearn all the songs. After a while, it was like playing "Name That Tune" because they would see who could name the song the fastest. "Why, Connor, I can name that tune in 3 notes." Or something like that. Some of you younger ones will have no idea what I am even talking about with that reference. On multiple nights, we ate dinner, got baths, put on jammies, and loaded up to go look at lights. It is one of my favorite things to do with the boys. And let me say that my boys are completely spoiled with lights. If they don't "dance" they are sub-par. And by "dance" I mean that you drive up, tune into a particular station, and watch as a light show coordinated to music unfolds. There are multiples ones all around Savannah. I was, hmmm, 35 before I saw one. Regular old lights just don't cut it for my cutthroat critics :)

We had Christmas parties galore. Jake and his class sang "I Get the Wiggles in the Winter." Yes, it was as cute as it sounds. I also came to school to watch the building of gingerbread houses.



Concentration

The finished masterpiece

Someone ate his fair share of the toppings



Reindeer cupcakes for the class

Connor did great at his program, too. They told the Christmas story and sang songs.

Okay, so I must vent for a second because, as you know, no post is complete without a little venting.
The program consisted of a group of 1-4 year olds which is always super cute. They had all the parents in the sanctuary of the church then they brought the kids in to do the program. Jason was working, and I had both of the other boys with me. So they bring the kids in, do the program, and then they released them to come sit with their parents. So far, so good. THEN, they stand up and announce that there will be cookies AND Santa. Now that the kids are all geeked up they announce they they have a few words from the preschool committee person. Are you freaking kidding me?? I have all 3 children with me by myself, they have heard the words cookies and Santa, plus an almost one year old who has had enough of sitting and you want us to listen to someone give a speech? Um, no. I just got up and walked out with my children in tow with about 3 other parents. Wouldn't it have been a little more helpful to let the preschool committee person talk while you have a roomful of parents and no 1-4 year olds? Then we go to the party and they had fruit and cheese on a large table. Perfect. The kids will eat that even when cookies are present. Connor asked me for cheese, and so I noticed 2 kinds of cheese cubes. Cheddar/Monterey Jack blend and - wait for it- pepper jack. Because nothing screams preschool party like pepper jack. After all the extra sugar gives them diarrhea, let's set their behinds on fire with peppers. I cannot make this up.

Christmas was a wonderfully, happy time this year. We sprinkled reindeer food, baked cookies for
Santa, and tracked his arrival. Seeing the anticipation was wonderful. The boys helped make Christmas Eve dinner and we made Jesus (and Grandad who was visiting) a birthday cake. I know that as the boys grow I will long for these Christmases where there was such magic in the day.

Connor said, "Santa's gonna LOVE this house." 

They made cards for Santa and the reindeer

Santa piles - and no, he does not wrap at our house. Out of boxes, batteries ready, plastic doohickies cut, ready to go

Reindeer tracks on the porch

Jake with his new camera telling Connor to hold up his sword and say "cheese"

I'm not going out tonight or even staying up to ring in the New Year, but I am going to bed tonight with a very thankful, happy heart. We have been blessed this year with a whole lotta love, a wonderful family, and healthy babies. There's nothing more "right" than being thankful for all of that. Much love and happy New Year to you all!!