Christmas at our house...

Our Christmas was fabulous.

I guess that's what happens when you drive to your mom's house...enjoy her amazing cooking and let everyone love on your babies for 4 nights and 5 days straight. It was difficult coming home and back to reality. Something about being away from your own house allows you to fully relax:)

The kids were great. I think that contributed to making the holiday extra special! Jaxson couldn't have had more fun. He hung out in pajamas for days playing with his new toys and mastering his new Wii games.  The twins were darling and so excited about everything. They even posed like professionals for my pictures and acted as though unwrapping a gift was the best thing on earth. Jarom spoiled me with a trip to the Spa, some clothes, a gold watch and a MAC giftcard. Good thing I made that VERY detailed list so he would know exactly what to get and where from! haha!

I loved this year SO much because I finally splurged and decided to surprise Jarom. I NEVER do that.

I did a few years ago with an Ipad....(when they just came out)...and he gave it to Jaxson. FAIL. I think his exact response was..."Thanks. What would I do with it?" ummmm. Alrighty then.

So...Jaxson inherited it...and it houses a few thousand songs and a few hundred movies and games.

Little did I know I was buying the best BABY SITTER on the planet.

My gift backfire actually turned out to be the smartest thing I've ever done for myself:)

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Jarom is hard to surprise. All the things he wants are expensive! Isn't that the hard part about growing up???? And considering I have to ask him for all the money around here....I didn't want to ask for money to go buy him a gift! So...I did the obvious thing...used a VISA that he didn't know about and then told him to pay the bill:) Wahoo:) worked like a charm. He didn't even see it coming.

I got him a whole slew of tools...my parents gave him finish nail guns and a compressor and I gave him a compound miter saw and stand, etc.

NOW....I will be designing a "mud room area" for him to build in my garage...complete with little coat hooks and a place for my kids rainboots! YES...I will be using HIS gift to MY advantage:)

It's just how things work around here:)

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Christmas Eve was wonderful.
We started off at the Bishops! We celebrated with them like it was Christmas Morning. Jaxson got a Darth Maul double ended light saber (on his list:) and a hulk punching fists to beat up his dad. We got lots of fun things...and had a yummy turkey luncheon complete with their Danish tradition of Ableskivers! They are seriously so good...and dangerous...because I can eat like 15 in one sitting....and they are far from healthy:)

Jaxon loves them too....and I'm sure next Christmas the Twinners will join in!!

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We then headed over to my parents house for our Christmas Eve Traditions! I love Christmas Eve so much. My mom knows how to make things super special. I hope to be just like her in this department.

We had the biggest, yummiest Ham/Turkey/Shrimp/Cheesy potatoes/pretzel salad/etc. sit down fancy dinner and then headed downstairs for Pajama time! My kids always open Christmas Pajama's and a game to play as a family. This year I also decided that we would add new Minky blankets on Christmas Eve:) It sounded like a fun thing to me...but Jarom wasn't as thrilled. I don't know what my deal is with buying baby blankets. It's a rush:) haha.

Jaxson got the game Headbands...and my entire family played with him for over an hour. He has been the ONE and ONLY grandkid for YEARS....and my siblings are so good to him. He is kind of like everyone's adopted child and get's more love than humanly possible at times.

 This year was exra special because EVERY SINGLE ONE OF MY SIBLINGS CAME HOME FOR CHRISTMAS! It was a big crowd....but it was perfect. Every moment of the 4 straight days:)

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Jaxson then decorated sugar cookies for Santa! This year I made sugar cookies a few days in advance and froze them:) It worked like a charm. Kinda strange that this is the one thing I've never done with him before?!?! He loved it...and it really helped him get even more excited!

My mom gave all the adults darling pajama's....mine were hot pink and adorable:) I will NOT be sharing a picture for obvious reasons...this blog is about my children...not me running around covered from head to toe in hot pink pj's. No thanks. 

My parents always give us a special Christmas book to add to our collection. I love it because I have a huge assortment of Christmas books to read to my children throughout the season. My parents always write a special not on the inside cover with their testimonies and my dad reads the book aloud to us. It's really special and always something I look forward to. It is also DEFINITELY one of those things I will continue with my children:)

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It was then time for bed! I got to work with Jarom setting everything out for the kiddos:) We had to arrange a place for Santa to dump his load for over 15 people in one family room. It was challenging...but we squished and it was a lot of fun! It is so much fun being together as a family and seeing the excitement on the kids faces. Priceless.

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Miss London Kate's corner

Mason James' corner

Twins combined stash!

....and my favorite picture of all...
My JAXSON coming downstairs to see what Santa left him.
He got his new bike:)

London arched her back in her bumbo and grabbed her baby doll from her pile! So glad she liked it:)

The twins LOVED everything! It was so so so much fun for me to see them get excited and actually play with stuff.

Jaxson got Skylander Giants...his dream come true!

Teamwork!

Opening his new Wii game, portal, etc.

Banana teethers for the Twinners!! These things are a must!!! Serious...if you have a child ages 4 months-18 months....go to Amazon immediately and buy one. Best 10 bucks you'll ever spend.

We spent Christmas afternoon amongst piles of stuff....(which explains the mess behind the twinners...please ignore it). We ate yummy food, visited and the kids played with their cousin Lexi. It was such a nice relaxing break.

London later on Christmas day...playing with a few of her toys:)

The following day was a HUGE snowstorm...which meant sledding and snow fun for Jaxson:)
I love to see him this happy.

We took him sledding at John Adams park....where both Jarom and I used to sled when we were his age!

It took a few weeks to get back in the groove of REALITY and life.
But....I've accepted that it's JANUARY and I'm making the best of it.

I'm organizing, cleaning out junk drawers and closets, starting to exercise (a little...when I can find a minute) and Jarom and I made some goals for our family this year! We even planned our big FIRST vacation as a family of FIVE and are looking forward to spring!

I hope everyone had a magical season and holiday break!!

xoxo

Kristin