Christmas Eve

We had a low-key Christmas Eve this year.  Richard had to work, but made it home by about 4:00, which was a complete delight to all of us.  We had a non-traditional Christmas Eve dinner of homemade Asian food, but it was still delicious and surprisingly both kids ate quite a bit of it.  Dessert was our usual Christmas sugar cookies, which Bridget obviously loved.

Thankfully this kid is finally starting to smile with his eyes open!

After dinner we moved on to the traditional Christmas Eve pajamas.  

 

 

Melting my heart!!!

Fun was then to be had on the couch.  Bridget stood her ground, but Marshall had a ball.

 We tried some timer pictures to get all four of us in.  Obviously not successful, but still a lot of fun.

 After that we called it a night by reading the Christmas story and watching a video to go along with it.  By some miracle both kids fell asleep quickly and the night went smoothly...until 5:00 am when Marshall woke up to open presents.  :)

 

Stagefright

Marshall had his preschool Christmas program the other night.  He has been singing these songs around the house for weeks; he even performed some of them for my parents.  When it came down to it though, his mouth didn't move at all and he did all the actions very small.  He can be such a shy little guy.

Stagefright-Video 2

Stagefright -Video 1

Meeting Santa

A couple of weeks ago we had our church Christmas party.  Of course it included a visit from Santa.  Bridget followed Santa from the door, all the way up to the stage and was one of the first in line.  Unfortunately in all of the excitement a boy fell off the stage and cut his head open.  I immediately asked these two excellent boys to hold on to Bridget for me.  They were so darling with her and kept her safe during the wait in line. 

Cute Benson insisted that Bridget sit on Santa's lap with him.  I think it helped them both be a little more brave.  :)  

 

Marshall was one of the last kids to visit with Santa.  As you can tell, he was thrilled to be there.  He did work up the courage though to tell Santa that he would like a telescope for Christmas. 

Visit From Grandparents

Last week we were LUCKY enough, yes, luck is what it is, to have a visit from BOTH of my parents for seven days!  We have lived in Milwaukee for 5 1/2 years and never once have we had a visit from my parents at the same time without them bringing my younger siblings.  Every year we make the prediction that this will be our year, but finally 2012 brought us luck.  The night before they arrived I really was just waiting for a phone call letting me know that something horrible had happened and one or both of them would not be coming.  My prayers must have been heard because they both came, stayed as long as they were supposed to, and it was a grand seven days.  

Literally within minutes of arriving Marshall had claimed my mom and Bridget went for my dad.  My kids probably read more books the week they were here than they have in the last month! 

I think Bridget spent every night on my dad's lap reading books with him.  :)

We took a trip to the Milwaukee Central Library.  Gorgeous as always.  Bridget had the grandparents to herself as Marshall was in school. 

I love, love, love this picture.

The next morning we went to Jump Zone.  Bridget wowed my parents with her coordination and adventurous spirit. 

Grandma Laura and Marshall spent an afternoon making a gingerbread house.  Can't wait to eat it on December 26th.  :)

Such an imitator.  :)

A trip to Candy Cane Lane. 

A day at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago.

Of course I had to capture a picture of this for Richard.

Some potential jewelry options. 

We celebrated Christmas early with my parents and exchanged gifts with each other.  We all agreed this was the highlight of the week.

A trip to Discovery World.  Marshall was beyond excited to take them all around the aquarium.

I actually worked up the nerve to pet this fish.  After about five times of attempting it I finally asked my dad to just hold my hand in the water.  I squirmed the entire time.  I'm a wuss.

Bridget is terrified of walking over these glass floors.  Grandpa Toney was the only one to get her to walk over them.  :)

Oh thanks Mom and Dad for such a fun and perfectly timed visit!  This is what the kids and I spent our afternoon doing after they left.