This holiday season came and went so quickly. Christmas started before Thanksgiving this year! We went to get a tree the day before Thanksgiving. It was a beauty, too, standing at 10' tall. The kids really enjoyed decorating it, and Emaline only had to be reminded a hand full of time that "ornaments are for looking at only!"
We baked and decorated cookies, which has been a tradition since before we had children. Emaline got into the "mix" this time. Mostly, she smashed the cookie dough and ate a bunch of sprinkles. Gavin has gotten pretty good at baking and decorating cookies. He had more fun laughing at Emaline's antics, though.
Gavin was a wise man in his school play, and he took it very seriously. He learned all of his songs, which was impressive (maybe I should make our house rules into a song to the tune of "We Three Kings"). I don't know why, but I was so emotional watching him up on stage the 5minutes he was up there. He's so big, handsome, and smart and I couldn't be more proud of him. Ok, that's why I was emotional. He was so surprised when he walked out on stage and saw not only Mommy, Daddy, and Emaline, but Gigi, Nana and PawPaw! He smiled ear to ear the whole time.
We had our first ever "Cul de Sac" Christmas for our neighbors. It was a great turn out, and I really enjoyed meeting and socializing with everyone. I have not a single picture from that night. Emaline was pretty needy and overstimulated by all the strangers in her house.
Christmas morning was fun. I woke up at 5am to start baking the 20 lb turkey. Then, finally at 7:30, I went and woke the kids up. Gavin asked for a blue Toyota FJ Cruiser...so, that's what he got. He was pretty excited when he saw it. Emaline got a Princess castle and both kids enjoyed playing with that! All of our family came over around lunch, and we ate and opened presents. It was a wonderful time, although we did pick up the mess for days! I would do it every year!
We went to Christmas in the Oaks this year with some family. We only walked through Story Land, but that was so much fun. Gavin spent a couple of nights at Nana and PawPaw's house. He always has fun there!
For New Year's Eve, we invited our friends Scott and Katherine over with their 2 kids, Gigi and Luke. We had a great time, as usual.
