The Christmas Post

Yeah I know this post is ridiculously overdue... I am still going to post it for myself.  Feel free to skip it if you are so *over* Christmas by now.  I completely understand!

So I did mention Monkeyman's first letter to Santa, Tuba Christmas and our trip to see Santa already.  A few other traditions we observed were:

Decking the halls

Monkeyman's first coat.  He learned that many colors mixed together = brown.
He did a second coat of red and glitter paint later, after the brown dried.

Making ornaments is a new tradition we started this year, with my Bestie and her family.  We made clay handprint ornaments for each kid, baked them in the oven, and then painted them.  It was great fun and these ornaments will always be a treasured keepsake!

Me painting Bug's ornament.
(Thanks Stacy!  I should have taken some pics of you to prove you were there too!)

Sending Christmas cards...

 

Baking and decorating cookies with Grandma

  

Our annual Christmas Eve Eve lights cruise

This is one of my favorite traditions, that we started on Monkeyman's first Christmas and have faithfully continued every year since.  The night before Christmas Eve, we go out driving around, looking at lights, ending up in a neighborhood that really goes crazy as far as decorating.  Almost every house is completely decked out, and the grand finale is this house.  These hastily snapped cell photos don't do it justice.  There is so much going on, including a working roller coaster!  Afterward, we go to our favorite drive-in restaurant, the locally famous Swensons.  This night is always the beginning of the actual Christmas holiday for me; the beginning of December is like a roller coaster where you are slowly clicking up the hill... and on this night it feels like we're just passing over the crest of the hill and beginning the ride full speed.

Santa came!!!

 We managed to sneak this pic late at night right after Santa left the house, while the boys were fast asleep.  Monkeyman's first words in the morning were:  "Santa brought me presents!  I WAS still on the nice list!"  (I didn't know he had been concerned about that until he said this, which really made me chuckle.)

And then, finally... the craziness, wonder, excitement, and fun of Christmas day spent with loved ones.  I am really annoyed with myself at my lack of thoroughness in my photo documentation.  I got zero pics on Christmas Eve, and sporadic pics throughout the day on Christmas Day.  I usually try to get a pic of everyone in the family who we visit and who visited us, but I failed at that quite miserably this year - it was just too crazy I guess.  Will definitely do better next year!

Bug, rolling on his Big Piano with joy

Boing!

Boing!

 

Parum-pa-pum-pum...

This is the look of a kid who got something he really wanted...

We had some epic light saber battles on Christmas morning this year.  Monkeyman is fighting my uncle here.

Monkeyman & his cousins

 

My brother & his wife

Oh!  And I got a new coffee mug with my favorite faces on it!  :)

Happy Extremely Belated Holidays to all - hope yours were great too!