Christmas Cookies for Santa

This year we broke up our Christmas baking into two days. From past experience we decided that the kids are so bored with it by the time they hit the oven that they have no enthusiasm for the decorating aspect of it. This year I got smart and decided to bake the cookies one day and frost them the next. It worked perfect and the kids had fun both days.
Leah loved everything Christmas this year and was into every activity.

Uncle J came over to assist.

Day 2; Let's decorate these babies.

I found squeeze frosting in red and green so it was perfect.

Leah had a hot mess going on so in the end there were more boogers than sprinkles on her cookies and we kindly tossed them while she napped.

Seth's Acting Debut

A couple of weeks ago at church they mentioned that the sign ups for the Christmas pageant were in the back of the church. I felt that Seth was old enough to be in the pageant this year so I asked him if he would like to do it. In a word...NO! He is going through a shy phase so he said absolutely not. I begged and begged, but he wouldn't budge. So what would any normal mother do? Honor their childs wishes right? Nope, not me, I signed him up and didn't tell him until we were driving to the practice.
Thank goodness there were many familiar faces there so he warmed up quick UNTIL they told him that he could choose any animal costume. He really wanted to be a shepard, but in the end he was the cutest stinking donkey ever!

Christmas Eve approached and we all dressed in our most festive outfits.

We had to wake Leah up super early from her nap to get to church an hour early to get the closest seats in the house for our little man's acting debut.

We had quite the cheering section.

Our Christmas Donkey; a very important part of the nativity.

Ironically the little girl next to him is in his swim class.

As he walked down the aisle I locked eyes with a friend and I had instant crocodile tears in my eyes. It was a great memory, until next year...

Fullfilling an Early Christmas Wish

Roland has been talking about this "growler" for quite a while and since I am not a beer drinker I had no idea what it was or what the point of it was. I decided to do something special for him since he deserves it so I went out to his new favorite place in the whole world, Bear World and bought him a growler. I filled it with his favorite beer of the moment and was able to see a huge smile on his face when I gave it to him! Who knew beer could bring such joy?

Christmas with Leah's Fairy Godmother

Last night we had The Voss' over for dinner and to celebrate Christmas a little early with Leah's Fairy Godmother Jen. We have done this each and every year since Leah was born and it is something that we look forward to now. The big kids played upstairs the whole night and we didn't hear a word from them and the little's hung around downstairs and played.
We were very excited to give out our first gift of the season and Leah was excited to open her first gift of the season. She did need some help so Sophia didn't mind that at all.

Aunt Jen got Leah a magnet dress up doll and Leah LOVED it. Thanks Aunt Jen.

I asked Jen if she would bring a simple dessert and this is what walked in the door...yummo! Red velvet cupcakes that were melt in your mouth delicious. It was the perfect way to end a some what crazy weekend. Just perfect.

Friday night we went out with some friends from Pepsi. We stopped at The Crystal for a holiday Tom & Jerry or two and then to Maggie's for some good eats. It was great to get together, laugh and have some much needed cocktails at the end of a long week. Thank you Papa and Grandma Charlton for taking care of the munchkins.

Brief Encounter

While at the mall on Sunday wrapping for Relay for Life we let the kids talk to Santa briefly. They were so excited to see him and it totally made their whole day.
Can you believe Christmas is in less than a week? Crazy.

The greetings are on the air.

Reason #98,675,267 Why I Love My Husband

The evenings often get crazy and by the time Roland and I finally sit down we then get caught up in TV or the computer and we (I) forget to make sure that Cody is taken care of. Roland often picks up my slack and finds the best places for Cody to hang out. This morning I came down and Cody had climbed into Seth's gingerbread house, eaten some cookies and made quite a mess! Tee hee!!
Seth thought it was the funniest thing ever and promptly told me that Cody had eaten the Christmas Oreos because they were red, his favorite color. What a kid.

An Elf Update

Our sneaky elf Cody has been hiding all over the house. The kids can hardly wait to come downstairs each morning to check for him. Today, he brought them some special treats from the North Pole. I told them that only during the Christmas season were they allowed to eat candy for breakfast! Tee hee!
He likes to hide where he can really see what the kids are up to. Can you see him?

Sweet Treats VIA Snail Mail

Thank you Great Grandma and Great Grandpa for the wonderful candy train you sent us!

It is almost gone.

Candy IS the way to their hearts. We love you!

All About Family Weekend

This weekend was full of minimal plans so we decided to stay home for the greater part of it, enjoy the decorated house, work on the bathroom renovation and have some family holiday fun! Friday night we took the kids to the lights at the zoo. We bundled up and walked through the zoo all lit up and it was wonderful to be outside, to let the kids run and to enjoy the holiday music and beautiful lights.
The kids definitely needed to burn off some excess energy so they really enjoyed being able to run through the zoo, something they are normally never allowed to do when we go to see the actual animals.

Love you Noey and Linds.

This picture doesn't do this justice. The entire house was lit up and flashed to the beat of the holiday tunes. It was beautiful.

We we got home we quickly changed into our jammies, made popcorn and milkshakes and watched the new Prep and Landing movie.

The kids brought down their favorite blankets and sprawled out on the rug while we enjoyed the movie.

Can you think of a more perfect way to spend a Friday night?

It's HERE!

It's not only my favorite time of the year, but it's also the time of the year where we are given my most favorite gift...our new Pepsi Santa! We have 8 total now and our mantle is busting at the seams. It looks so amazing! This year's Santa is gorgeous!
Thank you Pepsi.

Festive Evening Out

Thursday night we went to WHS to support our favorite babysitter Johanna as she performed with the WHS Select Chorus. They were so amazing that it brought tears to my eyes. Seth absolutely loved it and was all smiles for the whole hour.

We love you Johanna.

Just a little sneak peak!

2011 Holiday Commercial

It's that time of year again, time for the Charlton Family holiday commercial! I dolled the kids up tonight and we headed to channel 7. It has to be one of my favorite holiday traditions that we have.
It also gives me an extra excuse to dress the kids in their Christmas outfits.

The kids have my camera in their faces 24/7 so once they smile pretty, I then let them be silly and they LOVE that!

Thank you Poppy for letting us continue this tradition for the 6th year!

We got to the station a few minutes early and we were able to sit in the control booth while the 6pm news was being aired.

Then we were able to watch one of the anchors tape some commercial spots. The kids were so well behaved!

Ready to roll...

Future media journalist?

The traditional picture and so very priceless.

Stay tuned for viewing times!

Weekend with the Aunties

Seth spent his very first weekend away from us. Aunt Sheryl and Aunt Jessie came to pick up Seth on Saturday at noon and he returned Sunday night at 4:30pm. We were sent a pictorial view of the weekends unfolding and he was certainly treated like a king. This is what he looked like as he was walking out the door. Does he look a wee bit happy?
Such great Aunties!
First stop, Aunt Sheryl's teams hockey game. It was also Seth's first hockey game ever. Their team won and he said he loved it.

Saturday night they had a Wii party, pizza and they all slept together in the living room with Bailey. Sunday morning, they took Seth to this indoor playground.

We were told he loved it, played, ate a ton for lunch and proceeded to sleep all the way back to Watertown. He must have had a blast because he hasn't napped in 6 months!

Last night as we were saying our prayers and talking about our weekend he started to cry. I'm talking crocodile tears. He said he missed Aunt Sheryl and wants to know when he can have a special weekend again. There is no fear in our almost 6 year old. He loved every minute of his special weekend far far away!

Thanks Aunt Sheryl and Aunt Jessie for a most memorable time for Seth. xoxo