Fa la la la la... la la la LA!
Bentley, Penny and I got there first with Dad Reed so by the time an hour was over Bentley was no longer having fun.. he was cold and ready to go. So we headed over to Grandma's house to help her set up the next cute activity.
Gingerbread house making!! And how cute are these gingerbread houses that my in-laws made for the kids!! It took them THREE hours to make them all and they were perfect size and seriously wonderful!!
All of the kiddoes did such a great job decorating their houses.. and snacking on way too many candies of course! Penny was hilarious though.. the moment a candy went on her house, she would pick it off and eat it... immediately and the moment she ate all her candy, she then started trying to eat the house lol silly baby!
Mom Reed also had two other cute crafts like Painting and making little gingerbread man ornaments and of course, Lucy and Bentley.. with Help from Steven and Jarren were having so much fun playing together!
We finished the evening off with a yummy (kid friendly) family dinner and then headed to the Nativity. If you've never been, it is wonderful! It is held at heritage park every night for a week or so before Christmas and it is a live (15 minute) play of the birth of our Saviour Jesus Christ. It is one of our favourite traditions at Christmas time and really reminds you of the true meaning of Christmas!
Bentley, Penny and I headed home after that and when we got home, Carter was in good spirits and feeling better! It was so cute that when Bentley saw Brian that night after the nativity, he ran right to him and said "Daddy!! I just saw Jesus Christ being born and it made me feel so happy, everyone was feeling happy and you should go see him too so you can feel really happy"! My heart melted in that precious moment! Carter and Brian spent the day just relaxing, watching Star Wars and making their Own gingerbread house!
On Sunday, we were invited again this year to my Father-in-law's kids Christmas Party at his work and since Carter was feeling better, and 24 hours with no symptoms, we all got to go!
We enjoyed ourselves watching Carter and Penny dancing to "Dan the one man band" - Bentley isn't into shaking his tail feather. Once Santa arrived Carter was ALL smiles! He was SOOOO excited to see Santa again and to see what he got him. Penny was called first in our little family.. she still was TERRIFIED.. so Brian tried to sit on Santa and she sat on Brian.. still, she wasn't having any of it!
Next was Bentley. He did MUCH better than the week before but Daddy still had to sit on Santa's other leg.. poor santa! But Bentley did warm up to him pretty quick this time around and was really proud of himself for the next few days reminding us that he doesn't feel like he has to cry anymore when he sees Santa. It was so cute.
Then it was (finally!) Carter's turn. He hopped right on Santa's lap and started chatting away! He was super pleased to see him!
My Father-in-law even snapped a picture of our whole Family with Santa!
It was nearly Christmas time! We had a play date, ran our errands and just as we finished got all ready for the big day and then on December 22, I was seriously hit with a HORRIBLE flu! Im talking chills, puking so much, body aches, headaches.. it was awful! It started in the middle of the night and lasted just over 24 hours. Brian still had to go to work but luckily, he was able to leave around 9:30 which made first thing in the morning with the kids and feeding them breakfast a little easier. My poor children then fended for themselves that day. I could not do anything! Even getting up off the floor would make me puke. It was a disaster day and I literally was just counting down the hours and minutes until Brian got home. He was able to be home at 5:40 which was WONDERFUL and I immediately went straight to bed and slept for 15 hours! I woke up feeling so much better but super weak and dehydrated. SOOOO happy that was over and so glad no one else in my little family caught it! However one person in each of our extended Reed family caught it so our Reed Christmas Eve dinner tradition ended up being pushed back and Christmas Eve night was spent just us. It was quiet and the kids were all in bed and sleeping by 7pm.
Once it was Dark on Christmas Eve the kids .. mostly Carter.. were SOOOOOOOO excited that Santa was coming so so soon! I even was able to catch this adorable photo of all of them looking into the fireplace to see if they could see him because Carter kept thinking he could hear his jingle bells!
They ran upstairs and put on their jammies and then the boys checked one more time..
We did our Traditional Christmas Jammies in front of the Christmas Tree..
This picture of the boys kills me every time I see it..
And this picture of Penny with her insane "Cindy-loo-who" hair gives me a good smile too!
Since Mommy got sick, Santa cookies never got made so instead we left Santa some Christmas shaped Banana Bread and an Orange for his reindeer! It was a HUGE hit!
We tucked the boys in their beds and told them not to wake up until its light outside.. I opened their blinds to show them how dark it was and I noticed a big spotlight shinning from the lake into the sky.. I told Carter to hurry here and showed him "Santa's Sleigh Lights".. He had big huge eyes and said "SANTA'S ALMOST HERE!!!!!". Both boys, jumped into their bed and were both sleeping within 2 minutes.. no fuss!
Then it was time for Operation Santa Clause. This is my favourite part and I get to do it with my favourite person! Brian and I gathered all the gifts and placed them under the tree, the stockings were filled and it was all ready to go!
Who knew we would have such an exhausting night ahead of us. Bentley and Penny slept the entire night, but Carter.. he woke up at 1:00am! Brian tried to help him stay in his bed and go back to sleep but at 3:30am when he was unsuccessful and Carter was STILL AWAKE, he came back in our room to get some help.. so I took over and tried to help carter get back to sleep from 3:30am-5:00am. He wasn't being bad or even making any fuss... he just was WIRED and could not sleep because he was SO excited. At 5am he FINALLY fell back asleep... then Bentley and Penny got up at 7 and woke up the whole family. Needless to say.. we were beyond tired.
Christmas morning was so much fun. Each year gets better and better as the kids grow. Watching their facial expressions and their excitement was enough to fill anyones heart!
Penny was mostly excited about the little Puffs snack Santa put in her stocking and vacuum that singes songs!
Brian and I didn't exchange gifts this year because we are trying to buy a living room set for our main floor but Carter surprised us with the greatest ornament for our Christmas tree! He made it at school, wrapped it up and saved it for us until Christmas Morning! Thanks Bud!!
The next few hours we spent setting up all their new toys, building lego and playing with those little cuties of ours and then we all got dressed and headed over to Brian's parents house for some more Christmas fun. The moment Penny saw Grandma, it was game over.. she is such a Grandma's girl with both her Grandmothers.
We opened gifts and were all totally spoiled. Jarren & Lena gave us a signed frame and hockey stick from the flames, we got corn maze passes, a new camera strap, penny got a water baby which she is in love with, blankets and bottles for her baby, the boys got kids games and more.
Carter's christmas joy was beyond measure when Auntie Lena and Uncle Jarren let him hold his little cousin Reed (Aka: Baby Reed).. he was SOOO cute.. nestling up against him, talking to him in the CUTEST little sweet quiet voice.. Lena and I were non-stop smiles!
And of course this little chickie, Lucy, was all about "tea-kuls" (tickles) .. I love this little niece of mine!
It was nice for the whole family to be together even if we only overlapped our visits by 30 minutes. It was sad not having our traditional Christmas Eve with the Reed Family but it was nice that we still got to see everyone Christmas Day.
We spent the rest of the afternoon/ evening with my side of the family at my parent's house. Unfortunately I forgot my camera at my in-laws house earlier in the day so I didn't get any pictures until the evening was nearly done however my Mom and Dad made a delicious traditional Turkey dinner and we thoroughly enjoyed each others company! We did our Gift exchange with the theme of "unique kitchen gadgets" this year which was awesome and all the kids were in heaven with their fun Christmas jimmies and games from Grandma & Grandpa.
Penny and Paisley got matching jimmies this year and .. oh the cuteness!!
And you can TOTALLY tell these three are family.... when I say "Smile" they all.. "smile" ...Hahahahah!
Bella was so sweet to offer to hold Penny while she was sitting on Grandma's lap.. and I think Penny enjoyed it too!
And these boys... funny how Carter and Taytum are so serious and Bentley and Porter are just having fun being silly.
Then it was time for a little adult time.... with a kid game of course.. PIE FACE! I got out immediately. Seriously.. one twist and the cream was in my face lol but the rest of the family got to do a round or two before Brian became the ultimate champion being the last one standing with no cream in his face!
Really Christmas is so fun! The whole month leading up to it is amazing. The activities, the Christmas feeling. Learning about our Saviour Jesus Christ and the true meaning of Christmas. I absolutely LOVE creating a magical Christmas for our kids with Brian and I love that Carter and Bentley understand that the real reason we celebrate Christmas is because its "Jesus's Birthday".
We are so thankful to our parents who always host the greatest Christmas gatherings. We know its expensive with big families and squishy corners but we love it and appreciate it and appreciate YOU for doing it. You guys always make us feel special and our kids love the traditions you have created.
I am most thankful this Christmas for my love, Brian. He is everything to me and the only thing I needed this Christmas. I LOVE doing "operation Santa Claus" with him for our kids and I love the joy it brings us and them.. we are so sneaky! I love you Brian Reed... Merry Christmas 2015!
