Christmas 2013!
And Bentley this year was sneaking around the table searching for a bun to sneak lol.. caught ya buddy!
Grandma Reed joined us this year which was such a treat and it was also sweet little Lucy's First Christmas... I even got lots of cuddles from her! I was in heaven!
Our kids all played "ring-around-the-rosie" and they ALL LOVED it! Carter was really possessive of his Great-Grandma Reed though and Really wanted her to do it too.. she was such a good sport and joined in on a couple of rounds! What a sweet memory to have!
George also was in love with Great-Grandma Reed! During the games, George just snuggled up right beside her. It was precious.
Lena & Jarren & Lucy got Brian and I this AMAZING game for Christmas! Its from 1987 (I think) and its called Personal Preference. Our best friends have this game and we love it! We have tried to find it in the past and it was impossible so we were shocked and so excited when we opened it! Thanks "L, L (cool) J" haha
Brian and I took our boys to see the nativity this year too! We went on the 23rd of December and it was PACKED! We stood in line for a little bit and it took us forever it seemed like to just get into the parking lot from all the traffic but it was worth every moment of it. It is such a beautiful tradition and I am so thankful for the beautiful christmas spirit it welcomes into our hearts this time of year. For the amazing reminder of the true meaning of Christmas. We will make a point to go every year so long as it is on.
Christmas Eve came fast this year! We spent the afternoon at my parents house... visited with the boys' Great-Grandparents and Grandparents! Bentley and Great-Grandma were really having fun!
And when Bentley went down for a nap, we began to help my mom prepare for Christmas Dinner which was the following day.
In no time at all the dinner was ready to go! The veggies were chopped, the stuffing was made and ready to be stuffed into the bird in the morning. I had made 37 buns for this dinner which is always a family favourite! And no wonder we did it all so quickly.. we had help from Carter!
Him and my mom make such a great team! He adores her and she really always involves him. Thanks mom, you have no idea how much it means to me and to him too! Carter job was to wash the potatoes after Grandma pealed them! He LOVED it and was such a good boy helping her!
Before we left and headed over to Brian's Aunt Sue's house for Christmas Eve dinner we took a few requested pictures with our boys... not such a easy task.. It just gets harder and harder to take a picture with everyone smiling, let alone looking into the camera. These were the best we got!
Dinner at Sue's house was good. We had (the traditional) clam chowder, garlic toast and salads... and lets' not forget the incredible desserts! YUM! After dinner, we played out the nativity like we do every year. Bentley was an innkeeper with his Grandpa Reed!
Reggie, Steven and Ben were the wise men...
Kathryn and Anne were the angels...
Lena & Jarren were Mary & Joseph and Lucy was sweet baby Jesus...
As for Carter... he was not interested in the slightest in being apart of the play this year.. he was too busy running.. and running..
He literally ran around in circles nearly 100 times.. he has so much energy and really Ive learned that he does not do well at all in large crowds. I can tell this because he doesn't listen, is loud and crazy and cannot focus on one thing. If anyone else tries to take charge he will freak out and cry and for "Daddy". He had quite the melt down when we were trying to take a group shot and it was all down hill from then on really.
Next was the little talent show. After a couple of acts.. we all started to sing Christmas Carols.. and our sweet Carter.. sat up at the piano and "played" it so gently and calmly. I think it was beautiful and it really was his talent :)
After that, they kids were DONE. They were both completely over tired... acting out and well it was kind of embarrassing. As I was trying desperately to put on Carter's coat so we could leave (Brian and I describe this process as trying to wrestle and alligator) Carter says to me "I don't love you mommy". I know in the moment he was angry and EXHAUSTED... and really doesn't fully understand what he is saying and how mean that really is.. and it didn't help that I was overtired and "done" too .. we got into the car and I cried the whole way home. My heart was breaking! I never want him to say that. Its pulls on my heart-strings and really not a great way to end Christmas Eve. Brian was amazing though.. he didn't let that slide. I was a disaster so when we got home, Brian explained to Carter what that really meant when he says that.. he also (empty threat....) opened our front door and told him that if he didn't love mommy or daddy.. then he could grab his boots and go find a new mommy and daddy. He left the door open so Carter could make his choice.. Carter stood there in shock and then got the biggest sad lip.. shook his head "no" and started balling. He kept saying "Im so sad I made mommy so sad" and then came and told me he was sorry and that he did love me.
The best part about this story is that I truly think he understands now what that means.. he tells me daily.. multiple times a day how much he loves me... and completely randomly. It warms my heart. Before the kids went to bed, we took our Christmas eve jammie picture in front of the tree...
...put out the milk and cookies for Santa...
... of course he had to lick them lol... your welcome Santa ;)
Santa came, and I honestly don't know who was more excited about it.. Carter or Brian.
Carter woke up at 4:30 in the morning (just to let us know he peed... thanks buddy) but Brian rolled over to me and said "Ok! Lets go babe!!" He was fully ready to go down stairs and open presents lol I told them both to go back to bed. hahaha
We got up just after 6am. Carter was so excited that Santa had eaten his cookies he left and when he saw the gifts, he went crazy! We have WAY to many trains and we are really trying to "broaden his horizons" with DIFFERENT toys other than trains so he didn't get ANYTHING train related this Christmas and he LOVED IT! It was a total success! He loves his new toys so much! We got him a shopping cart, cash register and play food.. marble works and a few other things! Bentley got lots of things that include balls.. he LOVES balls and constantly is saying "Ba! BA! BA!" lol It really was a great christmas morning spent together as a family.
The Shopping Cart was a HUGE hit for both the boys!
We went over to my parent's house at 10am for breakfast and our gift exchange! My brother, Tyler, and sister-in-law, Sara, got a puppy named Opie and we all instantly fell IN LOVE with him!
Oh my heck he is so so cute!!
The kids were all so excited to open their presents and Carter was so so excited once he realized that Santa actually stopped at Grandma & Grandpas' house too!!
Santa brought Carter & Bella Ice Skates! Bella Loved them!
As for Carter I was surprised how excited he was to get skates! We have an ice rink right outside our back door and he is always watching people skate and play hockey but his reaction was priceless on Christmas Morning! (Sorry the picture is blurry but we were so distracted and laughing .. its still so worth posting it though!)
Goodness I love my boy! Taytum was super tired Christmas morning too.. so he decided to take a little break opening gifts and so snuggle with Liam (my parent's dog)
After our gift exchange and breakfast, we headed over to Brian's parents house for the same thing! The boys were spoiled rotten, and so were we!
Christmas time is always so so busy for our little family.. going from place to place with no time to nap the boys makes for a tricky day, but we headed back to my parents house for some tobogganing with Carters cousin Bella and dinner with the rest of the family. This was Carter's first time sledding this season and I think he loved it. A little scared at first but was totally having fun with Bella!
And we even sent them down together... I love how well they get along and how much they love each other. Cousin love.. so so sweet!
And of course the Dads were loving it too lol Brian was supposed to be on the back of this ride down but he fell off.. at the top of the hill lol
Even Bentley got to go down the hill.. but he didn't like it at all and I took him back to my parents house right after this run.
Mom's dinner was incredible! So so delicious! I wish I could have eaten .. and eaten.. and eaten... it was so yummy!
Boxing Day was so beautiful! We took Carter skating for the first time!
He did pretty good.. well.. I mean, he was worried about how "slippery" it was and really couldn't even stand on the ice without some help but we had a good time... he loved the giant snow-banks...
and then got totally distracted by all the "big kids" skating so fast. It was cute to watch him admire their skills.
And of course.. when it was time to go home.. it ended in a tantrum...
On Friday, we spent the day with my parents and grandparents in Banff and the hot springs... it was AMAZING. I forgot how much I love and have missed the hot springs. And today, was Carter's very last day in Nursery at Church! Next week he is moving up to the Sunbeam class (all 3 year olds) so Carter brought little thank you treats to his nursery leaders.
I am actually really excited for this new change for him. Carter has been in nursery since he was 18 months old and I think its safe to say that the majority of the time he has HATED it.. its been such a pain to get him to go and although I understand it could be a total struggle to get him to go into Sunbeams with a new class and teacher next week, it can't be any worse then what we've been doing for the past year and a half so Ill welcome the new challenge with a smile!
We have had SUCH a crazy busy christmas this year .. we are all tired, but have also made more incredible memories. I truly do love this time of year. Carter I think has been the most tired of all.. today when we got home from church.. he curled himself into a box that was in our living room to watch a show and totally fell asleep in it which is completely out of character for carter.
It was seriously so cute. And to finish our day, we made our final Christmas craft (that we got on boxing day as a gift!) ... A ginger bread house!
So there we have it.. Our Christmas 2013!