And.... its over.
I loved every minute of it all but am glad it is over for another year.
Christmas Eve was fun. Brian had to work a half day and we were spending the late afternoon and evening at Mom Reed's house so before heading over there, the kids and I went over to my parents place to hang out for a bit. Carter made sure to tell Grandma and Grandpa.. separately.. and only when I wasn't around... that "I have no presents under my tree... so Im going to come here and open yours".... I don't know how many times I explained to him that there will be presents out on Christmas morning... there was no way I was leaving presents out with young (sneaky) kids to be tempted to open before Christmas. Anyways, Carter ran straight for the gifts at my parents house and started "sorting" them... and shaking them too to guess what they were. lol
Penny just sat there listening to her big brother destroy the order of the gifts that were originally placed so nicely under the tree.
Bentley was having a much needed nap while we were there and Grandma & Grandpa were making pies.... and as soon as Grandpa asked if Carter wanted to help.. he was right in there with them! It really was adorable, and he is such a great little helper.
Brian met us at my parents house and shortly after that we headed over to his parents house for an evening of fun! The kids were in heaven... first they each made little ginger bread houses... Im sad I forgot my camera so I asked Brian to quickly go get it but by the time he got back, the kids were finished.
This one was Carter's house...
Right after that, the kids all did a cute little nativity craft.
All the kids started it but within 5 minutes, it was pretty well just us parents finishing the craft for our kiddoes and the cousins going wild playing together all while our little Penny Girl got some cuddles from her Uncle Jarren and her Great Grandma Reed.
Every year on the Reed side of the family, we always play out the Nativity and now that the kids are getting older, it was time for them to start taking the lead roles! Mom Reed asked if Carter would be Joseph. He didn't want to at first until Brian told him that he was Joseph once as a little boy and that if he did it, he would get to pretend to be Penny's Daddy... the second Penny was involved, he was in and a hundred and ten percent committed! Sawyer was Mary (and such a cute little "mommy" to baby Jesus!).
Bentley was a Shepard... an adorable skinny little Shepard...
Penny was baby Jesus, and such a sweet (quiet) little one!
Everett was the sheep...
Lucy was the Angel...
And Marsden was a Wiseman....
They all did such a great job and It was so cute to watch! Once it was over, Penny got so many kisses. I love how much they all love each other.
The rest of the evening we spent playing and watching a little kids movie. And by the time we left, the kids were exhausted! We got home, put on our Christmas Jammies....
***Quick little side note! Oh my HECK, I LOVE matching these three! Seriously, how fun! They are adorable!! On the morning of Christmas Eve (This HAS to be written down!) I was putting my make up on while Bentley and Carter were cuddling Penny in my bed. I could hear Carter softly talking to Penny in the sweetest little voice saying " one day, your going to be a big girl.. and you won't need a "sue-sue" (her soother) and you don't have to cry because Im always going to be here with you..." (OH MY GOSH!! CUTE!) *then Penny start a little tiny whimper and Carter says "Don't worry, you're still a baby so you can still have your sue-sue" and then puts her soother in her mouth.
Try putting on mascara while crying... not very effective. I love moments like these. Penny is so lucky to have Bentley and Carter, they love her more than words could say.
Before bed, the boys said goodbye to our elf, Clyde, and put out some milk and cookies for Santa. Then it was straight to bed. The morning was wonderful! We all got up around 7:30 and did presents. After we finished, Brian and I told the boys that there was one more surprise for them... We took them downstaies to show them their new play place! (This is why I had been getting rid of so many of their little toys and completely cleaning out our basement)
Oh my gosh.. they saw it and immediately just went crazy... climbing, jumping, going through the tunnels and going down the slide 100 times over. It was so fun to watch them be so active and have such a fun time.
We found this gem off of Kijiji and it was just what we were looking for! So much fun for them, no more cleaning the basement every day for me! Perfect! Penny got first little doll and I finished sewing her and her baby doll matching rag quilts.
We had a relaxing morning, playing and spending time together just us before heading out for the day. First stop, back to Mom & Dad Reeds house for Brunch and gifts.
The boys were running around so much that I really just got pictures of our one child who currently sits still... how I love this stage!
Our kids were completely spoiled. It was so fun to watch their expressions as they tried to rip the wrapping paper off the gifts as fast as possible lol and when they were all done, Carter helped Penny open her gifts...
She LOVES the little doll that lights up and sings! Cutie!
We then headed over to my Mom & Dads for the afternoon and dinner. We were the last ones to arrive and the kids were anxious to open their presents there so onto round three (seriously, our kids are so spoiled its almost embarrassing) It was completely chaotic... exactly what the kids LOVE!
They all got so many fun toys and clothes. Dinner was amazing (as per usual) and the evening was good. Grandpa even got a little crazy with the kids!
And the kids got the cutest Christmas Jammies! Oh goodness I could have just squeezed them all night long!
And once I started taking pictures with my little man ....
...my Brother and Niece wanted in on it too!
Love them!
I really wanted a picture with my little Bentley, but he wasn't interested in the slightest... he was much too busy playing with Penny.
While we put the kiddoes to bed, my Dad took his opportunity to share a little Grandpa time with Penny... he danced with her while singing Country songs to her. We are lucky!
No matter how organized you are, Christmas is always so chaotic. Its crazy, its exhausting and it can be expensive but it really is such a wonderful time of year to be surrounded by family and little kids to keep the Christmas magic alive and this year we are so blessed to have these three little cuties with us.
Merry Christmas from our family to yours!