Gangnam Style, Family Style

Merry Christmas!

On Christmas Eve, we headed to church then over Arizona Grandma and Grandpa's for dinner and some games.  Before we left, we sprinkled some reindeer food on the lawn and the kids opened their Christmas jammies.  We also took some time for a few photos...

This was our first take...as you can see, someone needed to go to the bathroom! :)

Christmas Jammies!!!

And a few more photos...

 Drevniak's and Doehne's 

Grandparents and Grandkids

Not sure who is having more fun with Arizona Grandma and Grandpa's new iPad

We started a new tradition of reading "Twas the Night Before Christmas" before heading home.  Hopefully it is one that we can keep for many years to come.

And we couldn't forget the milk and cookies!

Christmas Day was filled with presents, tons of food and lots of fun times with our family.

The kids with some of their favorites...

This was #1 on the Christmas List and Santa delivered.

Hands down, B's favorite gift on Christmas morning.

 Nattie's Zebra Lovie

 Sadie is loving her new bed.

Santa also gave the kids some Whoopie Cushions in their stockings.  We all had some good laughs but Brady thinks they are absolutely hysterical!

Meet Oscar

Ocsar the elf joined our family this December.  For those of you not familiar with Elf on the Shelf, it is a little elf who keeps an eye on the kids during the day, reports to the North Pole (Santa) after bedtime and returns before sunrise to a different location in the house. Every morning the kids woke up and ran around the house trying to find Oscar.  There is one rule though; you can't touch Ocsar or he loses his magic and can't report whether you've been naughty or nice. To my surprise, Ocscar didn't lose his magic once during his visit! Oscar (or as Abi often referred to him - Mr. Oscar or Mr. O) was a very powerful little elf. When the kids starting acting up, it often only took a glance in Oscar's direction and they would straighten up for fear of a bad report to Santa. Here are some pictures from our visit with Oscar - he's a crafty one...

 Oscar arrived on December 1st with some donuts and candy canes for breakfast!
We found him hiding in the oven.

He made a Christmas countdown paper chain and hung it in the kid's room,

Took a joy ride in B's Jeep,

Hung out with the snowman in the Christmas decorations,

Replaced our stockings with our underwear (or diaper in Natalie's case),

Had to go jail for the day,

Tagged our bathroom mirror with toothpaste,

Read the "Twas Night Before Christmas" to the Pez Dispensers,

TP'ed the Bathroom,

Drank some syrup,

Watched a movie on the iPod while drinking milk and munching on some snacks,

And played with the TinkerToys.

Oscar headed back home to the North Pole on Christmas Eve and the kids can't wait for his arrival next December.

Christmas Fun

This month has been filled with Christmas fun - it is truly my favorite time of the year.  The best part is watching the anticipation, wonder and excitement in the kids.

We've decorated trees and gingerbread houses.  We've hung the lights and sung LOTS of holiday songs.  We've eaten tons of treats and watched hours of Christmas movies.  We've celebrated (and shared many good times) with friends and family.

Here is just a snapshot of our month, full of our favorite traditions.

  Advent Calendars

Decorating the Tree

Bellevue Botanical Gardens

The kids had lots of practice making gingerbread houses this year. 

Our first stop was at Arizona's Grandma and Grandpa's where the kids made gingerbread houses (and ate their fair share of candy and frosting).  Santa also arrived on a fire truck for some photos - a real highlight for Brady!

Abi's Creation

Brady Hard at Work

The kids also decorated houses at the Worsley's.  Again, LOTS of candy and frosting was consumed! When we started this tradition in 2008, there were just 4 girls.  4 years later (with the same 3 families), we now have 8 kids ranging from 8 years to 12 weeks.

Nattie provided encouragement from the comfort of her swing!

For the first time, we attended Redmond Lights. The kids had fun eating cookies, getting their face painted and taking a stroll down the luminary walk.

Brady's Preschool Christmas Sing-A-Long

"Did you see that Mom"? 

 This video cracks me up.  It is the Christmas version of "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes".  Brady had some trouble keeping up until he got to strike a pose :)

Thank goodness Brady was on the side of the stage during this song. If you listen closely you can hear me giggling while I try to stop Brady from any more "exploration" :)