~Five Guys and Two Gals~
Connor had his Christmas concert Thursday night. He loves to sing! He’s great at it too. He has a memory like Matt when it comes to that, he learns a song after only hearing it a couple of times. The concert was wonderful as always.
Connor and his teacher.
Nolan and daddy taping Connor.
Great job buddy! Keep on singing……
Some more traditions at our house...
We have a few countdowns until Christmas going on around the house. This one is one the boys make in preschool. Connor had one, and now this one is Jacob's. He adds a cottonball everyday. The boys also each have a wooden countdown in their rooms where you change the numbers every day.
Our Christmas Box of Kindness. We sat down and came up with 25 acts of kindness and put them on seperate pieces of paper. We put them in this box and draw one every morning. We all try to do that act sometime throughout the day. We plan on leaving them for Santa to take with them when he comes on Christmas Eve.
Matt puts lights up on our house, has been for quite a while now. I'm very lucky that he semi - enjoys this and does it. I love the way it looks when he's done. Thank you hon.
Yaya gave us this Story of Christmas book. Each book is numbered and tells a part of the Christmas story. The boys find the number that matched the date, we read it, and then they put it on the little Christmas tree. This tree is in Jacob and Nolan's room. Connor has his own tree also though.
Hanging stockings. The boys write Santa letters. This year they did it at daycare so we didn't do it again at home. Christmas Eve we leave him cookies and milk, any other little treasures the boys want to leave him, Elfie goes back with him, we leave the reindeer food, and we'll leave our box of kindness for him.
We put out our nativity scenes. We have our main one in the living room, and then the boys each have one in their rooms.
Nolan got to put the one in his and Jacob's room together. This is what it looked like. He told me, "Mommy, everything was looking at baby Jesus." ;)
We draw angels from the trees that correspond with the boys' ages and go shopping. The boys get to each pick out a gift that they would like and then we give it to Toys for Tots.
One night we put our pajamas and slippers on, bring our mugs full of hot chocolate, pile in the car, and go looking at lights while listening and singing to music.
We bake goodies. It's usually the ladies, mom, Kristin, Diane, and myself with the kids helping once in awhile. The guys help out by watching and keeping the kiddos occupied.
Each of the boys got their pictures taken in a Santa hat when it was their first Christmas and we put it in an ornament for them. We'll do Lucas' this year.
Last year we started walking up during one of the masses and lit one of the advent candles. We did it again this year.
My Grandma Ebeling used to give the grandaughters pieces to add to our Christmas village. I have a total 11 pieces that she gave us before she passed away. I used to put them all out but then couldn't find room. I put it out again this year and am so glad I did. I'll take a picture and add it later.
So many fun things to do during the Christmas season. I love traditions and hope that they are something the boys can keep doing. I know how important they were to me as I grew up and how I tried to keep some of them.
Some that I remember most.....
~Christmas Eve was with my family and we would go to church - for a few years my brothers and I would sing at mass with our Sunday school class. We always had an amazing meal, and do still today. We would open presents on Christmas Eve. Santa came Christmas morning and filled our stockings and actually still comes to this day when we stay overnight at mom and dad's! We would get together with both my mom and my dad's side either Christmas day or the weekend close to it.
~We always had some type of Advent calendar or countdown, remember the ones where you would open the door and there was a piece of chocolate in it?
~We had advent wreaths that we would light, many that were made by my brothers and I.
~We had our own ornaments also, which mom gave to all of us a few years ago.
~Mom always coordinated our gifts, still does and she has some number or paper system going on that she has us open certain gifts at the same time.
~My parents swear we had real Christmas trees when we were younger, but I unfortunately don't remember and don't believe them. ;) I do remember decorating though. After awhile it was mainly my mom and I decorating. The boys and dad weren't too in to that.
~We would go look at lights with our good family friends, the Petersons. We would all pile into one vehicle. Many times a few kids piled in the back sitting in bean bags or blankets. Shh....don't tell.
~We would make candy and cookies every Christmas. My mom used to have a ton of candy molds and we would make the whole shabang.
~I remember sleeping with Mattey and Natey in our sleeping bags a few times, waiting for Santa.
~ We would shop at Shop with Santa in the Community Center for gifts for mom and dad when we were youner.
~I remember Grandma Skala's yummy cut out cookies with homemade frosting and Grandpa Skala going around making sure everyone had their little cup of Morgan David wine (still does this). Like mentioned earlier Grandma and Grandpa Ebeling would always give the grandaugters the same gifts and the grandsons the same gifts. She was always very clever. I loved getting the village pieces from here. I also remember the Grasshoppers and the Brandy ice cream drinks the adults would always get (and we would of course taste!).
There are so many more too.....
It's always interesting and fun to combine traditions and ideas from both families (meaning husband and wife). I'm sure many of you have wonderful traditions also.
This guys first time on Santa's lap...
Jacob and Nolan at one point were chasing each other around the table and Connor leaned over to Grandma and whispered, "Grandma, I can't believe they are doing that and acting like that with Santa right there."
Then we headed to the Village of Yesteryear for Christmas in the Village. In the past mom and I have taken the boys Friday night, but we had the Beds for Kids event. It was our first time going during the day on Saturday.
We started off with a sleigh ride.
Connor sang Christmas songs the whole ride.
Then we got to see Mrs. Claus again and get some of her Santa's Special Blend sprinkled on us again to be good (Nolan wanted nothing to do with this, this time around).
More cookie decorating and eating.
This big boy is 10 months 3 weeks.
He has taken up to 6-7 steps on his own, however most times it's about 3-4.
He gives wonderful open mouth kisses. ;)
He can climb up stairs way to quickly and comfortably. I was a bad mom and left Nolan and him downstairs for a moment the other night to run up and take care of something on the stove. Before I knew it he was crawling towards me on the kitchen floor. He had followed me up the stairs (by himself which makes me cringe thinking about what could have happened). I didn't even think twice because he hasn't had any exposure to stairs. I should have known though because of how he loves to climb on things.
He makes noises and mimicks us and we like to say he's saying words. He says "dadadada", he says "bebebebe" copying the boys when they sing Justin Bieber's song Baby, and he says something that sounds an awful like "oh oh" when we say it.
Too fun.
Kelsey and Matt (Mattey, Kristin, Kelsey, Grandpa and Grandma all came to support the event. Grandma helped work at it also).
Able to breathe and relax after it all...
Thanks to Natey and Diane for watching the boys so that we could help out. We appreciate it.
This weekend was our town's Hometown Holiday Weekend. We've participated and enjoyed this now for the past few years. The city does some neat things. Thursday night we started it off by meeting Mattey, Kristin, and Kelsey and Grandma at The Kitchen for dinner, cookie decorating, and then watched the light parade. Each year this parade gets bigger and better. Mom's work has a big truck in it always. It was cold out, but still fun. The parade leads into the lighting of the trees in Central Park. We've never stuck around long enough for the tree lighting because it's so cold. It was fun though.
