Christmas Day!!

What a wonderful day! Matt and I woke up around 8:30am and were surprised that Chloe was still out cold. So we took care of a few last minute details waiting for her to wake up. Matt couldn't take it anymore and declared, quite loudly, "Michelle, what are we going to do with all of these presents?" It was only a matter of seconds before we heard her door squeak open. She was still sleepy so I am sure Matt woke her up. She couldn't see the presents right away because of how the furniture in the living room was set up. Of course as soon as she saw the piles of gifts she was beside herself. We let her get into her stocking first and see all the goodies that were in there.

Matt woke up Aidan soon after. Aidan saw his toy tool bench and an extra large stuffed monkey he was so excited he could barely talk. He was so excited to play with his new tools that we could barely get him excited about digging into his stocking. After the kids got into their stockings and found lots of candy, cool new flashlights and Christmas rubber duckies, we opened the rest of the kids' presents from Matt and I. Aidan got the ABC magnet set he loves to play with and Little People of course. Chloe got an American Girl doll that looks just like her and a bunch of clothes and accessories to go with it. The kids than opened their presents from their out of town relatives. By than Aidan had the whole present thing down and tore into packages with glee despite being a little tired and still a little sick.

We had breakfast right after that. Nana and Poppa joined us for a delicious breakfast of eggs, sausage, hashbrowns and cinnamon rolls dripping with frosting. We all ate until we were stuffed. After we cleaned up and got everything put away we headed back to the tree to open more presents. The kids spent the better part of an hour opening all the goodies Nana and Poppa spoiled them with. A lot of what the kids received were toys to play with at my parents' house (not that Matt and I complained about that). Chloe got a lot of much needed clothes and Aidan got two tricycles (one for our house and one for Nana and Poppa's) plus much more.

After the presents were exhausted, the kids played for a little while and than it was nap time. Aidan and Chloe both needed a nap. Chloe didn't get one but laying down for about an hour seem to give her the rest she needed. Aidan crashed for about three hours. The poor little guy was still in the grip of his nasty cold. It gave the adults the chance to have a quite, relaxing afternoon.

In the late afternoon my brother, Michael, sister-in-law, Kim, and Kim's mom, Gerri came over to have dinner with us. We had a good time chatting while we all worked together to get dinner ready. I was able to use some of my new Christmas presents to set the table. I got brand-new wine glasses and beautiful red chargers that made the table look festive. We all enjoyed the supper of roast beef, potatoes, carrots, and salad. We had sparkling apple cider to drink which Chloe took a dislike too (her tastebuds have been weird lately). Aidan loved the apple cider and had an immediate sugar rush after two glasses full.

After dinner we had both Cox families over for dessert. We had so much dessert we didn't have the room to eat it all. Chloe and Claire played all night with Aidan annoying them at every chance he got (he's such a good little brother). We relaxed and chatted all evening about all kinds of things. We laughed at silly things the kids did and had a wonderful evening.

Christmas Eve!

What a wonderful Christmas Eve! We had a lazy day since Aidan was fighting a bad cold and as usual I was fighting some afternoon morning sickness. We got all our last-minute shopping done so we were ready for the next day. I went to Christmas Eve services at our church by myself and did a dramatic reading. The service at our church is nice but the thought of my 17-month old and five year old holding onto candles makes me a tad nervous. Plus Aidan was not up to going.

After the service we at a yummy lasagna dinner (made by Matt). My mom ate dinner with us and enjoyed spending some time with the kids. When we were all done with dinner we opened our Christmas Eve presents. We all got brand-new pajamas (our family tradition) to wear for Christmas morning. Aidan wasn't sure about opening his at first so he decided to stand on the box first. After he watched Chloe ripped into her present her kind of got the idea. Chloe loved her pajamas especially when she realized that they said "princess" on the shirt. It took a little time to get the kids into bed since neither one was very willing to go down for the night. Eventually both kiddos were in bed. So Mom, Matt and I went to work getting presents ready for the morning.

Poppa soon arrived with a truckload of gifts. We had to move the coffee table and an end table in the living room to make room for all the loot. We even had to stash stuff in the tree which we've never done before. It was quite a haul. We were all exhausted when we done and ready to get some sleep before the morning.

Christmas Cookies & Gingerbread Houses

Today we went to Aunt Lisa's house to make sugar cookies and gingerbread houses. Lisa was there with all her kids, Jenny and her three were there and Shauna (I hope I spelled that right) a friend from school was there with all of her kids. It was a house full which is generally the case when we go to Lisa's house. The kids were so excited to see each other that they weren't interested in making cookies when we first got there. So the adults mixed the sugar cookie dough so it would have time to set before we rolled it out. After the dough was made the kids tackled their gingerbread houses. Actually I guess you should call them graham cracker houses since that is what we used. They all had a fun, sticky time engineering their buildings. We had a few earthquakes but once the frosting glue started to dry most of the houses remained standing. Aidan enjoyed watching the festivities as he snacked on graham crackers and candy. Chloe was so excited to see some of her friends from school outside of school. It was a great day of visiting and enjoying one another's company.

Santa Claus

Today we went to a Children's Christmas Party held for Matt's command. There were simple games set up along with a bouncy house (a huge hit as you can imagine). We had pizza and popcorn. Both the kids seem to enjoy themselves. Later in the afternoon Santa Claus came by to say "hello" and give each child a goody bag. Chloe, of course, was all into Santa and told him that she wanted a red ballerina (not sure where she got that one). Aidan was exhausted by the time Santa arrived and wanted nothing to do with him of course. All in all it was a nice afternoon.

Growing Pains

After a few weeks of playing with it, Chloe lost her first tooth tonight. She was so excited today when it was loose enough to move in a circle or in other words--hanging on by a thread. Tonight she had her Jazz/Tumbling class. She was playing with it all evening of course, like any kid would. She sneezed towards the end of class, while she was playing with it and pulled the tooth right out. I think the amount of blood scared her, I didn't think to warn her about that. But she was so proud of herself and eager to share and show the world the gap in her teeth.

Here is Aidan comforting Chloe over the loss of her tooth. It is not very often we catch the two of them cuddling with one another. They are usually too busy playing or Aidan is busy annoying Chloe by getting into her stuff. So we figured we'd better take the picture while we could.

She has decided that she is going to give the tooth to Santa Claus because the Tooth Fairy doesn't need any teeth. Pretty cute huh? I am thinking about getting a little bag for the tooth and hanging it on the tree. She can check the bag on Christmas morning to see what she gets. If anyone else has any ideas let me know! Leave a comment.

Ladies Night Out

Last night we went to the south end of the island to see our local dance company's production of the Nutcracker. Nana and Poppa surprised Chloe with her Christmas dress (an early Christmas gift). She was so excited. I had her convinced that she had to go to the Nutcracker in her jeans and shirt. She was not very happy with that plan. So when Poppa showed her the dress, she was speechless (if you can believe it). The dress came with a matching tiara and purse so of course our little "princess" was in big girl heaven. She looked absolutely beautiful and she knew it too. Nana and Mommy looked quite smashing as well but Chloe of course stole the night.

We went out to dinner at one of our favorite little restaurants on the south end. It was so nice to go out to dinner before the show. We attempted to do that last year but it didn't work out. We ended up watching the show hungry last time. Chloe was a bit confused when we pulled up to the restaurant at first because she realized it wasn't the Nutcracker but once she understood that we were going to eat dinner she was all for the stop.

We got to the theatre in plenty of time to find our friends and our seats. Chloe was thrilled that she got to sit next to her good friend Katy. The two of them were beyond excited. Katy's parents, Becca and Paul, were there too! We saw lots of friends from school all dressed up for a night out. Chloe got to show off her beautiful Christmas dress to all of her friends.

Once the ballet started both girls were completely mesmerized. The costumes are stunning and all hand-made. The sets and props were all painted and designed by our school's art teacher, she is an amazing artist. Plus the stage where the performance was held is incredible and very state-of-the-art, we don't have anything close to it on the north end of the island. Chloe remembered quite a bit of the show from the year before. She couldn't wait for the giant Christmas tree to grow, for the Nutcracker to come to life and for the mermaids to appear. Her biggest shock was when she discovered that "Madame Bumbles" (she wears a large dress where lots of little dancers hide under) was actually a man in stilts. I can believe it is a man that dress is HUGE and it looks very heavy.

Chloe got a "Clara" Nutcracker and Aidan got a red Nutcracker from the gift shop. We figured they would be fun Christmas decorations to add to the house. Although I may have trouble packing Chloe's away, she is rather attached. After the show the art teacher gave us a tour of the backstage. Both Katy and Chloe were thrilled to be on the stage and able to touch the set and props. I even got a picture of Chloe sitting on the chair used in the party scene. She was pretty excited about that. We headed home right after that and stopped off at Applebees for some yummy desserts. We ran into the Cox and Newman families there and had a good time. All too soon it was time for bed!

Aidan Candids

I thought I had better put some pictures up of Aidan. I don't have any of his new haircut but I will get some soon! He has been quite a handful lately--into everything, testing boundaries, and full of energy. But we love every minute of it!

Christmas Play

We are all doing well just extremely busy. Last night we performed our big Christmas Musical at church. It was a large undertaking with many people helping and supporting the event. We started planning the play in August and have been rehearsing once a week since September. It was so much fun and all the kids (including Chloe) had so much fun singing and acting. I actually got the opportunity to act, which is a rare event since I usually direct. It was very refreshing to be on stage and have fun that way too! Chloe decided at the last minute that she had to be on stage too and got to play an extra during the beginning song. She was so excited to be on stage. I think the acting bug has bit. :)

Well now that the play is over things will slow down quite a bit for us over the holidays if you can believe it. Next weekend Chloe, Mom and I are going to the Nutcracker. We went last year and now it has become a Christmas tradition. As soon as Chloe started to see the Christmas decorations going up she wanted to know when we were going to see the Nutcracker again. She has really gotten into dance this year and is looking forward to seeing all the ballerinas with the "fancy shoes" (pointe shoes). It should be a fun night. I will try to take pictures.

That's all for now. I need to pack things up from the play and get things back to normal. Have a great week!