Christmas

The kids are "writing" their letters to Ho Ho on Christmas Eve.

Our den after Ho Ho's visit was out of control.

I had been collecting parts to this train set since I found out I was having a little boy. Everytime there was a sale at ToysRUs I was there adding a piece to our collection, which I kept stored in our little attic over the garage. I didn't realize how out of control it had gotten until that night. I kept pulling boxes and boxes out of the attic, all of which had to be cut out of their displays and put together to make one big connecting train set. We started putting the thing together at 10:00 that night after the kids were asleep, and we didn't get into bed until 1:30 that morning. Tim was pretty annoyed, and I'll be honest, I was a little embarassed. I prayed really hard that night that he would actually like the darn thing! He did. It was a big hit. And it is a big, permanent monstrosity in our play room now. I tend to do things big. I'll go ahead and admit that now.

Dear Dad

These pictures are for you...since you have been missin' my blog lately :)

December was a very busy month. We wrapped up swim lessons for a little while. My little fish have been missing the pool here lately, but I am enjoying the break. We will get our fair share of the pool as soon as the weather starts to warm back up I am sure.

Addie found a letter from Ho Ho that told her to look in her Mamaw's garage for a special present he brought her early since Mamaw would not be there on Christmas morning to see her other gifts. She was so excited! She slept with that letter for days afterwards.

Hayes really got into unwrapping gifts this year. He wanted to tear into everyone's presents!

Addie was mighty proud of the stack of gifts she had at Mamaws! She would smile so big when her name was called, and she loved building a mountain with the unwrapped boxes!

Christmas is magical again with little ones...it really is. They make it so much fun!

This is what breakfast looks like at our house. They sit in the same seats and pretty much each the same stuff each morning. We are creatures of habit.

Once again we enjoyed the Great Bridge Christmas parade here in our town. Hayes loved the motorcycles and police cars. He can't get enough of sirens! Addie loves the cheerleaders and dancers, and of course, the people who pass out candy!

Last year when we were at the parade, it started snowing. It was so cold. So this time I made sure everyone was nice and warm. It was a bit much. It was much warmer than we expected! Still, they looked adorable in their winter gear!

Addie and her Mamaw and I went to a Christmas ballet together. It was such a nice time. Addie was in awe of all of the beautiful costumes and sat mesmerized the whole time. It was fun to get all dressed up and do something girly together!

I have many more pictures to share from Christmas, my favorite time of the year for sure. I won't wait so long to post again, I promise!