Merry Christmas!! We enjoyed the holidays so much this year, especially the part where Matt got a week and a half off from work! Seriously, when he went back on Thursday, it seemed so crazy that he was leaving for the whole day. Will even turned to me at lunch and asked incredulously, "Mama, where IS Daddy?" We loved every minute of our family hang out time, and parenting 3 little ones is definitely easier with 2 full time people at home!
We started the holiday fun with Will's preschool Christmas party. They all dressed up and acted out the nativity story, complete with 2 songs. It was adorable. Will was a sweet little shepherd.
We also had a blast making cookies at Mimi and Duke's house.
Our kids are aggressive sprinkle users {and sprinkle eaters!}
We celebrated my birthday on the 21st, and it was WONDERFUL. We got to go out and see lots of friends the night before at a Christmas party, and then on my actual birthday, we had brunch with my sweet parents, and after we ate....wait for it....we left the kids there UNTIL THE NEXT DAY! All of them! Matt and I had planned to make the most of our free time by shopping and seeing a movie at Northpark before going out to dinner, but then we realized that it was 4 days before Christmas, and Northpark was the last place we wanted to be. So we came home and literally laid on the couch for the whole afternoon. It was wonderful. We had a fun dinner out, slept in the next morning, and even went out to brunch before picking up the kids. It was a much needed parental break for us, and we were refreshed and so happy to let the craziness begin again the next day.
One of my birthday gifts was this nativity scene, which I LOVE.
Will loves it too, and every time I turn my back on it, I come back to find it like this.
Finally I asked him to stop messing with it, and he said, "But Mama. Everyone has to move together because they all want to be close to baby Jesus on his birthday!" Well played, sir. Carry on.
And finally, it was Christmas Eve! We all went out to Grandpa and Mama D's house for dinner and presents, which was lots of fun. We are certainly able to enjoy holidays and family gatherings more now that the girls are slowly beginning to be more comfortable around everyone. They absolutely still sit directly on my lap for at least the first hour that we are in any new place, but once they warm up, they'll run around and play. Who knows....maybe by next year, all the kids will play together, and Matt and I can sit back and relax. {hahaha!!}
As usual, I left early with the girls, because they still go to bed earlier than Will. So Matt and Will stayed and partied until late, and then came home to quickly put out some cookies, milk, and notes for Santa before a very late bedtime for Will.
In case you can't read Will's writing...his Christmas requests were yogurt and a slide. :)
Santa came!!
There were lots of fun presents, but the big ones were the slide and roller coaster. Although the slide was Will's requested gift, the roller coaster has definitely been his favorite!
Santa even left notes for the kids.
On Christmas morning, Will immediately ran for the roller coaster!
The girls weren't exactly sure what was going on at first.
But they loved it too!
Just like last year, Will wanted to immediately play with each toy he opened, and we had to force him to keep opening presents! Seriously, this kid could get one gift for the whole holiday and be content.
The girls' favorite gift was a set of brooms. They run around the house carrying them, saying, "DIRT DIRT DIRT!!" They are hilarious, and we now call them the dirt twins when they have their little brooms. {too bad they don't ever actually sweep anything up!}
Caroline, taking care of some important baby business on her new phone, while wearing a new tutu and slippers.
I promise Matt was there too, he just happened to be the one with the camera!
Another big hit was the doctor set. All three love checking our vitals now.
Had to include this one, because it showcases Emily's awesome hair.
Actually, so does this one. {And can you tell that they love their new purple tutus?}
After a super fun morning at home, we packed up our car with gifts and babies, and headed to Mimi and Duke's house. We had a wonderful lunch and opened more gifts. The kids especially love their new magna-tiles, which were actually Will's gift, but have become a favorite of everyone already. {even the adults!}
The girls got these adorable pink chairs, which are perfect for them. No more fighting over Will's chair when it's tv time! :)
Sweet Caroline was the most careful and interested present unwrapper of everyone. She loved taking all the paper off of everyone's gifts, and several times, we glanced over to see her quietly unwrapping a gift.
Taking a little break. Opening gifts can be exhausting!!
Emily loving on Caroline. They say, "I love you" by laying their sweet little heads on people or things. I mean...SO sweet.
Everyone took naps in the afternoon, and then we headed over to Nana's house for our final Christmas celebration. We loved getting to hang out with everyone and enjoy some more present opening! The girls got lots of fun dress up clothes, which we have already put to use. They are LOVING any kind of dress up right now.
The boys {Matt and Jonathan} got lots of new odd items for their brewery.
{Didn't end up with any pics of Nana, Ryan, or Jordan...there's so much going on with 10 people opening gifts that we never take many pictures!}
This guy had an absolute blast all day. So many fun new toys, and so much fun with all his favorite people!
Then when we got home {late!}, the girls had to take care of some more dirt before bed.
What a wonderful year 2013 has been! We've had so much fun watching these amazing kids grow, learn, and have a blast together. We have been given three amazing blessings, and I am not exaggerating when I say that I am so so thankful every single day that I get to be their mother. While there are absolutely plenty of challenges that come along with having three kids under the age of 4, I can't imagine life any other way. I can't wait to see what the next year brings. I hope we're in for lots more laughter, and tons of fun!
