Happy Holidays!

Whew!  The holidays have come and gone in a blur of excitement!  The decorations are packed away and it is time to go back to school but before life gets hectic again I wanted to jot down how we spent our December.

Logan and Easton visited Santa Claus at Sunflower Elementary.  It was so cute!  Logan was a little nervous about talking to him but was very brave and told him that he wanted monster truck stickers and car magazines in the mail!  He also mentioned that his baby brother would like a water table.  

 It was a very exciting time for a certain 4-year-old!  His elf, Santa Elf, came on December 1st and each night would leave him a something.  Some days it was somewhere to go with his family, an art project, a holiday book, or a nice deed to do for someone else.  One morning Logan refused to show us what the elf had brought him.  After school I finally got him to talk about it and he told me that he couldn't show me because he was on the naughty list!  I assured him that this couldn't be true and he should show me what Santa Elf had brought.  He showed me the flyer from Bass Pro Shop's Winter Wonderland.  I told him how much fun we were going to have when we went there later that evening.  He was very upset and told me, "No, I'm getting coal in my stocking.  See, that girl has a frowny face on!"  (It was a little girl sitting on Santa's lap that was definitely not frowning!).  Eventually I convinced him that it was all going to be okay and we headed off to the "Fish Place."

 And, lo and behold, we did have fun and there was no mention of coal for the rest of the evening!

 Logan and I made an ornament and drove a monster truck.

 He even did a little bit of hunting!

 Logan and B rode on the merry-go-round.

 One of the most heart-warming nights of December happened after Logan went Christmas shopping for us at the school store.  He couldn't bear to keep the presents under the tree until Christmas!  He did a great job keeping our gifts secret!  The best part of the night was the smile of anticipation on Logan's face as each of us opened our gifts!  He was so giddy and proud!

Daddy got an ice scraper.  It worked out perfectly since the next day we had a snow day!

 Easton got The Night Before Christmas, it must have been very flavorful because he loved putting it in his mouth!

 B got a new travel coffee cup!  He might have let this one slip when she picked him up from school that day!

 Mommy got an ornament that says "#1 Mommy" on it!  There may have been a few tears!

 Our last day of school before break was cancelled due to a windy snowstorm.  We were all pretty disappointed not to be able to attend our parties.  Logan was especially bummed because he was supposed to be doing a concert in his PJs!  Luckily his sweet preschool teacher let us drop off her Christmas present to her at her house!  That made the day a bit better!  Logan and daddy also did some shoveling to enjoy the snow.

The Sunday before Christmas the Weishaars tried out church #97.  During the lighting of the advent candles Logan said, "OH BOY!  Here comes JESUS!"  I looked at Kasey and told him what Logan had said.  With wide eyes Kasey replied, "Well, this is going to be a big day!"  I asked Logan why he thought that Jesus was going to be coming to church and he told me "Because, they're lighting his birthday candles!"  I LOVE MY KID.

 On Christmas Eve we invited the Burkins to have a late lunch with us before heading off to church.  It was great to spend the day with B and our friends.  Logan and his little buddy Cole had fun blowing out Jesus' birthday candles!

 That night was surely entertaining!  Logan was so worried about Santa!  "How many cookies should we leave?"  "Don't forget about the carrots!"  "We need to make a path for Santa, he is going to trip over the presents!"  If I remember correctly he was up at 4:30 but we convinced him to go back to sleep!  B and I were actually up before he was!

 I couldn't believe it but these two actually took a great picture before the madness occurred!

Guess what!  Logan did not receive coal in his stocking!  He did however get monster truck stickers and a car magazine.  He of course pointed out that he told Santa that he wanted magazines in the MAIL!

Easton happily let his brother open all of his things.  He had better things to do like swing and grab his toes!

 Poppi would be so happy that Logan cleaned up the wrapping paper!

 Daddy was very excited to give Logan his first baseball glove!

 Easton was so excited about all of his fun new toys!!

 Mommy was pretty pumped about a new stand mixer!!

 Logan got three new early reader books in his stocking.  He LOVES them.  He slept with them every night of Christmas break!

 Logan got nano-speed racers.  They are SO cool!  They zip around this track and crash into each other!  We all had a lot of fun with it!

 Kasey got a Kinnect for his Xbox.  Kasey and Logan were trying it out and Easton thought it was wildly funny!

 I guess Santa should have just brought Easton some new socks because he has been spending a lot of time grabbing his toes these days.

 After all of the presents were opened and the cinnamon rolls were devoured we packed up and headed to Illinois.  It is a trip that takes roughly 8 hours.  Or, 10 if you are traveling with two young boys!  It was all worth it because we got to hug on my brothers, mom, dad, and sister-in-law as soon as we got there!  The next day we got to see these cuties!

 They are getting so big!  But not too big, I still got to get my snuggle on!

 Logan loved swimming in Gramma and Poppi's tub!  He needed a bit of relaxation since the first night we were there he screamed half of the night because of an ear infection.  Some day we will visit and not have to go to an urgent care!

 On Thursday I got to hang out with all of my girlfriends at my friend Suzanne's house!  It is crazy how times have changed.  We used to live in a house that was on the verge of being condemned and now she lives in a jaw-dropping home!  It was so cool seeing all of our kids play together.

On Friday morning we had a mass play date at the Peggy Notebart Nature Museum.  The kids had a lot of fun and I loved catching up with the mommies and daddies!

 Here is my best pal, Lori, hugging on E.

 Aww, look at my sweet sleeping baby!

 After the museum we got to eat at my favorite place, Pasta Bowl!!  We stayed the night downtown to enjoy all of our favorites.  The Pellings joined us for a dip in the pool and dinner.  Logan was very excited that our view was of a construction site!  When we were reminiscing about Logan being born in Chicago he said, "No, I was born this big and drinking a glass of wine!"  What!?

 That night the family stomach bug got me!  I was so sad because Saturday was my family Christmas.  I stayed in bed for most of the party but did make it down for an hour of visiting.  I was so sad that I didn't get to take pictures of the boys with their relatives but luckily I managed to get a couple!

E and Uncle Anthony

 Overall, it was a great visit.  Easton loved snuggling on Gramma and helping her drink her coffee.

 Logan had fun sledding down Poppi's backyard.

 I hope that you all enjoyed spending time with your loved ones!  I am already looking forward to our summer visit to Chicago!  However, as part of my resolution, I plan to live in the moment and enjoy my boys as they are right now; sweet, demanding Easton and my funny little worrier Logan. This very long post proves that I am one lucky mama!