The Christmas season has arrived and it has been nonstop magic. I love this time of year so much.
We decided to see if we could trick our elf and get him to show up early. Usually the tree goes up and then he arrives the next day. We put the tree up on Friday and didn’t decorate (that was saved for Saturday) and we were very pleased to see that he did indeed arrive early! I was just so excited for the elf to begin and so I was happy to help the boys “trick” him.
Saturday, we decorated our house and drank hot cocoa. The boys have a countdown to Christmas calendar that has little treats and toys in it. It takes me weeks to find enough things to fill it up, but I LOVE it and it is so magical. They are SO excited to open a drawer every day!
On Sunday, Nate and Silas took the boys and Sam and Abby to Home Depot for a workshop. Xander didn’t like the craft when Nate showed him a photo from the website and he said he wasn’t going to go. So then Nate back tracked and said maybe it wasn’t the craft. Xander said, “Silas works at Home Depot, I am going to go talk to him and find out!” For the record, Silas is a corporate lawyer and I’m pretty sure that department isn’t in charge of the monthly craft, but Xander (who I always thought had 100% of Nate’s personality) is turning out to be more and more like me every day! Silas wasn’t able to give him any details, but he decided to go anyway, and everyone enjoyed it a lot.
The boys have been busy playing with Sam and Abby as much as possible. They all made Shrinky Dinks and it was a pretty fun project. Later, the first sledding of the season.
Monday was a special Daddy/Gussie day as Grandma Debbie wasn’t feeling well. They played games, colored, and went to an indoor play place.
Wednesday was Founder’s Day at school and the boys were very excited to have a PJ day. There was also a special before school pancake breakfast. I had a meeting, so I couldn’t go, but Nate took the boys. Augustus sometimes has a hard time getting up in the morning, so to get to school early was dependent on him. Xander very helpfully warned him, “I want to go to this breakfast, do not screw this up for me!”
For Christmas, Grandma Renee and Grandpa Kyle bought the boys Kiwi Co subscriptions. So every month, they each get a box in the mail with a project. Xander’s theme is science and art, Gussie got a cooking box. The first ones arrived Friday and they were SO excited! Xander built a grabber claw and all the accessories. He was able to do the majority of it on his own and everything was included with great directions. He LOVED it and has asked every day since when the next one will arrive. We are saving Augustus’s for Monday and we are both very excited!
Olive came over to babysit in the evening and Nate and I went to the EJ holiday party. No pictures, but the boys were thrilled to hang out with Olive and we had a great time.
On Saturday, Kate, Skylar and Phoebe came over for our 4th annual gingerbread house decorating event. Xander was besties with Skylar when they were about 3. But now that the kids are all in big kid school, we don’t hang with them that much. Xander was being a little angsty in the morning and said, “we’re not even friends with them anymore!” I told him I am still friends with Kate and he would just have to try to have fun. And of course, they had the best time! The houses were cute, we ate lunch and then they all ran around and played so nicely together it’s like they’ve known each other their whole lives (which they have). And the girls brought me the most gorgeous bouquet of tie dye roses ever!
Saturday evening, we had a new babysitter come over because Nate and I were out of the town for a second night in a row. And by “out on the town” I mean across the street and 2 doors down. No driving, no logistics, I didn’t even have to wear a coat! I love our neighborhood.
We were invited to Rachel and Sean’s house for Promukkah- a prom themed Hanukkah party. We started the night at the pre-party at Aaron and Melissa’s house (hence the Christmas tree in the background of some of the photos) and had a few drinks. I wasn’t quite sure what I was going to wear, but then searched “sequin jumpsuit” on Amazon, and ended up with SEVERAL great choices. Christine and her girls andNate and my boys all voted for a red one, but I have never loved anything as much as I love this black and silver outfit. I attempted some fancy heals for about 5 minutes and then had to switch to something more practical.
It was such an amazingly fun night. Rachel made latkes, and brisket, there were so many desserts, drinks… we were all dressed up and it was just such a great night. I cannot say enough times how much I love our neighborhood.
2 late nights in a row, and still early mornings, today I was EXHAUSTED. I managed to grocery shop, make some macs, bake cookies with Xander, bring my mom some soup (she’s still sick), but whoa, I am dragging! It’s time to get back to early bedtimes for all.
Elf on the Shelf is the HIGHLIGHT of December. I know some parents think it is terrible and hate it- it can be a lot of work. I pre-plan all elf nights ahead of time, stock up on supplies, and even sometimes I struggle. But every morning is pure magic. The boys are SO excited and just filled with wonder and joy and happiness. They are so eager to wake Nate and I up to tell us what the elf is doing. They are at the funnest, most magical age and I will gladly get up every day of December at 5:45am so that I can see their eyes light up and hear them be so happy. We only have a few years of this kind of innocence and I know I will miss this the most as they get older.
We have a regular week ahead and then the boys are on break for 2 full weeks! December is FLYING by!