December 2012, Part 2

 

Above: One night in December, we had an impromptu car race in our entryway and kitchen. The boys all had so much fun, and we all learned that Dad has the power, but Mom has the better aim. :)

 

Above: Good times with Dad.

Christmas Eve at last! The boys woke up to discover that Mom and Dad had carried on the Mackay tradition of giving a stuffed animal on Christmas Eve morning. Peter got a Gonzo pose-able doll that he found right outside his door. He was sooooo excited. He came in and in disbelief said, "How did this get here? Is this for me?" When I told him that it was for him and that Mom and Dad gave it to him, he said, "You got this just for me? Why?" I told him it was because it was Christmas Eve and we loved him. I then told him that we should check to see if Jonathan got one too. Sure enough, he did. He got an Animal pose-able doll. I chose Animal for him because we had been reading a Muppets book at Nammy's house and every time he saw Animal, he would point and say, "Animal!" in a growl-type of voice. I thought he would be so excited! It turned out that he was kind of scared of his Animal doll and kept going to the opposite end of his crib to avoid him every time we showed it to him! We got out all of Mom's old Muppet stuffed animals...and Jonathan warmed up to Animal...a little...always from arm's length!

 

Above: Building a snowman with Dad on Christmas Eve. We had one day in November or December (I forget which) where the snow was perfectly packable and rollable...all of the other days the snow has been pure powder that has been impossible to even make into a snowball. It just wouldn't stick together at all. So, when Peter told us he wanted a snowman, Jeremiah made a cone of snow that they shaped into a snowman.

 

Above: Packing in the snow.

 

Above: Working as a team.

 

Above: Jonathan, as is customary for him, came outside for about ten minutes, reached his limit, and then spent the rest of the morning inside eating.

 

Above: The finished product. What a cool snowman...well, snow princess. The reason for this is that once upon a time, I got a snowman kit, but it was for a snowwoman and these were the pieces that came in the set. Peter saw the set and wanted to use it, so we got a snowwoman instead of a snowman.

 

Above: While outside Peter made his very first, and absolutely perfect, snow angel.

 

Above: Peter putting the finishing touches on the snowwoman...a silk flower...sprouting out of the forehead and a carrot nose.

 

Above: Daddy got pretty hot with all of that shoveling, digging, and building. He took of his coat to cool off.

 

Above: Oh yeah, don't forget our sled run! We had more snow and the run was stronger than ever! Daddy and Peter had a great time trying that out and fixing it up (it has to be fixed up after every snowstorm.).

 

Above: On Christmas Eve, the boys each got to open a present...a new pair of pajamas (another Mackay tradition). Here is Peter's reaction to his pajama set: Buzz Lightyear and Lightning McQueen pajamas.

 

Above: Johnny was just happy to be alive. He liked the puppies on his pajamas though.

 

Above: "To infinity and beyond!" What a cute Buzz Lightyear!

 

Above: Doesn't Johnny look sweet in his puppy pajamas!?

 

Above: We had gone to see my Dad earlier in the day on Christmas Eve (I forgot my camera, darn it, so I didn't get any pictures of that visit). Grandpa got the boys some super cool presents that they got to open with Grandpa on Christmas Eve. Here they are playing with some of them.

 

Above: Grandpa always picks the best toys!

 

Above: When it wasn't Johnny's turn, he would wait patiently and sit on Daddy's lap.

 

Above: Peter made this cool sticker picture drawing for Santa. We left Santa some cookies and eggnog. When we made cookies a day or so before Christmas, Peter was determined that Santa wanted some spooky Halloween cookies. So, the sugar cookies came in shapes such as pumpkins, haunted houses, bats, ghosts...and then we made Christmas shapes too like gingerbread men, bells, stockings, snowflakes, and stars.

 

Above: All ready for bed so that Santa can come!

 

Above: I will play with Mom's Kermit dolls (do you see Animal behind Jonathan over there on the floor?).

 

Above: Our Christmas set up. The presents and stockings from Santa were lit up by colored Christmas lights. Our family presents were under the tree.

 

Above: Yeah, "Santa" kind of went overboard with the boys this year. We started buying presents little by little in September and then squirreling them away. The problem with that is that it's hard to really know how much you have. I went a little crazy at the dollar store a couple of times...hence the overflowing stockings. Oops. I'll tone it down next year!

 

Above: Peter on Christmas morning. As is customary for him, he wore his Buzz Lightyear pajamas until it was actually time to go to bed, and then he stripped down to just his pull-ups. On Christmas morning, he wanted to wear his Lightning McQueen pajamas. Here he is admiring our small Christmas tree and trying so hard to be patient as Daddy and Johnny got ready to go downstairs to see the presents.

 

Above: What a handsome guy! He was so excited!

 

Above: Peter admiring his presents from Santa.

 

Above: Peter hugging a coloring book from his stocking.

 

Above: Jonathan with his eye on some stocking candy. "Yeah, the presents are cool...but where is the food?"

 

Above: Now this is what Christmas morning is all about!

 

Above: Cool Power Rangers figurines! Dad found these online...they were from the 90's Power Rangers movie. Since they weren't a full set, we got them for a steal...now to see if we can find the last three Power Rangers from this set for his birthday...

 

Above: Ninja turtles stuff too!?

 

Above: Wow! Look at all this cool stuff (Daddy is modeling the awesome Power Rangers mask that came with Peter's costume from Santa.

 

Above: Look at this cool present that Jonathan got!

 

Above: Peter excitedly opening his present from Aunt Terrie.She got him a super cool Fisher Price IXL (it's like a Gameboy for preschoolers to help them learn stuff like math and ABC's. Peter LOVES it.). That Aunt Terrie always spoils us! She gave Jeremiah and me some gift money...trapped in a fun pinball game. You couldn't get your money until you beat the game. :)

 

Above: Now that I have eaten, how about a drink?

 

Above: Jonathan opening his present from Aunt Terrie with help from Dad. Dad helped Johnny open all his presents. At one point, I tried to help him open one. He shook his head and said, "No. Daddy." He wouldn't open it until Daddy could help him do it! Aunt Terrie got Jonathan a super cool Thomas the train goldmine track with a little train. Both of the boys love to play with it.

 

Above; Peter giving Daddy a hug after Dad opened the dinosaur Lego kit that the boys picked out for him. Daddy loved it and it made Peter soooo happy!

 

Above: Jonathan playing with his Playmobil penguin habitat. Fun stuff!

 

Above: Mom surprised Dad with a ukelele!

 

Above: Bunda! (Peter's exclamation of excitement)

 

Above: It's so little for such a big box! It helped to fool Dad plenty.

 

Above: Christmas is so much fun!

 

Above: Peter showing off his brand new Power Rangers Megazord from Santa.

 

Above: Jonathan playing Dad's ukelele.

 

Above: Mom putting some stickers on some toys for the boys.

 

Above: Peter, the blue and gold Power Ranger!

After we opened presents at our house, we went to Aunt Angie's house for a Christmas Brunch. The food was fantastic (they sure are good cooks) and we got to visit with all of the cousins. Plus, we got to give Mimi and Papa their Christmas presents and they gave us theirs. And wouldn't you know it, I forgot my camera again! What is wrong with me? The boys got Innotab 2's. They LOVE them. They had good times with their cousins, Mimi, and Papa too!

 

Above: Peter kind of went anti-nap during the holidays. Here he is on the way to Nammy's house to have Chinese food for New Year's Eve. He might be able to fight off a nap at home, but once we go for a drive, he gets hit with exhaustion and passes out.

 

Above: Uncle Sean holding baby Grant on New Year's Eve.

 

Above: Baby hungry Jeremiah holding and kissing baby Grant. Leave him alone! That stubble is super scratchy! I should know!

 

Above: What a cutie. And he is getting so big.

 

Above: Jonathan being as sweet and cute as can be.

 

Above: Peter doing a handstand! Impressive! I never could really do those!

 

Above: Playing together with Nammy on New Year's Eve is the best!

 

Above: Peter and Nammy playing rescue. Nammy is a fantastic actress. This non-pet lover is pretending that her cat is stuck up a tree and she is calling Rescue Pete for help. That isn't real concern on her face...but she sure does a good job of making it look real! If she really had a cat up a tree, she would probably enjoy the break!

 

Above: Here is a cool building Dad built for the boys.

 

Above: Christmas can't be over yet, can it? Let's play with the Christmas toys (Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer figurines) just a little bit longer!

Well, I am not going to lie. This year was a hard one for our family and I'm glad it is over. There was a lot of good...but a lot of hard that came with it. I am so grateful for my sweet boys and the opportunity and privilege I have to be their mother. I hope that I can do a good job and give them what they need and always show my love to them.

Now, on to a new year!