On the First Day of Christmas…
…the boys picked out their ornaments for the year – a family tradition we began last year. After much thought, Ethan picked out a tricycle and Lucas picked out a classic car. They are still at an age where it is pretty cruel to take them to a store, tell them to pick out something that looks like a little toy and tell them that it is not for playing with, but simply to hang on a tree and look at. So we let them play with the ornaments for a while, Ethan promptly breaking his in half. I super-glued it back together, but with the handlebars backwards. Oh well.
On the Second Day of Christmas…
…we began our traditional Heldman family tree trimming. Our routine is to have everyone put one ornament on the tree each night. This is fun, as it puts a little Christmas in each day leading up to the holiday. The boys enjoyed it, but felt it necessary to hang almost all the ornaments on either the very top or the very bottom of the tree. Very artistic.
On the Third Day of Christmas…
…the boys had their first hot chocolate. When we told them what we were going to do, Lucas told us he didn’t want a hot chocolate, but wanted a hot strawberry instead. I thought it was a great idea – we’ll have to sell that one to Starbucks. The first sips were tentative…
…but soon the hot chocolate was flowing. It didn’t take long for the sugar to hit, prompting a joyous celebration of hot chocolate!
On the Fourth Day of Christmas…
…we were invited to the Hudson’s house, where none other than Santa himself showed up!
He knew all the kids’ names and invited them to sit on his lap. Ethan cried “I don’t want him to take me!” and Lucas tried to fight through a quivering lower lip. With a little help from Mommy, they had a chance to tell Santa what they wanted for Christmas and happily received their candy cane. Ethan, however, had no hesitation sitting on the lap of a lovely young lady who was also at the gathering. He’s no fool.
On the Fifth Day of Christmas…
…we made Christmas cookies with the Goldens. Yum! GaGa made her famous dough (and Mommy contributed one gluten-free batch), and the boys were ready and willing to make their own creations this year. They could roll, cut, and decorate all on their own this year!
They even added their own artistic touches, such as tire tracks
and piles of sugar.
On the Sixth Day of Christmas…
…we celebrated Hanukkah.
On the Seventh Day of Christmas…
…we went to Del Mar with Aunt Jen and family to view the Holiday of Lights. It was a hit, mostly because the boys got to sit in the back seat with Cousin Katie. However, the tunnel of lights was pretty cool too.
The highlight for Noah and I was Ethan telling us 3/4 of the way through that he had to go pee. He said he couldn’t wait, so Noah had to pull out of the line of cars, put on the hazards and sit Ethan in the travel potty in the back of the station wagon. I had the pleasure of viewing the amused faces of knowing parents as they passed by our car.
On the Eighth Day of Christmas…
…it was Christmas Eve! We love spending this afternoon and evening with Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Jen’s family. The boys were so thrilled about receiving presents, and were so patient and polite. I was very proud of them! As Santa Joey handed out the presents, the boys disappeared behind a huge pile of them. They were so excited!
They were so happy to receive tons of car themed gifts, and were really excited about their musical instruments as well.
In fact, Lucas totally freaked us out by correctly identifying and naming a Glockenspiel, which no one ever remembers teaching him. (insert Twilight Zone music here).
We were so thankful to our generous family and so proud of our gracious little boys!
On the Ninth Day of Christmas…
…Santa arrived!! Since the boys had been super good this year (Santa has a selective memory), they got everything they asked for and more!
On the Tenth Day of Christmas…
…we all celebrated with the Goldens, including Jacob, who was enjoying his first Christmas! The theme was trucks, trucks, and more trucks! The boys had become experts in opening gifts by this time, so they were happy to pass out gifts and open anyone else’s they could get their hands on.
We spent the whole day eating, playing, laughing and eating more. Thanks to everyone for being so generous with our boys- they love everything, and will one day enjoy the Lincoln Logs if Noah ever stops playing with them and shares.
On the Eleventh Day of Christmas…
…it was time for some football!! Both the Chargers and the Vikings were playing for a playoff spot in their respective games. The Vikings made it by the skin of their teeth, while the Chargers dominated, with Daddy and the boys cheering them on!
On the Twelfth Day of Christmas…
…Mommy and Daddy had a chance to sit back and reflect while the boys played happily with their new toys. How lucky we are to have these healthy, beautiful, joyful, playful, dynamic boys in our lives. How fortunate that they know the love of so many family members. There is nothing greater to celebrate than the beauty of every day we have together be it the Twelfth Day of Christmas or the tenth day in May. We look forward this year to mindfully embracing each day as the gift it is, marking it’s passing with hugs, kisses and laughter.
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