Isla and her Daddy

I would have told you years ago that there was NO WAY that any of my kids would ever be spoiled or treated differently than one another, but when you act differently than the others, you often get treated differently it turns out.
None of our boys were very cuddly.  Miles the most, Ethan the least- ie not at all.  And Isla makes up for them all- COMBINED.  She is the cuddliest little thing on the planet.  She scoots herself into the tiniest holes in your lap or arm and then wiggles herself on in.  AND STAYS!  That's the amazing part.  She loves to be still and be held.  The boys never had the patience for that.  But she does.  And because of that she is now officially spoiled.  She quite frequently is the last of the kids awake because she's planted herself with Taylor in front of the TV.  And she's so soft, and cuddly, and quiet that he refuses to part with her.
And on the rare occasion when he asks her "Are you sleepy? Do you want to go to sleep?"  She'll just turn over, wrap her arms around his arm, snuggle her little head onto his shoulder, and fall asleep there.  So yes, she's spoiled.  But how can a daddy resist?

Christmas Morning... a little early

Hallelujah!  I finally convinced the rest of the family that it MIGHT be easier to give each other our presents BEFORE we went on our trip each year.  And it might even be fun to do an actual Christmas morning together.  

So bright and early- like 8 am (we do have Barb and Clint here to appease), my kids rushed next door to Grams house to help make breakfast.

They helped fill and add topping to croissant rolls- chocolate chips, apples, fruit jellys, and even cheeses.  YUM!  Oh and of course everyone had to wear jammies since it was "Christmas morning".

Okay so some of the kids were more helpful and some were more hungry.

We ate breakfast and then all gathered around the tree to open presents.

Taylor got to pass them out since Grandpa is a little handicapped with his broken ankle.

Esther surprised Grams and Grandpa with a big photo of all their grandkids- my 4 and her new baby Ezi.  Funny story I have to record.  We took these pictures one afternoon and sat all 5 of the kids on my couch.  Ethan was holding Isla on his lap to help keep her still and looking at the camera and we stuck 4 month old Ezi in Isaac's arms so he could sit him up.  Isaac is a really good kid but I've never let mine hold younger siblings and they've never been interested in picking up or holding other babies- they are boys.  So after the quick photo shoot (hello short attention spans) Ethan, Miles, and Isla ran off to play.  Isaac stood up and while Esther and I were busy looking at the camera to decide which of the pictures was the best to use, He stood Ezi up on the floor and then walked away.  And the 4 month old promptly crumpled to the floor and got a good forehead bonk.  "What?" said Isaac, "I stood him up."

Isla got new sparkly purple shoes from Grams and didn't give a thought to another present the rest of the morning.  Sadly they didn't fit ON TOP of her footy pajamas.

And that was really frustrating to her.

Ezi came dressed as Santa and was so cute.

Since Taylor's brother Arty and family moved back last year and his sister Barb and her husband the year before that, we now are only missing one brother and his wife.  So we skyped them on the phone while we opened presents.  Pure chaos with 13 people here and lots of paper ripping and talking but fun none the less to include them.

Isla finally settled for my new shoes which fit OVER the pajama feet.

And to end the morning properly, Barbara serenaded us with Adam Sandler's Hanukkah song.  A truly perfect early Christmas morning and now I don't have to pack anyones presents!!!!!!  I think that deserves a few more exclamation points!!!!  Cause seriously bringing presents for 15 people across the world and then having to cart back 6 peoples presents is just ridiculous!!!

One of the boys

Where they go, she goes.  And sometimes, where she goes, they all go.  So if mom turns on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse for this little girl, 3 little boys come rushing to join the fun- not like there aren't 3 other couch cushions to sit on, but you know, we're all really skinny around here.

Lights at Thanksgiving Point

Since our December has been unseasonably cold- like low 20's and lots of snow- YIKES!  I decided I'd hunt for more "driving" lights tours.  And it turns out Thanksgiving Point has one.

So off we went, and once we were safely in the 2 mile an hour zone, I put Isla in my lap so she could see better.  Being turned backwards until 2 is really torture.

And the lights did not disappoint.  It also was fun to have the radio with coordinating holiday music.

Okay so the boys decided the front seat was the best view for them as well so somehow we fit 5 of us in 2 seats.

And we looked.

And photo bombed while mom drove 2 miles an hour and took pictures of her cute kiddos.

And sadly it was over too soon, well, maybe for the kids.  And to all a goodnight is actually a welcome phrase to this tired mama.

Festival of Trees

Taylor remembers fondly every year going with his family to the Festival of Trees.  This is a yearly fundraiser for the local Children's Hospital where people decorate and donate trees and then others bid and buy them.  They raise a TON of money- most trees were sold for over $1000 and there were easily over 1000 trees plus wreaths and gingerbread houses and more.  

The designs were amazing to see and definitely put my kids in the true holiday spirit "I want that" "NO, I want that" "Oh that is SO cool" "Can I have that for Christmas?"  Yep, kind of drove me crazy after the first row but what can you say besides- stop and maybe talk a little more about why this whole thing is happening.  Someday they'll get it.

Still fun to drool in the mean time and give back just a little to a good cause.

Mangers

This year my time table for fitting in all the Christmasy activities I wanted to do was a little tight, but of course nothing could be skipped since it is Christmas and these traditions are important.  Lots of people ask me if I feel bad that my kids won't remember any Christmas traditions since we travel with them every year and really I just don't think it's true.  They get Christmas presents and stockings wherever we are.  They get new pajamas on Christmas Eve wherever we are.  They get to be with family.  And in the weeks leading up to Christmas I cover just about every Christmas tradition I think others fit in during the school vacation time.  

We drive to see lights, we go to Zoo Lights, we deliver goodies to our neighbors, we do a few service projects, we watch Christmas movies and cartoons, we read the nativity story and play with our toy mangers, we sing carols in the car, we make ornaments and holiday crafts, we decorate the tree, buy and wrap and give presents, we read Christmas books, we make gingerbread houses.  Really I can't think of what they're missing out on.

So the next few posts are all the Christmas activities we fit in this year.  Mostly during the evenings after homework and dinner.  And mostly without Taylor since he works mega hours trying to finish end of year projects before we leave town.  But then he gets to spend 1-2 weeks with us so we don't feel too bad he's not along for all the pre-trip activities.

This year instead of gingerbread houses, I found the idea to make gingerbread mangers.

Isla was not interested in making anything, but was very happy to make a mess of herself and her supplies.

The boys were up to the challenge though.

We used chocolate graham crackers and frosting and all sorts of food decorations.

Miles was very excited to make marshmallow/licorice sheep.

And Isaac went a little crazy with the "hay" coconut.

Miles couldn't resist eating the frosting.

Ethan's was the most complete of all the manger scenes with a gingerbread Mary, Joseph and sour patch kid Jesus.

Isaac added the wise man with the candy cane staff.

All in all a successfully fun and messy night!  And kind of nice to add some Christmas focus to all the fun.

Isaac

This little sweet almost 6 year old is such a joy to have in our home.  He is by far my most responsible, most thoughtful, and most obedient child.  And he's always a ray of sunshine.  He LOVES kindergarten.  Every month he makes a new decorative calendar and is so excited to bring it home and hang it on the fridge so he can cross off each day.  This is November's scarecrow and December's wreath.  

He loves to build and finds endless ways to entertain himself.  He is constantly making things with his food and is the most artsy of my kids.  We love him so much and are so glad he's part of our family!

And anywhere that Isaac goes, so does Miles.  So if Isaac gets a picture, Miles needs one too.  And a silly one of course.