'Tis the Season

'Tis the season to play in the snow,






wear "handsome clothes",




and enjoy presents & bows.



'Tis the season for preschool Christmas programs,



drinking hot cocoa,


and being merry.




'Tis the season to make reindeer food with cousins (to be sprinkled in the yard on Christmas Eve!),






help Mommy make Christmas cookies,






decorate them any way you want to (even if that means way, way too many sprinkles),










and eat them!






What's that? You like eating pure sugar?


'Tis the season to wait in (a 2-1/2 hour) line to see Santa,










make sure he knows what you want for Christmas,



or meet him for the very first time.




'Tis the season of love, giving, and family. To remember the reason we celebrate, as a Christmas angel

watches his big brothers stand up in front of the church as a shepherd,

and wise man.


'Tis the season to do some more of that decorating (I decorated a Christmas tree cookie, but ate it before it could be photographed),




and lots more of that eating (every time we looked at Alex, he was taking bites of his cookies).






'Tis the season of giving to others, including sharing cookies with daddies




and sons (Jeff's cookie gets 2 thumbs up).





'Tis the season for Christmas trees with presents underneath,


and saying, "Until next year!" to Smiley the Elf in his final hiding spot before he returns home with Santa on Christmas Eve.


And of course, 'tis the season to be jolly!

The Evolution of a Christmas Card

Or, the outtakes from my Christmas card photo shoot.

There are many, many ways taking pictures of multiple kids can go wrong. Below, I present just a few examples.

Here we have The Clapper, The Mover, and The Blinker.


The Whistler, The Wish Mommy Would Pick Me Up, and The Wish I Could Be Done With This Crap.


The Narcoleptic.


Sometimes at least one child cooperates. But beside his smiling face, he has The Laugher & The Lunger.


Or, Smiley, Stressed, and Sick of Smiling.


And when the kid who was cooperating gets tired of fake smiling, you get If You Can't Beat 'Em, Join 'Em.


Sometimes it's not the subjects' fault, but the photographer's, as pictured here in The Invasion of a Foreign Object.

And sometimes, it's both.


And finally, after sweat, whining, bribery, and the exhaustion of all reserves of patience, somehow you end up with an adorable Christmas card of 3 handsome little boys.


And you can breathe a sigh of relief until it's time for the next photo shoot.

Let's hear it for the boy

Let's hear it for Will, who has had an eventful couple of weeks learning new tricks and hitting new milestones. Adults aren't the only ones staying busy during the holiday season.

So what's Will been up to?

For starters, babbling about Dadada. No Mamama's yet, though, but my turn will come soon enough. And Jeff is just eating it up. Of course he isn't associating Jeff with Dada yet, but it's still cute to hear.

He's cruising! Pulling himself up to stand is old hat now, so he decided to start walking while holding on. Several times lately, he has even stood without holding on for about 4 or 5 seconds. It's so exciting to watch him grow, but I'm not sure I'm ready to see my last little baby hitting milestones so quickly.

He's also a fan of unloading the dishwasher, and it doesn't even matter whether they are clean. Dishes are just FUN.



Speaking of fun? Christmas trees are awesome. There are dangling ornaments to pull (his favorite is Alex's Wolverine) and presents to pick up, smack, and chew on. I always feel a little sad when it's time to get rid of the tree, but this year, Will might be even more disappointed than I.



Hmm, what else...he's a brand new fan of macaroni & cheese. He actually smiles when he sees the jar.




And within the past 2 days, he began clapping! Sometimes all on his own (this morning he burst into a round of applause as he watched his big brothers argue. "Fight! Fight! Fight!") And other times, he copies us when we clap. It is unbelievably cute.

"Yay, macaroni & cheese!"

"Yay...everything!"


He has also started giving hugs. He lays his head on our chests while we hold him, usually grinning up at us so he can see how much we're enjoying it. So loving is my 8 month old son, that even inanimate objects receive affection. He hugs the table, the floor, and pillows. He gets a kick out of the "Awwww!" reaction he gets every single time.


The picture of Will hugging the pillow reminds me of this one of Jacob at 8-1/2 months.


I'm so happy that Will is here with us this Christmas.


See the message on his shirt? On the onesie that's a tad too small, but since the message is so fitting, I hate to pack it up?


Yea, I think having all 3 of my boys to celebrate with definitely qualifies this year as the Best Christmas Ever.

Elf on our shelf

What have I been doing for the last two weeks? Not writing blog posts, for one. I've been busy celebrating Thanksgiving twice (once with each set of grandparents), Christmas shopping (I am officially done shopping for the boys and usually at this time of year, I'm just beginning!), working on Christmas projects and gifts for others, and let's see...I know there was one more thing. Oh yea- watching 3 kids.

I've been extremely busy, but I absolutely love this time of year. Christmas is my favorite holiday (always has been, with Thanksgiving in 2nd place). Our tree is up (albeit not decorated yet, but I'll get to that soon), Christmas lists are made, our wreath is hung, and we have an elf on our shelf.

A what?

Less than a week ago, I had never heard of The Elf on the Shelf. But after hearing about it from a friend, I looked it up and fell in love with the idea. I ordered one for our home promptly.
The idea is that a tiny scout elf watches little children during the day, and at night, while everyone is sleeping, he flies back to the North Pole, reports both good and bad behavior to Santa, and returns to the home before children wake up. Upon his return, he chooses a different hiding spot, which means it becomes a fun morning game to spot his new location. The rules clearly state that he must not be touched (that makes him lose his magical Christmas powers), and that while kids should talk to him and share secrets or their Christmas wishes, he cannot talk back to them. Also, the elf becomes magical as soon as children decide on a name for him.

After sharing all of this information with the boys this morning, and reading the book that came along with our elf, the boys began hunting for his hiding spot. They looked under furniture, in the bathroom, inside Jacob's backpack, in our tent, and in the Christmas tree. I finally suggested they try looking up high since perhaps our elf was afraid Hailey might eat him.

And then they spotted him up high on our mantel.

They were fascinated. Especially Jacob.


And so began the line of questioning about our new friend.



"What's he made of?"
"Is he real?"
"What's inside his body?"
"Is he gonna fly?"
"Is Santa his friend?"
"Can he talk?"
"Where are his feet?"

After I answered their barrage of questions, it was time for the boys to choose a name for our elf.

Alex suggested, "What about Santa Claus?"


Jacob suggested, "How about Handsome?"


And finally, Jacob chose a name that all of us liked. Smiley!


"Because he's smilin'!"


They have already shared their Christmas wishes with him, and a little while ago, I heard Jacob say, "I love you, Smiley Elf."

So far, Smiley's watchful eye is a helpful tool to remind the boys about good behavior ("Uh-oh, Smiley may have to tell Santa about that.").
And I'm excited to begin a new Christmas tradition in our family.



I love Christmas.