dear santa

i love looking at what comes home in their 'take home' folders every day. love.

(not) sitting with santa

we were leaving a craft store when manning asked me to take his picture with "santa." maddux wouldn't even come out from behind me. wanting maddux to be in the picture with him, manning said, "it's not the real santa, maddux."

maybe next year. love.

family christmas party

the couples bible study matt and i joined this year has an annual family christmas party with a fantastic santa.  one of the couples owns a party facility (for weddings, parties, etc.) and they trade their photography services for some santa time and host the whole evening.  it is a really family-friendly event and the kids are even allowed to wear their jammies.  i tried to get a picture of our crew before we left.  unfortunately, mason refused to take a picture without baby jesus in front of his face.  sigh.

we were running a little late and when we got there everyone was still waiting to eat. i guess mason was really, really hungry because he sat right down and started eating his salad.  dry.  with a spoon.  what can i say?  that kid really loves salad (by the way, manning it a big salad eater too).

the facility was so beautiful with lights, white and silver linens and a fire in the fireplace.  and then there were kids running all over the place having a great time sliding on the empty dance floor in their pajamas!  we had a wonderful meal and then heard some jingling coming from the kitchen.  several of the kids stopped mid-run when they heard the jingle bells which was cute.

manning loved being a 'big kid'.  i cringed when he took his pizza roll sauced hands and wiped them all over the white chair cover.

 here are some pictures of the kids enjoying their 'fancy' dinner.

and then santa came it.  now this is a really good santa.  like the kind who attends "santa university" (yes, that is a real thing - google it).  he was an excellent santa and did a whole question and answer session with the kids.  manning wasn't too sure about him.

one kid asked if the reindeer were outside.  santa explained that they were resting up for christmas and he had to take two planes and rent a car to come visit.  which led another kid to ask if he was really rich to be able to afford two flights and a rental car!  i thought it was interesting how interested the kids were in the elves (maybe from all the 'elf on the shelf' stuff).  they were particularly concerned that the elves didn't get meals or breaks!  santa assured them that the elves were very well cared for and that he spoke to mrs. claus today and asked about how the elves were - hard at work and very happy.

santa's "the nice book" (he said that he doesn't travel with the "naughty" book)

manning just wanted my camera.

eventually, manning decided to go sit with mason to listen to santa.  madelyn was the only one who asked a question - does rudolph lead his sleigh? - and heard that rudolph only flies in bad weather because he is getting older now.  we had briefed the kids several times in the days leading up to this party that they could not mention that santa isn't real and i was very happy that they enjoyed the 'magic' of it as much as everyone else.

then all of the kids lined up to have a turn with santa.  madelyn came out of line to ask if she was old enough for an ipad because she didn't know what else to ask for (several of the kids in front of her had asked for ipads).  when we told her that she isn't old enough yet (santa was asking the parents about the gift before confirming with the kid - "has so and so been good enough for this toy?") and maybe she could just pick a toy to talk with santa about, she burst into tears.  she has decided a few weeks ago that she doesn't want anything specific for christmas and would be happy with whatever she received.  this is wonderful that she is so content with what she has and grateful for what she might receive, but it is very problematic when you are required to ask santa for something specific.  after some discussion, she settled on a rainbow loom.  she throughly enjoyed her chat with santa and got a lovely picture (i think).

mason decided to ask santa for a race track (even though he got one last year and doesn't really plan with it - granted, it does need some fresh batteries so that the cars can get around the loop).  santa held this pose and got mason to put his hands back up so that i could take a picture - he was a really  good, professional santa.  the picture is of mason and santa discussing how big the race track should be.

mason showing me the santa sticker he got and stuck on his pjs.

we didn't get a family shot with santa, but we did get one shot with all of the kids.  some of the older girls asked for different members of one direction!  santa didn't miss a beat and said he would put in some calls to the band but he knew that their schedules were pretty full already.

maddux didn't want to talk with santa (he was just having way too much fun playing), but when i showed him the photo of santa with a real reindeer and the sticker kids got when they were done visiting, he was sold.  he didn't do much talking, but i got this cute picture.

manning wasn't feeling it but he wasn't scared either.  i think he was just getting too close to bedtime for new friends.  plus, he had already made several friends with some of the other ladies - the little cuddle bug!  (one of the ladies said that manning has the same eyes as justin beiber and googled his toddler picture as a comparison - she said that it is the eyes, not the mouth.  i do sort of see it. if you run to do your own search, let me know what you think.)

as an extra bonus, all of the kids were given santa chocolate bars - like they needed any other reasons to love santa!

santa even had a gift for the parents.  i guess he got a new suit (from a hollywood costume designer - and his suit was super impressive) and cut up the fabric from his old suits for parents to use as proof that santa had been to the house.  there was a letter explaining that we should put the velvet fabric scrap by the tree or fireplace as proof that santa had been there.  here is a picture of all the santa loot we were given.

it was such a great evening.  i am so thankful for this group of people!  love.

thanksgiving

i was trying to go back to sleep after putting the turkey in the oven and listening to my sleeping family (all four kids were sleeping in our room to free up some beds/bedrooms) and thinking how much i have to be thankful for in my life - in this room.  it was a great way to start my day.

yesterday i baked muffins for breakfast so i just had to put things out this morning instead of cooking.  my plan was for us to eat by 2pm but our turkey did not have a tag and i wasn't too sure how much it weighed which makes figuring out the cooking time a little more challenging.  i am happy to report that i managed to get everything ready and hot at the same time.  the meal itself isn't that difficult, it is the timing of having it all ready at the same time.

matt decided buffet style would be easiest since we weren't all at the same table.  the picture shows most of our spread.

our family tradition since moving to ohio is to go to the christmas tree festival after dinner on thanksgiving.  we were excited to be able to share this with our guests!  the trees are decorated and donated to be sold as a fundraiser for akron children's hospital.  our tradition has also become taking pictures with our favorite trees.  i tend to favor the unconventional 'trees'.

apparently, the kids are not allowed to like the same tree and madelyn can only be photographed alone - or so madelyn explained to me.

mason settled for the next tree instead.

this one was pretty awesome.  it is made of shoes worn by lebron james with an autographed ball on top.

maddux chose this orange one - of course.

madelyn had a lot of "favorites"

we are getting braver about going places without a stroller.  manning thinks it is pretty great, but we did end up holding him most of the time for the safety of the trees.

this one was another group favorite.  there is even a sled (a little behind mason) 

this was my favorite.

around this time maddux and mason started taking pictures for me.  we have pictures pretty much of every single tree from this point on, but i will spare you all of them.

uncle derek photo bombing maddux' picture... 

...so maddux took one of himself.

another one of madelyn's favorites - bubble guppies.

 after seeing all of the trees, we stopped by for a picture with santa.  maddux was playing shy.

we tried for a few pictures into getting him to look and then santa insisted that i get in the picture too, but manning was done.

 next stop - face/hand painting!

we think that it is a super fun way to walk off some thanksgiving dinner and kick off christmas.  love.

picture with santa

we might not be 'doing' santa any more, but we still went to get a picture at the mall. matt wasn't sure that we should because the kids might be confused and maybe they are a little, but they do know that jesus is real and santa is not which was the goal. i look at it as being the same as taking a picture with mickey mouse at disney or a mascot at a sporting event - he is just a character that goes along with christmas.  it is just fun and pretend.

i was prepared for the worst case scenario because what are the chances all four will look and smile?  i was just happy they all sat with him and didn't cry!  we went early and waited in line about 20 minutes.  when it was our turn maddux started backing away as madelyn and mason went to santa.  he was trying to disappear back into the line.  i really couldn't believe that he sat on santa's lap!  manning had just woken up from a short nap and was hungry, but a thumb is fine.  all in all, i am pretty pleased. love.

festival of trees

matt surprised us all with a trip to the 'festival of trees' after thanksgiving dinner. apparently this is an annual even where local businesses and families decorate Christmas trees and wreaths and donate them to the show where they are sold to benefit the children's hospital.  the pictures don't really capture how beautiful the trees were all lit up.  and the picture to the right was just the overflow; there was a whole ballroom of trees that i didn't take a picture of for some reason.  there were easily over 100 trees and lots of other holiday decorations.

the kids were asking to have their picture taken in front of their 'favorite' trees, but they could  barely hold still long enough for a picture before seeing their next 'favorite'.  and there was just way too much to see to pause for pictures.

the kids were very cute in their search for "baby jesus" - and there were lots to see.  we thought that this one using teddy bears was the most unique.

the event was closing, but we stopped by to see santa before we left.  i think the santa was a little tired because he was a little frustrated that the kids wouldn't speak louder.  he wasn't rude or anything that the kids would have noticed, but i decided to step in and repeat their answers above a whisper.  madelyn said that she wanted a candy cane for Christmas and when santa kept pushing for her to say something else, she said that she wanted a guitar.  we could not believe that the girl who has reviewed every toy circular in the paper - multiple times - and marked every toy that is her "favorite" - and she has a lot of favorites - could not think of something to tell santa.  "guitar" was inspired from maddux' birthday present that all three kids like playing with and then we found one with princesses on it - so not totally random but not something i would consider to be in her top twenty.  mason was more predictable with a "race car".  the santa seemed disappointed that they didn't want more toys.  he kept asking "are you sure you don't want anything else?" until i decided that we had better be on our way.

did i mention that the event was free?  we will most definitely come back next year.  love.

picture day

maddux is quickly out growing his "little brother" onesie so i decided that we had to go get pictures done at jcpenny during big pop and grandma's visit (and it was our first chance after the light blanket therapy). maddux' hospital pictures were just awful. and they tried like 4 or 5 times to get some with his eyes open. the nurse said that she was really having a difficult time because he was too big to fit in the frame too. so we really wanted to get a "newborn" picture done now that he was opening his eyes more. unfortunately, jcp redid their photo site and i can't download the previews any longer, but i was able to figure out a work around so that i could post some of my favorites - where there is a will, there is a way...and remember, mason had spent the night before vomiting. i have included one that shows the look on his face when i decided that he was done with pictures.and since we were already at the mall with presentable appearances, i thought that we would take a stab at a picture with santa. i also thought that it would be nice for madelyn to tell santa about our move to ohio since that has recently come up as a concern (having christmas at "our house" in wisconsin, not if santa would be able to find us). madelyn sat and chatted with santa for a bit while i got mason and maddux out of the stroller. i am not sure what she asked for but it sounded like she was just saying yes to whatever santa suggested.

the photographer thought that mason was going to cry for sure, but we got a decent picture with both older kids looking at the camera and no one crying. the official, purchased picture is better than this one i snapped but scanning it is more trouble than it is worth right now - you will just have to take my word for it.

once we were finished with pictures we went to get some lunch and do a little shopping. matt was hosting an open house on sunday and needed us to stay out for a few hours. mason finally gave into sleep after lunch and he really, really needed to get some rest. we thought that it was pretty funny that he managed to keep a very tight grip on his water cup the whole time too.

while he slept we went to barnes and noble for madelyn to play with the train table while i nursed maddux. it also allowed me the opportunity to find a book i needed to get for christmas (we don't just go there for the train table, we actually do buy things on occasion). everyone was pretty tired by the time we were finally able to go home and make the quick stop before heading off to the christmas parade! yes, we had a very busy weekend (for us any way). more on that in the next post. love.

by the way, this is my 800th post. love.