On the Fifth Day of Christmas...

 On the fifth day of Christmas, Owen asked me - where are we having Christmas today??? That's because we had 4 days of Christmas celebrations starting on the 23rd. 

Christmas Day #1

Since we've been back in TX, we've always celebrated w/ my dad the day after Christmas, so this year he and Pam wanted dibs on an earlier slot. So, we headed over there on the 23rd for a really nice stew dinner and gift exchange. It was our 5, Dahdo and Pam, Alex, and 2 of Pam's 3 boys. Their "mood light" + fast moving kids opening gifts and playing = I didn't get but a few pics. 

Maggie checking out Dahdo.

They were so patient. So, when it was finally time...the blur was hard to control!

Christmas Day #2 (Christmas Eve)

One of my favorite traditions is what we do on Christmas Eve - evening church, then stew and pajamas at Bee's house. 

Maggie and Bee

No, YOU are so pretty!

Rebecca had fun helping Maggie open her first present - her first Christmas jammies.

Yea Maggie!

Father and daughter.

The photographer provoked this...

Bee's Christmas performance for this year - a tricky Frosty the Snowman. The kids were supposed to sing along. They at least sat there for most of the song.

After persistence on their part, Bee gave in and let them each open another present (other than jammies) - these awesome straw glasses. Doesn't he look like a little mini nutty professor?

I have no words.

Me and Maggie in her new jammies.

Christmas eve (or was this morning?) - all 3 in their matching jammies.

So, technically Christmas Day at our house was Christmas Day #3. The kids actually slept til around 8 (woohoo!) and we when Bee and JoJo made it over we opened presents and had a nice breakfast. Then we just hung out the rest of the day - no fancy meal to rush off too - we ended up doing an easy dinner at Nana's that evening. Very laid back. Very nice.

Bee finished Rebecca's stocking - quite a feat. This thing is majorly detailed - every little bit is stuffed, embroidered, bedazzled. It's very special. Now Mom has to start working on Maggie's...

Christmas Day #4

On the 26th, Luke, Mel and their 3 returned from celebrating with her family, so we all met up at Franny's for more food and more gifts. As with any time at Nana's, we had to spend some time letting the kids ride bikes/scooters in the awesome driveway.  (See Mel's photos as well.)

Mel with Maggie

Nana with the other Gen 3-er - Baby Blair (wearing Bailey's "first Christmas" jammies).

Blakers

Rebecca

Bailey - showing that tree who is boss.

Owen being Owen - Bailey trying to figure out how to get down from the tree.

The array of minivans and ride-on toys is impressive.

Me and the hubs.

Finally - Baby Jesus' Birthday Cupcakes! (Bailey - get your finger out of Owen's icing! :)

Happy Birthday Baby Jesus!

Taking it all in at eye level.

Trying to sing along.

The babies were either being held or were asleep. Next year, there will be 6 kiddos sitting around the birthday cake. We are so blessed.

Happy Birthday Jesus!

Christmas Goodies

What is the Christmas season without an overload of sugar and the family fun that goes with making sugar things?! Rice crispie treats, sugar cookies, birthday cupcakes...

One evening when Kyle was working I was desperate for an activity for the kids so decided we'd make rice Christmas treats. Somehow I discovered that Franny had the other Mezger kids over at her house. [Actually this is really fun - Luke and Mel went out for Mezger Homes' first annual Christmas party/dinner - just Mel and Luke. Wasn't that a genius date-night move on her part?] Okay, so Franny has Bailey and Blake (they took Blair) and I thought...what's better than 1 adult 2 kids and a baby making rice crispy treats in my dingy little kitchen? Why, 2 adults, 5 kids and a baby making rice crispy treats in a big nice kitchen!

Here they are pressing down the treats. (In reality, I made them while they played - did I actually think they'd help???)

When can we eat them???

What a fun precursor to our annual Christmas cookie making extravaganza with Bee!

Here is our newest little helper. She was pretty content to play in the exersaurcer as long as she got to play with her very own cookie cutter. Actually, that's not true. Bee or I had to hold her a bunch...which is why we have so few pictures of the actual process! (This was right before Bee gave Maggie her very first taste of cookie dough. Way to go Bee.)

Woohoo aprons! (This is more clothes than I can usually get Rebecca to wear when we're at home.)

Rebecca sporting my "onion goggles" while Owen helps Bee mix the frosting.

A little taste test.

Doesn't get much yummier than this.

Cookies are done and decorated! Noooooo Rebecca! Wait wait wait!

Yea!

Now you can try one.

I think she's afraid I'm going to take her cookie away.

For our Christmas celebration with the Mezger gang, we have always had a birthday cake for Jesus. This year, I was in charge and decided I was in a cup-cakey mood. The kids were so helpful "cleaning up" after I made the cupcakes during their nap the day after Christmas.

What good sharing!

They had to wait to eat the cupcakes and you have to wait to see them...

Pre-Christmas Christmas

Hanukkah lasts 8 days. I feel like Christmas lasts 30. Don't get me wrong, I love "the season" but it takes considerable effort to 1) keep the focus where it should be, and 2) keep the rest of our life and house in order while enjoying all the extras. 

Here is a glimpse into some of our pre-Christmas activities...

Decorating the tree. Owen liked to put his ornaments all in a little clump towards the bottom. Rebecca likes all of hers up high - which required help. She's the same with our little Advent tree. We have this little (fake) tree and a set of 25 books/ornaments that tell the Christmas story. Each night we read one and hang it on the little tree in their room - and she always wants to put her book on the top branch. Owen has to remind her each night that he wants to save that branch for "baby Jesus".

 

Our ornament this year. I have three of these - all a little different - one for each of the years we've grown as a family.

 A shout-out to pinterest.com. Here is one of the pinterest-inspired projects we actually did. Owen's handprints are the light green, Rebecca's are the dark green and the star on top is made from Maggie's feet!

 Our Advent series at church has been amazing! Perhaps the best sermons leading up to Christmas I've ever heard. Matt has used a collection of Puritan Prayers called "The Valley of Vision" as a key text. Here is Rebecca having some quiet time...

Another pinterest idea. I'm into glass etching (thanks to my silhouette - now making a stencil is easy)! I've etched wine glasses, these cute little trifle dishes, and a few other things (that I can't mention because the recipients haven't opened them yet). So fun!!! (I'm also into chalk-board paint - if you stand in front of me too long, you're going to get painted.)

Rebecca wanted to help so badly. At a minimum she wanted in the picture. Cheese!

Don't you just want seconds?

 On Friday Owen's preschool put on a little mini-pageant - his class sang "Twinkle Twinkle Christmas Star". So sweet.

 Now we're in the middle of "school break" - I'm excited to be able to have playdates with our friends who have opposite preschool schedules...and we'll need to have some, because I'm not sure what I'm going to do with everyone at home for 3 weeks!

 Last weekend we went to my Uncle Don's ranch in San Saba for the McElroy family Christmas - it was good to see a bunch of my aunts/uncles/cousins on my dad's side of the family. Here are some of my cousins taking pictures of all the kids with Santa. We're such old fogies!

 All the kids - Owen & Rebecca - with their second cousins.

 Our three with the big jolly guy.

 Maggie checking out Dahdo.

 Maggie feeling Uncle Alex's scruff. Scratchy!

We still have a lot to look forward to - we are scheduled to make Christmas cookies with Bee tomorrow afternoon. We also have to make Jesus his birthday cake - although I'm thinking cupcakes this year. And of course we have 4 days of celebrations from the 23rd through the 26th.

I'll leave you with the lyrics of one of our favorite seasonal songs - at least Rebecca's interpretation of it...

Rah-ty a no-man...wa a howy jowy man. Wida corntob pipe in button no, and two eye made ow-a no...tumpitytumptump tumpitytumptump wook a roh-ty doe...tumpitytumptump tumpitytumptump o'er da hills a no!

Peace. And. Joy. To You and Yours.

Okay, everybody in the backyard. No, put down the trucks/ball/chalk - we don't want to mess up your pretty picture clothes. Okay, everybody sit - you here, you here, and you here. Perfect. Oops, don't mess up the chalk - oh, you wiped it on your shirt. Awesome. Let me rewrite that. Okay, now, everybody hold up your sign and smile!

 Um, hold it up so I can still see your face. Say cheese!

 Okay, don't say cheese - just smile! Rebecca - hold up your sign - oh well.

 (Why am I determined to do this while Kyle is at work?) Let's try this one at a time. Say cheese Owen. Can you smile where I see your teeth a little? Can you smile where I can see your teeth a little and your eyes stay open? (No, neither can I.)

 Rebecca - look at Mommy and smile! No teeth? Okay. Good job holding your sign and looking at me.

 Maggie - I don't even have to try with you! Boogaboogaboogabooga! Yea!

 Ah, thank goodness for naptime. And Kyle being home. And a tripod.

 Someday we'll get a photo where everyone is together - looking and smiling, right? Until that elusive day...that's what photoshop is for.

Peace and Joy to You and Yours.

Could you do me a little favor?

Let me start out by saying that without our local grandparents (Bee & Jojo, Dahdo & Pam, Nana) I literally do not know how we would make it through a week. Seriously. Maaaaaaajor dependence issues here. Sometimes I start conversations by saying "can you do me a little favor?" even when I don't need a favor because I'm just so use to asking - its sort of like my hello.

Since we rely SO much on these wonderful folks, it is actually really nice to be able to "give back" a little when we can. You know - can you help me move X, or would you lend me the grandkids for the evening so I can show them off to X, or can I borrow X, or would you do X on my computer...that sort of thing. It makes me feel like less of a pitiful need-to-shower-oh-no-what's-for-dinner weakling when I (or Kyle) gets to pitch in to make one of their lives a little better...since it's truly the least we can do. 

And every once in a while I get a voice mail like this:

Alison - this is CRITICAL. I must have a picture of myself on a snowmobile. By tonight.

I do not know (and I dare not ask) the series of events that preceded the request. I simply oblige. 

Here is the product of my mad photoshop skills.

And here is the corresponding poem Bee wrote for the event - to live (without her permission) eternally on the internet. Happy sledding, Bee! ~Your loving daughter.

BORIS THE SINGING MULE*

There is a mule who likes to sing, his given name is Boris.

At Christmas time, he bellows out, the mule tide in a chorus.

He sings of holidays gone by and sparkling Christmas jewels.

Proclaiming "Eat your veggies, red and green! Share peace of earth with mules!"

He thinks of friends and shares his gifts, with others not so able:

The cows, the chickens, pigs and goats that end up on your table.

At PETA, we love little girls and sometimes little boys,

But Reindeer, they can fly all night and bring us Christmas toys!

They dash, they prance, they snort, and jingle bringing Santa to our Roofs.

But even with their magic, Santa’s Reindeers still need hoofs!

Next time you think of Donner and his goofy cousin Blitzen,

Don’t let it be cuz you are hungry and the dinner you are fixen!

So please remember for Boris’ sake, no Reindeers in your stew.

For as you know at Christmas time, Reindeers are people too!

(*A_ _ replaced to accommodate the G-rated nature of this blog.)

(Almost) A Griswold Christmas

I really really really am trying to keep things SIMPLE this Christmas season, but I just can't do a fake tree. Call me Becky. 

We loaded up yesterday and drove the whole 2 miles to Papa Noel's to buy our tree - direct from the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina! The whole outing probably took 30 minutes or less, but it felt like a major undertaking. 

Here is my best shot of the kids enjoying the winter wonderland. Awesome, I know.

 Maggie had a great time, as usual.

Okay, so we didn't exactly trek into the woods and chop it down ourselves, but we still felt like Uncle Eddie should be coming over soon...

We got what we came for - a tree that's just "this much" taller than Dadda (per Owen). It's up in our living room waiting patiently for me to put lights on it, so the kids (who are not waiting quite as patiently) can put the ornaments up... I guess I should get off the computer and get to work.

Three Little People We're Really Thanksful For

A general kiddo update is overdue and I'm still in a Thanskgiving-y kind of mood. Perhaps its the effects of so much pumpkin pie. 

Miss Maggie  - I am soooo thankful for this little gal.  She is such a great little sister - meaning she handles the well-meaning but sometimes dangerous attention of her older siblings very very well. She also handles our circumstantial inability to respond to her cries as quickly as we would a first/only child.

 I am soooo thankful that she is such a great sleeper. She sort of just did that on her own. Granted, we had a rough few months where she was going to bed really really late (like 2am) but even then she'd sleep for an abnormally long stretch. That bedtime has been eeking up over the past few months and now she's a 7 to 7 kid of girl. It's AWESOME. And in the last month or so she's gotten on a pretty regular nap schedule too - around 10am and 2pm. Can I say AWESOME again?

 It's pretty superficial - but can I just say that I'm so thankful for her HUGE smile and those dimples (right cheek and chin)????!!!! Melt my heart and make me chuckle all at the same time. Have I mentioned she dies laughing when I sneeze? It's better than her favorite toy. (Speaking of toys, I'm also thankful she is big enough for the exersaucer. Especially since she still can't sit up. Or roll over.)

Okay - so this was a "game-changer". This little angle has been a stubborn one when it comes to food - no bottle for her. But she has taken to rice cereal! Yea!!! I mean yea as in "finally she'll eat something from someone other than me" and also a sarcastic yea because this stuff is soooo messy. Perhaps she decided it was time for the hard stuff so she'd be guaranteed more regular baths?

 Bee was there for her first rice cereal adventure and it was a total success. (Miss M had started to associate Bee with a bottle and cry every time she saw her...not okay!...so this was good on a number of levels.

 Liked it so much she just had to have the spoon.

Miss Rebecca - I am so thankful for this crazy little stinker. She is so full of sweetness, spirit and SONG! The girl is singing all the time. Here are her lyrics to a few of our favorites:

From the Bob the Builder theme song: Doo a diddy, one and two (Scoop, Muck and Dizzy...Rolly too)

Batte batte choco-late (from a Dora episode)

Every song from Marry Poppins (Mary Punkins)
 - Let's do fly kite, up to high high...sendihsoaaaaring

-Tuppins a birrr, tuppins a birr

And of course all the songs from church and school - her seasonal favorite has been one about a ghost saying boo...but I don't know it so I can't even begin to interpret what she's singing... but she LOVES the clean up song "Clean up clean up abody ewhere". (She is the best cleaner-upper in our family.)

 She got all geared up to rider her glider bike but then got distracted (above).

Holding cousin Baby Bear (below).

 New parts of her two-year old vocabulary:

• a-o-u / wudu (I love you)
• what dat? what doin? whah doin dat? (ahh, the neverending questions!)
• donny (sorry) - often preemptive, not because she's sorry, but to avoid punishment she sees coming. (but she is good about appoloziging to Owen and Maggie for accidental stuff.)
• Ahknow (I don't know)
• Party hat - EVERYTHING is a party hat to Rebecca. This is one of my favorite things about her - she is goofy! She puts anything and everything on her head or your head and then calls it a party hat and giggles giggles giggles.
• Hey you guys! - her greeting to just about everyone. This girl has never met anyone who doesn't deserve a friendly salutation (or a kiss/hug goodbye).
• (uh)Becca - okay, this one makes me sort of sad. She has moved on from Bep Bep for Becca to actually saying Becca and if you ask her to say Rebecca she says Uhbecca. Either way, she's growing up! :(
• I hear all kids can be particular about bedtime routine stuff but I think ours take the cake. We have had so much household drama over the right blankets the right way - it boggles the mind. And now Rebecca has joined the fun. She has these two (baby) blankets. One is soft/fuzzy on both sides. It has to be folded into a pillow (because she won't sleep with the little pillow I bought her) and the other one which is satiny on one side has to be her blanket - but its too small to actually cover her well...so, drama. Anyways, this nightly drama-fest is filled with her saying "cuddle me, cuddle me!" which means cover me, tuck me in, make my blankets bigger and just right!!! And then we end with "big cuddle, big cuddle" which means - cover me more, tuck me in tighter and righter! This girl luuuvs her two pink binkies!

 Mr. Owen - what a big boy!! You've already seen him on his bike (Thanksgiving post). We're so proud. [I have to make fun of Kyle a little bit here. We were at the bike shop and it was down to two bikes that both fit Owen well. One was white and black with some red (matched his helmet - same brand). The other was blue. The first would have been easier to pass on to the girls (assuming they may balk at the clearly boyish blue bike). Kyle, had a temporary parental regression and asked Owen which one he liked better. Say what???!!! Kyle - what are you doing??? Of course, Owen picked the blue one. Silly Dadda. Kyle then spent the next 10 minutes trying to convince Owen the other one was cooler because it matched his helmet. Still a no-go. Never ask a question you don't want the answer to. Silly Dadda!]

A few weeks ago Owen got to go on another specicial grandparent-sponsored adventure - to ride a real steam train from Cedar Park to Bertram. It's about an hour and a half there with a stop over at the train station and then back. Owen had a blast! Thank you Nana!

I am just so thankful for this little guy - really for everything that comes out of his mouth - most of which makes me laugh...

Recently he told Aunt Mel (when he spent the night with them) that he would "appreciate" sleeping in Uncle Luke's office (by himself) instead of in a room with a cousin. I think he needed a break from being kept up at night by someone else playing...

We have shared some of his jokes with you. They're not improving much. But that doesn't mean they're not hilarious. He was telling some the other day and told me they were for Maggie. 

He told me the other day that the BEST thing about our new house is that it's soooo close to the Children's Museum. (It's not really that close - but he figured out its closer than our house now.) 

He has started to show some interest in outer space. Kyle has jumped on that interest like a something  on a something (fill in your favorite southern phrase). Books, iPad apps, time outside at night with the telescope. Dadda has a new hobby (thanks to Owen). So, they've been talking about science a lot. And scientific things. And using scientific jargin. When I told Owen we were out of juice he replied that  "my theory is we need to go to the store and get some more". His theory was correct. 

I am so thankful for these three happy healthy kiddos.