Hi-Hat's Christmas

Hi-Hat's Christmas list was as follows: 1) Electric guitar 2) iphone 3)surprises. One of those items was just not going to happen, but he had convinced himself that there most certainly would be an iphone under the tree on Christmas morning. We had the kids take turns picking a present from under the tree and reading the tag to see who got to open it. So we slowly opened presents one by one. Each time it was Hi-Hat's turn to pick, he carefully looked for packages that were about the right size to contain an iphone. It was a little heartbreaking to watch his little face fall each time a gift was opened to reveal something else - puzzles, socks, books, headphones, etc. He FINALLY went for the largest package which happened to have his name on it, and suddenly things were looking up! Hi-Hat got his very own kid-sized shiny blue electric guitar, complete with amp, strap, case, stand and headphones! He's been rocking out ever since. Oh, and the sad iphone tale has a somewhat humorous ending. In addition to drums and guitars, Hi-Hat is obsessed with traffic cones. He has a few and treats them as prized possessions (gotta love preschoolers). One of the last things he opened was a new traffic cone, this one with the letter "i" on it. He seemed puzzled. So I explained that Santa must have gotten confused this year when Hi-Hat read him his list. He thought Hi-Hat said "i-CONE," not i-phone (this was my brilliant idea the night before and I thought it would either go over really well or be a huge disaster). Hi-Hat bought it and thought that was pretty funny and quite acceptable. He's been proudly showing off his new i-cone to everyone he's seen since yesterday. The mind of a preschooler's mother must always be in overdrive!

Hi-Hat with his new electric guitar and trying out his new gig bag

On Christmas night we had our 3rd annual breakfast-for-Christmas-dinner with our 2 neighbors and their children. It was really fun! I think Hi-Hat had the best time as Mr. Chris (a drummer) and Mr. Joe (a keyboardist (is that a word?) also known as BlipFool) agreed to have a little jam session with Hi-Hat in his room. So Hi-Hat had a real band going and I think they were quite good! I really appreciated the guys indulging him, and I think it totally made his day. I'll post a video from their jam session in a few days.

Addie's Christmas

This year there were two things Addie wanted for Christmas - "a candy machine" and "What's in Ned's Head." We got many blank stares from people when she gave this reply to the usual question, "what do you want Santa to bring you for Christmas." Both are items she saw in a toy catalog months ago and has been hoping for ever since. The candy machine is "the claw" game you see at arcades where you have to maneuver a metal claw using a joystick to grab and win prizes. She saw a miniature desk-top version filled with candy and decided she had to have it! "What's in Ned's Head" is a tactile game that consists of a large, plush, crazy looking head filled with weird objects. You draw a card and have to reach into Ned's ears or mouth and feel around until you think you have found the item on the card (i.e. a dirty diaper, a frog, a spider, Ned's lost lunch, you get the idea...) Gross, but right up her ally! She and I have had fun playing it for 2 days, though Kellen wrinkles his nose at it and says he'll never reach inside Ned's head. Addie also got a new big girl bike to replace the tiny little 10-inch that she still insists on riding. She says the new bike is pretty, but she wants to ride her old little bike forever. Guess we'll save the new one for Ellary.

Addie opens and checks out "What's in Ned's Head" -
Hopefully it's everything she's been dreaming of for the last few months!

Addie was particularly proud of the gift she picked out for Geof - a framed picture of herself. She picked out the picture and frame herself and told Geof he was to put it in his office. We delivered it to Blue Cross today, and Addie found the perfect spot for it on his desk.

Another big hit with her this year was a box of about 5000 stickers that I have been collecting for her for the last few months. She LOVES stickers! She set up her dolls and happily played school - sticking stickers all over paper - all afternoon. And with a spirit of great generosity, Kellen told her she could have his old acoustic guitar since he now has an electric guitar. I'm not sure if this is truly a permanent gift since as of yesterday Kellen and his red guitar were virtually inseparable, but Addie was pleased as punch yesterday and they had fun strumming together.

Ellary's First Christmas

I've decided to divide my posts by kid, so I'll start with Ellary since this was her first Christmas! All the kids slept in, with Kellen waking at 8:30 and the girls following soon after. We made Kellen and Addie wait at the top of the stairs (just as my parents made us do) so we could check things out under the tree, but rather than have Ellary sit at the top of the stairs with K&A, she got to come down with us. She didn't seem to notice the change in the living room, but she was happy to sit and pose for pictures! She has become a very steady sitter over the last week, so we just sat her on the floor and let her take in all the Christmas morning fun. She was very interested in pulling tissue paper out of her packages, and she seemed to like the new toys she got - a new butterfly spinner, jumbo pop beads, baby legos, plush books, and a new baby doll. She was particularly interested in how everything tasted. Each new gift went right in the mouth. She also chewed on a candy cane for a while, but I don't think she ever got through the wrapper. She tried to eat her baby doll's head, but when she decided it was just too large for anything other than licking, she decided poking the doll's eyes would be a much more interesting activity. Ellary went down for a nap around 10:00, so she missed a lot of the package opening, but she didn't seem too upset about it! All in all, we think she had a very nice first Christmas!

Testing out new toys

Ellary liked the tissue paper -
maybe even more than the gift that was inside!

A hard day to be a baby doll -
getting poked in the eyes and having his head chewed on!

Merry Christmas!

Hope you are having a Very Merry Christmas! It's a gray, chilly, rainy day here, so a nice day to stay inside and enjoy the new treats that were left under the tree. Geof and Kellen worked on a new "Mars Mission" Lego set this morning, and Addie and I worked several puzzles and played "What's in Ned's Head." Kellen is now singing and playing his new electric guitar, and Ellary is napping. I'll put up pictures from yesterday in a series of posts to follow later today or tomorrow, but I don't want to spend all day sitting in front of the computer!! :)

Addie puts out cookies and hot chocolate for Santa,
and the kids spread reindeer food in the front yard.

Kellen and Addie wait anxiously at the top of the stairs while Mommy and Daddy survey the living room on Christmas morning to see if anything happened overnight!

A Message From Kellen...

(Kellen whispers down the stairs) Moooooooooommmmm? I'm too excited to sleep. :)

Christmas Eve Eve

Our Christmas schedule is a bit different this year and we aren't able to make our usual trip to Williamsburg. So yesterday the Hilemans came to visit us for the late afternoon and evening. We didn't tell the kids they were coming until just before they arrived, so they were thrilled with the surprise! Kellen and Addie have also been counting the days until Christmas (4 more sleeps, 3 more sleeps, 2 more sleeps...), so it was great fun to get to open some early presents! Kellen was surprised with his very own piano keyboard (the bedroom band grows...), and Addie now has her own CD player. She calls it her ipod, but Kellen constantly corrects her and says "it's just a radio Addie!" Uncle Gregg also gave Kellen a dancing i-dog, and Addie has her very own kid camera. Kellen got a remote-controlled race car, but Geof's the one who has been racing it all over the house - I'm waiting to see him try navigating it with his new GPS! There's lots electronic fun to be had around here today!

We propped up Ellary in her little seat, and she did not hesitate to grab a shiny red gift bag and start pulling at the green tissue paper. When they noticed it, Kellen and Addie came over and helped her open it since it was for her. Inside they found a little reindeer rattle
(but I think Ellary would even have been happy with just the paper and the bag!).

Kellen's new keyboard!

New electronics! Addie tries out her camera and CD player; Kellen tries to unleash his i-dog.

Swinging

I LOVE the swing!

Not too much going on these past couple days... Today the weather was a little warmer, so we played outside with some friends and I snapped a few pictures of Ellary in Sam's swing. I have tried swinging her in the tot swing at the playground, but she usually fusses. Today she loved it and could have stayed there all afternoon!

Addie liked giving Ellary gentle pushes in the swing

Peek-a-boo Ellary! Sam waited very patiently for his turn in the swing.