11!

Mitchell enjoyed the "extended version" of birthday celebrations this year.  We started by having a small sledding birthday party for his friends before school got out.  Then we celebrated with Grammy R, then with Grammy B, with the family, and then we finally capped off with a birthday dinner at the restaurant of his choosing.  He chose Dad's restaurant!  Yum!  We all enjoyed a nice dinner, then Dad surprised the kids with S'more Brownies.  Needless to say he scored Cool Dad points for that!
Here are some of the finer points of the celebrations:

The Percy Jackson inspired cake.

Magic Under the Tree

Christmas has always been one of my very favorite times.  I think I even enjoy it more now as a parent.  This year was no exception.

Christmas Eve dinner was had at the restaurant.  The kids enjoyed ordering from the menu and having Dad cook our dinners, and fine dinners they were! After we ate we came home to make the Reindeer Dust.  We rushed outside to "spin and sprinkle" the magical sparkles in our driveway.

The anticipation continued to build as we moved the table and chairs to allow for Santa's ease of access to the tree, and then as we tracked Santa's movements with NORAD.  Finally, we re-read Elf on a Shelf, said our farewells to our elf Fred, and the 3 kids snuggled in to "sleep" in Mitchell's room.

And then the wait....


Christmas at last!

The paper shredding, the smiles, the gasps of excitement and disbelief!

Or the wait while we undo ribbon...

After the opening comes the enjoyment:  toys, games, and Christmas-skivers  (ebelskivers in a festive fashion).  The kids played their new Skylanders game, flew their helicopters, and played with their new stuffed animals.  Riley and Baby were not left wanting.  They enjoyed their abundance of new bones and had time chasing the laser dots the kids shined on the floor.

To quote Lucy, "I am all sorts of owly-dowly."

All I Want for Christmas

Lucy has been nursing 3 wiggly teeth along for weeks now, bemoaning the fact that her friends and classmates have all lost teeth and she hasn't..... Until tonight!  A while after I had tucked in Lucy and Owen (they were both sleeping in Mitchell's room for Christmas Eve), she races upstairs holding her tooth in her hand and sporting a very broad smile. 

She wanted Santa to know the big news too, so she left her Tooth Fairy pillow and a note by Santa's cookies.  How lucky are we?!  We get Santa Claus AND the Tooth Fairy in the same night!

Monkeys, Monkeys, Everywhere

Lucy's love of monkeys has not waned.  She loves to arrange the monkeys in her room, and Riley loves to snuggle said monkey pile.

Furry Girls

Our two furry girls have frequently been seen napping together. 

Caroling, Parts 2 and 3

The boys had their Christmas concerts a few days before Christmas break.  Owen and his 3rd grade pals did a nice job with their songs.  Owen was quite animated throughout.

Mitchell played in his first band concert.  What a nice job!  It was fun to see him play.  They sounded great too.

A Furry Visitor

The 3rd grade at Mesick reads "Rosie, a Visiting Dog" every year.  It is about a dog who goes through the training to be a therapy dog.  It just so happens that the Rogers family has an inside track on therapy dogs:  our very own Linda Anderson and her furry girl, Lily!  They agreed to come visit our 3 graders and what a nice treat that was.

Sledding in the Dark

Tonight after dinner we headed out for some nighttime sledding.  What fun!  And I earned some serious cool-mom points for this endeavor.