I can't believe it but I have finally made it to December (of last year)! We did a lot of things this month too that were new for our family. Even though I was getting closer to the end of my 4th pregnancy I really wanted to be a fun mom and do the normal family tradition things we have done so I pushed through my feeling like crap and we did them. So glad we did too because they kids had a blast!
First we visited Santa's reindeer that come to a local store. The kids always have enjoyed seeing them and this year Seth really wanted to feed them but he didn't have any luck.
The store also sold Christmas trees and we wanted to show the kids how big a tree could be. Yeah, for our house all of them were a little too tall.
My husband's birthday is in December so as a special present his parents gave us a night off! They stayed home with the kids and we got to go to a hotel. My favorite part was going into the pool. My body really loved the break but I wasn't prepared for how hard it would be to get out. How come no one tells you these things? It was really nice even with some contraction pain during the night. Don't worry, no baby came yet.
I, again, like to find things to do in our area that are free and I found a boat parade at a local park. We decided to take the kids. They had several things to do before the boat parade started like: outdoor Christmas movie, pictures with Santa, horse drawn ride, a miniature train display (we missed that), and light decorations along the walking paths too. Before we even got started Seth had to be a funny kid and rest on the ground for a minute.
Here is one of the light displays along the path. The kids loved the train.
Now I really hate it but my camera battery died right before the boats appeared so I couldn't take any pictures. Thankfully their was a nice site that did take pictures and they put together this collage so you can at least see the boats too. It was different but the kids really lost patience waiting for the boats to pass by. They were really far apart and we had to go because they just couldn't handle the cold anymore either.
Our Christmas tree. Yes it is small but the kids were happy to help me set it up.
This month the older two have been such rascals and have been climbing into the pack-n-play. I at first thought it was to be closer to their brother but no. They just like being in it and don't want to be left out.
We went to our ward Christmas party dinner thing. They had some fun activity packs for the kids to play with while waiting for dinner. After that they had some musical numbers and then.....
Santa! Which Sarah is still afraid of apparently. He was even nice and gave her a candy cane but that didn't help any. Maybe next year she will be better.
Seth did really good with Santa and actually smiled at him. Once he got his candy cane he didn't want to leave.
James has done the best out of all the kids with meeting Santa for the first time because he didn't cry once!
The next weekend (after the boat parade) I heard of a neighborhood close by us that every house puts out some luminaries. I knew we had to go for the kids but honestly it was really a fun surprise I wanted to do for my husband. Seeing luminaries at Christmas time was a favorite thing for him and I really wanted to give him some extra joy.
Another new first for our family was going to a fun free family event at a carousal in our region. There was SO much to do here too. Of course we got our family picture taken with Santa. Sister did a lot better this time and it is probably because she didn't have to sit on Santa's lap or something.
At the event everyone got one free ride on the carousal. I was so excited for this because it was a great first for all of the kids. As you can see even me the large pregnant lady got to ride with James. He loved it and I felt really sick afterwards.
Seth loved his pony.
Sarah didn't know what to think at first but after the ride started she really enjoyed it.
The other fun things they had to do were eating cookies and drinking hot coco, coloring pictures of Santa, meeting more reindeer and some face painting. My kids weren't brave enough for that but maybe another time.
Alright I know this might seem out of place but it isn't. I have been working so hard on the kids quilts for Christmas and I just barely got James done in time to wrap. This was the design that I ended up using and quilting it was a little more tricky then the other two that I did for the older kids. I love the pattern but not so much the quilting. The fabric did something weird so it just doesn't look as good. Of course at this point I just didn't care anymore and was happy it was done.
Seth ever having to be close to his little baby.
THE BIRTHDAY BOY!!! So happy and awake to celebrate his very first birthday.
He was quite spoiled for his birthday too. It took a really long time to open up all of his gifts but he sure did love them.
Time for some homemade cake and he approved.
At last it is Christmas Eve and the kids are excited to open up a few gifts.
Christmas day the kids (still in their pj's) had fun opening everything of there's and some of ours too. This is a picture of all the family gifts they received.
Now Santa was extra nice to them and got them a car for Christmas. I guess with getting one now they won't need one later when they are 16. Oh, if only.
Santa even gave them a wagon to enjoy outside too.
Now growing up in my family we had a tradition of taking a picture of you with all your stuff by the Christmas tree. I really like this idea because then you can remember what you got that year. Well James was the first for his picture because he was so tired. Yeah, he couldn't stay awake but he was so cute I took it anyways. I love how he had to snuggle with his new puppy toy from his aunt ducky.
Sarah was so excited for all of her things that she was having a hard time sitting still. She really wanted to play with her new toys but I got my photo.
Seth was the best behaved for his picture. He was probably the most spoiled of the kids with all of the big box toys he got. He was so happy he just kept saying thank you all day.
Another Birthday and this time it is Seth's! He turned 3!!! He is such a cute boy and his opinion on things is really starting to shine. I asked him what he wanted for his birthday cake. He wasn't sure so I showed him a few pictures of very simple ones that I knew I could make. Of course he said no to all of them. I then said what do you want? He told me he wanted a penguin like his Pete (a favorite stuff animal). So I racked my brain and came up with this. Not too bad and he was happy so a good win for the birthday boy.
My 3 year old with his growing buddy (who is looking a little more well loved).
He had such a special day and it was great that his grandmother S and aunt could make it for the day. He was so happy. He loved all of his gifts, especially this hat that his grandma made for him. He wears it a TON and I just love that about him.
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