Christmas Eve Shenanigans

We started off our unseasonably warm Christmas Eve with a surprise FaceTime call with our favorite little baby, Connor!  How cute is he?!

And then, it was time to introduce the kids to some classic Christmas music...NKOTB!  We rocked out while decorating cookies, which the kids loved despite our cookies turning out oddly shaped and completely flat.  I am NOT a baker...let's just get that straight.

Phoebe really wanted to try a cookie, too.  Sorry, Phoebes.

Time for some posed pics by the tree!  Our lighting is never great in the living room, but I still love these.  Once again, they just look so grown up!

I snapped this little picture as we ate our Christmas Eve dinner and loved it because you can see all our family and friends behind us.  I first started hanging our Christmas cards in the window several years ago and needed one ribbon.  In 2014, I had to add a second ribbon.  This past year, the third ribbon was hung up.  It just keeps growing!  It's one of my favorite parts of our Christmas decor - I love seeing our favorite family and friends with us every day during the Christmas season.

And one more posed picture. :)  We tried to get Phoebe in it, too, but that was near impossible.  I can't believe how thin Jarrod's face looks these days.  This crazy race training has really helped him lose some pounds!

 Next up...presents!  We open our presents from one another on Christmas Eve night. This was a good year.  I really tied to encourage the kids to think about what Jarrod would want and what they wanted to give one another.  They did great!  Gavin picked out a foam roller for Jarrod and some Legos for Riley.  Riley really wanted to give her Daddy a 'blankie.'  I thought that was adorable, so we went and picked out fabric together and sewed him a blankie to sleep with.  So special!  And, she picked out a tabletop foosball game for Gavin since he fell in love with foosball on vacation this past summer.  Of course, the BIG gift for them this year was that they got their own iPads.  That was a HUGE step for me to agree to, but they've really been wonderful.

The kid played while we made cinnamon rolls for the next morning (which turned out fabulous!  Definitely worth trying the Alton Brown recipe).

And then, it was time for 'Twas the Night Before Christmas and the sibling sleepover!

Of course, I'll always think about what the family is doing on Christmas Eve in Cincinnati and have wonderful memories of our traditions there growing up.  But, I sure do love our quiet, low key Christmas Eve here in Bentonville.  I'm so proud of the memories we make with the kids each year. :)

School Parties!

Of course, you can't have the holidays without school parties!  Once again, I'm co-homeroom mom for Gavin's class...I just LOVE getting to be involved in his classroom, even if it does mean lots of extra work.  Thankfully, this year the kids had parties on different days, which is always helpful.  First up...Gavin!

Unfortunately, I was busy busy busy at his party, pouring hot cocoa at the hot chocolate bar, helping kids glue eyeballs to their ornaments, hanging wet ornaments to dry, checking on other groups, etc....so that means three pictures total.  Oh well...so fun.

Riley was such a trooper and so well behaved.  Love that she's been so welcomed by Gavin's teachers at ETE the last few years.  It's been very helpful and I'm so grateful.  Can't believe she'll be in elementary school next year. :(

And this is evidence that he's getting older - I can't take a selfie with him in his classroom without being photobombed or given bunny ears. ;)

Next up...Riley's turn!  Riley's Christmas program included a little program before playing some games, singing Happy Birthday to Jesus, doing secret gift exchange, and then doing the piñata!

Last year, Riley was Mary in the Christmas program; this year, she was an angel and was very much in love with her costume.  And as you can see, she was quite dramatic when I tried taking her picture.

She looked so adorable.  You can watch the clips from the program on our YouTube page.

www.youtube.com/mrspate22

We've had some issues this year we're continuing to work through socially, but she sure did have fun at her party! :)

Hadley, Riley, and Kennedy....Riley and Jack

What an exhausting couple of days, but so worth it all!  I love seeing their smiles.  Can't believe how big they're both getting.

Our month of traditions....

Traditions are so important to me.  This year, I learned how important they are to Jarrod, too, which made my heart happy.  And, I'm realizing that the kids are also loving traditions - Riley recently had her third Jitterbugs performance, and we had to do everything exactly like the last ones, right down to the restaurant we headed to for dinner.  I love that traditions are valued around here.  

One thing we love to do in December is explore the lights on our square.  This year, we actually had two special nights.  One on our square, and then one in Fayetteville.  We've gone on a carriage ride the last two years and were sad to learn that our square wouldn't be offering them this past Christmas so we had to head down south for our chance to take a ride.  Here are some pictures from our Bentonville trip...

Being silly at the Walmart 5 and 10.  

Mailing our letters to Santa

And then, we ended up with gorgeous weather right before Christmas to explore the Fayetteville square.  We went down for dinner, got Bliss cupcakes, saw the lights and had our carriage ride before stopping off at an amazing display of lights at someone's property.

 

Our carriage ride reminded us of Cinderella, and we all thought it was hilarious how the horse sped up every time he saw the camels.

 We drove over to this home we had heard about after leaving the square and were completely blown away.  You actually parked and walked around the property, which was filled with over 200 inflatables, a fake snow machine, Christmas Vacation being projected on their garage door, and Santa ready to talk to the kids.  We even rode a 'train roller coaster' for free!  It was amazing!

Slowly but surely, I'm getting there...maybe I'll have Christmas caught up before Valentine's Day!  Fingers crossed.

Adventures of Spike and Sparkle

Unless you live under a rock, I'm sure you know all about Elf on the Shelf.  Well, our elf, Spike, arrived way back in 2010 when Gavin was just 2.5 years old and quickly became a highlight of the Christmas season.  Fast forward to Christmas 2014 and Riley decided she was NOT a fan of the elf.  Unfortunately, Spike hung out in her room one night and it completely freaked her out and she did not want him around after that.  So, I'm sure you can imagine the dilemma we faced for 2015.  Do we stop the tradition that Gavin LOVES so much, or do we traumatize Riley so that her brother can still have his beloved elf?  Well, Riley and I decided to write to Santa and ask if maybe a different elf, perhaps a GIRL this time, visited us, Riley would feel more comfortable.  My fingers were crossed to see how the arrival would go when she saw that TWO elves were now in our home, but thankfully, she was SO HAPPY to meet Sparkle!

The two elves arrived on December 1, along with a special breakfast and Santa mugs for their hot cocoa, special flying dust in case Phoebe happened to get hold of one of them, and also a 'free pass' for Riley to set out if at any time she was feeling unsure of the elves and wanting them to stay in the North Pole for a night or two.  Seemed to be a great compromise, and I'm happy to report that we didn't have to use the 'special snowflake' at all!

While I didn't get a picture of these crazy elves every day, I did snap a few of our favorites.  They brought us a star for our new tree, candy canes, a puzzle, an early gift from Santa, and lots of giggles, smiles, and happiness. 

I'm so happy that both kiddos got to enjoy this tradition together this year.  We can't wait until they come back next year!