While Dad and I were fast asleep Christmas morning, we heard the excited whispers of two little boys discussing that Santa had, in fact, paid them a visit overnight:
Joergen was ecstatic to see that Santa had brought him the item at the top of his wish list: his very own set of drums!
Likewise with Liam, who couldn't wait to open his gift from Santa-- and it was exactly as he'd hoped! A Vex Robotics set.
With Santa gifts opened, it was time to officially usher in Christmas morning with the annual playing of Harry Connick Jr.'s Santa Claus. Cue the dancing!
Drum solo!
We then exchanged and opened gifts from loved ones near and far:
Thank you Peoria Derrys!
Liam's expression says it all as they each opened their new Kindle Fire from Mommy and Daddy
Even Lilly had a gift to open!
The boys (all three of them) were so excited to have new trains to play with on Christmas morning.
Please pause for another drum solo!
Liam and Joergen were thrilled that Santa brought them replacement bows, after the ones they received last year fell apart after being stored on the sun porch. They won't make that mistake again!
We had a special guest join us for our Christmas celebration this year. You see, Uncle Tim was deployed, and the rest of his family was able to fly to Germany to be with him for the holidays. We bid them farewell and Merry Christmas at the Philadelphia Airport...
... and moved our little guest in at home.
We loved having Lilly spend the holidays with us! The boys settled in quickly to the responsibility (but mostly, the fun) of caring for their canine cousin.
Which brings us to Christmas Eve. An unexpected and unseasonable warm front came through, and temperatures jumped into the 70s! Enjoying a lazy morning in our jammies, we heard the exciting and familiar sound of a fire engine in our neighborhood... which is a good thing on Christmas Eve. No time for getting dressed! Get Lilly on a leash, grab some boots, and let's go-- Santa's coming!!
Joergen's buddy Vincent sharing in the excitement
Santa!!!!
After the Santa-sighting, our fair share of candy canes, and some running around, we made our way back home, got dressed, and did the next logical thing: head to Get Air for a little of this...
... a little of that...
and a whole lot of fun!
It was such a fun way to spend the afternoon! That evening, we had a special Christmas Eve steak dinner:
After dinner, the boys opened their very first gifts of Christmas, from Aunt Doreen and Uncle Sam.
Barrel of Monkeys, 2.0!
Star Wars Operation!
We ended the day at a beautiful Christmas Eve mass, where Dad served and I sang with the choir. It was the perfect way to end to a pretty perfect day.
It was late when we got home from church, but Liam and Joergen reminded us of one last task before bed:
It's not easy scoring tickets for a Villanova home basketball game at the Pavilion, but with students being on winter break, I jumped on the opportunity to snag tickets for the student section to see the Wildcats take on the University of Delaware. This was Joergen's first game, and Liam's first one at the Pavilion.
We very much underestimated the time it would take us to get through game-day traffic, park, and get into the Pavilion-- which meant our view was from the rafters. Fine by us! The game was great and Nova got the win.
This year, we tried to step back from the hustle and bustle of the holidays and really enjoy these weeks leading up to Christmas. So if you were looking for us this December, here are some of the places we could be found:
In the living room, running trains around the tree:
Visiting all the winners of the Upper Merion Holiday Decorating Contest. This house was our favorite- it was awesome! Their decorations wrapped around their entire house, and they set up a pathway so you could walk through and see it all. The homeowner stood at the end of the path and handed out candy canes, and even made sure he had a safe one for Liam!
Having some laughs at the annual ETC Christmas show at MDP. Liam was over the moon to be called up on stage to pull tickets for the 50/50. His new life goal: find a way to get in the show itself!
At the annual Vanguard Holiday Gala (this year, at the movies!) with our pal Darth...
And Leia! And after all that fun, we saw... The Good Dinosaur.
At Joergen's holiday party at preschool, where he enjoyed another Giggle Magic Show and showed off his sweet dance moves:
At the Candlebrook Holiday Sing-Along Concert. Every song was exactly like this. Hilarious and shouty.
Followed by Liam's classroom party. I loved volunteering at his school this year!
Remembering the true reason for the season at PREP's Advent show:
Baking and decorating Christmas cookies:
I love sharing this tradition with my boys-- it's one of my favorites!
Visiting the Live Nativity at Valley Forge Presbyterian:
And last but not least, getting the kids' photo with Santa himself:
Liam begged us to sign him up for basketball through parks and rec this winter, and seeing as how it was an opportunity for him to learn some skills while running off some pent-up winter energy, how could we say no? He was a little disappointed that competitive leagues don't start until 3rd grade, but other than that, he had a great experience :) If he's anything like his dad, he's got a bright basketball future ahead of him!
Since Liam was born, one of our favorite Christmas traditions has been going to a tree farm as a family and cutting down our own Christmas tree. That said, selection has been tough, and the trees we have gotten in this manner in recent years have been less than stellar (needles. All the needles). But, tradition is tradition! So off to Varner Farms we went, with decidedly more scrutiny in our selection :)
Hayride to the tree fields!
I think we found our winner
Chop chop!
The best part: hot cocoa while our tree is shaken and tied.
Homeward bound
Our faith in tree farm trees may just have been restored!
