Merry Christmas!

Tis the season to be busy, crazy, joyful, sick, excited, nice, naughty, celebratory, reflective, and exhausted!  That about sums up our Christmas season this past year.  As it is now February and I'm just now posting on December, I think you can see the truth in that!  

Here is a picture recap of our 2013 Christmas Season:

We bought a beautiful tree that we stopped watering sometime before Christmas because, well, we just plain forgot.  FYI-Christmas tree needles get really sharp when they're dry!  Taking off the Christmas lights was a rough and very prickly job this year!

Cooper and I decorated for Christmas the week before Thanksgiving since Thanksgiving was so late this year, but we didn't get our tree until the weekend after Thanksgiving, as is our tradition.  I thought Cooper would love putting the ornaments on the tree.  No.  After just a few, I lost my helper! 

When it came time to go see Santa, Cooper decided he wanted to have a 3 year old day and be a complete pain.  He didn't want to get in Santa's lap (not because he was scared, just didn't want to), and once we made him, he of course wouldn't smile for the camera.  Santa was amazing though and super patient.

It was one of those times where you feel your blood pressure rising by the second.  Finally I told him to just get down (after telling him that he was in jeopardy of being put on the naughty list and that he would not be getting one of the delicious donuts with sprinkles they were passing out).  I was able to get some really sweet pictures of Santa and Jake though.  

In fact, Santa couldn't get enough of Jake and offered to hold him while I walked around the store and shopped.  He was loving this sweet baby!  Jake was definitely on the nice list!

While I shopped a little, Karl talked Cooper into getting on Santa's lap.  In the mean time, Jake had his first blow out dirty diaper.  Awesome timing.

"It" was only a little bit on his clothes, and I really, really, really wanted a picture of Santa with both boys.  So...I did a horrible thing and gave Jake back to Santa.  Karl was really mad at me for doing that.  I know it was wrong, but Jake is strictly breastfed, and he was only 8 weeks old, so how nasty could a little, tiny bit of his poop be?!  It was basically dry on his clothes at that point to because it was such a small amount.  Guess I deserve to be on the naughty list too!  What made it worse was that Santa was so happy to have Jake back that he kept holding him and coming up with new picture ideas for us to take!

Then when it came time for Cooper's school's Christmas program, he decided that, once again, he would give the pain-in-the-booty gig another whirl.  He never acts up at school, thankfully, but that day he did.  In front of all the parents.  He walked to the front, crossed his little arms, and turned around with a big pouty face.  He wouldn't hold his star like all his classmates were doing.  He wouldn't sing.  He just pouted.  Karl whispered to me that he hoped he didn't start picking his nose.  He didn't.  I guess that was the positive to the program!  It was such a precious, wonderful Christmas program, and I am already looking so forward to next year's.  Hopefully next year we'll remember how to be good!  Are you noticing that Christmas was not our best behavior season this year?!

Then it was time for our annual baking day with Niecee (Karl's mom).  Every year we bake Christmas cookies together, and already it has become something that Cooper looks very forward to as well.  Pappy (Karl's dad) set up the boys' train set from when Karl and Wade were little.  Cooper was enthralled!  It blows steam, whistles, and goes various speeds.  It really is amazing (and sad) how much better toys used to be made.  

While we baked, this little helper was an absolute angel!  He sat in his rocker, smiled, and tried cooing (this was when he was first starting to coo and it took a lot of concentration and effort!).  He even took little naps too.  He was just as sweet as could be, as usual.  

And this little helper was a fantastic little baker!  He helped press out the butter cookies, sprinkle all the cookies, roll the dough for the molasses cookies, and cut them out.  He even sampled a few bites of the molasses dough (no eggs in it) to make sure it was good!  He loves to help in the kitchen, and it was so much fun having his help this year.  He worked really hard and took a lot of pride in his work!

Cooper is like Karl and doesn't like having his picture taken, and some battles are just best not fought.  Luckily Jake is too young to have an opinion on the matter, so I took advantage and got some pictures of my baby by the Christmas tree testing out the Bumbo seat.  He is really such a wonderful baby and was by far and away the best present we got this year!  

Back at the end of November I was able to get some pictures of both boys in their matching Christmas outfits though.  

 

Their faces in this picture crack me up!!

I didn't get pictures of Zoolight Safari this year or of Santa on the firetruck (we were having bad weather that day, so they went by pretty quickly), but I'm very glad I pulled out the camera on Christmas Eve because I did not do a good job taking pictures on Christmas Day.  I can't believe I didn't capture Jake's first Christmas better!  On Christmas Eve, we did a little more shopping, had a wonderful dinner with just our little family, and then went to Karl's boss's house, as we do every Christmas Eve.  Cooper was so excited on Christmas Eve, and I was really afraid he wouldn't go to sleep.  We kept telling him he better go to sleep fast or Santa wouldn't be able to stop at our house.  We got home past his bedtime, and he was still really awake and really wild! Nevertheless, after a little coaxing, our sweet boy drifted off into a happy slumber.  

As soon as I heard Cooper stirring on Christmas morning (bright and early of course), I ran in the living room and turned on the lights and grabbed the camera.  Then we rushed into Cooper's room and told him Santa had come!  His excitement quickly turned to sadness when she saw that Santa wasn't at our house still.  He didn't care about the presents; he just wanted Santa!  It didn't take long though for him to perk up and dig in to the presents!  Santa was very good to all of us this year!  Cooper had only wanted one thing: a green garbage truck.  At first I thought he wasn't very serious about this, and I didn't take him seriously.  However, it was all he ever asked for.  Thankfully Santa came through, and there was a green garbage truck!  Out of all his goodies, it was his favorite thing too!
These are the only pictures I ended up getting on Christmas.  I still can't believe I didn't do better!

We made a yummy breakfast of sausage patties and a Cinnamon Roll French Toast Casserole (sinfully delicious) and a big pot of coffee.  We visited with family throughout the day and evening, played with our new stuff, and just breathed a big sigh of relief!  Christmas was a bit overwhelming this year for this mama!  But it was very, very special.    

There's something about having a little baby at Christmas time that makes Jesus's birth more meaningful and real.  It's hard to imagine giving birth with animals around you.  It's hard to imagine the simplicity of the most important birth our earth will ever know.  There was no special "coming home" outfit to dress the new babe in.  No birth plan.  No decorated nursery.  No hoopla.  Not even a crib.  

And then it really, deeply, truly hit home with me: The beauty of Christmas is in Jesus alone.  

Merry Christmas, and Happy Birthday, Jesus!