Merry Christmas

We had an awesome Christmas Day. The kids sort of slept in (everything is relative when you get used to someone getting up at 5 am every day) but were anxious to see if Santa had visited once they were awake. Addy actually woke up first so she started right into her stocking, she was lucky enough to have gotten a singing Elsa doll from Santa so we were lucky enough to listen to her all day. And if that wasn't enough entertainment she also got a microphone so she could really belt out "Let it Go." Cameron got a talking Olaf, Seahawks gear and dump trucks. Both kids got legos so Brian and I spent the day trying to build things while the kids tore them apart. Cameron's favorite activity was filling his dump truck with legos and then dumping them all over the house. On second thought, maybe the choices for presents weren't so great after all. Oh well, it was an entertaining day. 

Addy's favorite thing was coloring and decorating her shrinky dinks and then watching them bake in the oven. So much fun!

Christmas Eve

We had the kids open their gifts from Grandma & Grandpa Evert on Christmas Eve over Skype. The kids were thrilled to open their presents and it was a great way to start Christmas Eve because then they had lots to play with for the rest of the day. Highlights for Addy included Frozen pajamas & calendar, princess & star shirt. Cameron's favorites were Thomas the Trian, train shirt, Olaf and slippers. We enjoyed our fondue dinner and even made it to a candlelight Christmas Eve service that evening. Merry Christmas!

Christmas Trolley

This year our town started a Christmas Trolley that ran every Saturday through the downtown. Cameron couldn't stop talking about it so we braved the rain and rode the Christmas Trolley. It was super fun! They played Christmas music and went on about a 30 minute route through the city. The kids loved it and we got to be on the first stop of the day!

Superhero Christmas Pageant

Last Friday night the kids had their Christmas pageant at school. There is something particularly special about seeing 1-5 years olds put on a Christmas pageant. This year's was especially cute because they had a twist on the traditional Christmas nativity scene and added Superheros to the mix. (The explanation was Jesus is our Christmas superhero). It was adorable. In the mix with Mary, Joseph, the wisemen and angels were Batman, Superman, the Hulk and our very own Wonder Woman. Addy was cast as Wonder Woman and looked awesome in her costume! The play was a little hard to follow (they had some ambitious teachers) but entertaining nonetheless and they did an awesome job with their songs, which included "I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas", "What Child is This" and "We Wish you a Merry Christmas." I got a little sad realizing that this would be Addy's last Christmas pageant at this school.

Cameron's class also performed and also had some ambitious goals. They were supposed to do a tap dance, but it wasn't clear that there was actually any dancing taking place. I also had low expectations for the songs considering I'd never heard Cameron sing any of them (but he did know most of the words to Addy's songs). It was adorable anyway and especially funny when Cameron went up to the microphone several times to yell, "Hi Daddy!" We definitely have a performer on our hands.

The end of the show did not disappoint when Santa showed up! I thought for sure Cameron would be excited but apparently he only likes "grocery Santa" because he wanted nothing to do with him. Fortunately Adelyn was not afraid and she went up to him. Afterwards Cameron declared, "I only like grocery Santa, not gym Santa."

It was a thoroughly entertaining evening! Once I figure out (read- once Brian shows me) how to edit video I'll get that posted. Trust me you do not want the unedited version..it was a long evening:)

 The kids before heading out to the pageant. 

 Addy in her Wonder Woman glory and below with Clara the angel. 

 Cameron couldn't take his eyes off the microphone (more later in the video)

 I love seeing Wonder Woman and Superman next to Mary and Joseph.

 This time Addy was all ready for Santa, but Cameron did not like "gym Santa"

SnowFlake SnowFlake Dance!

We got the video from Addy's recital loaded into the computer. Correction- Brian got it loaded. He then showed me how to upload it to the blog. It was too big for one file so I had to break it up in two. Here she in in her tap debut. Act 3 of 22.

I love My Papa

The kids had a great time with Papa and of course took advantage of him reading them lots and lots of stories. The weather was great while he was here and we enjoyed some beautiful views of the mountains and ferry boats. Cameron wore his "I love my Papa" shirt and kept yelling "I love my papa!" it was adorable. Addy and Papa put the Frozen puzzles together and we enjoyed a delicious crab dinner. We've decided a mid-December trip might need to become an annual thing.

All I Want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth

It's official, Addy's song for the holidays needs to be "All I Want For Christmas is My Two Front Teeth." On Sunday she lost her 2nd front tooth and is up to 4. Lucky for her the tooth fairy still came to visit even with Papa in her bed. I can't believe how quickly she is growing up!

Pre-Christmas Christmas!

Since my Dad was in town we decided to have a little Christmas early and the kids got to open gifts from my family. Looking back it probably wasn't the best idea since both kids were already pretty overwhelmed with the day, but we went for it anyway. Cameron really didn't want to open anything because that just took him away from him cars & trains, but he managed to show interest in a few things. Addy was all to eager to help anyone who needed it open their presents. I think 5 years olds must be the best to watch open presents because she was so genuinely happy with everything. Lots of "oohs" and "aahhs" and "this is just what I always wanted!" it was pretty cute to watch. 

Every year my Grandma amazes me at her ability to buy the most original and appropriate gifts, this year was no exception. She gave me a handmade recipe book filled with all of her most famous (and delicious) recipes. Complete with an apron for both Addy and I so we can cook together! I absolutely love it and can't wait to try them out! Such a treat to open presents early!

Dance Recital

As if Saturday wasn't exciting enough with Cameron's birthday, we also had Adelyn's dance recital that afternoon. I was more than a little scared of what to expect because they had pretty high expectations for how she was supposed to arrive (full stage makeup instructions and how-to-make-the-perfect-bun instructions!) but luckily I enlisted the help of some fellow moms at the party.
Sarah helped make her hair look perfect and I just couldn't believe how some "stage" makeup made her look so much older. It was precious and terrifying at the same time.
Adelyn's class was act 3 of 22. I was a little worried about what a 22-act recital would be like but it was super fun and every dance was really entertaining to watch. It was great because Addy got to watch them all as well and loved it. Her class did such a great job, she was so focused and I was so proud of her. Again, it was awesome to have Papa visiting us because he got to see it as well.
I forgot to bring her flowers so instead we went out for frozen yogurt! I don't think she minded at all:)