Christmas Activities

December is always a busy time filled with Christmas activities.  This post is filled with several different things we did throughout the month...

Supper with Santa at church. My boys fill Santa's lap! Ethan didn't want to take the pic but of course I made him. ;-)

There was pony riding outside and a petting zoo. Caleb loved it!

The Grinch made a visit. Yep, our preacher wins the award for coolest preacher. He LOVES the Grinch!

I borrowed Ethan's ugly xmas sweater to wear to the boy's class parties.

Of course the parties happened at the exact same time so I spent one hour at Caleb's then spent the last hour at Ethan's.

They had pizza and the had crafts/activities in each 2nd grade room.

Caleb's crazy class. Love his teacher!

I'm blessed that I'm able to be off during the week to go to all of their parties! :-)

For Ethan's party I just stayed on his classroom. We did an activity where they had to link arms and keep a balloon in the air. A lot harder than it looked! And they got all crazy and sweaty.

I'm glad he still gets excited for me to come to his parties.

We go to Bass Pro every year to see Santa. We wait forever but it's worth it. He's the best Santa! And of course the boys love walking around the store and looking at everything. Here they are telling Santa what they want.

They barely fit on Santa's lap. :-(

Riding the Christmas carousal.

He really wanted this shark pillow.

Caleb getting eaten by a shark.

Great Santa pic!

This was from the Christmas sing-a-long at school. Caleb gets more animated every year. Love it!

Ethan was excited to sing the 5th grade song 12 days of Christmas but it's all about fast food. So funny!

Work Xmas party

With a last minute schedule change, I was able to go to our Christmas party for work! Every year the neonatologists from the Baylor system put together a huge party for all of the Baylor NICU's. We had dinner, dancing, and photos!  It was cool to have all of the neonatologists, NNP's and nurses from the Baylor system all together.

Some of our work crew.

And of course Mondo is always up for a good time so he was happy to come with us! I love that he's a social butterfly and can make friends everywhere.

Another photo op with our girls...

It's hard to see because it was dark in there, but that is a bunch of our neonatologists breaking it down on the dance floor. ;-)

I'm glad I had this hot date next to me all night. :-)

Family Literacy Night

The kid's school tried out a new thing this year called Family Literacy Night. It was a fun night of pizza, activities, and watching Polar Express. We had a great time and hope they do it again next year!

Since Ethan is on Student Council he helped serve pizza. He loves being able to help out at school functions.

There were different activities in every room. This room was making a snowman out of marshmallows and candy.

Ethan felt a little old doing it but participated anyway. ;-)

Making reindeer food.

Decorating cookies.

Story time.

Making hot cocoa.

Ethan did enjoy the hot cocoa time...he loves that stuff!

A little Christmas Bingo...

Decorating a Christmas card.

Elfie's Baaaaack!

One of the highlights of Christmas time is our little Elf on the Shelf...Elfie! We were a little slow to get into the whole elf thing so this was our second year to do it. Both boys were eagerly awaiting his arrival. Ethan was so funny. He believes and he doesn't. He would say he didn't believe and then I found him on YouTube looking up videos of Elf on the Shelf and if they're real. Thankfully he showed me one that someone made and it looked pretty realistic! I'm pretty sure he doesn't believe in Santa or anything else like that but we're making him hold on to his childhood a little longer! 

The first day Elfie returned.

The kids would search for him every morning before school.

This year Elfie got some new clothes. Which added some pressure with all of the wardrobe changes! ;-)

Elfie brought Caleb a DVD for his birthday.

No crazy Pinterest stuff at our house...just a crazy Elf having simple fun!

Caleb's 8th Birthday!

We did a lot of debating on where to have Caleb's birthday and he finally decided on Alley Cats for laser tag and games. He invited a few close friends and they had a great time playing laser tag, eating pizza, and then playing games. Then his best bud stayed the night for extended birthday fun!

This is inside the laser tag area. It's all glow in the dark. He LOVED it as most little boys would. He was a sweaty mess when he came out. I just went in for the photo op. ;-)

I grabbed a quick pic when he ran by. They wear these vests with a laser gun attached and try to shoot the vest of the opposite color. Caleb's shirt was neon yellow...not a good color for laser tag! He stood out big time!

All cooled off and having some pizza.

Cake time! I didn't make that one...it came as part of the party package.

All of his little buddies (we sent Ethan with his friend to stay overnight at his house).

Opening presents.I love how the kids always crowd around. ;-)

Playing some video games.

Great group of kids!

His bestie Carson.

Big surprise....he picked Olive Garden for birthday dinner.

Could he be beaming any more?

A little collage I put together of our little man.

This was on his actual birthday. A little sugary birthday breakfast.

He had to go to school on his birthday so we brought him Chick fil a for lunch.

Then we stopped by the golf course and they gave him a birthday sundae.

Last but not least...eating his real birthday cake at Nana's! That's not the best pic but it's a Green Arrow cake that I made per his request.

Happy 8th birthday to the kid with the biggest heart who is wise beyond his years. He has definitely added some color to our world!  We love you Caleb-poo! :-)