Christmas 2009

On Christmas morning, bright and early at 6:15ish, Curious George woke up and asked if he could check to see if Santa has been at the house. In order to buy a few more minutes of sleep, we told him it was still night time and to go back to sleep. Of course he didn't go back to sleep. After 20 minutes, we couldn't hold him off any longer and told him to go ahead. He went up to the fireplace and saw that the cookies and milk has been eaten, so he came running down to us screaming, "SANTA'S BEEN HERE! SANTA'S BEEN HERE!"

(Thing 1 is in pink, Thing 2 is in yellow)

We didn't have as many presents this year, but it worked out for the best. They were able to sufficiently enjoy each toy. The biggest hit with Curious George so far was Buzz Lightyear. Santa delivered some of their presents in Texas because he knew we might not have enough room in the minivan.

The girls had some similar presents (different colors), and some different ones.

Curious George in a church play

Curious George was part of a church play this weekend with 2 performances, Saturday night and Sunday morning. He enjoyed it, even though he barely knew half the words on the songs. But he sang them proudly. :) It's hard to miss him, he's always the one moving.

He woke up not feeling well on Sunday, but he still wanted to go. It's obvious on his face he wasn't quite himself, if holding his arms out when he saw me was any indication. He wanted Mommy.

Oh yeah, he also had the worst case of "Elvis legs". I just made that term up, but if you watch the videos, you'll know exactly what I mean.

You will also hear the girls in the background. The first couple of videos, Thing 1 wanted to go up in the stage and was a little upset. Then she wanted me to sing along.













Day 2 - very tired and not feeling well and coughing.

Oh Christmass Tree

Nana put up the Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving and the kids helped decorate it.

Curious George and Thing 2

Thing 2 was busy chatting while I snap pictures.

Notice Daddy on the phone in the kitchen. It's the weekend he was offered the Texas job.

We wanted to take a picture of the 3 kids together in front of the tree, but they all had other ideas. Sometimes I just take what I can get.

some lovin' feelin' this Christmas

Thing 2 getting cozy with Nana.

Nana was going for a smooch, but Thing 2 stuck out her tongue. She's a sneaky one.

Thing 1 plays hard to get when Thing 2 tries to kiss her. Hugs and kisses are a whole lot better than biting, I say.

Curious George and Thing 1 show some love (before the tackling begins).

after-christmas lull

I guess it's inevitable that there is a crash that happens after the excitement of all the gifts.

All I know is that Thing 1 is watching TV here. Other than that, I have no idea what is going on in her head.

Thing 2 takes a break from staring at the TV to be cute.

These two were always on the go the whole time!
(Thing 2 in cream, Thing 1 in brown)

Enjoying downtime with Cousin B.
(That's Thing 2 that is the recipient of Curious George's love.)

there were lots and lots of gifts

Thing 1 got a peak of the toy cell phone and started ripping the wrapper, while Thing 2 looks on.

Curious George assigns Daddy the task of assembly, while he plays with his new Transformers.

Being the good momma that I am, I inspect some of the merchandise. Thing 2 was impatiently waiting her turn.

Wouldn't you like to be caught by this cute little policewoman! (Thing 1)

Curious George bonds with Cousin C over the love of Legos.
(I'm sure Daddy is celebrating somewhere in the background. In a few short years, he will have an excuse to buy those huge Star Wars Legos.)

Merry Christmas!

To our friends and family, Merry Merry Christmas!

santa left the kids some big things

This is what we found the minute we drove home after seeing Santa at the mall. Santa dropped off a power wheels (a "green jeep with a shovel"). Curious George was beside himself.


It didn't really take him long to master the steering, though he needed help every now and then when he got stuck. The jeep needed weight on the passenger side. He has also since taken this baby out a few times in the backyard.

For the girls, Santa left a play kitchen. They got pretty busy inspecting everything. (Thing 2 is in the foreground.)

Thing 1 on the left, Thing 2 on the right.

Santa came to our house!

We visited Santa last week, but we didn't put the girls in Santa's lap. I knew Thing 1 wouldn't like it, so why try. But we did let them walk around so they could see Santa. According to their Daddy, they pretty much ignored him.

Curious George was beside himself seeing Santa and telling him he wanted, "a green jeep with a shovel".

It would have been great to have the 3 stoogies for a photo together, but it's a pretty tough job to get them standing still. (Thing 2 is being 'loved' by Curious George.)

Thing 2 models her Christmas dress.
(Special thanks to a nice grandma from Nana's & Papaw's church, whose twin grand daughters have outgrown the adorable dresses.)

Thing 1 (left), Thing 2 (right)

This is truly my fault. Thing 1 was wondering off away from everyone, and since I couldn't possibly catch her by hobbling, I asked Curious George to do it.

And again, Thing 1 wonders away with her beautiful purses. This time, it's Nana that corrals her back.

Curious George waits patiently for everyone so we could get home. Right after Santa left to feed the reindeer, Santa called me on my cell phone. Santa told me that since we were not going to be at home for Christmas, he made an early stop at our house and dropped off 2 big packages. The face on this boy was priceless!

An Unforgettable Christmas

We used the camcorder for Christmas so I do not have pictures. But here is a documentary of the after-Christmas happening. These pictures were taken about noon and shortly after, Daddy started throwing up. At about 6pm, my stomach didn't feel well and by 7:30 it was my turn to empty my stomach. Matty started doing the same thing at 3am the next day. Katie had her first vomit session at 5am, and then Jojo at 10am. It was a family affair.

Here is Matty with the trike that Santa left him. He was so excited! He rode it around and around the house tirelessly.

This is Katie with Daddy (just before he got sick) while he uses the laptop. Katie didn't warm up to her grandparents until the next day.

Jojo showing off a lovely smile just for Daddy.


Matty with his Papaw lounging around watching some Noggin shows. Matty ran around until he got tired and sleepy, he would then crash on the couch and watch TV to recharge and then he was off again.

Jojo and Matty hanging out with their Nana.

We were all so happy until after lunch on the 26th and then it went downhill fast after that. I have heard some friends on the opposite coast go through the same thing and I believe it's the same bug. It spread like wild fire through us, affecting 10 people in a matter of 2 days.

Merry Christmas!

There were no runny noses and teary eyes this weekend, and certainly not fevers. So we finally made it to Sears and got our pictures taken. Suffice it to say, our Christmas photo card may be a little late, if not right on time. Sorry!

I couldn't have planned the day any better. No one had a tantrum. All three of the kiddies were great. Katie (in green) was just a grinning little princes but Jordan (in red) was a bit reserved. She gave everyone the evil eye every time the flash went off. She has an evil eye that could make a grown man cower, just like her momma. I'm so proud.

After shelling out the children's college fund to pay for the portrait orders, we went to see Santa. Matty and I waited (Daddy took the girls to walk around the mall) in line for almost an hour and I heard not a peep of whinning. When it was his turn, he ran to Santa and told him his wish list - a nice shiny bike/trike with monster tires.

It's a great day!

Creative Project

Creative juices are flowing just in time to get the teachers' gifts out. I'm sure Miss Meagan and Miss Sonja would be thrilled with such personalization. Now, only 7 more bags to decorate.

Is it child labor if the child enjoys it? Hmmmm.

Finally, Christmas Decorations Are Up!

Since it's already dark by the time we get home from picking Matty up from pre-school, he has had great fun looking at all the Christmas lights on people's homes. One day he said excitedly, "Pretty lights!" but then he realized something and said in a sad voice, "There are no lights in my home, Mommy! No lights in my home."

So finally, here it is. You wouldn't know he was suffering from a 101.1 fever by the way he jumped up and got busy hanging decorations on the tree.

Here is Big Bro putting up decorations on the tree, with the girls as spectators.

Big Bro disappeared and the spectators got bored.

All done! Or as done as it's going to get. Big Bro got distracted by the train ornaments and went off somewhere with them. The twins got bored and started crying. All done indeed.