Christmas Wong Style

Finally, we went over to Betty and Peter's on Christmas late afternoon/evening. Betty had the house decorated to the nines and was cooking a Christmas feast. Before we ate, though, we opened presents with the family. Everyone was so generous. We all had a great time and got many fantastic treats. Ana and John gave Addy a play doh set and the girls are in the kitchen playing with it right now. Betty and Peter got them a bounce/trampoline thing that we will set up in the basement later today. After presents, the Jacobi's joined us for the roast beast (I mean beef). We all ate too much and the kids were just about passed out on the couch when it was time to go. Merry Christmas everyone!

SANTA!!!!!!

He came, he actually came!!!! With Egbert the elf watching all of December, and the shananigans at church on Christmas Eve, we were a bit surprised....but taking into account of a whole year of pretty good behavior, I guess we shouldn't have been! Santa came to our house and left lots of goodies - and so did Gi Gi, Aunt Lindy and Uncle Tim, and Aunt Heather and Uncle Pete! The girls were so so so excited and happy on Christmas morning - all day on Christmas and still today actually! The favorite toys are the puppies and the guitars. They also love the Barbie Airplane from Gigi (love love love it actually) and the camera from Pete and Heather. Merry Christmas Everyone!

Christmas Haley Style

We spent Thursday and Christmas Eve in the Haute with Po Po, Pa Pa, Aunt Abbie, Aunt Melissa, the cousins, and Gi Gi. Thursday the kids sledded (see previous post), then dad made a yummy dinner and Mike spent the night with the girls. Then on Christmas Eve we had a turkey lunch and opened presents with the family. The kids were so excited! The picture is for Joe - Joe, that's Melissa talking you and opening your present. We missed Joe, Matt, Taryn and Gabe a bunch, but hopefully everyone can be together next year.

That night we went to mass before driving home in the snow. Lily was a bit challenging in mass, but Santa must have already been in route b/c presents still showed up on Christmas morning.

Christmas Sledding 2010

Terre Haute had a lot less snow than we do in Indy, but the little hill behind mom and dad's house was perfect for sledding if you are 2-5 years old. It was very icy and slick, so the sleds just flew down the hill. Plus, it wasn't a big challenge to get the kids back to the top. Addy, Mike and Clare were the biggest fans. Lily and Hank could take it or leave it - they both sledded for a while and then called it quits. The funniest thing was when Mike dropped his pants in the middle of the sledding hill and "didn't potty in his pants"! I got pictures of that, but didn't think them appropriate for blog posting :) We'll just save them to show Joe when he gets home - hilarious.

More December 2010....

First off, Happy Birthday to Brother/Uncle Joe! He's deployed for his last birthday in his 20's. We toasted him with our orange juice this morning!

It's been a busy month in our household (aren't they all). But busy in a fun way, with various work Christmas Parties, Lily's programs, Addy's day care party, etc etc etc. We've missed dance the last 2 weeks because of Christmas party conflicts. Lily's program was an Advent event on the Holy Day of Obligation ( Feast of the Immaculate Conception)....so that worked out. We went to Church and an her Christmas program on the same day. Check. Addy and her crew partied on at Monkey Joe's on Thursday night. That place is so fantastic on weeknights....no crowds, good pizza, worn out kids. Awesome. Though, I don't think they were still enough, even once, for us to get any pictures!

Today we've been lazy and mostly lounged around the house. Though this morning I took the girls to the Ginger Bread Village at Conner Prairie for a couple of hours. The houses are so impressive...especially when compared to the very shoddy one we did here at home. The best was the Alice in Wonderland themed house...

Hope everyone is having a Very Merry December!

Breakfast With Santa

We went over to Indian Lake this morning for their annual Breakfast with Santa. I was a little hesitant b/c the girls have historically been terrified of sitting on Santa's lap and getting within 10 yards of him. This time, however, they loved the Santa Claus! When he came into the room all of the kids ran up and gave him hugs....so Lily and Addison followed suit. Then they took their turns sitting on his lap and telling him what they want for Christmas. Afterwards, Santa read "The Night Before Christmas" to all of the kids.

On another note, the Elf on a Shelf has joined our household for the month. He's awesome! The girls named him Egbert and totally feel accountable to him for their behavior. He reports back to Santa each night you know....

SNOOOOWWWWWW!!!!

The first snow of the season fell last night and the girls couldn't have been more excited. It really was a pretty snow, and not too freezing outside, so it was prefect for playing. Tomorrow I've promised them a snow man, but today they just played while Barclay cleared the drive.

Circus!

The Ringling Brothers Circus is in town this week and the girls and I went to Thursday night's show. They really didn't know what a circus was, so weren't sure what to expect....and I wasn't sure what to expect either since I hadn't been to a circus in about 25 years. But, needless to say, it was pretty awesome. The "super human tricks" people were amazing - the strong man, the balancing acts, the gumbo type ladies. They also had 6 motorcyles at once in a steel ball. That was something to see. The girls were amazed by the lady on the elephant b/c she looked kind of like wonderwoman. Good times were had by all!