Day 24 - Christmas eve dinner & more

For day 24, we went to Grandma and Grandpa Hatten's for dinner. We also had to write a note to Santa, set out cookies for Santa, carrots for his reindeer, and we also said goodbye to our dear elf Gooey Shoe until next year.

In their new John Deere shirts! Thanks Aunt Marcia!!

 The boys letter to Santa…."We thank you for giving us presents. We love you! Yummy cookies and milk for you. Carrots for your reindeer. Please can we be on the good list?"

Day 23 - Eve Eve Party

I have no pictures, but our day 23 was our eve eve party. We've been hosting this for about 4 years now and we have a few families over to eat, drink & be merry. This was our biggest year yet and I think there were about 20 kiddos. The boys stayed up probably as late as they ever have and both slept in!!! Kale woke at 8 and Dane didn't move until 9! They were wore out!! Thank you to all who came to the eve eve party! 

Day 22 - Sleigh Ride

Day 22 - a sleigh ride through a winter wonderland. This is something I've always wanted to do with the boys and I added it to our "25 days of Christmas" list. Teresa and Tim joined us for the experience. It was fun…I wish I had paid more attention to the surroundings (instead I was being a helicopter parent making sure the boys were bundled and warm enough). Afterwards there is a bonfire complete with hot cider and s'mores!

 They got to feed the horses:

 And sit on the horses:

 S'more making:

 S'more eating:

 And they even had a reindeer (Kale wanted to know why he was trapped):

Day 21 - Polar Express

Day 21 - We rode the Polar Express. It's something I've wanted to do for a while and we finally got tickets!! Santa Claus came on board, we sang songs, they read the Polar Express book and everyone got a cookie and chocolate milk. They also requested that the kids wear pajamas so our boys got to wear their matching Christmas pi's. They will love when I show that picture to future girlfriends!

Day 20 - Sleepover

Day 20 - Slumber party at Grandma & Grandpa Hatten's. We very rarely give up our kiddos overnight so this is a special treat for them. I am sure I will relinquish control more often as they get older.

Fort building:

 Playing in the fort:

 Movie time:

Day 19 - Snowman & Santa Train Preparation

For Day 19 we built a snowman!! Finally! And Dane named him Frosty. 

And in preparation for riding the Santa train on Saturday, we watched "The Polar Express."

Day 18 - Email from Santa

On day 18, each of our boys received a special email from Santa Clause that included a little video from the jolly man himself! Amazing!

Here is Kale's special Santa message: http://cm.absolunet.com/gateway.aspx?code=EW88ZK

And here is Dane's: http://cm.absolunet.com/gateway.aspx?code=EWZTNK

Day 17 - Visiting Santa

On day 17 we finally made it to see the jolly ol' elf…Santa Claus himself!

Day 16 - Winter Wonderland

This evening we went to drive through the Winter Wonderland in Vernon Hills. It's a light show they put on every Christmas and we've gone every year with the boys. We are hearing rumors that this might be the last year for it because the grounds where it's held have been sold. The boys love it - they get so excited because every character imaginable is part of the display. All of their favorite Disney characters, super heroes - you name it, they have it. It has been such a fun tradition…I really hope it sticks around!

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Day 15 - Frosty-ness

For Day 15 we watched "Frosty the Snowman" and made our own snowman treats. Reindeer treats too.

Day 14 - Sledding!!

Day 14 - SLEDDING!! Wheeeeeeee...

Day 13 - Christmas books

Day 13 - read all of our Christmas books before bed. 

Day 12 - Dance Party!

Day 12 - Dance Party to Christmas music!

All was going very well until the boys decided to turn it into a grudge match. You will see that the video mysteriously turns off once they start pushing each other! I guess boys will be boys.

Day 11 - Cookie Decorating

Today the boys decorated cookies with Grandma Teresa. She has many traditions that she shared with her grandma, but I think she's finding that 2 very active little boys are much harder to share certain things with than little girls! The boys goal for cookie decorating - empty the sprinkle bottles as quickly as possible. And they did pretty quickly. They piled sprinkles on their cookies, but they had a great time doing it. Thanks Grandma Teresa for a fun afternoon!

 And the best part! Eating the cookies after!

We also have exciting news!! I want to wait and let Jeff & Christy make the official announcement, but their twin girls were born yesterday morning. I will share more details once Jeff & Christy get the chance first. Everyone is doing great and the girls are healthy!

Day 10 - Giving Back

This year we are donating to an organization called Open Arms Mission. We have "adopted" two children in need - we are responsible for getting each child a shirt, pants, shoes, pajamas and a gift item they have requested. The boys are each taking responsibility for one child and today we went to Walmart to get what was needed. I realize they are young (Kale too young to truly understand what we're doing), however we want the boys to understand how fortunate they are to always have food on the table and clothes on their backs. It clearly won't sink in this year and probably not for a few years to come, however it's something Cameron & I feel strongly about and we always want our boys to know about the struggles of others so they appreciate the fact that our necessities are always available.

Here they are gathering their loot:

When Cameron got home and asked Dane about what we bought and for who, Dane explained the situation fairly well which makes me think that maybe a bit of it did sink in for him.

Day 9 - staying out of the cold!!

We were fortunate enough to get about 3 inches of snow yesterday. The bad thing is it's freezing out…as in 13 degrees with a wind chill of -1. I did bundle up the boys after we picked Dane up from school and they played outside for a bit. Kale was back in within 15 minutes and Dane asked to stay out for 5 more. I didn't plan for another movie today, but it's just too cold to be outside for any length of time. Hopefully what I had planned for today will work out again very soon!

So - onto day 9!! Today we watched "Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas" and we got mickey mouse light up snow makers!!

Day 8 - A Grinchy Day

On day 8 we watched "How The Grinch Stole Christmas" and made Grinch floats (green sherbet and sprite…Cameron added red food coloring). Thank you Priscilla for the idea!

Day 6 & Day 7 - catch up

Day 6 - Went to see the movie "Frozen" at our little Libertyville theater. Sorry no pics!

Day 7 - Christmas pajamas!!

A little blurry…. 

Day 5 - Gingerbread House

I am a day behind on this post but I went to see "The Hunger Games; Catching Fire" last night so I didn't get to blog. If you are a fan of the books, go see this movie!! So much better than the first…I give it two thumbs up! Anyway - back to our Christmas countdown. On Day 5, the boys made a gingerbread house. I absolutely know without a doubt that more candy went in their bellies than on the house, but they had fun. It was funny to watch them - again, Dane being very careful about placement and alignment of the candy and him getting very frustrated with his willy nilly little brother putting candy on the house with no rhyme or reason. Such different personalities with these two…however did they both come from the same parents?

 This is what I did, then I let the boys take over.

 

 See what I mean? More in their tummies than on the house...

 Kale with a chipmunk cheek full of candy:

 Proof.