The first week of December

It has been so busy around here lately. Sometimes it is hard to find a moment to relax and breathe... but it has been a lot of fun.

With the coming of December we have started our many traditions. 

We have a lot of advents. We have our advent tree, streamer, the books to open, and the new devotionals. 

First we opened the surprise from the advent tree.... another advent!

I found this Playmobil advent and loved it and knew the girls would too. 

It gives us yet one more thing to do in our advent lineup but it is so much fun and everyone was really excited about it.

Abi opening the first door...

setting up the mailbox...

Abi got to get the first tootsie roll off of the streamer this year...

This is the tree she made for our devotional ornaments. Each night we do the devotional and then she puts up the ornament.

Friday night her school had another movie night. I really didn't want to go. I was feeling super cranky and tired but she really wanted to and I decided to go anyway. I am really glad I did. This time we stayed for the entire thing and while the movie was extremely dumb and cheesy (Santa Buddies) we had a good time together and she really loves going to her school for these things and seeing the other kids.

Saturday morning we had our ward Christmas party. The girls and I didn't get to spend much time there because we were waiting to go as a family and Doug had to do some work from home. Finally we had to head over without him because the work just wasn't done yet. 

We had a little bit of the brunch and then got to see Santa. 

Abi didn't want to go see him at first but then she found out he was giving out candy canes. So, she decided to brave it.

I wondered if Maddy would be scared of him the same way as Abi is. Nope. He didn't phase her at all.

Saturday night there was another bigger surprise from the advent tree. It is a Rudolph dvd game. Abi loves Disney Scene it so when my mom and I saw this we were sure we would have a blast.  We spent the afternoon playing a few rounds and then watched Rudolph for movie night. Then we played a few more rounds after Maddy went to bed.

The last 5 days have gone by so fast and have been full of fun and Christmas excitement. Last night (I
 didn't get any pictures) we opened the new Forgotten Carols book and listened to that for Family Home Evening. I printed off and laminated matching ornaments from the website and so Abi hung those up with our devotional ornaments.

Doug's parents are coming in to town tomorrow so we're looking forward to another fun and busy week!

Christmas Tradition: Other Advent activities

We have many activities for advent. Along with the tree, we have this advent streamer. My mom made it for us and it is a tradition I had in my home growing up.

There is a ribbon for each day of advent and you use them to tie on a treat. We used to use mini candy canes but a few years ago I switched to tootsie rolls. Each night you switch turns to take off the treat.

Another activity we do each day of the advent is to read a Christmas story. We can pick from our book of advent stories my mom gave us or one of our Christmas books from our Christmas book basket. I love sitting by the lit tree with the girls reading Christmas stories! It's wonderful.

Christmas Tradition: The advent tree

The Advent tree is one of my very favorite of our Christmas traditions. I made it back in 2008 after seeing something similar in Pottery Barn. The first year I filled up the pockets with little toys and clues to things around the house.

Last year it was filled with little surprises, treats, and activities.

This year, we were gone for most of December but for the days we were here I filled the pockets with activities like 'make a Christmas craft', 'watch a Christmas movie and have hot cocoa', etc.

Next year I plan on making every day an activity again with the exception of the book on day one.

Christmas Tradition: A new Christmas book

This tradition goes along with our advent tree. The pocket for December 1st is bigger than the rest because it always holds a book.

I get a new Christmas book every year.

I love this tradition. It is so much fun to pick out that new book and I love having a large collection of cute books to pick from every night of December.

This years book will end up being a tradition as well. I got the 12 Elves. It has 12 elves inside- like really thick paperdolls. Each has a name and a personality. You read about one elf per night and say a little chant for it to come out that night. Then I hide it somewhere that has to do with the personality and the next morning Abi gets to find it.

As soon as all 12 elves are out, it's Christmas.

We had a lot of fun with this.

Christmas Tradition: The ornaments part two

Special Ornaments:

Every year we get a new ornament.

Not just any new ornament though. It has to do with something we did that year; some kind of memory.

These are the ornaments we have gathered since we got married:

2003: We were married a week before Christmas so our ornament is, of course, a 'Our First Christmas' one.

2004: I got the cute picture frame ornament and put a picture of us at my moms marathon in St. George in it.

2005: This was the year Abi was born so it was another picture frame ornament- this time with her cute little baby face in it.

2006: We moved here that year so I bought an ornament of the lighthouse downtown.

2007: We moved into our new home in January of that year so I got a little house ornament.

2008: I was really into Nutcrackers that year for some reason and couldn't afford a big one so I got a little one for our ornament.

2009: We actually got three ornaments for 2009 (cheater!). Pictured are the ones I got on our long road trip. One is for Jamestown, the other for Colonial Williamsburg. But, Maddy was also born this year so we also have a baby's first Christmas ornament!

I haven't got our 2010 ornament yet.

We also get an ornament every year for the girls.

I thought it would be neat to do this because then when they leave home someday they will have a box of Christmas ornaments already for their trees... and each ornament will have a meaning to them.

Here is Maddy's ornament.

2009: Because this was the year she was born we got her this beautiful baby at the yankee candle factory on our road trip.

Here are Abi's ornaments:

2005: the year she was born she got this little baby rocking in a cradle.

2006: Her first birthday was quite the party. It was formal and big and had a princess theme. She wore a tiara. So, her ornament had to be a tiara.

2007: She really loved rocking horses this year and gravitated toward pony toys so I got her this beautiful rocking horse.

2008: This was the year that I taped her singing " I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" and she got a stuffed hippo from Santa so we were so excited when we found this ornament at hallmark that actually plays the song!

2009: One of her favorite places on the road trip was Hershey, Pennsylvania so I let her pick out her ornament while we were there.

This really is one of my favorite traditions because it is so much fun to pick them out and even more fun each year to go back and talk about all the memories we have made.

Christmas Tradition: The ornaments

I mentioned that we have designated ornaments. In my family it eventually became my job to go through the ornaments and divide them up for everyone. I loved this job as it meant that I would always get to hang my favorite ornaments.

I still enjoy this.

This is what our piles end up looking like:

Doug's pile and my pile..

Abi's and Maddy's...

Do you divide ornaments or does everyone just grab them as you go?

Christmas Tradition: Sleeping around the family tree

This started in my own family.

For as long as I can remember we slept around our tree the night we put it up. I loved this.

This was the first year I did this with Abi. I wasn't sure I wanted to at first because I love my quiet evenings... but I knew she would love it and so I brought it up with her.

She was beyond excited!

We gathered blankies and pillows and set up a 'nest' around the tree.

We told stories in the dark for who knows how long and then drifted off to sleep. It was a really special experience.

The girls trees

The day we decorate them is always fun. They have their own 'special' ornaments as well as a few other kid ones I have let them have.

Abi also has the Fisher Price nativity set that we set up under her tree every year...

The girls just love having the trees in their room that are their very own.

Christmas Tradition: Letters to Santa

Letters to Santa this year. 

 The yellow paper contains her top three wishes and are the ones she drew. The other page I drew. I think her drawings are way better than mine!

So, what are those top three wishes pictured? #1- a moon dough farm  #2- a zhu zhu pet and #3- a Polly Pocket roller coaster

The next day Abi found a Dora sticker and coloring book in the mailbox.

Maddy also got a little gift which she immediately loved