Christmas Festivities, Part 1

So, here we are, huh? It's 2011? Really? I can't quite wrap my mind around it. As usual, the holidays were busy, stressful, lovely, gone in a flash, and now we're here a week into January. The time where I am organizing, cleaning, & de-junking like a mad woman and thinking of all the things I want to accomplish this year. And part of what I want to accomplish this year (among many other things, of course!) has to do in part with this ol' blog. I want to devote more time & energy to it again. I used to really enjoy keeping track of our lives by keeping up this blog and I really want to do that more (so, this would mean facebook less, blog more in case you're wondering!). So, my first hurdle is blogging about Christmas since it's fresh on my mind, and then I will wrap up September through November (since I really can't bring myself to leave anything out). It is time to make my 2010 year in review book, so since I'll be working on that anyways, I may as well add to the blog as I go.

So, without further adieu, I will begin blogging our Christmas adventures of the year. Of course a visit to see Santa was mandatory (so glad he happened to show up at our Ward Christmas party so I didn't have to take them to the mall!). The boys were SO excited to see him. Of course Tyler warmed right up, rattled off his list of what he wanted, and we were good to go.


Sam, on the other hand, had a few reservations about it. This is big stuff for Sam. He had obviously been thinking about it a lot because for a week leading up to it, he'd say things like "Mom, I think I'll sit on Santa's lap this year. I think I'll do it.". He really was consumed by the matter and you see, Sam really doesn't care for folks in costume...but he was really trying to see Santa as Santa this year and not just a freaky guy in a costume. So, he stood in line with Tyler holding his hand and after Tyler finished, he hesitantly walked up to Santa (as you can see above). But Santa got him warmed right up and he chatted with him and got his candy and came skipping over to me, he was so thrilled!
And that's when things got a little hairy. He came and sat on my lap and started tearing open his candy and I started asking him all about it, of course. I said "did you tell Santa that you wanted a pillow pet and Mater for Christmas?" (assuming he had since this is what he had said over and over and over again). And then he looked at me with THE most 'oh-no-what-have-i-done' look I've ever seen and he started to bawl. Then he proceeded to tell me through the sobs that he had only told Santa that he wanted a candy bar (the one he had been watching Santa give out to all the kids in front of him). So he was definitely thrown off a little. He was devastated! But the line was SO long, I couldn't justify butting back in front and he would have died waiting that long again. Luckily 'Santa's wife' who knows Sam very well from Nursery, was standing right by us and caught the whole thing, so she asked Sam if he would like to see Santa again and he said yes, of course. So he started to gain his composure and she took him by the hand and walked him right up to Santa again.
And here he is, finally telling Santa what he really wanted for Christmas. If you look closely, you can see the glistening of tears not quite dried and the snotty nose that comes from bawling. So all that done, we officially had our visit to Santa in for the year.
But let me tell you, this is my kind of Santa too! No candy canes, we go straight up with a full size chocolate bar. Yes, please!
And next up, with Tyler being in Kindergarten, this was our first Christmas program we attended. And of course it was great! :) His class sang a few songs and then all the classes sang together for a few as well. It was so fun to watch him, and he insisted that he was NOT going to wear church clothes to school, so we settled with a polo shirt.


And here are a few videos, hoping I uploaded them right! They sang "Two Front Teeth" and one called "Ding Dong, Ding Dong". The month that they were learning the songs getting ready for the program, I would often hear Tyler mumbling a little bit of a song here and there, but let me tell you, it was in the shower that he really did his practicing. :) In the evenings when he was taking a shower, I could hear him singing clear in the other room. It was a little funny to hear him belting out "in excels is deo" from the shower! And one thing I have to say is that I really appreciated that he is attending a religious school right now, simply for the fact that they could really focus on Christ's birth during Christmas and teach the kids about it and sing songs like Away in a Manger, and the list goes on. I loved it!

So here are two videos I am posting (yes this is all for you, grandparents!!). Please pardon the shakiness...Sam was climbing all over me and asking me questions. But please do notice the cute boy in the middle who was trying his hardest to perform this very perfectly. And notice how as soon as he's done, he looks over right at me and flashes the cutest smile and melts my heart. :) Notice that, okay?