Stockings

Jalen's Favorite Gift (yep, I cried)

Baylie's Favorite Gift

Christmas Gift Summary

We had a super fun Christmas. Here are some pictures to prove it.

Pillow Pets from Gigi.

Tiana Barbie

Quiet book from Aunt Bethany.

Plush Tiana from Ava.

When Jalen opened Woody, he was very upset that there wasn't a Buzz. He was very happy when Buzz was finally opened, although he was still bugged that he couldn't pull Woody's string or make Buzz's buttons work.

The Dollar Store slinky was his second favorite toy.

Thomas the Train was his favorite toy.

Baylie got a violin and she is anxious to learn how to play it.

I have always loved this print and Baylie says it's a picture of her and Jesus. But I especially love this because my brother made me the frame. I love handmade gifts.

We also got Headbanz. Doesn't David look great in his Mickey ears?

Santa brought a tramp (with help from Grammy, Grandad, Granny Janis and Paw Paw Frank) and everyone helped to put it together.

Jalen spent more time playing with Thomas than helping.

He even tried to get Thomas to ride the rails.

It was sprinkling a bit. (This Mickey Mouse umbrella changes colors when it rains. It's very cool.)

 Ready to jump!

Yes, I jumped. No, there are not any photos.

Finished product.

The Night Before Christmas

 

 Twas the night before Christmas

and all through the Pad

Not a creature was stirring

Except Mom and Dad.

Mom was exhausted

from cooking all day

Dad was tired too -

He's always that way.

Baylie slept soundly

With beads on her head

"I'll wake you up early!"

 To her parents she'd said.

And Jalen retired

His heart full of faith

That Thomas the choo choo

Neath the tree would await.

For Simba this Christmas

Was not quite so jolly.

His leg was all bandaged

Due to some feline folly.

No-where on the planet

Could more love be had

Than was found in the walls

Of this Batchelor Pad

Merry Christmas!

On the 7th and 8th Days of Christmas

Stealing an idea from my friend Jen, we decided to have a grocery bag snowball fight (not a lot of real snowballs in South Carolina). The kids snuck up on Dad...

...and unleashed their snowballs.

I wasn't sure it would be fun, but the kids had a blast.

Then Baylie wanted to be buried in "snow."

And we had a bit of a sumo fight.

I pulled a Bill Cosby and let the kids have cake for breakfast. It was a Christmas cake they had made the day before.

Jalen was in heaven.

We went to a Christmas party with tons of our good friends. One of the activities involved getting an Oreo from your forehead to your mouth without using your hands.

We made candy houses, which did not survive the party. They were eaten almost at once.

Jalen also did not survive the party and crashed as soon as we got home.

We spent three days doing Baylie's hair.
Day 1: parting and clipping into sections with barrettes
Day 2: putting in yarn extentions and twisting
Day 3: putting in beads, cutting and burning the ends.
I think it's the best job we've done so far.

Tonight we went to see a huge light show at a local park. They do an amazing job. (My camera is not quite as amazing.)

This is how Baylie enjoyed the show (notice her foot out the window - it was raining).

This is how Jalen enjoyed the show.

He did wake up at the very end and get super excited about the lights. We ended up driving around the park twice.

On another note, tonight was supposed to be the end of the world according to the Mayans. So far, we're still alive and well. Even if it is the end, I'm surrounded by my family, so I'm good.

On the 6th (?) Day of Christmas

A few Christmas  updates...

I miss having a big tree, especially now that we're in a house and not an apartment.

My favorite Christmas tradition. (Just FYI - the Baby Jesus is Woody. I finally gave up after sending back a stuffed dog and a sock monkey.)

Kristle continues to cause mischief around the house. Baylie loves to look for her and stands up for her by saying, "She's just a kid. She doesn't know what she's doing." Jalen has taking to blaming her for everything he does wrong: "Kristle did it."

Today's countdown activity was a visit to Monkey Joe's, which resulted in much excitement around our house. Baylie gave Jalen a boost.

Tuesdays are half-price days, so it was only $7 for both kids to get in. Awesome!

 

Daddy joined us even though he had some work to do.

I decided to do twists in Jalen's hair. The jury is still out on whether or not we like them. Baylie says he looks like a girl and Jalen calls it "Sissy hair." (Sissy is what he calls Baylie.)

 

 

I love Christmas!