Chase and Maddi were both so excited for Santa this year. I think this is our first picture where they are both happy to see him. I went out of my way to visit the good Santa this year. He is the nicest man. He really lives for playing Santa every year. Maddi and I ran into him at the post office in September and she called him Santa. He went up to her and asked her if she was being good. It is always fun to see him around. I know Maddi isn't looking at the camera in this photo, but it was the better of the two I had.
I finally made cookies in enough time to deliver them. The kids were so excited to help decorate them. We were almost ready to start and they were getting a little overexcited.
Maddi didn't last long into the decorating process before she started eating the cookies. She has such a sweet tooth. I wonder who she gets that from. ;)
Chase really enjoyed decorating the cookies. He doesn't have much of a sweet tooth, so he was able to get all into it. I showed him how to put some sprinkles in his hand and then use his two fingers to put them on the cookie. He was very good about it.
I had to laugh. Madison only decorated 2 cookies. The first one she ate right away and the second, she just kept layering on the frosting. It was so much fun to watch. As you can tell, there is a lot of frosting on this cookie.
This year for our countdown to Christmas, we made a chain and we had our Nativity book. Each day the kids would trade off putting a piece of the Nativity up and taking a link off the chain. Chase would take the green links off because green is his favorite color and Maddi would take the red ones off. Maddi ended up taking the last link off and she was so excited. Chase got to put up baby Jesus. I don't have a photo of him doing that and I have no idea why.
After Santa came!
Every year the kids get an ornament. It usually has something to do with what they are into that year. I think everyone knows that Chase is into Star Wars. This year, I happened upon directions to make a death star Christmas ornament. Chase didn't have all the pieces, so we ordered them and made it. Chase loved his ornament from Santa. It was fun to see him so excited about it.
The Christmas tree after the gifts were put out and the stockings filled.
Chase was so excited. He jumped right onto the couch and grabbed his and Madison's stalkings. Chase is always thinking of others. He would never grab just his stalking.
I love this picture of Maddi. She looks like a diva, but really she is just pushing the hair out of her eyes. She refuses to let me put it behind her ears.
I had to put up this photo of Ethan. We stayed up too late and we were both so tired. There aren't any photos of me because Ethan hates to take pictures, but I thought this one was great. He was really excited about his gigantic Toblerone bar.
We started a new tradition this year. A new pillow on Christmas. I don't know why I never thought of this before. Pillows get disgusting (yes, even with a pillow case) and if you put them in the washer they get really lumpy. The kids were pretty happy about them.
Maddi's big toy from us. This year we decided to scale back on what we do for Christmas. We are really working as a family to spend less money on things we don't need. This is really hard for me. I love to shop and buying things for the kids is always a lot of fun for me. This year we decided to only get the kids one big toy from us and one small toy from Santa. It was hard, but it helped me realize that in the end it didn't matter. They were both ecstatic about the toys they got and they didn't need anything else.
Chase opening his new Star Wars lunch box. It is so vintage and he loved it.
When Maddi was born, I had a friend make her and Chase some growth charts that matched the themes I had chosen for their rooms. As Madison started collecting bows, I realized the need for a bow board. I asked the same friend if she would make one to match the growth charts. It turned out adorable. I really love it. Maddi loved all the little fairies on it.
Maddi with her gifts minus the bow board. I was pretty proud of how we shopped this year. We shopped the sales and had most of the clothes in October when the big sales were. I think it was nearly impossible for me to not give the clothes to the kids as soon as I got them. The wait paid off.
Chase with all his gifts. The book he is holding, was an awesome find. We found it at a German store. It teaches you how to build all these Star Wars ships and droids all out of Legos. The directions are all in German, but it has pictures and Chase loves building Star Wars stuff.
The kids in their Christmas outfits. I was so happy that we were able to focus a lot more on the reason we have Christmas and less on gifts. I was really excited to accomplish my goal of shopping with a budget. I know it doesn't sound big, but this is the first time we have actually set an amount we were aloud to spend and kept with it. It has definitely inspired me to continue to live frugally because I learned that you can get what you want and need in the budget you are given as long as you plan.
