cupcakes

Kaden got to go to school on his fifth birthday.  He was so excited to wear pajamas and have a party.  I brought the cupcakes we had made the night before and he was so proud to be able to share with his friends.  Beckham was in Heaven eating "tuptapes" while Kaden was off at school.  That evening we had a really mellow little party with our family and Nana and Papa.   The other day Kaden realized, "Hey Mama, my birthday and Christmas are over for a really, really, really, really, very, very long time.  I'm a little bit sad 'bout that."  I remember that feeling when I was young, but I feel bad for him that his birthday is so close to Christmas.  I will just have to work a little harder at making his day special.  He is such a sweetheart.

i love these people

We interrupted our marathon present-opening, poem-reading to catch the light before it went. Spending Christmas with family is what makes us happy. 

And this is who we really are.  Every time I look at this picture it gets more funny.

tickets please!

 A few weeks before Christmas we got a special trip on the Polar Express. My brother works on the train and was firing that night.  He got us on, for free, in the nicest car.  It was lit up beautifully, we got free mugs, and were treated like VIPs.  It was magical.  When we got there and were waiting for the train it was snowing.  It was just the perfect ambiance for our night together.

When the train first arrives, it pulls forward in a giant cloud of steam with the song from the movie.  It is such a happy moment, seeing all of the kids in their pajamas jumping up and down, so excited they can't contain it.The ride is special.  The chefs come in complete costume, the conductor punches the tickets, and the story is played on the ride up to the North Pole while we eat cookies and drink hot chocolate.  Santa comes on the train and talks to each child, giving them a bell.  On the trip back we sing carols.  Our chefs were so cute and hilarious.  They led us in song, singing their hearts out, dancing, and had the car in laughs the entire way.  It was like 30 minutes of terrible group singing, akin to the way the birthday song always turns out.  It was so fun. I laughed so hard and they kids loved it.

The Polar Express is mostly for the kids, but I had every bit as much fun as they did.  I loved every single second. 

our tree

I loved our tree this year.  I loved the character it had.  I have loved seeing it light up our living room every day for the past month. I will be sad to take it down, but it always feels so good to get everything put away and have the house seem so clean and clutter-free.  My mom gets the boys a new ornament every year.  Kaden got the train, of course, and Beckham got the little sock monkey.  It's so fun to add new things every year.  Most of our ornaments don't have hooks on them.  Our artificial tree is so full that I can just shove the decorations in wherever I want.  This year, the ornaments were precariously sitting on the branches and constantly falling off.  A lot of them just ended up at the base by the trunk.  The boys had fun redecorating every day.  Bunches of ornaments hung on the bottom and it made me smile to see their work. 

Decorating is really special when each little item means something. My mom crocheted the Santa who must always have a light shining behind his nose.  My grandma made the cute fluffy Santa with the glasses.  My mom just got me the Santa carrying the tree and bird this year.  He is made from a light bulb--very cute. The carved nativity is another favorite.  It makes me happy, just as it did as a little kid, unwrapping each thing to hang in its own special place.

i could eat her up

The other night Grant, Brittany and Trudy came to stay.  It was so much fun to have them; I wish they could have stayed longer.  I am so in love with their baby.  She is the sweetest, smiliest, most animated little girl. I could watch her expressions and excitement all day long.  I really want to keep her.  Beckham was tired and grumpy so we put a Baby Einstein on for them. They were totally enthralled and it was adorable.  Beckham seems so gigantic next to petite little Trudy.  I love babies in their jammies.