Since February is now upon us I thought it would be fitting to write the last of the Christmas posts before Valentine's Day arrives. We had Uncle Scott & Uncle Kyle in town the week leading up to Christmas weekend which allowed for lots of walks, playing outside, a night out for sushi as our gift to each other & lots of laughs...as usual. We loaded up & headed south on Christmas Eve. It was an easy drive, no one had to go potty the entire way & Arlo only ate once while en route. We were off to a great start & it just kept getting better minus the usual daily meltdowns (by all of us).
We settled into Gaga & Paw Paw's house, had some dinner & tucked the kids into bed. Bedtime was a first of two things including a sleepover with the four "big kids" & the boys being un-cribbed if you will & on mini cots. I had imagined reading quietly & calmly as a family before goodnight kisses but the sleeping arrangement was a little too exciting to handle. So we gated them in, taught Charlotte & Eloise how to escape & went downstairs for some adult time. We were back & forth over the course of the next two hours until they had visions of sugarplums dancing in their heads. A sweet moment was when we found Char sitting on her bed reading to the rest of the bunch. They were more attentive to her in that moment then they had been to us in the previous hour. Glad she has earned some respect ; ) It was 9:30 before they drifted off to sleep & we went to bed smiling after making sure all were tucked in tight.
The whole crew with Charlotte attempting to keep Owen from drumming. Anson is not so sure about having a photo taken with his morning hair do.
Oh Anson...
We had the kids draw names between themselves which ended up being really fun. My idea was to write names on strips of paper & let each of them draw so I attempted that & recorded the results. Easy peasy lemon squeezy or so I thought. Two weeks later when it was time to shop we checked the list & noticed Anson was getting two gifts. I did a good job. Round two Robby wrote their names in a circle, drew arrows & we were on our way! We were pretty sure the girls understood what our plan was but they were un-pleasantly surprised when they realized the circle did not continue to go round & round insuring each would get a gift from each. Ha! That would be 25 gifts purchased by us....these five need to get some jobs ; )
Once we explained again what was going to go down in the toy section of Target we split up, boys with me, girls with Rob. We had a $10 limit, the girls found transformers for the boys & the boys found adorable hats for the girls. Arlo hit the jackpot. Anson was the "giver" of his gift & when I said it was time to shop for him they both asked if they could jump out of the cart to take me to the gift they were sure Arlo wanted. It was so funny to follow them as they were on a mission to the end of the baby section that had a set of five baby toys including a ball. racecar, keys & a couple other little things. It was double the limit & I couldn't deny them. They each grabbed one big box & literally threw it up into the cart. It was difficult to explain that we only needed one but I finally convinced them & we were on our way. Each gift was a big hit, especially these cozy hats & mittens.
Eloise & her Gaga...they just love each other. Eloise was happy to present her gift from us which was a necklace with the birthstones of the grandbabies. It looked lovely & has been worn often by the lovely lady.
There was SO much playing over the course of the following day with some new toys & super fun Uncles & grandparents. Here's a few shots of all the action...
My Dad couldn't help but pick up a few stocking stuffers one of which was a "sci-fi tube"...ring a bell? If not, it's a tube with sensors on each end that when touched complete the electric circuit which results in it lighting up & making an eerie sci-fi noise. It brought lots of laughter especially after Paw Paw gave some instruction on ways to make it light up....
a tool set & workbench for Owen & Anson. Anson preferred picking his nose over building at this moment ; )
a bug vacuum & magnified "cage" for Eloise which has brought SO much excitement to her life & dismay to mine as she brings me bugs she finds around our house. Nothing too alarming & 90% of the time they are no longer alive. Christmas day was hot & steamy so a walk on the trail was in order. While we were outside the kid across the street came down the driveway rather quickly on a hoverboard. We had watched multiple wipeout videos the night before & were impressed with his skills. I wanted to try it but Robby said I was too valuable. Kyle (who is valuable) gave it a try & I was so anxious. He did well & stepped off unharmed. Back to Lolo the bug girl...
Arlo didn't pay much attention to his gifts since he already had the best gift (me) but I think he will someday find this interesting. The month after Arlo was born Disney Pixar released a new movie called The Good Dinosaur in which the main dinosaur is named Arlo! We had to make sure he knew he was Arlo first : )
These kiddos have some wonderful uncles within the US & out ie Poland. Scott & Kyle spent all kinds of time playing, cleaning up after, chasing & entertaining our bunch.
I guess my mom & I didn't make the cut to be photographed more than once or twice but Paw Paw definitely wins an award not only for being in lots of pictures but teaching the boys how to crack a pecan & performing a magic show with the girls that had us all laughing hard.
Each evening we battled it out at the kitchen table over Settlers of Katan or Liverpool Rummy. Aunt Sharon joined us for our last evening there which always kicks up the laughing a notch or two. My parents are quite the hosts & my brothers are good sports to sleep on couches too short for a grown man or right on the floor since a family of seven more than takes over the upstairs. What a wonderful time it was! Only regret, no picture of all of us together.
We made it home only forgetting a few of those 1200+ pieces & were ready to celebrate yet again with the Valentines.
Owen & Anson ended up with some measuring tapes to use with their tool bench. They were measuring Caroline's head immediately, haha! She & Gigi were great sports. Since then the measuring tapes have not only measured but have wrapped the boys like a mummy, used as a leash when the kids play pet shop & have been wrapped around a bar stool leg to drag it from the kitchen to the front door with louder screeching than my ears can take. Thanks Grammy! ; )
Our favorite gift we picked out by a long shot was a mug we bought Jeannine. It said "5 reasons I love being Grammy" & had pictures of our five with their names underneath. Owen was best represented with spiky hair...our little rooster.
There was too much action in short period of time to take many pictures but I am thankful to have snapped this one of Robby, his grandmother & the gift she chose for him. Prior to Christmas she was standing in our entry way when Robby called for the kids & had them line up by the front door. They all came running & lined up oldest to youngest. Virginia was laughing saying it reminded her of Captain Von Trapp in The Sound of Music. She was excited to give him his very own whistle! We were laughing so hard. I said we need to teach the kids how to line up & then step forward & backward in a marching fashion stating their names as we verify all are present. Maybe we can teach Bella to bark when it's her turn.
We always enjoy our time with Gigi & had to snap a few parting shots of these five with one of their two beloved Great Grandmas.
We enjoyed our time spent with loved ones so much that I've contemplated for about six weeks prior to writing this ; ) Better late than not at all!
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