The Best of December

In early December, we moved the couch from Grandma Heckel's house to our basement. The one there before was left from the former owners of the house and really just needed to go out for junk pickup. So between junk pickup and moving in the new couch, we were without any seating. The kids didn't want to watch Frosty and other Christmas programs sitting on card table chairs so Travis and I blew up their sleeping bag/air matresses and let them "camp out" in the basement. Even now they still want to get them out they watch movies.

* As a side note to this story: Aiden wanted to help the guys get the couch down the basement so my mom told him to help with the cushions. As he was halfway up the stairs, my mom threw one of the cushions down the stairs, knocking him backwards down the stairs and spraining his ankle requiring crutches. As my screaming baby boy was trying to get to his mommy at the bottom of the stairs, my mom threw the other cushion down at him, knocking him into me! How did I escape my childhood in one piece?

Sharon, my clerk at school, got both the kids Christmas outfits and I wanted them to open it at the same time. Audrey was asleep and Aiden couldn't wait. He came running back to my bedroom dressed like this in Audrey's outfit...

...and proclaimed, "Look! Santa brought me an elf costume!" Travis and I laughed so hard our sides hurt!

Our first Christmas family function was with the Heckel side of the family. This year Baby Tyler was front and center! Both my kids love this little boy so much and couldn't get enough of him...or his momma, Leesha!

Schimpf's Confectionary's Red Hot Drop candies are a tradition in our family. This year I actually made it to the store to get them myself! My aunt Norma and I took 2 van-loads of kids to Schimpf's, one of the only candy makers still doing it ALL by hand, and actually got to watch them make the They also have a deli (which was closed during the holiday rush) and a homemade ice cream parlor that we chose to take advantage of. All the kids then scoured the shelves to choose what they wanted to take home. Aiden chose the chocolate coins, Audrey chose chocolate chip candies, I chose modjeskas and decided Travis needed some coconut balls. After loading them up on sugar, we let them unwind at Norma's for a big ol' cousin playdate.

On Christmas Eve, we celebrate with Travis's side of the family. I love this small gathering because we don't all get to see each other much throughout the rest of the year. Every year we try to get that perfect picture of everyone together and every year we get ones like these:

As always, the kids get to many gifts. This year Aiden's favorite is the V-Motion from Mamaw and Papaw....

...and Audrey loves her Snow White costume from Bekah.

Christmas morning at our house was so exciting because they were both on Santa overload. This was the first year Audrey truly knew about Santa and was excited to see what was going to happen. When they woke up, Trav and I made them wait in out bedroom until we got the cameras ready. Then in they flew!

Aiden's favorites were his Disney figures for his "Halloween Parade."

Audrey loved her baby care center and new baby, Alice (all her other babies are named Alice, too and I have no idea why).

We held Christmas dinner at our house this year which may not have been the best decision on my part. Because of the toy explosion in our family room there was not much room to spread out. Therefore we headed to the basement which is a little to cold for company if you ask me. Despite the temperature, I love having the family over for dinner. We don't get together enough.

One night when Audrey was out at a grandparents, Travis and I had a game night with Aiden, taking advantage of some that Santa left for him this year.

When I told him to ignore me and not pose for the camera, he struck his best Stitch surfing pose the way the character poses for pictures at Disneyworld.

And I forget what made him giggle like this. Who cares anyway as long as I get to see this sweet smile!