Since we aren't doing any long trips for Christmas anymore, and my parents went to England for Christmas, this ended up being our first Christmas at our own house alone. I was a little worried that we would be bored and lonely and that I'd be cooking way too much. BUT, we had a really wonderful time! We did some fun activities, the kids helped with a bunch of the cooking, we relaxed, we played games, and basically we did whatever we wanted to do when we wanted to do it. Ultimate flexibility! and none of the inevitable waiting around that comes with big group family activities (but of course, those have their great aspects too! :)).
Kevin had Thursday and Friday off work, so Thursday I headed out for a final trip to the grocery store. I had put it off until Thursday so I wouldn't have to drag along the kids, but I'll know for next year! Costco was a zoo with almost every parking space full, even back by the gas station. Walmart wasn't nearly as bad, except they were out of molasses (and had been all week!).
Friday was our fun day at home. We made our own playdough and used cookie cutters to make ornaments for next year. The girls had a really fun time. We also did all our preparations for Christmas Day food and had a yummy Christmas Eve steak dinner.
After dinner we read Christmas books, read and acted out our nativity play, and wrote a letter to Santa. Santa had requested, in an earlier phone call, chicken nuggets with his cookies so the girls were pretty excited to leave those out for him. They did a pretty good job going to bed, and then Kevin and I got to work!
Violet has been interested in Christmas coming, but Cora has been even more excited. She woke up at 3:30am and saw the stockings all filled. Kevin told her she had to wait until the clock said 7 before she could come down again. He said she came down 30 minutes later and said it was taking too long to get to 7! Luckily, the girls really aren't the type to open presents or snoop around by themselves. She finally went back to sleep and we start Christmas morning at a more reasonable 6:45am.
As per DeGiulio tradition, we did stockings, then breakfast (breakfast casserole and cinnamon pull-aparts), and then opening presents one at a time taking turns.
Luke and his stocking-- he was most fascinated by his new sippee and this jar of baby food chicken sticks.
Violet and her stocking-- a DVD of her beloved Mickey Mouse, Strawberry Shortcake dolls, and this amazingly huge cheese ball jar!
Cora and her stocking-- see a trend?? Strawberry Shortcake has been big at out house the last few months. I love that the movies really are for little girls (not tweeny at all), just fun and cute. And of course, it's fun that they are playing with characters I played with when I was little. (PS, this is the same cheese ball jar-- Santa brought it to the both of them)
Luke has so many toys, he didn't get much this year. He didn't seem to mind! He loved his new car, pop-up toy, and ball popper.
The big present for the girls-- scooters! I'm hoping this makes walks in our hilly neighborhood more pleasant. It's just tricky for two adults to help two kids on bikes up hills while pushing a stroller. Violet still has a little bit of practicing to do, but Cora got the hang of it right away (longer legs help I think). Right now our unfinished basement is a great scooter area.
After presents there was a lovely lull to the morning where everyone played with their new toys and just hung out.
We spent Christmas afternoon at my aunt's house with her family-- it was delicious and fun! I think that's what made Christmas not feel lonely. They were so kind to include us, and in the gifting too-- the girls loved another chance to open a cool present.
Christmas evening we read more Christmas stories and put three tired, tired kiddos into bed. Sunday was a recovery day for the kids, peacefulness intermixed with some overtired breakdowns. But the girls chilled and watch some Christmas movies in the afternoon while Kevin and I put away Christmas decorations. This week we have our carpets being cleaned, family coming, and preparations to go out of town next week, so there really was no other time, if I wanted Kevin to be able to help (essential!).
We've had a lovely Christmas season this year. It's been neat to see my kids understand more about the Christmas story and be so excited to act it out every day with figures or costumes. I've loved being a Primary teacher and teaching about Christ and the nativity story too. Our family has checked out what must have been a record of Christmas picture books and movies from the library and sung Christmas songs every night at bedtime and had Christmas family home evenings. I have my own personal stack of Christmas books I read each year. Cora has said several times that she is sad Christmas is over. On the day after Christmas Violet asked how many more days until Christmas comes again. It's nice to be able to remind them that the greatest things about Christmas, like our fun family times and the story of the Christ child, are things we can remember and do all year long. And I think we'll still be singing Christmas stories at bedtime for quite a while longer!
Luke had fun too, well most of the time. Here he doesn't look too thrilled, does he?
Luke didn't stay out for too long, but he did like watching his sisters play around, and even made his own snow angel.
The almost-finished product-- Kevin added a hat, gloves, and a snow shovel later. Since we've had such cold temperatures since the storm, our snowman is still up!
Luke is cruising! He can get around to pretty much wherever he wants to go, and has long arms and quick grabby hands. We still trying to figure out where to put the crayons so that Cora and Violet can reach them, but Luke can't.
Luke can clap, give high fives, and give (wet, slobbery, open mouth) kisses. I'm been trying to teach him to blow kisses, but once his fingers get that close to his mouth, he can't resist sticking them in. He is interested in the stairs, but only the bottom three steps, he's scared of going any farther than that.
He loves to eat, especially when it's not baby food, but eats the most when there's a lot of variety being offered. We can usually get him to eat a few more bites if we clap and cheer for him.
Luke likes pushing the stools around. The coloring bench stools are his favorite-- they are nice and light.
Luke has 6 teeth now-- his 6th one just popped through and he is much happier now
Luke is cheerful most all of the time. He really is a very happy baby. He makes the most noise at mealtime if he thinks we're not feeding him fast enough. Luke puts up with his sisters' best intentions very well, and doesn't seem to mind too much that he rarely gets to play with a toy all by himself. He is good at squawking if the girls take too many liberties.
Luke still loves shiny things and buttons. He takes a phone or toy and turns it over in his hands over and over checking it out at all angles.
Luke loves playing with balls. He likes to throw them... and other toys too. People ask all the time if having a boy is different than the girls. I haven't noticed too many differences yet, except this desire to throw, and he started making car sounds much earlier than the girls. I think he's also more attentive to vehicle sounds out the window too. I'm sure there will be more things later on!
He loves looking in the mirror in the mother's lounge at church and gets distracted from nursing easily in there. Luke won't nurse with a blanket on anymore, so it's a good thing he only nurses about 3 times a day-- early morning, about 10:00pm, and in the afternoon.
After dinner we read Christmas books, read and acted out our nativity play, and wrote a letter to Santa. Santa had requested, in an earlier phone call, chicken nuggets with his cookies so the girls were pretty excited to leave those out for him. They did a pretty good job going to bed, and then Kevin and I got to work!
Violet has been interested in Christmas coming, but Cora has been even more excited. She woke up at 3:30am and saw the stockings all filled. Kevin told her she had to wait until the clock said 7 before she could come down again. He said she came down 30 minutes later and said it was taking too long to get to 7! Luckily, the girls really aren't the type to open presents or snoop around by themselves. She finally went back to sleep and we start Christmas morning at a more reasonable 6:45am.
As per DeGiulio tradition, we did stockings, then breakfast (breakfast casserole and cinnamon pull-aparts), and then opening presents one at a time taking turns.
Luke and his stocking-- he was most fascinated by his new sippee and this jar of baby food chicken sticks.
Violet and her stocking-- a DVD of her beloved Mickey Mouse, Strawberry Shortcake dolls, and this amazingly huge cheese ball jar!
Cora and her stocking-- see a trend?? Strawberry Shortcake has been big at out house the last few months. I love that the movies really are for little girls (not tweeny at all), just fun and cute. And of course, it's fun that they are playing with characters I played with when I was little. (PS, this is the same cheese ball jar-- Santa brought it to the both of them)
Luke has so many toys, he didn't get much this year. He didn't seem to mind! He loved his new car, pop-up toy, and ball popper.
The big present for the girls-- scooters! I'm hoping this makes walks in our hilly neighborhood more pleasant. It's just tricky for two adults to help two kids on bikes up hills while pushing a stroller. Violet still has a little bit of practicing to do, but Cora got the hang of it right away (longer legs help I think). Right now our unfinished basement is a great scooter area.
After presents there was a lovely lull to the morning where everyone played with their new toys and just hung out. 
-Our family got to visit Cora's preschool to see her Christmas program. Cora said her part well, and they did some finger plays and songs. Cora was so excited to keep her program songs a secret from us. Whenever I asked if she learned any Christmas songs before the program, she would always say-- It's a surprise!
"S is for snowflake falling from the tree"
-Violet earned the designation of being our first kids to fall asleep on the stairs. She's having issues staying in her bed at bedtime, just like Cora did at this age. This was after about the 8th time I walked her back to bed and shut the door.
She's sound asleep!
-We got a huge snowfall, and while it wasn't great packing snow, the girls still had lots of fun building a small fort and shoveling with Kevin.
-We made these delicious Snowman Cookies that I'll make all year round now, I'm sure. They are delicious! The girls loved decorating them and I loved not having to roll them out flat. I think the extra goodness must be from the cream cheese and almond extract in the cookies. I went on a baking spree and we also made chocolate chip, peanut butter, and gingersnap cookies this month.
- I was going to attempt gingerbread houses from scratch, but that will have to be another year. This pre-built house with pre-made icing was easy and fun.
-Brinkley from preschool got to come home with Cora and stay overnight for the second time. Cora loved snuggling with him and even shared him with Violet a bit.
- Cora's preschool also had a Breakfast with Santa near the beginning of December. She has such a great preschool! The whole family was invited and we had a great time. For some reason, the girls were extra shy for Santa, but Luke was pretty fascinated. We finally got Cora and Violet in the picture when Kevin and I got in there too. Here's Cora's teacher's son, playing with Luke. These guys are just a few months apart.
- We had a lot of fun, but evidently forgot to take pictures, at the annual Ellis Family Ornament Party. Even though most of us who are able to come live relatively close together, we don't usually see each other more than a few times a year. It's fun to get together and catch up! Santa also came to the party and the girls were a little less shy for him than before.
I'm so happy I picked up these nativity costume sets a few years ago-- we've already gotten so much use out of them, and I got them all on clearance post-Christmas sales. The Mary costume was used literally every day in December for dress-up at our house.
Look at these cute cousins! I think Luke is pretty excited to have a bean bag like his big sisters!
Smiles all around
The girls were pretty excited about their first remote controlled cars-- a My Little Pony airplane for Violet and a Strawberry Shortcake roadster for Cora from Kissie and Pata. Luke liked playing with the cars so much we got him a couple (not rc) for Christmas that weren't even pink! Kissie and Pata also gave the kids a really neat book and 2 months of gymnastics for Cora and a Leapster and a Leapster game for Violet. Now both of the girls can play Leapster at the same time and they love it! A special gift from Pata was some super cool building shape magnets. They are awesome!
The kids also got favorite pj's and Christmas Eve Santa kit from Shad and Jen, which was so fun to use-- so handy! Kissie and Pata's gift for Kevin and I paid for a big chunk of our brand new television we got on a Black Friday deal, so generous.
Cora has been having a lot of fun at preschool this year! Here are a few of the projects she's brought home recently.
