Holly & Jolly (belated)

 Everything I think to say about Christmas feels like only part of the story. It was great. Really, really great. It was hard. Really, really hard. But it was great.

Let's dwell on the great bits for now (it is Christmas, after all)...

We decked the halls.

My favorite (new this year) Christmas decor of all time – made it myself!

Yes, that is the Abominable Snowman.
Nora has since dreamed up the "Pink Abobidable," who is funny instead
of vicious and leaves rabbit tracks in our backyard.

We

We made gingerbread houses in the happy company of great friends who I am hoping got better pictures of our kids together in action(?).

 

We drank hot chocolate. LOTS of hot chocolate. From my Grandma's old Santa mugs, which makes said hot chocolate one hundred times tastier.

This little girl LOVES hot chocolate. So much so, that even though she does not like the cold weather at all, she will endure frigid wind and wet toes if it means she gets hot chocolate at the end. She confirms such plans BEFORE even agreeing to put her coat on to head outside. Not "hot chocolate milk," no Nora.

We played in the snow.

Blurry, yes, but possibly one of my favorite pictures of my boy.

Though the hot chocolate will get Nora outside, it will not get her in the snow. It usually takes more time to get her dressed in snowsuit, boots and mittens than it does for her to hightail it back inside for her sweet reward.We read a story a day from Thanksgiving to Christmas Eve (possibly my very favorite tradition of all). 

We played with our family (who should move closer ASAP). A happy last-minute addition to our Christmas-at-home plans.

Though I don't often speak for the mister in ye ol' blog, I will say this: Burt boy #3 LOVED having his family around. So did his wife and kids.

We met the newest Burt: not-so-little miss Lucy (AKA the world's best baby...pretty sure I never heard her cry).

I think they told him to "Eat these cookies" at least three times. Also, note the hand-drawn elf by my sweet boy who is adamant he will grow up to be an artist.

We wrote letters to Santa.

And those must have been the best cookies and carrots ever, because with two extra kiddos in the house, our Christmas morning was epic.

I fear 2012 will be a let-down.We got new PJs (and a Rudolph nose).

Dressed up.

He was over the moon about the candy cane tie and got mad at me when I wouldn't let him wear  it to church once Christmas was over.

Catching Andy smiling in a picture is like finding Sasquatch. Though it may look otherwise, he was just as holly and jolly as the rest of us.

Got the long-coveted (and oft avoided) pillow pets.

And, as predicted, have only played with them once since then. If sitting on them to watch a movie can be called "playing".

Speaking of Made for TV items under our tree, Porter also got the Fushigi Ball, courtesy of Uncle Chris. More on that to come in its own post. Suffice it say, at the top of the package when we opened it was a large "This product is  not intended for use by children under the age of 12". Fortunately, rules were made to be broken.

And we played with our new toys, of course.

And there you have it: the Burt's Christmas unwrapped.