Monday, February 13, 2017

Christmas 2016!

What a magical Christmas!

We started a few days early with Christmas at Granny V's house. The boys decided last year that it was now officially Christmas tradition that we wear pajamas to Christmas at her house, even though it starts at 5:00, so that's what we do!


This year, we took a break from cooking and just ordered a ton of Mexican food. It was perfect. Everyone was happy. After we ate, the boys helped pass out presents and insisted on opening theirs first. Since this was our first celebration of the year, we were anxious to see how they would react to the clothes. They were so excited! They loved every single present and it showed! Raising grateful boys is important to me so that was my favorite part.

A few days later, it was finally Christmas Eve! We had cinnamon rolls for breakfast and the boys put on their matching reindeer shirts. These were my favorites and I'm going to miss them!


Then we loaded up and headed to Grandpa Mark's house. Stephanie had made a few German dishes and they also had turkey and ham and all the traditional holiday foods. The boys struggled to make it through eating without starting on their giant piles of gifts but they fought through it.

Lincoln and Georgia just hung out on the floor together stealing each other's toys.


It was finally time to open!








After they opened, the boys had to go outside and fly their remote controlled helicopter from Uncle Mason. They crashed it about 524 times before the battery finally died. We ran a few last minute errands for Christmas morning and then headed home to try to let Porter take a little nap.

Then it was time for Papaw's house! Eileen's cookies were the hit of the night for the boys.





We played Dirty Santa with gift cards. From the beginning, Pax had his eye on a big snowman box. Aunt Jojo whispered to him that he shouldn't get that one, she had intended for it to go to Papa but Paxton was relentless. He went and grabbed the box, hoping for a Braum's gift card and opened...a John Wayne cookbook. We held our breaths and waited for his reaction. "Is this a cowboy cooking book?" he asked, expressionless. "Ummm...yes" I told him. "Woooooow! Cool!" he exclaimed and started thumbing through it. We all sighed in relief. He was seriously so excited about it and told everyone what he had ended up with. Even when Porter got a Chick-Fil-A card, he still maintained his pleasure....


Porter was carrying around a bag of chips the whole night. Eventually, little boys started getting sleepy and it was time to come home and get ready for bed. We put on Christmas jammies and put out cookies and milk for Santa and a carrot for the reindeer. I think this was the first year we actually put out cookies because we're usually all so tired from Papaw's that we just rush through bedtime. But I liked the more intentional tradition of putting the cookies and milk out and I would like to add reading the Night Before Christmas next year too. We put the big boys to bed and got settled in with It's A Wonderful Life just like we do every year and I got busy assembling and stuffing stockings. Paxton asked Santa for a Playmobil school and Porter asked for the Playmobil playground and a new toy cell phone and that's what they got!

Christmas morning started early with one excited five-year-old who couldn't wait for his little brother to wake up on his own. They raced into the living room to see what Santa left and immediately started playing before they even opened their stockings.


Again, they were so excited about even the tiniest little things in their stockings and it was so precious.








Lincoln loved his toy from Santa but his new sippy cup was his favorite.











Once everything was opened and assembled, we had to get busy cleaning up for my family to come over. The house filled up fast with kids and aunts and more presents and food. We let the kids open their presents first so they could take naps while the grown-ups opened theirs. Lincoln, in Hulsey family tradition, got his Cabbage Patch doll and immediately leaned in for an eye gouge. The kids were all so cute and excited and everyone picked out perfect gifts! After they finished opening, we started eating.


The kids went down for naps and the grown-ups opened presents. When the kids woke up, we all ate some more, played with new toys, played video games together and stayed in jammies all day. It was perfect!








It was my favorite Christmas so far. It just felt so cozy to be in our new house with our completed family. And it's so fun to watch the families grow every year! The boys have 4 new cousins this year which makes things so much more fun!

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