Blessed Beyond Measure: Christmas Day 2017

On Christmas morning we slept until almost 7:00. I woke up first and knew it was only a matter of time before the boys woke up so I snuck downstairs and waited on the couch to get Asher on video. He pretty much came out of his room as soon as he heard me already awake and anxiously awaiting Christmas.

Video: Asher Inspects the Tree

When Asher came out of his room and saw the Christmas tree and the filled stockings he excitedly went over to check out what was there and what may be for him. His first discovery was a giant pack of printer paper for him and Avery to share and an electric toothbrush. Then he saw rolls of wrapping paper in his and Avery's stockings from Santa which he did a little happy dance for (he asks us for wrapping paper to make 'presents' all the time). Once he'd looked at everything he sat next to me on the couch and talked about how he had a hard time sleeping because he was so excited. I told him he did a great job staying in his room if he was awake so much during the night and he admitted that he had to pee bad but didn't want to come out of his room in case he would scare Santa and he would leave to another house! ;)

Video: Asher Inspects the Cookies

After checking out the tree and stockings, Asher headed into the kitchen to see if Santa and his reindeer ate the cookies, milk and carrots we left out for them. He had also left a present that he wrapped up for Santa, which turned out to be a Santa chocolate. Santa ate it but we found out on Christmas morning that Asher had actually wanted Santa to take him back home with him to the North Pole.

While it may seem that there was a lot of time between when Asher and I woke up and when Avery and Eric woke up it was really only 10-15 minutes. Soon after we checked out the cookie situation, they headed downstairs together and then Asher showed Avery all of the exciting things (like the proof that Santa had come and the giant package of paper).

Emma had to inspect the presents as well (she knows exactly what her favorite kind of toys smell like)

The Proof of Santa: Empty Glass, Empty Cookie/Carrot/Pepper plate (Avery insisted on Peppers...probably just to get them out of the house!) and Santa's opened present from Asher. The boys also wrote him a letter which read, "Santa, We hope you enjoy your cookies! Avery loves cookies and milk too!! Reindeer love carrots and peppers. I hope you open my present. <3 Asher & Avery" To which Santa replied, "Asher and Avery, Thank you for the cookies. They were great. The reindeer loved the peppers. You should try them too. Merry Christmas!!! Love, Santa P.S. Thank you for the present! It was yummy!!!"

On Christmas Eve Asher (who had a lot of questions about Santa this year) was concerned about the fact that we had two Christmas trees in the house (our tree and the fake tree my parents had brought for our family party). He said that he thought we should unplug the Christmas lights on the tree in the basement so that Santa knew which tree to put the presents by. On Christmas morning, when he looked at the stockings he quickly realized that there was not one for Grandma or Papa. To ease his mind Grandma took him downstairs and showed him that Santa had left presents for them (their gifts to one another) under the tree in the basement, knowing they were sleeping down there. We also found a surprise note that Santa had written on our chalk wall next to a picture of Santa that Asher had drawn the weekend before.

Santa's presents for Grandma & Papa

Santa's note read, "This looks just like me. Nice job! <3 Santa"

(2) Videos: Asher's Drawing of Santa

With everyone awake, we headed back up stairs. The boys added the finishing touch to our Advent calendar/tree, which was a star for the top. Then I whipped up a batch of blueberry muffins to tide us over and we all settled into the living room for our traditional Christmas morning time to focus on the reason of the day, our gratefulness and prayer.

When we were finished with our prayer and story time, we forced the boys to take a family picture with us and then allowed them to begin what they had been waiting for...present time!

Asher decided that they should open their stockings first...

Baskets for the boys to collect their Christmas gifts and goodies.

Emma still ~~patiently~~ not so patiently waiting to open her present.

When the boys had finished digging through their stockings they moved onto the presents beneath the tree. First up was their gifts from Santa...the Rescue Bots they wanted!

After the boys had opened their first gift, we let our anxious little girl open a gift too.

From that point on we all just continued taking turns opening up the gifts under the tree until all of the wrapping was gone...

Eric got a bright idea.

Asher gave Avery the present that he had gotten for him and wrapped up all by himself (scissors, a dinosaur activity book and stickers)...

Video: Avery Opens Asher's Present

...and Avery gave Asher his gift (A drawing book, a car and a whoopee cushion).

Video: Asher Opens Avery's Present

Video: The Boys Prank Papa

Soon after Asher received his whoopee cushion, my dad went into the kitchen to refill his coffee giving the boys a prime opportunity to prank him with the new toy. Thankfully Papa played along nicely! ;P

Each year I like to get the boys something that they might enjoy that is also very practical. This year for Asher I found some fleece sheets because he really likes when his bed is warm when he climbs in and he likes the softness of fleece, sometimes laying his fleece blanket down on his mattress to sleep on top of instead of underneath. For Avery I decided to make him his own full-size fleece tie blanket to have a good snuggling blanket and a larger blanket for his bed. The night before Christmas I still hadn't gotten around to making this so I quickly cut the fabric while the boys were watching their movie and then my Mom and I worked to tie the knots after they'd gone to bed. At one point Avery got out of his bed and started talking to us from the top of the stairs when he saw the blanket. He asked what it was and all I could think of was, "it's just Grandma's pajamas". It really made no sense and we could tell he wasn't buying it, but thankfully we eventually got him back into his room without any further prying on the matter.

The boys also got some Leap Frog Interactive Learning Systems for Christmas. I am not a big proponent of the kids using the iPad or other screened items often but wanted to find something more interactive that could help Asher make reading more fun. As I was thinking about this I remembered a favorite toy I had as a kid: The Questron Pen and then went in search of a similar toy sold today. The Leap Frog system was a pretty close match and I'm happy that a whopping two weeks after Christmas the boys still enjoy them...and they make great companions for our long car trips!

I also like to get the boys something to wear each year as well. This year I chose a Michigan sweatshirt for Asher and I found a masked Batman sweatshirt for Avery..he LOVES it!

Emma got one other present for Christmas which also turned out to be the biggest present of the family: A new bed (which has a built-in blanket to snuggle into).

Batman helping me to opened a present. Thank you Batman!

Eric and I also both got some new Michigan clothes too...

This year I also saw an event that was coming to Milwaukee in January and decided to gift it to all three of my boys: Monster Jam! I gave the gift to Eric early just to make sure he wanted to take them (which he did...he's been wanting to do that since we had a baby boy). Then I found a different monster truck for each of them to wrap up and give to them on Christmas morning along with a pair of sound ear muffs for each of the boys and the event description for Eric.

Video: Monster Jam for My Boys

The boys also got me gift. They picked out a Lego for me to go with my Lego treehouse...and Asher was quick to point out that it had a jet ski! <3

Asher and his 2017 Christmas Keepsake Ornament

Sassy Avery with his new ornament.

Fries on the brain?

For the last gifts for each of the boys we picked out something that we thought they would each really like. For Asher that meant his very own "drone" (aka remote control helicopter toy). For Avery that meant a Batcave.

Video: Asher Flies His 'Drone'

Notice in the video how he giggles with glee as he starts to fly the helicopter! <3

Video: Christmas Morning Time Lapse

With the present part of the day finished, we moved on to a late breakfast of overnight french toast, bacon and fruit. Afterwards, it was time for Grandma and Papa to get ready, pack up and leave before we said our goodbyes and they traveled back home.

A quick rest with Eric while my parents pack up to leave

Teaching Avery how to use his new toy.

Mom & I sporting our Team Kris shirts! <3

Asher wanted in on the picture too!

Before Grandma and Papa left, we found one last present under the tree that Santa had missed which said it was for Asher. Before I continue however, a little back story...

At the beginning of the Christmas season, as I mentioned in a previous post, we went to Kenosha's Winter Harbor Market together. There the boys met Mrs. Claus and drew pictures of what they wanted for Christmas to mail to Santa. Asher drew a 'mote retrol' sock and then proceeded to tell us about how he needs a remote control sock to get around so that he doesn't have to walk. We have no idea where this idea came from but he was serious about it and maintained for several weeks that this is what he wanted. Eric and I (along with others I'm sure) found this a little odd and funny but figured that if it is doable he should get what he requested from Santa and since like us Santa has a sense of humor, he got to work in his workshop to make it happen. :)

Video: The 'Mote Retrol' Sock

From that point on, our Christmas was VERY low key. We said our goodbyes to Grandma and Papa and waved to them out the window. Then spent the remainder of our day enjoying some naps, Christmas treats, movie snuggles, play time, home made pizza and some more playtime time and movie snuggles before bed to close out our family day.