Christmas Morning 2014

Being 5 years old, Cooper was the perfect age to enjoy the magic of Christmas morning.  He woke up bright-eyed and ready, and couldn't WAIT to go to Poppy's house.

It wasn't terribly early, at least, but Hudson had to be woken up early.  He takes after his mommy, and is not much of a morning person, even when he does get enough sleep.  When he gets woken up early--forget it.  So...the day was already off to a "great" start with a crabby toddler.

I just wanted ONE picture of the boys together in their Christmas pajamas.  This is the best I got before a total cry fest ensued.

Cooper couldn't wait any longer, since he hadn't been able to peek at the presents because Santa dropped them all at Poppy's house, not at the beach house.  So instead of lining up on the stairs or down the hall, we lined them up at the front door.  Nate looks totally thrilled.

What did you get, Coop?

A toolbox with real tools of your own!

A rapid-fire nerf gun (and a remote control helicopter)!

What did you get, Hudson?

A remote control car!

Some blocks!

And a toy vacuum!

Merry Christmas 2014!

Christmas Eve and Cousins

Christmas Eve is usually the big Smith get-together at Aunt Faye's house.  It's always a whirlwind of good food, visiting with family, and me trying to keep my kids from breaking things or being too crazy.  Hence the reason I never have any pictures of it!

After dinner and presents at Faye's house, Abby and her family joined us at Nathan and Michele's for our own after party.

These kids sure are growing up!

Cooper, Stella, Haleigh, and Hudson

Sure do love these precious girls.

Haleigh found my phone unlocked, and in pure teenage fashion, hacked it and left me a couple of selfies. Cute girl.

LOL

Hey look, I'm actually present. Just kidding.  I always enjoy hanging out with these cute nieces.

Another hack from Haleigh--this time with Hudson.  Too cute.

It was like pulling teeth to get Nate to take a picture with his sister, but hey, we got one!

The after party must have gotten a little wild, because the boys were soon shirtless...

...and crazy.

At the last minute we remembered to leave cookies out for Santa, and a carrot for the reindeer.  Cooper was being coy.

Huh? What does "coy" mean?

Soon after the children were nestled all snug in their beds, the sugar of the night surely giving them visions of sugar plums.  The parents were happy to get to bed before the early wake-up call the next morning.

Christmas at the Aquarium with Poppy

We went to Salter Path/ the Outer Banks for Christmas, to be with Nate's family.  There's a great little aquarium not far from Nate's dad's house, and during our winter visits, it's a must-do.  It just so happened that Santa Claus was there feeding the fish in the big tank that day.

Petting the sting rays is Cooper's favorite part of the aquarium.

Poppy helped our wiggly Hudson get in on the action too.

Hudson enjoyed the fish...but enjoyed running away from mommy even more.

Rawwwwwwrrrrrr!

These three hoodlums had a good time at the aquarium.  I'm so glad Poppy got to come with us.  The boys sure loved having him along.

December Fun

These are a few random pictures from December.

One day all the neighbor kids were outside playing, and one of the neighbor moms took this picture.  Funny thing is, the two boys and girl on the far right are the kids who used to live in our house.  They had come by for a visit.  The other girls are our neighbor kids (Maddie, Amanda, and Carter), whom our boys adore, and love playing with,  They're much older, but both boys really enjoy playing with them.  Coop was excited to make some new boy buddies, but was sad to find out they didn't live in our neighborhood, at least not any more.  Ha!

One day I came home from running errands, and found Hudson fast asleep in his car seat.  He must have been exhausted from all the computer work he'd been doing on his laptop while I drove.

Let Christmas 2014 Begin!

A few days before Christmas we visited Jim and Denise at their house for our early Christmas together, since we would all be out of town for the actual day.  We love spreading out the festivities!

Denise and the boys made sugar cookies.

Hudson often wanted to play with my broom when I cleaned, so Jim and Denise gave Hudson his own broom and dust pan.  He set straight to work with it.

They spoiled Cooper with a "big boy" Razor scooter (no more training wheels!).

Denise gave Jim a beautiful multi-media player, complete with all the latest like MP3, but also included CD, and a record player.  

With a Beatles album, we were all set with dancing music for the night.  I'll spare Denise and keep the home video of the boys dancing with her to ourselves. :)

Hudson would not leave the ornaments on the Christmas tree alone--just like at home.

One of Cooper's favorite things to do when we visit Aunt Denise in the winter months is to put out the candles in the fireplace with the candle snuffer.  Then, of course, we have to light them again, so he can put them out more than once.

The boys and Aunt Denise read some Christmas stories.

We always have a great time celebrating and visiting with the Frosts!

Backyard Wrestling with Brody

These pictures are from one random afternoon in December when the boys were playing in the backyard with the dog.  Sweet boys and our dog, Brody.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

The day after Thanksgiving we picked out and brought home our Christmas tree.  I remember the selection of the Christmas tree being a long, drawn out process as a child (ok maybe a tween/teen), where we all had opinions that never seemed to match.  With our family though, selecting and bringing home the Christmas tree takes about 20 minutes from leaving house to back at house.  With a couple of great growers/lots near our home, and the fact that we all pretty much choose the same tree within a few minutes, it's pretty drama-free. It's also usually sunny and not freezing, which I LOVE.

The decorating of the Christmas tree is NOTHING BUT DRAMA.  Cooper always wants to help with the lights and the ribbon and things that he really needs not to help with (like memorable, breakable ornaments); Nate "helps," but is done within about 20 minutes, especially with the kid drama going on; and Hudson is a little "helper," pulling things out of boxes, hanging about 20 ornaments on a single branch, nearly knocking the tree over about every 5 seconds....yeah.  You get the picture: chaos, and a lot of of it.  Not at all the peaceful, family bonding you see in movies.  I usually let the boys have their fill, and then work on the tree after they all go to bed, while listening to Christmas music, and taking my time reminiscing over the meaningful ornaments full of memories.

All those meaningful, fragile ornaments had to be out of reach of our toddler, so the top third of our tree was heavy-laden with decorations, while the bottom seemed a bit bare.  It was a bit top heavy!

On 11/29/14 I posted on Facebook: Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree, how many times will you be redecorated by the children?  I have to remind myself that Christmas is for children.  But I sure did get tired of the battle of tree vs. toddler (and often 5 year old too) before the month was through.  I sure do love decorating the Christmas tree though, and decorating the rest of the house too.

The Saturday following Thanksgiving, while most other people were out shopping, we took the boys to sit on Santa's lap, avoiding the long lines later.  Naturally we headed to Bass Pro Shops where it's free to visit Santa.  Cooper was excited to put in his Christmas requests.  Hudson wasn't exactly thrilled to be sat on the knee of a strangely dressed stranger, but I didn't expect any different.

Hudson loved the train.  The boy loves trains.

 Mommy helped Hudson write his letter to Santa:

Dear Santa,  I am such a good boy for mommy and daddy.  I would like a vacuum and some blocks.  Love, Hudson Smith, 18 months old 

 Daddy helped Cooper write his letter to Santa, but Coop dictated what to write:

Dear Santa: Helicopter, Nerf gun, tool box.  Please send me these.  Sincerely, Cooper Smith 

This kid sure doesn't sugar coat it--ha!

 After our visit to Santa, we ate lunch and the boys enjoyed a ride on the merry-go-round.  This was Hudson's first riding one where he knew what was going on, and he loved it.  He loved it so much that it was all tears and fits when it was time to get off.

At preschool Cooper's class made and decorated a gingerbread house together as a class. Cooper was proud of it, and wanted his picture taken with it. 

We acquired a few more Christmas decorations, and the house started to look a little like Christmas.

Christmas cards were mailed.

And in keeping with the winter season, we had lots of sickness.  Those bright red, flushed cheeks were present a lot during the winter months as the boys battled cold virus after cold virus.  So many ear infections between the two of them!  Ah, good ol' winter.

 One day the boys were playing together with the Santa hats.  What a cute pair of Santa's little helpers.

 12/1/14: In the car today the song "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" comes on the radio. Coop listens and says, "Mommy, I know why that lady is singing that. Because it IS the most wonderful time of the year!"
"You're right, Bug. Why do you think that?"
"Because it's so fun to buy presents and get toys, and everyone is so happy...[pause, and then in a softer voice]...but, Mommy, the real reason it's so wonderful is because we get to think about Jesus every day, and how He was a teeny tiny baby, and how He was born. That is the most wonderful part of all."
And my heart nearly burst with joy.