Christmas, Part Deux

The rest of December was filled with more of our traditional holiday celebrations and then a new tradition - Christmas in Texas! 

Grammy once again took us to tea at the mansion.  As always, it was a really cute event and Avery had a great time. The only problem?  For whatever reason, one of the years, we went into the gift shop after the tea and she got something small.  So, now?  She thinks that she can go to the gift shop every time and get something.  I mean, there was nothing that she even liked in the shop, yet, she insisted on buying something (yes, I realize there is a much larger issue that we will have to deal with at some point here).  So, I stuck to my word and said no and wow - somebody threw a bit of a hissy fit.  Even Grammy got frustrated with her and that is saying something!  I have to attribute some of this to being tired from a full day of school, but still...needless to say, we had a little chat in the car on the way home and this behavior better not happen again at the tea or the 2012 tea may be the last she sees of this!

We celebrated with Josh's side of the family on the Saturday before Christmas and then left for our big trip to Houston on Sunday.  And, in true Holland fashion, Avery woke up on Saturday morning with strep throat.  Awesome.  Luckily, we got her into the see the doctor immediately on Saturday morning, so we started her on antibiotics right away.  Unfortunately, she wasn't 100% at Grammy and Grampy's, but she was a trooper and hung in there enough to celebrate a bit and of course, to open some presents...

 Al Man got his ditch digger that he had been asking for for about 3 months prior to Christmas and loved it...

And, the coolest part of the night?  Avery had a Santa's workshop at school where she could buy 2 presents for anyone she wanted.  So, we sent her to school with $20 and she came home to tell us that she bought a present for Alex, for Mommy and since she could only buy for 2 people, Daddy's present was the change from the $20 that she didn't spend.  Ha!  Anyway - she was SO proud of the present that she got for me and could hardly wait until Christmas so that I could open it.  I have to say - I am pretty impressed that a 5-year-old could keep a secret for that long, but she did.  So, of course, the first thing we did when we got to Grammy and Grampy's was open my present....

 It was a friendship bracelet - complete with 3 charms - "Special," "Friends Forever," and "Love." I actually wear it quite frequently and will cherish it forever. 

As always, I've been a bit long winded, so as it turns out, there will be a Christmas, Part 3, as I can't very well fit an entire week of Texas in this posting.  Stay tuned!  And, then?  Back to present day (mostly)...

Christmas, Part I

Note -I realize that all of you are completely over the holidays, but let's not forget - not only is this blog meant to well, I don't know what it is really meant to do for everyone else because to say "entertain" would be rather presumptuous.  So, anyway - it is primarily meant to serve as a journal for my kids to look back on some day.  So, without further adieu, I will post about the holidays.

As expected, our holidays (or shall I say our holiday season) did not disappoint.  It started with St. Nick.  First of all - who knew that Wisconsin is one of the only states to actually celebrate the holiday???  NO ONE in New England knows about this.  But, whatever.  We did it.  The kids put their shoes out and sure enough!  St. Nick brought some presents...

That weekend, the kids and I took advantage of an unseasonably warm day in December to go and pick out the Christmas tree.  Josh tends to think that my process in picking out a tree is a bit "lengthy," so I figured I would spare him and pick out the tree with the kids and then have him go back and cut it down (aka, pay the kid working there $5 to cut it down) and bring it home.  While not the most memorable family moment, it works.  Oh - and, it was our first Santa sighting of the season! Alex swore that he wouldn't sit on his lap, but as soon as he saw his sister doing it, it was all over...

The following day, we had our traditional brunch with Santa.  Avery has maintained her "I'm not afraid of Santa because he brings me presents" attitude since last year.  Alex, on the other hand, had decided that once was enough, but then...surprised us all and not only sat on his lap, but smiled while doing it!  That afternoon, we had our traditional tree decorating afternoon - we listened to Christmas Carols while doing so and then had a nice prime rib dinner that night. Thankfully, it was nowhere near as exciting as it was last year.    I strung the lights while standing on 2 legs (which, as it turns out, is much easier than one), the fire remained in the fireplace, all feces ended up in the proper place and most importantly, the prime rib was cooked to perfection!  A perfect way to start what was gearing up to be a great Christmas.  Part deux next...