Christmas 2014

Merry Christmas from us Waelty's!
We had a lovely and overindulgent holiday. The boys had several events leading up to the big day, starting with a visit to Santa and their Holiday Performance at school.

Charlie asked for the Hungry, Hungry Hippo game. Mack asked for a christmas tree. SO yeah, that is not what either of them was set to receive...

...and all the bribery in the world wouldn't of gotten a better picture. You get what you get.

Mack singing Santa Claus is Coming to Town

Charlie singing Toyland and Up on the Rooftop

Mack and his cousin Emmett at their performance. 

On Christmas Eve, we went to a friends house for fabulous food and togetherness. The boys recieved a special phone call from Santa, reminding them to be good at bedtime. We also tracked Santa on the Google Santa Tracker. All of this was super exciting and quite fun to watch and be a part of, this excitement was probably my favorite part of the whole season.

We set out our milk and cookies and they/Mack still refused to take a picture together. SO, here they are separately in their festive pj's awaiting the jolly 'ole elf.

Christmas day was fun and celebratory. The boys opened their gifts, and they were thrilled! Even with the stress of Charlie's last minute switcharoo, all their wishes made it under the tree--or were the tree, in Mack's case. 

We spent the morning outside playing/running off the cinnamon rolls. And the afternoon eating with Nick's family. 

6 outta 8 ain't bad.

All in all, it was a fabulous holiday, but I'm always glad when it is over...

Christmas Cookies

We made our Christmas cookies today. Charlie was sooooo excited and could hardly wait for them to bake up in the oven. We were both licking the icing off our knives throughout the whole decorating process. I am currently nursing a bellyache, while Charlie is bouncing off the walls in his nap.

Want.Need.Wear.Read

I have been dreading writing this blog post. Why? Because my kids have a hundred wants and absolutely no needs. And because they complain/cry/argue/whine all the days long and it makes you want to team up with this mom in Utah.

But, on the contrary, our battles aren't really about "things" but about making good food choices. Anyone else fighting that struggle? Toys are easy to say no to, but processed food is everywhere it tastes SOOO much better than our organic/non-gmo turkey leftovers...

So, here we go for Christmas 2015!

Charlie
Want: Charlie has asked for "little legos with lego men with hats." He is still very much in love with his Duplos but thinks he's old enough for "little legos." I chose this set, because, duh, the hats.
Need: We love all the nice hand-me-downs we receive from friends, BUT he does have a few "church clothes" needs, so he'll be getting this and this. You know, do he doesn't look like a raggamuffin.
Wear: Underwear! I know, the worst.
Read: We've been reading the Magic Tree House books series and he loves the Jack and Annie adventures but I took a cue from this list and chose The Mouse and the Motorcycle and How to Train Your Dragon for him this year.

Mack
Want: Just like his big brother, Mack is pretty enamored with trains. We have one battery operated train (thanks, Sealocks!) but, you know, the fights... This engine seemed like an easy addition to our Brio collection without adding too much clutter.
Need: I am in no rush. I repeat. I am in no rush. BUT I will be prepared for when we transition Mack into a bed. He will get a sheet set and a pillow.
Wear: I must have gone on a buying binge when Charlie turned two, so Mack has all he needs in this department. BUT, he is going to get this coat, to grow into--don't tell my husband.
Read: These magnetic story books are great. We already have two others and Mack is really into them right now.

We'll continue with the bless a child project through a local church, and supporting our local schools through this awesome non-profit.

Cheers and Happy Holidays!!

Years past...

2013

2012

2011

Why?

It's beginning to look a lot like

CHRISTMAS!!

The Elf came to watch over the children...

Charlie is singing/humming/mixing up the lyrics of Christmas songs.

We visited Santa at the North Pole on the Polar Express.

...and PARADES! Small towns have a thing for parades--so we've been to two in a week.

Happenings. RUBPoL.

• Did you see our Christmas card? I think this is my all time favorite (so far). Have I mentioned how much I love receiving holiday cards? It makes me so happy to open the mail everyday and see all our friends and their beautiful/growing families. 

• I'm going to do this Happiness Journal for 2014. It isn't because I'm not happy, I'm actually more fulfilled then I have been in a long while. I just want to prioritize life and I think this will help. 
• We really need rain...like, badly. In the meantime, we are having pretty incredible weather. On Christmas Day is was almost 70(!!!!). It is perfect weather for a boy with a butt rash to air it all out...

• Mack had his first haircut on Friday. He is such a little ham when he wants to be!

• My mom and Bill are in Florida for a few weeks. I've been trying to get a hold of her to chat about a book we are both reading and this is the text response I get...

• We are trying to teach Charlie how to ride a bike and it is (quite possibly) one of the hardest things I've ever done. It's a weird mix of ...patience/anger/compassion/confidence building/anger/annoyance. He can balance, he can peddle, but he can't stop himself (he is used to putting his feet down). He just cries (and screams randomly) the whole time we practice. It's SO FRUSTRATING! He needs to "man up" and get a friggin' grip on life. Should I tell him that? Or should I just bribe him with a cookie?

Christmas

I was recently talking to a neighbor about Christmas tradition(s), or our lack there of... 

You see, Nick and I both have nice memories of Christmas, but nothing we were hell bent on sharing with our kids. It's just SO much. SO.MUCH.EXCESS. So as of today, the only tradition I'm set on, is making less of Christmas. 

...remind me I said that next year.

We went to San Diego for a few days earlier in the week. 

The drive was easy enough.

The kids were hard.

My husband is awesome.

Our friends are saints.

And the weather was perfect.

We drove home late Christmas Eve, just in time to wrap the gifts and wake up to Christmas morning.

Everyone was happy. The end.

Christmas Festivites

We've been doing all the normal stuff to prepare for the holiday, here are the photos/videos to prove it.

Visting Santa on a Train

Visiting the same Santa, on the same train, on a different day. 

Because...why not?

Baking cookies

Decorating cookies

And lastly, the most boring awesome seven minutes you'll ever watch

Want.Need.Wear.Read

photo credit: Jodi Mockabee Photography

This our fourth year of doing our want, need, wear, read gift giving tradition. It is becoming more challenging BUT these boys definitely do not go without AND practicality persists...

If you would like to read more about our simple gift giving tradition or see what we've done in years past, here is 2010, 2011, and 2012.

Charlie
Want: This is tough. He's been telling me he's going to ask Santa for a horse stable. This is a toy that I don't really want in my house. Why? It's a space hog and I don't really see him playing with it. So I'm going to wait this one out and see if he changes his mind in the next few weeks. I'm torn because I don't want him to be disappointed, but it just seems like a silly choice.
Need: He's been on his balance bike for almost two years and has just recently outgrown it...it is time to move him to a two wheeler. We are buying it from a local store, but it is similar to this Specialized. [I know this seems a bit like a "want", but I'm sure this isn't really a change he wants to make. It's essentially a "have to" because it's bike weather year round out here and we're outside a lot.]
Wear: Our kids both needed slippers this year. We have bamboo floors throughout our house and they are always so cold on winter mornings. I ordered these for Charlie from Sorel. I think he'll love them because they are very similar to his daddy's.
Read: We decided to do Christmas books this year. I always loved pulling out our Christmas books, along with our decorations when we were trimming the tree. I hope the boys will pull these books year after year to enjoy during the holiday season. Charlie is getting Christmas Day in the Morning by Pearl S. Buck.

Mack
Want: Mack hasn't really communicated a "want" for anything but to be constantly held from the minute I get home until bedtime. But we chose these fruits and veggies. I know both boys will love these to play "farmer's market" or "grocery store" which we currently play with imaginary food.
Need: Mack's crib bedding (Charlie's old crib bedding) had seen better days. I chose this bumper for its firmness and these crib sheets for their softness.
Wear: Mack is also getting slippers, we choose these cute things from Garnet Hill Kids.
Read: For Mack's holiday book pick, we decided on God Gaves Us Christmas. It's a really great read on the "reason" for the season, without spoiling any Santa related news.

Charlie, will for the first time, be choosing gifts for others. He'll pack a gift box for our church to give out for their Bless a Child Project and choose a small gift to give his brother. I'm pretty sure he won't "get it" at all and walking into that toy store to pick out things for others is going to be tough...but the "reason" is the goal, right?

Cheers and Happy Holiday Season!

Roots. RUBPoL.

I'm back to my SAHM roots this week, thanks to a generous holiday break, courtesy of the Curtis Creek School District. And because I get the opportunity to enjoy my kids nap times just as much as they do...here are some things I've been wanting to blog about.

• I made these fun acorn treats with my students last week. They had so much fun. I'm excited to do these in the weeks leading up to Christmas. Thanks, Mom!
• I'm almost finished with my Christmas shopping. I'll do a want, need, wear, read post at some point this week to share what the boys are getting this year.
• We had family pictures a few weeks ago and I want to share them SO badly! BUT they are going out on our Christmas cards in a few days. I always enjoy seeing photos on cards that I haven't seen on social media, so I hope everyone will be glad that I've refrained.
• We have still have been taking the kiddos swimming. It seems a little crazy, because it's been really cold. BUT it is such a perfect activity to get us out of the house in the afternoon and even if we just swim for 20 minutes, at least their getting exercise. My doctor told me that toddlers should be getting an hour of high intensity (breathing hard) physical activity a day...it is harder to get in than you think. 

• Nick made an awesome batch of hard cider last month. I've been drinking it. There, I said it. It's good. Happy, Nick? He's also got a pretty great IPA on tap too. Good thing I'm on vacation.
• Mack just starting "jumping." It is just about the cutest thing ever. I promise. Waste 8 seconds of your day and enjoy Mack showing us how he jumps.

• We've been reading the Magic Tree House series with Charlie and he does love them. Does anyone have any other good suggestions for beginner chapter books? Possibly with a few more pictures? 
• Have you watched this or read this?
• And, last but not least...I love this. LOVE IT. The gift of not giving a thing.

Our Christmas

We had a fabulous, low-key Christmas here in the foothills. We spent Christmas Eve with all of Nick's family and Christmas morning with our little family of four. I loved the easy morning, in our pajamas, drinking coffee and slowly transitioning to mimosas. I wish every morning could be so pleasurable...