December Bliss!

Holy Smokes! This month has flown by. I can't believe Christmas Eve is here. This has definitely been the most fun and busy Christmas season of my life. I just wanted to get a head start at documenting some of it before tomorrow. So here goes.

I really really wanted to make this month special for Hudson because he is at such a fun age. I figured with me back at work that I would have to be pretty organized or I would not be able to get everything done that we wanted to. So what I did back in November was make a list of all that activities that I wanted to do, and try to pick something for each day.

Now that the month is coming to an end, I can say that it was a big help. We were able to do so many things and keep and start some really fun traditions. It has been so much fun having Hudson understand so much and get into the Christmas Spirit. One  thing that we did at the beginning of the month was buy a Nativity set for the boys to play with. I feel really compelled to make sure my boys know the true meaning of Christmas. Having the Nativity Set around all month has been a great daily reminder for my boys, and has been a fun teaching tool so that they can learn about what happened on the first Christmas night.

This s the nativity set we bought the boys! They have loved playing with it!

 Sherwood Park Nativity Pageant.Each year one way that we have been able to incorporate the Nativity into our Christmas, and start the Christmas season off right is to go to the Sherwood Park Nativity Pageant. This year we were ably to time everything perfectly and hear our cousin Jaime sing with her choir. It is an incredible display and collection of beautiful nativities from all over the world. I hope it is something that continues for years.  

Christmas Cards.I love Christmas Cards. It is so fun to go out to the mailbox and get mail from people that you only hear from a few times a year. Last year I purchased Photoshop Elements. I have tried to figure out a few things with it, with not a lot of success. I have watched several tutorials online, but when it came to making a Christmas Card, I had a friend came over (who is a PS guru), and she gave me more insight in 30 minutes that I had figured out on my own in 10 months-ha! I had a lot of fun putting our card together, and learned as lot. I am excited because I found a class that starts in the New Year on PSE, so hopefully I will really start to figure it out. My sister Leanne asked me to make her Card too, and I used some free templates I found at beckyhiggins.com and just personalized it. It turned out so cute(way cuter than mine) and then I made some wrap around labels. Love it! It is always a lot of work getting the cards out, but I hope to keep doing them each year.  

A card for Hudson's nursery teachers.

My sister's cute family.

Decorating the Tree. So, when it comes to decorating the tree I am a self proclaimed Tree Nazi. I know, I know, it should be about the kids. This year my solution to keeping my tree pretty was to let the boys go crazy and decorate the upstairs tree on their own. Shane and I busted out the Boney M's Christmas and really sat back and watched the little guys go crazy. I have to say watching the boys decorate might have been the greatest moment of the whole Christmas season for me. It really was magical. I really did not anticipate that Cooper would be so in to it, but he totally was. He was NOT being left out at all. When the boys were done they just sat back and looked at the tree with the lights off in the room. It was so adorable.

Letter to Santa. After last year, when we received such a personal letter from Santa, I decided to do the same and send another letter off to the north pole. Hudson was funny writing it. He was kind of silly, but it was still really cute. We made a special trip out to the mailbox sent it on it's way. As Hudson has seen Christmas commercials he has written addendum letters to include toys and treats the he forgot to ask for. This whole letter business has actually really stressed Hudson out when he has wanted new toys. One night after we went out shopping Hudson was bawling and his faith in Santa's abilities was very diminished He did not think.that Santa would be able to make the toy he asked for in time, and with the same details as he saw in the store.(Thank goodness it was something I had already purchased-too bad it is a gift for Cooper-ha!)I am just so excited to see how Hudson reacts to Christmas morning!

Hudson with his letter for Santa

 Santa Photo. One tradition we were able to continue was to head out to the mall to meet Santa. We were so lucky to have such a cute and kind Santa. Shane loved visiting Santa and hearing about how it had taken him 18 months to grow his real beard. Hudson was so cute with Santa. He was star struck! After the shock wore off his main concern was obtaining a candy cane! The night that we went I guess they were giving the first 50 customers a free photo, but I did not know. When I went to pay for the picture, the kid said I didn't have to pay. When I asked him why, to which he responded" it was because I was awesome". I couldn't believe it. I was sooooo excited. I kept bragging to Shane about how I got us a free picture because I was awesome. On the way out of the mall I saw the sign stating the promotion and didn't feel too awesome-haha. It was pretty funny. This years picture was definitely better than last years!

 Elf on the Shelf! Holy, so much fun. Charlie was gifted to us by Gram and Papa, on December 6th. Since that night, Shane and I have had a total blast hiding Charlie and watching Hudson laugh and cackle about where he has shown up each morning. Every morning the first thing Hudson does is run down and find his elf. I have to say I have loved having Charlie help me manipulate Hudson's behavior. One day Hudson even tricked me into breaking the rules and touching Charlie. I would recommend Elf on the Shelf to anyone! What a fun gift/tradition I can't wait to do each year!

Gingerbread House/Mess. Love every minute of it, but sheesh is it ever messy. Hudson and I always decorate a gingerbread house togetehr. More candy always ends up in our bellies and on the floor, but it is honestly one of my favorite things to do with Hudson. Maybe it is because both of us LOVE candy so much-wink!! This year Hudson was especially helpful, and then has proceeded to beg me for candy each day since we assembled it.

Man, I love this kid!!

Trying to keep his paws off!



Stunning:)

 Well these are some of the things that we have been able to do this year. There is so much more to write about, but I will have to post some more after Christmas. I have presents to go prepare for my littles right now. At this special time, I am just so grateful for my family and for the memories we are able to make with one another. It is a privelege to be able to teach my sweet kids about the birth of our Savior! I hope that they will gain a wonderful relationship with Christ and that they will truly always feel the special spirit of Christmas!