Christmas 2015

A very Merry Christmas to you!  Our household was abuzz with the Christmas Spirit for the entire month of December.  The kids anxiously awaited the arrival of our friendly Elf, named Elfy, who always happens to appear on December 1st bearing a note from the big man himself, Santa.  This year Owen eagerly but ever-so-carefully removed the note from Elfy's hands and read it out loud for all to hear.  In the letter, Santa welcomed the newest little Slominski to the household and reminded the kids that while presents are fun, Jesus is the real reason for the season.  Little Miss Rose missed all the excitement as she was still fast asleep.

After welcoming Elfy back, the boys made a bee-line to the Christmas treasure chest.  For the past few years, their Great Nana and Popi Dineen, along with the help of Great-Aunt Donna and Uncle Jason, have given the kids a treasure chest filled with little bags of goodies.

Each day leading up to Christmas, a new bag is opened.  The kids love opening the bags each morning and discovering what fun surprise is waiting for them inside the treasure chest.  The only hard part is keeping them from opening all the bags at once!!

In early December, Cole was in his first Christmas pageant at our church.  He was one of the stable animals - a chicken!  He did a great job on stage in front of a packed church.

The Christmas tree eventually went up a few weeks before the big day.  I didn't have my usual eager helpers this year.  They were more than willing to let me do the majority of the work while they supervised...

The next day the kids decorated the tree.  Or at least the bottom half of it.  The boys started during nap time since putting ornaments on the tree was a bit challenging with a very curious 1 year old who preferred to take them off.

The boys were in charge of the nativity this year.  They both ever so carefully arranged the ceramic figurines to make the perfect nativity scene.  And then Owen rearranged all of his little brother's work.  He's very particular when it comes to the nativity!

Unfortunately, the boys hard work decorating the the tree was futile with our little niña on the loose.  She pulled off one ornament after another, so the ornaments were moved up the tree just out of arms reach.

Of course Rose wasn't the only one wreaking havoc on our tree.  As per usual, William was up the tree before we were even done decorating.

Not all the Christmas decorations were off limits.  Rose got a big kick out of the Peanuts Gang rocking back and forth to music while riding on a sleigh.  It was a gift from her Great Nana Schatz from a few years ago.

On December 7th we made lanterns to celebrate el Día de las Velitas (the Day of the Candles).  The holiday is celebrated in Colombia to honor the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.  The kids had fun coloring and cutting paper to make their own personalized paper lanterns.

Throughout the month, the kids would wake up excited each morning to find Elfy - that sneaky Elf would move someplace new every night so the kids could play hide-n-seek with him.  It never took long for him to be found, even when Elfy thought he hid in a really good spot.

On Christmas Eve, we spent the day at Great Nana and Popi Dineen's house.  The festivities started with the kids racing to see who would be the first to find the pickle hidden in the Christmas Tree.  Owen with his eagle eyes found the pickle.  It's much harder to find than one would think - the green color of the pickle blends right into the tree.  All the kids received a stuffed animal as their pickle prize.

Soon it was time for the much anticipated opening of gifts.  The kids loved ripping open the wrapping paper to see what surprise was hidden within.

After a delicious Italian meal and many yummy goodies (Rose especially liked the chocolate!), we headed home so Rose could get her beauty rest before Christmas mass.

We usually attend the 4:00 mass, but not wanting to intrude upon Rose's nap time, we went to the 6:00 mass instead.  We got dressed up in our finest duds for mass.  The boys even put on their suits without much of a fuss.  We showed up a few minutes late (as always) and were still able to find a seat!  Something unheard of at the 4:00 mass.  

Before hitting the hay, the boys sprinkled some "reindeer food" (a.k.a. oatmeal with colored sprinkles) outside so the reindeer could have a snack while Santa delivered the gifts.  

Inside Owen had taken care of El Niño Jesus, Santa and Elfy, leaving them cookies and gifts that he made with his new Crayola Melt N Mold Factory (the number 1 requested item on his Christmas list).

Christmas morning came early, especially for Santa who was waiting for all three kiddos to be sound asleep before delivering the goods.  By the time Santa got downstairs to eat the cookies Owen had left out, they were already gone, devoured by one of our mischievous felines.  Of course Owen didn't need to know that.  All he saw Christmas morning were the cookie crumbs left behind by "Santa".

Christmas morning Owen wasted no time running to see what El Niño Jesus had left at his bedroom door, and Cole was quick to follow.  Of course our Sleeping Beauty was still resting while the boys looked in excitement at their new gifts.

Two and 1/2 hours later, Rose had risen!  She was a very happy well-rested girl.

She came walking out of her room wondering what all the excitement was about...

"What's going on?"

"El Niño Jesus brought this for me?!?"

"It's mine...all mine."

With Rose finally up, it was time to see what Santa had left in their stockings.  

Owen had already sneaked a peek inside his stocking.  I can't blame him - what 8 year old can wait 2 1/2 hours to see what Santa had brought for him?  But he didn't see what was in the way bottom of his stocking, thus, the excitement on his face.

While the kids played with their new gadgets from Santa, I got to work making homemade cinnamon rolls, a first for me.  They turned out so well that we nearly ate the whole batch!  YUM!

Rose's Christmas ornament arrived a few days before Christmas, but I forgot to have her hang it on the tree.  Luckily I remembered just in time!  It's an adorable ornament of a family of 5 polar bears.  She thought it was pretty cute too.  

After lunch, the kids asked to open the rest of their presents.  They are very patient (or more likely easily distracted!)

Cole, our car lover, got an arcade-type car that plugs into the tv.  He spent all day driving his car!

Owen, our nature explorer, got a microscope and slides.  His favorite slides were the ones with bug parts.  He is all boy!

Our little Rose got her very first Cabbage Patch Kid (who dances to the song "I Feel Good") and a doll stroller.  She immediately hugged her new baby, carried it right over to the stroller and off they went!

For Christmas Dinner, we decided to splurge with crab legs, homemade potato wedges and caramelized carrots.  I had never made crab legs before.  Turns out the rarely used giant stock pot and steamer set that we got as a wedding gift can steam up a batch of crab perfectly.  Lucky for me, since I did all the work cooking, Shane got to be the one to do all the cracking.  He couldn't keep up with the kids.  They kept asking for more!

What a wonderful first Christmas as a family of 5!  We are so blessed to have this little peanut in our family!

A few days later we celebrated Christmas again with Nana Bev and Popi Jerry.  They made the long drive all the way from North Dakota for a visit.  And just like the Wise Men, they came bearing gifts...

When Owen peeked inside his box, he literally jumped for joy!  It was packed full of Crayola stuff - JUST what he had wanted!

The kids had a blast playing with their toys.  

Nana Bev and Popi Jerry kept the kiddos entertained the next couple days while Shane and I ran out on an emergency car shopping expedition.  The Saturn was having problems yet again so we needed a replacement ASAP. After testing out several different options, we finally bit the bullet on New Years Eve and bought an Enclave.  (I'm not quite ready for a mini-van just yet!)  

We celebrated New Year's Eve at home with the kids.  In keeping with tradition, we partied like rock stars popping open a bottle of sparkling juice.  We always celebrate on New Years Eve with a fancy bottle of carbonated juice.  

The boys have never been fans of carbonation.  It's quite fun watching them drink it and seeing their expressions.  They took a few sips but it was too "spicy" for them. 

But Miss Rose, despite the look on her face from the feeling of the bubbles in her mouth, kept asking for more juice.  She thought it was pretty cool that she got to drink out of a big kid glass too.

"How exciting! A big kid cup!"

"How do you drink out of this?"

"Oh my!  That tastes WEIRD!!"

"Gimme more!"

"That's the good stuff..."

The kids stayed up way past their bedtime and we counted down the New Year at 10:00 pm.  Our household was fast asleep when the clock struck midnight, ending what turned out to be an amazing year - the year Rose became a part of our family.  2015 marked the end of our long wait and the beginning of our new journey as a family of five!  

Here's looking forward to what adventures lie ahead in 2016.  Happy New Year!