Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Christmas with the boys!

Well, a Christmas post is long overdue. So much for that New Year's resolution to be better about blogging and taking pictures. I will follow this post with a couple of other new ones in the hopes that I can catch up with our lives over the past month.

Christmas celebrations kicked off this year with a children's Christmas party at Myopia where both boys had fun dressing up, watching a magic show, eating treats and running around with lots of other kids. They did NOT have fun visiting Santa, who was a little bit scary for both Pierce and Teddy. Santa did give Pierce a candy cane and a gift, though, so he laid some strong groundwork for next year's visit.


Next up was Morris family Christmas, where Pierce and Teddy were the only boys among 5 other girl cousins. Pierce ate up hanging out with his older cousins, especially Bea, who at 5, was the closest to him in age. He eagerly followed on her heels running around the house, and exploring the "secret pathway" (a hidden staircase) in Marmie and Papa's house. The highlight for Halsey and me was watching Pierce with a proud look on his face singing carols along with all of the big girls. He led the family in a rousing edition of Deck the Halls--his favorite! It was a jam-packed 3 days of fun and family.

We returned home to collect ourselves for a night before heading back to Manchester for Christmas Eve services and Christmas Day. At the children's service, Pierce brought a horse and a cow for the manger and said "Happy Birthday, Baby Jesus" when He was opened like a present.
Reading "The Night Before Christmas" with Dad
On the way home from church, Halsey was talking to Pierce about how we leave treats for Santa when he visits our house. As he was explaining that we leave cookies and milk for Santa, Pierce interrupts with a firm "No, Daddy, Santa is a grown-up. We leave him cookies and coffee." :)

Christmas day brought out lots of fun for both boys. Pierce wanted to put together and play with every toy he opened--which made for a VERY extended morning of opening gifts. It was so cute to see him begin to understand the idea of Christmas. Teddy loved all of the lights, the colors of the gifts and the crinkly paper! It was a tremendous (but exhausting) first Christmas for him!

We got a surprise visit from Nana and Pops for a week following Christmas, and we all had a great time celebrating Christmas again at our house. The boys got dressed in some New Year's gear, and watched a little bit of the Rose Parade. Pierce loved the instruments in the marching bands and wanted to wear his drum and be a bandleader.

2011 was an amazing year, and we are so grateful for all of the experiences we were able to share as a family, especially the arrival of Teddy in June! Here's to a memorable 2012!

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