Santa Clause Is Coming to Town

We decided that Santa was going to come on Christmas Eve morning this year. We had thought that maybe he could actually come on Christmas Day this year since we were home, but I don't think the kids would have waited until I got home from work on Christmas Day morning. To prevent me missing out on seeing the Santa excitement we choose to have him come a day early. The night before we all read the Christmas story in our pajamas, put out Christmas cookies and milk for Santa and carrots for the reindeer. The kids also made a mad dash to get their rooms picked up since Santa said he was going to check their rooms.

Getting all set up for Santa. Next year we will have to make room for one more stocking by the fireplace.

The kids did a great job this year and actually slept in until 6:30 instead of the usual 5am on the day Santa comes. Caleb got his Lego City Mine Set which was exactly what he had asked for.

Bryce was also very excited with his Lego Castle.

Abby had given Santa kind of a vague answer as to what she wanted so he brought her a dolly stroller and then some fun stocking stuffers. She was thrilled. She was also happy to see that Santa had listened and brought her new baby sister a little toy and bottles.

Caleb was too excited to put his Lego's down.

Robb was off for the whole week so we spent the day playing with our toys and putting together massive amounts of Lego's. This Christmas was different in the fact that no one day felt like Christmas but it was a great weeks worth of Christmases.

 Since we were home this year we actually got to go to our church for Christmas Eve service, which is something that we have never got to do before. We have heard that the 7:00 service is really busy so we got all dressed up and went a little early. We ended up sitting for a long time before the service and the kids did great. At one point when all the kids were just sitting quietly and we were all listening to the Christmas music I had a thought.....next year we will be sitting here with an 11 month old. Wow that is going to be life changing. I leaned over and shared this with Robb and he also seemed to be slightly shocked by that realization.

The church service was beautiful and we really enjoyed it. After church all the kids were very tired from a long busy day and we went home to get everyone into bed. On the way home I found out that Jenny, one of my long time friends, had finally delivered her baby. I had been awaiting the news all day and since I was scheduled to work in the NICU Christmas Eve night I felt like being there with Jenny's baby made it worth it. A little after 9:00 I got the call from work that it would be helpful if I could come a little early due to the fact that they were going to fly Jenny's baby to Omaha. I got the call from Jenny minutes later. I told Robb goodbye and Merry Christmas and headed into work. I got there just in time to say goodbye to Jenny, Bob and baby Evey. It always breaks my heart to work on a holiday but at least I didn't miss out on too much with the family.

 

Christmas with the Lutz's

After Abby had a rough night and was up from 1-5 sick I was sure that her and I would be missing church that day, but she woke up pretty chipper. I still wasn't convinced that she was better, so I made her eat a really bland breakfast and kept up with the Motrin. When it was about an hour before church she was running around like a maniac and was telling me every few minutes that she was hungry so I decided we would chance it. She seemed fine during church and for the most part she was fine all day. A little tired but she didn't sleep much.

We all went to church that morning and then the Beckman's came back to the house to celebrate Christmas. I tried to tell Abby not to hug on her cousins since she was sick but of course that didn't happen. Brook and her were inseparable. The girls looked beautiful in their "Frozen" inspired dresses from the movie that Grandma had made.

This is probably the only picture of these 3 that I have ever gotten. They are all busy guys! It is really cute now that AJ is getting a little older because he thinks it is really fun to play with the boys and Bryce and Caleb think he is pretty fun to play with also.

The girls sitting by Grandma Hansen opening their gifts.

Grandma had made matching dresses for their American Girl Dolls.

During gift opening we had to keep slowing Bryce and Caleb down. I wasn't getting to see what they got because they were burning through their gifts so fast. They were each thrilled with new Lego sets, Frisbee golf, clothes that were Andy's school colors, and football gear.

Bryce and his highly sought after Jabba the Hut set.

Grandpa helping the girls find their gifts.

Abby got her IPod that she has been asking for since she could talk. She was one very excited little girl.

I got a very cool diaper bag for baby #4. I don't know how Bob and Susie found such a perfect diaper bag because I have been looking and hadn't found one that I like, but I love this one. I also got  some very cool new dishes.

I feel bad that I didn't get a picture of Robb with his gift. He was about as hard to keep track of as the boys though. He got a new Green Egg Grill which will be fun for him to experiment with and master.

Of course Grandma Hansen didn't forget Baby sister. She made her a beautiful quilt.

We opened gifts and played with them for awhile and then enjoyed a delicious late lunch. After lunch the kids were all a little tired so they sat down to watch one of the new movies they got. Robb also fell asleep for about 2 hours on the couch which is a little out of character for him. I was a little worried that Abby had passed on her flu bug and I was right. When Robb got up to pack stuff up to go home he was clammy and sweaty and not feeling very well. To make matters worse Bryce pulled me to the side telling me he had to talk to me in the bedroom. When we got in there he started to cry saying he didn't feel good and I grabbed Abby's bucket from beside the bed just seconds too late. Poor kid almost never throws up so he never knows when it is coming. It was now down to just Caleb and I that weren't sick. I felt horrible that we had been with family all weekend and had probably just spread our germs to countless people. We packed up our stuff as fast as we could, said our goodbyes and got out of there before anyone else got sick.

Bryce did okay on the ride home and slept most of the way. By this time Abby seemed to be pretty much over whatever she had and I drove half way since Robb wasn't feeling the best. About an hour from home Caleb took off his shirt in the car and started crying. He was complaining of feeling hot and he had a headache. Caleb has always been our pukey child and he knew what was coming and wanted the bucket. Poor guy was devastated that he was going to be sick during Christmas break. Needless to say with 4 out of the 5 of us sick it was a LONG ride back to Lincoln. Luckily, Caleb didn't end up getting sick in the car and really didn't feel too bad the next morning. Thank goodness that it seemed to be a really short lived bug and surprisingly enough I never did end up getting it which was good because at this point in my pregnancy I assume it wouldn't have taken much before I would have ended up in the hospital for dehydration.

We had a fun Christmas with everyone and I am really hoping that we didn't spread our germs to everyone that we came into contact with!

Christmas 2013

Celebrating with Grandma Jody

On Saturday night we celebrated with Grandma Jody. It was a small get together with just Grandma and our family. My brother and Courtney are hosting Christmas on Christmas Eve and most people are going to that but since I have to work we celebrated a little earlier.

Abby was very excited to get a craft kit!

The boys are checking out their Scrabble Junior game.

My mom got them tornado machines which were a big hit!

Abby also got a baby set which she couldn't wait to bust into.

We had a delicious meal and had a relaxing evening watching the kids play with their toys and chatting. Towards the end of the evening Abby wasn't really acting herself but I thought she was just tired. By the time we got back to the Lutz's that night she was a mess! She was sniffling, crying and saying she didn't feel good! Usually she sleeps in Grandma and Grandpa's room but we decided to keep her with us, which turned out to be a good decision. She cried herself to sleep and then woke up again at 1 sobbing. Robb tried to sleep with her on the recliner but only mom would do. I think I have a 6th sense about when they are going to vomit. Probably because despite being a nurse and having to deal with that frequently I HATE vomit! It still makes me gag, especially when I am pregnant. So poor girl ended up throwing up once and staying up half the night. I felt SO bad for her. At one point between sobs she asked if she could still open presents if she was sick.

Christmas with Grandpa Steve and Grandma Cindy

This Christmas our plans were a little different than they are normally. Usually we are in Norfolk for Christmas Eve and Christmas but this year is the dreaded year that that I have to work Christmas Eve. Instead we went to Norfolk the weekend before to celebrate with our families and will then just have quiet Christmas with just our family on Christmas Eve and Christmas. On Saturday we went to my Dad and Cindy's house to celebrate with them along with Steph and Draven.

All the kids anxiously awaited opening gifts the entire day.

The kids were pretty excited! Grandpa Steve and Grandma Cindy usually give them rolls of coins which they think is really cool. This year they even got some money that they had never seen before. My dad gave each kid a $2 bill, half dollars and Susan B Anthony coins. They had fun learning about the money that was new to them and sorting the rolls of coins.

The kids also got their yearly pillowcases that Aunt Steph made. She has made them pillowcases since the boys were 2. Each year they get some input on what kind of material they want and look forward to their new pillowcase each year. This year Bryce got Star Wars, Caleb got Hot Wheels and Abby got Strawberry Shortcake. They were very excited!

We all had a good time and it was nice that everyone was so accommodating so we could see everyone for Christmas.

Seeing Santa

We went to see Santa at Southpointe Mall the weekend before Christmas. As usual it was an insanely long line but the kids really wanted to give Santa their list. We really need to find a Santa at a place that isn't SO busy but for this year this guy worked.
Bryce asked for a Lego Castle. Caleb asked for Lego City stuff and Abby who we thought would freeze up and not tell him anything did a good job. She told him that she wanted baby stuff, a pink guitar and then at the last minute she added that she wanted bottles for her new baby sister. That part was pretty sweet. Santa also told them to have their rooms clean and to get along with each other until Christmas. Thanks Santa! Best of all, we didn't get any last minute surprises on what they wanted from Santa this year like we did last year. I think we are all set.

First Snow

A couple weeks ago we got our first snow. The kids were pretty excited to play in it. The boys have finally reached the age where they can be a little bit helpful when it comes to scooping. Robb offered them each $1.00 if they would clear the driveway. It wasn't perfect but they did an okay job and Robb was thrilled that he didn't have to go outside.

Abby even got in on the scooping for about 30 seconds.

O Christmas Tree

Getting the Christmas tree this year wasn't much of a fun family experience like we would have liked it to be. We were in Norfolk the weekend after Thanksgiving, which is usually when we end up getting the tree. Our other option was to pick one out at the flower shop Monday night after Robb got home from work and before the place closed. Which meant we had 15 minutes to pick out and pay for a tree. We made a mad dash there and found one of the bigger trees and paid for it and put it on the car and we headed home.

The decorating had to wait until the next night. By the time we go the tree home and in the stand it was time for supper and bedtime. The kids always love unpacking the ornaments. They have each accumulated quite the collection of ornaments and have fun getting them out each year.

This year the boys had convinced us to get them a bigger tree. They had been sharing a little 4 foot tree for a couple years now and felt like since there was 2 of them that they needed a tree twice that size. They were pretty proud of their tree.

Abby had fun decorating her little pink tree and she also reminded us that since she would be sharing with the baby next year she would probably need a bigger tree too.

This is where I found Caleb later that night. So cute! This used to be one of my favorite things to do as a kid.