Christmas 2010

On Christmas Eve, the kids had to look in the playroom to hunt for their first Christmas presents...which are always matching Christmas PJs. Our PJ picture came out really well again. This is definitely one of my favorite pictures of the year! The kids were really excited to open their first gifts...especially Eli. After he opened the gift, he smiled and said, "It's ja-jamas!" It was the cutest thing and I wasn't able to capture it right when he said it, so I had to just have him repeat it for me because it was too darn cute.

Christmas Day was so much fun this year. Now that Eli is older, he totally gets it. On Christmas morning, we don't even know what time the kids got up. They were up really early and snuck downstairs to "ooh and ahhh" at all the presents under the tree. Elina went through and read all the gift tags and when she got to one that was for Eli, he yelled out loud, "It's fo' me!" J heard this (since she was sleeping in the playroom downstairs) and she woke up laughing. She heard Elina tell Eli to be quiet so that they wouldn't wake people up. It was so cute. I was sad that I didn't have the energy to wake myself up before the kids. I wanted to see their facial expressions as they came down the stairs...but alas, I am not a morning person so that will probably never happen in this lifetime.

Then Eli went over to where we put Santa's cookies and milk and Eli said, "Santa ate them!" Then I recorded some cute stuff he said about "silly Santa"...


Elina left Santa a cute letter this year. She wrote, "We've been good. Santa surprise me. Eli wants Leo [from Little Einsteins]. We made cookies for you." Elina actually didn't know what to ask Santa for this year. She gave it a lot of thought and she wanted a real pet mouse or pet rat, but I told her that Santa doesn't really like to give pets to little kids. So she couldn't come up with anything else....that's why she told Santa to just surprise her. Good idea!

Since my parents are not early risers, we always have to wait until a "more reasonable" hour to wake them up so that we can all open presents together. The kids have been really good about this. We eat a small breakfast and then the kids can usually get Ah-Gong and Ah-Ma around 9:30am. If we're lucky, we're opening gifts by 10am....if we're lucky. So to pass the time a bit, we had the kids sing one of their favorite Christmas songs this season--"Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays" by N'Sync. That's right, N'Sync. We aren't ashamed to say that it's one of our faves at the house (we know you like it, too!).


The kids got lots of great gifts. Elina's favorite had to be the Chatimal that B and I got for her. She just loves mice, rats, and hamsters. She really has a thing for rodents this year. Anyway, the Chatimal is a hamster that records your voice and then repeats it at 4 random speeds and tones--fast, high-pitched, low-pitched, or slow. We all thought this was the funniest thing ever. Look at the sheer joy in her face after she saw what it was. Priceless! To follow in the rodent theme, Ah-Gong and Ah-Ma got Elina a Calico Critters playhouse complete with a Milky White Mouse Family. Ahhhh, heaven! Elina also really liked the Mindquest (an electronic learning toy) that J got her. Elina loves to learn and memorize new facts, so this was another perfect gift for her.

We got Eli a wooden Melissa and Doug Car Carrier Truck and Thomas' 2 coaches, Annie and Clarabel. Some favorites for Eli were the Little Einsteins' Pat Pat Rocket (from Ah-Gong and Ah-Ma) and the Leapfrog Scribble and Write (from J). Eli also got some awesome light-up triceratops slippers from J and his face was just as priceless as Elina's above, but in all the mayhem none of us were prepared with the video camera or camera. It's a bummer because his jaw just dropped and he was completely speechless. I love Christmas with kids!

We got Evie a nice taggie dog, but she has shows little interest in it so far. She likes her new toys ok, but what she really liked was all the crinkly wrapping paper everywhere. She totally enjoyed herself sitting there!

After gifts we had a new breakfast casserole that I made and then we took our annual wrapping paper pictures...these are always a favorite! I love the picture of Elina and Eli throwing the wrapping paper up in the air...look at those faces!
Then everyone just relaxed and explored their new gifts. Elina and Eli were totally absorbed in the Mindquest and the Scribble and Write. Wow! For Christmas dinner we did an Asian hot pot (huo guo), where there's a pot of simmering stock/soup on a tabletop heating element and lots of raw or frozen food placed around it. Whatever you feel like eating, you toss into the soup, let it cook, and then you take the food out, dip it in some sauce and eat it. It's delicious and fun! This year the heating element my parents brought from home was having technical difficulties. We almost weren't able to do the hot pot, but then B busted out our camping propane stove and saved the day! It looked strange with the wind guards, but you gotta do what you gotta do to have hot pot on Christmas Day!
The next day the kids and the grandparents made a huge batch of homemade dumplings--delicious! (I love that Eli and Ah-Gong are matching in their undershirts!)And the kids and I finally got around to decorating our cake trains.
What a yummy and fun holiday! We hope everyone had very Merry Christmas, like we did!

Holiday Fun

I've been so behind on our holiday posts this year. With Eli's birthday, visitors, and bronchitis/upper respiratory infections for all, it's been hard to keep up. This post will fill you in on holiday things we've done and I'll have to find the time to write a Christmas Day post soon.

Here are some of the things we did this holiday season. Many of them were activities in our advent calendar that I had mentioned before. Each day we'd pick an activity from the advent calendar pockets and tape it to the wall.

The kids made Christmas trees using paint and forks. Who knew you could paint with fork tines? The kids had a blast doing this...I think mainly because they got to use forks. The kids made Santa with their handprints and Rudolph with their hands and feet. (Can you tell that I'm a sucker for handprint/footprint crafts?) I especially liked the Rudolph ones because Eli learned to draw "real" eyes. Usually he just draws a quick dot as his eyes and they can be very difficult to see because they are TINY. But this time I showed him how to make them look bigger and he did it really well. I was so proud of him! Elina made her reindeer eyes fancy because her's had eyeshadow on. Wow!

This year Elina thought that making paper snowflakes was the coolest thing ever. With the help of this site, we managed to make lots of pretty snowflakes. Afterwards, Elina would color them...and, boy, did she color them! Look at the attention to detail!

The kids painted and decorated wooden Christmas trees from The Container Store (J's new place of employment...we LOVE her discount). Can you tell which one is Elina's? I know I previously said that Eli is getting better at crafts, but his attention span is still short. He will do a few things and then just walk away..."I done." Whereas, Elina will sit there until some sort of complex pattern is completely finished.

We made salt dough ornaments for the tree. The kids LOVED doing this....even Evie played with the dough. When it was time to paint the ornaments, somehow Eli's all ended up being the same color...a brownish-blackish hue. I think this is because he mixed all his paint up and didn't rinse his paintbrush in between, but he was still proud of his work. The funny thing is, these ornaments didn't even end up on the tree! I know, I'm so lame. But the kids didn't mind...I think the whole process was the fun part...rolling out the dough, using cookie cutters, and painting. Thank goodness they didn't mind my laziness.

Elina and I attended her class Christmas party at her friend's house. It was lots of fun. Last year KT and I hosted the party at my house, so I was glad to relax at this year's party. It's the biggest party of the year and a lot of work...but I have to admit that KT and I both loved doing it though. Santa made an appearance and Elina was a little giddy. She was so surprised when he walked through the door and when it was her turn to sit on his lap, she couldn't stop smiling. The teachers also gave each child their own dry erase board...Elina was in heaven!

We went to see Christmas lights 2 times this year. The first time wasn't as successful because we drove around a neighborhood we didn't know as well. So we were just driving around aimlessly, which is always fun. So the second time we went to our usual spot at Windcrest. This year we went a little later in December and it was WAY better. More cars were out, but there were more lights than last year. The kids had a blast! I think the pajamas and hot cocoa make it extra exciting. Now whenever it gets dark, Eli always asks if we can go see lights, drink hot cocoa, and eat "marshmows." (In the picture to the right, you can see that Evie is already done with the lights...she was NOT a happy camper.)

We made sugar cookies for Santa. I have to admit that I don't like it when the kids decorate the cookies for Santa. Because it means that we have to eat ALL THAT ICING! Eli just squeezed tons of icing on his cookies. And Elina wanted to use lots of icing to decorate. I kept suggesting simple sugar sprinkles or just a few dots of icing, but they could not be swayed. I know we don't HAVE to eat the cookies, but I can't just throw them away! Boy, were they sweet!

We made treats for friends. I saw a recipe for Cinnamon Twists using frozen puff pastry as the base with a total prep time of 10 minutes--SOLD! I knew that this was the recipe for us this year! I had the kids help me (pre-bronchitis) and they especially loved brushing on the egg and sprinkling the cinnamon sugar. Even though the recipe was simple, the twists were delicious. Lots of people asked me for the recipe and I'm almost embarrassed to give it out because it was SO easy. Simple things can really taste better!

J painted Elina's toes and fingernails in a holiday pattern. Elina loved it! Then I let her paint my toenails the same way. She thought it was so much fun!

We also had 2 dinner picnics by the Christmas tree. We would turn the lights low so that the Christmas lights were bright, setup a blanket picnic and eat next to the tree. The kids thought that this was awesome. Then we'd end the night with a special dessert and a Christmas show or movie. This year's favorites were Frosty the Snowman and some of the old (I mean, old) episodes of Mickey Christmas stuff. Their favorite was "On Ice" which had all the characters ice skating. Pluto fell a lot and it really made them crack up!

It's definitely been a busy month of activities...but it's been so much fun. Now that Eli is older, I love watching them both enjoy the holiday season. I was proud of us this year though because we had our Christmas tree and outdoor Christmas lights up the Sunday and Monday after Thanksgiving. That's unheard of for us. The kids had a blast decorating the tree...but as you can see, then most of the ornaments end up on the bottom part of the tree. I tried shifting things around, but honestly, the ornaments were changing spots every day. The kids constantly moved them around. And then Elina started hanging her play jewelry on the tree. In this picture,the kids are showing off their new ornaments for the tree this year. And here's a video of them telling me what they picked (I LOVE how Eli says Tyrannosaurus Rex!)--

What a fun holiday season!

A Fun Weekend...With Bronchitis on the Side

This past weekend B's parents came in for a short visit. The kids had a great time with them...shopping, going to the zoo, and just playing.


Right before they arrived Eli caught bronchitis, so when they arrived he was still recovering. The first day he was sick, it was terrible. He barely said a word for several hours and he kept throwing up from coughing so hard. He couldn't eat or drink a thing and all he could do was watch TV and sleep. It was so sad. After a doctor's visit, he had his 1st dose of antibiotics followed by a 2 hour nap and he already looked like a new boy! He was talking, playing, and eating. We were so relieved.

Then the following day I lost my voice and started getting really sick....a bad cough, congestion, non-stop runny nose, sinus pressure, and just sheer exhaustion. It was awful. Unfortunately, I was sick like that the whole time B's parents were in town, so I was not much of a hostess. Then on the 5th day of being sick (the day after B's parents left), I went to the doctor and I was told that I had bronchitis, too. After my first dose of antibiotics I already felt tons better...but what an awful 10 days leading up to Christmas!

Despite all the bouts with bronchitis, the kids still had a wonderful time with their grandparents! Elina even drew this adorable picture of her and her Halahbuji (Korean grandpa) when we went out for dinner...quite a resemblance, right?
We sure had a wonderful time!

Gingerbread Competition

Every year we do a gingerbread house with those pre-made boxed sets. It's quick, it's easy. This year we decided to change things up a little by making our own with graham crackers, buttercream icing, and different candy. It's actually harder than it looks! Who knew??I have to admit that I am not a tenacious person when it comes to things like this. Plus, when there's a crying baby in the room, it makes me even less interested in doing something like this. I didn't have great ideas for my house and it wasn't holding up really well, so I literally just gave up. B's had WAY more potential than mine (you know B and his competitive mind), so I made a little shed, dusted my hands off, and threw in the towel. That's right...just like that. I planned the whole thing, did all the shopping for it, got everyone excited about it...and completely gave up. Sorry, folks, I just didn't have it in me. I mean, my competitors were all coming up with great ideas! I knew I didn't have a chance.

B made a modern house. J and Elina worked together to make a fancy house. Elina couldn't help with the graham cracker part, but she had tons of fun decorating the house with fandy and icing.

And J's friend, JH, came over to join the festivities and she attached a garage to her house! I'm telling you, I had no chance...especially since my roof collapsed. That was the last straw, so I opted to make a little shed. I told everyone that mine was the optional shed you could get added onto any of the other houses. Actually, I don't know if any of the other houses would even want my shed. Take a look--
Even though I didn't do very well, we all had lots of fun. My shed made for good conversation and lots of laughter (maybe a little too much laughter) . So in the end, it was worth it! We will definitely be doing this again next year!

Holiday Traditions Project

One of Elina's recent assignments was to make a holiday traditions poster and to present it to the class. Elina wanted to draw all the pictures for the poster herself (rather than just printing up real pictures), so we had to limit the project to 5 traditions. I knew that if we did any more than that she would lose interest after awhile. The 5 traditions she chose were:

1. The Advent Storybook. This book follows Benjamin Bear as he follows the star to Bethlehem to see Baby Jesus. Beginning on December 1st, we read one story to the kids until Christmas Day. We started this last year and this year Elina has really gotten into it. The kids love Benjamin Bear.

2. Matching Christmas PJs. On Christmas Eve, the kids always open their first gifts, which are matching Christmas PJs. Like I've said before, I'm a big sucker for PJs. This year is even better because I got to get 3 matching PJs! Can't wait for the picture!

3. Advent Calendar. We have an Advent calendar that has pockets for each day and you move this wooden Christmas tree into a different pocket each day. This year I've filled each pocket with a Christmas activity so that we can do something festive every day. This has actually been the hardest thing to keep up with because things come up and plans change and sometimes there aren't enough hours in a day. But so far this has been Elina's all-time favorite thing because she loves to do a new activity each day. I'll have to post more about our Advent activities later because they have actually been really fun.

4. Christmas Ornaments. Every year the kids get to go pick out their own ornaments for the tree. I love this tradition because the ornaments represent what they really like at that moment. Last year Elina picked Ariel at Disneyworld and Eli got a Thomas ornament. This year Elina picked a squirrel (she really wanted a mouse but there were no mice to be found) and Eli picked a T-Rex ornament. Then each year, as a family, we buy a new ornament from a vacation that we've taken. Last year we got one from Disneyworld and this year we chose one from Philadelphia.

5. Christmas Lights. Every year we take the kids in their PJs to go look at Christmas lights. This year we added hot cocoa, marshmallows, and cookies into the mix. The most exciting part for them is getting out of their seats and standing by the open windows. They just love not being buckled. (I know this isn't super safe, but we wait until we get into a neighborhood before we let them out of their seats and we drive slowly around to look at lights.)

Elina and I spent Saturday morning drawing, gluing, and decorating the poster. The last thing left to do was to color in the pictures, but by then Elina told me, "Mommy, I don't want to work on this for the rest of the day." So we called it quits and finished up Sunday. Her poster came out really well and we were so proud of her hard work.

Elina was the first one to present and she was a little nervous. The kids get to use the pointer and this makes it even more exciting. Elina (and a lot of her classmates) all stood right in front of their posters, talking to the poster while pointing at it with the pointer. This made it difficult to hear. We would tell the kids to move to the side, but they would still wander back to the same spot and block the poster. It was pretty amusing.

I only got to video some of it because Elina was speaking so quietly at the poster. But it was still super cute. The part the kids like best is at the end when they get to call on their friends if they have questions. Elina felt so important!

I was so proud of Elina because we worked on what she was going to say right before school. She was so thorough and remembered most of what we had discussed. She did such a great job!