Our Family Christmas

Christmas is always such a fun time of year. Sometimes the true meaning can get lost in all the hustle and bustle of the season. We have tried over the past couple years to make sure and tell the kids about the true meaning of Christmas, but some things are difficult to understand when you are just 2 and 3 years old. Easy to understand at that age is all the sights, sounds, smells and fun that comes with the season. We like to decorate the whole house inside and out. This year the kids got to help out with some of the decorating.

I decorated the outside of the house in early November because I wanted to get them all out while the weather was still rather warm. The kids enjoyed watching me from inside the window.

The kids loved decorating the Christmas trees. We had seven total trees that we decorated and placed around the house.

Landon was so proud of his decorating. He liked placing his all together in bunches. We had to go behind him the whole time and move a few of his ornaments around.

We got a picture made with the big Christmas tree in downtown Lexington before heading over to watch the Christmas parade.

Waiting with the little ones for the parade to start. The kids got so many compliments on their hats that lit up.

Our adventures at Southern Lights at the Horse Park. This is always a hit with the kids. I think their favorite parts of the night are riding on the train and getting some fresh cooked kettle corn.

Every year we have made ornaments for the grandparents and for ourselves of the kids footprints. This time we waited a little late and I needed to get them started so I made them one night by myself with the kids. It was frustrating because the kids were more interested in playing with the flour and making a mess than helping with the task at hand.

I think that I did pretty good turning the kids feet into Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.

We also took the kids up to Cincinnati Zoo for the Festival of Lights. It was a really neat experience, but the nice weather made for a really huge crowd.

Every year since the children have been born we have celebrated with just us and the kids for a family Christmas. Since the kids don't have any idea about what day of the week or the date we just pick a day in December and tell the kids that it is Christmas.

Brinley is usually the one that wakes up early, so we went ahead and woke Landon up to come down and open presents. Here the kids are pictured with a gifts that Jennifer and I got them.

Brinley only asked Santa for one thing this year. So, Santa got her exactly what she asked for - a sled! There is also the yearly debate in our household if Santa wraps gifts or not. This year Santa didn't wrap just like when I was a child.

The kids with their sleds from Santa.

The kids wanted to sit in their sleds while they opened up their gifts from mommy and daddy. We got them a little game each and some pajamas and socks. 

Mommy opening her gifts from the kids and me. She was excited about this shell cracker because she always has trouble getting the meat out of her crab legs.

The kids helping me open my gifts from them and mommy.

I will definitely be wearing this to some of the remaining games this season. 

I just couldn't help myself when I saw this one day at the store. Golfing has become one of my favorite things to do and the kids are always sad when I leave to go play without them. So, next year I will try taking one of them out with me on occasion to give them a feel of the game. Who knows, maybe they will love this game too!

We had one really special gift for the kids this year and it is the gift that keeps on giving all year long. Jennifer and I debated for a long time about this gift, but in the end we thought it would be a lot of fun and exciting for the kids. We had a box with a note in it along with their magic bands from last year and some Disney gift cards. That's right we are taking the kids back to Disney World!

Brinley didn't have a clue what this said, so I read it to her and she was so excited. She asked if we were going right then. I had to break the news to her, but explained that it wouldn't be too much longer before we went back to Mickey's house. Jennifer and I decided on season passes to Disney for the family because the kids had such a great experience last year. We also wanted to see it at different times of the year and because our work schedules are more flexible than most we decided why not. This is also the last full year that we could do something like this before Brinley starts school.

We all had a great Christmas celebrating with the most important people in my life. I am so happy to be Brinley and Landon's dad and I want nothing more than to make them happy. Sometimes we spoil them, but they make life so much more fun for Jennifer and me. We are excited to see what a year at Disney is like and I will be sure to share many pictures and stories about it all. Thanks for reading and God bless!