Christmas with our Little Loves

There's something sort of cliche about even mentioning the magic of the Christmas season when you have children. But I never knew the joy that they could bring an already joyful time of year. 

Little things like sparkly lights, first snowfalls, and the hand motions to Christmas songs got Charlotte all giddy and sweet, and I just ate it up. We had a very busy 4 days, and by the end we all crashed. Charlotte is either becoming a terrible 2 (her birthday is in 7 days!) or she's exhausted (even though she sleeps like Rip VanWinkle) or she's fighting a bug. I really hope it's a bug, because there's hope that she'll be back to her old self in no time. 

But overall, it went great, and we all had a lot of fun.

Self timed forced family photo. The best kind.

Note: open things like trains and play kitchens after the boring stuff like books.

ah! I've been wanting this gift all of my life!

Charlotte and her cousin John (4 months older) making each other hysterical. 

Two new babies this year!

My husband knows me so well.

Baking cookies

My mom searched the whole internet and surprised me with this little gem.
if you need  refresher, click here.

All tuckered out. She was not sleeping, but she did not want to be bothered.

Another Christmas is behind us, and that means it's on to Charlotte's birthday.
Are the twos as terrible as they say or do you think it's moved to the threes?

Santa, Clowns, and other Terrors

Today we took the girls to a special Christmas brunch hosted by the club my in laws are members of. There was a special craft, a clown, and Santa!
Knowing very well how Charlotte reacts to a giant bearded man shouting "HO HO HO", we've been talking him up a lot the last several days. How nice he is, how he brings you presents, and that he's watching your every move via Gus, his scout elf.
She seems to get excited when "See-ta" is on TV, or if she sees a picture of him somewhere, but in real life it's another story.
Santa came marching into the dining room today and Charlotte was literally trembling. She was so, so scared. I'm not one of those moms who thinks it's hilarious when my kid is terrified. I won't shove her in Santa's lap just so I can get a picture of her crying. I don't try to baby her either, but I just don't think it's necessary for her to be horrified when she need not be.

Then that bastard clown came around and she started to freak out again. I just looked at him, shook my head, and mouthed "noooo." and off he went. You could hear children crying throughout the dining room as Santa and DeeJay the Clown made their rounds. It really was quite comical when you think of it, but it's no fun when your kid is finally eating a plate full of food for the first time in days, and then she's so scared she won't swallow her broccoli. I kept smelling her butt to see if she pooped, but it was just her disgusting chewed broccoli mixed with tears and snot breath. Such a magical day.

But really, in all honesty, it was a lot of fun. I took Charlotte into the room where Santa was greeting kids, and we just watched for a while. She saw that he was giving them gifts (the members gave ideas for the kids so they all got a gift picked out especially for them), and once the line was down, we walked up together and talked to him. She even said hi.

so, I hear you have presents.

Lena didn't cry about sleep ALL day. Even at bedtime. Santa is magic.

Today Charlotte learned that if a scary man gives you a present, you no longer need to be scared. terrible message.

We get dressed up for a family picture and this is the best one we get. 

This evening before Charlotte went to bed we talked about her day, and she recalled that Santa gave her a gift (Minnie Mouse and Daisy Duck bath squirt toys) and I realized I should probably teach her about the real meaning of Christmas, since we keep missing church and whatnot. We sang a few Christmas songs, and I taught her the motions to Away in a Manger. I know it sounds really corny, but it was a really sweet ending to the day. Especially since she had just thrown a tantrum of epic proportions about changing into her pajamas. 

Did you believe in Santa growing up, or when did you find out it was a big fat giant hoax?