Christmas 2014

Oh Holy Busy! Once Thanksgiving came and went it was a sprint to the finish line for 2014. We had events and activities every weekend plus of course if one's job description includes the words "retail" and "e-commerce" then one is guaranteed to put in a few extra hours in hot pursuit of the Holiday Dollar.

just buy whatever i ask for. i'm worth it.

We made our way to our favorite little tree lot to find just the right one for this year's festivities. It wasn't horribly cold but with three in tow Matt and I narrowed it down to our winner in record time. Then it was back home to settle in and decorate.

tree lot selfie

i was on the floor snapping away as fast i could to capture these three, and then k baby just turned around and looked straight at me. i died. this absolutely takes a spot in my most favorite pics of the wee maios.

the kindergartener's first item on her christmas list at school is "a diymend ring". someone taught that girl right.

We went to the annual Santa Brunch and got to visit with Mr. and Mrs. Claus, then take in what I'll call a magic show but was more like some very curious dude who could stretch balloons. Oh Elm Grove, you charmer. 

as close as i got to all 3 looking at the camera

make room on the lap for k baby! everyone did a great job of telling santa what they wanted.

kiera realizes something has gone terribly wrong

this little dude

gg takes such good care of watching out for little bro

ruffle butt 2014

ruffle butt 2008. and looking quite youthful i might add ::sigh::

Christmas Eve was finally upon us. We had all the grandparents here for Chinese and got ready to welcome our jolly guest and his 8 companions.

distributing the reindeer food (so much for a white christmas)

we *might* be a tad jacked up. of course gg looks wild but look at the magic in lukie's eyes in the background. this one, i swear.

cookies. check. carrots. check.

one last gaze at the tree before hitting the hay

helping kiek-a-boo wind down for the night

a vision of my little sugarplums, having a sleepover in lukie's room

The big morning came and whaddya know, there were MOUNDS of presents from Santa, from grandparents, and from each other. The bigs were incredibly patient in waiting for Kiera to get up and at 'em so they could all go downstairs at once. One of the reasons I love this house: we have the perfect staircase for Christmas morning.

sweet baby jebus, where to start?

baby's first christmas

exchanging gifts for each other.

yahoo! santa brought some new dress up clothes

every year there's a major hit. 2014 was the year of the light saber.

believe it or not the green one was meant for genevieve...

isn't he special

gg's "oh my goooooooooosh!" gift: a lalaloopsy oven (formerly known as ez bake). that is luke doing his booty dance. on christmas.

huzzah! crusty, questionably baked strawberry cake for all!

this is all matt and i need

It was a great day and by early afternoon we had the roast beast going, the shrapnel of that morning's chaos all packed away, and the kids happily playing with their new loot. Then I watched as my mom answered her phone. Which was weird because we had already talked with Grant, so who could it be? Here's what I heard:
"Uh-huh. Yes. Heidi Martin. No, nothing's wrong. Yes, Kurtis Drive. No, everything's fine. Oh my gosh I'm so sorry. No, no need to send a car. Ok, thanks."

Me: You pocket-dialed 911 didn't you?
Grandma H: Yes, this stupid phone!
Me: You know they're sending a squad right?
GH: Sarah, I told them I'm fine. Besides they don't know where we are.
Me: Hey kids! Who wants to meet a police officer?!?!?

------two minutes later------

Me: Merry Christmas, Officer. C'mon in. May I offer you a beverage?

everyone, meet Officer Pipp. gg was thrilled because she had met him during a girl scout trip to the PD. and here is GH showing him the real culprit: an ancient cell phone.

and of course the kids had to show off their toys. naturally i facebooked this immediately and one commenter called it the best thing she had read all day. and to all a good night!