Christmas morning

We had a nice peaceful morning, starting at 5:45am, on Christmas morning. The kids were excited to be up, and as Parker told Pete, "Dad, I think Santa just came!" We did far fewer gifts this year, as we bought Disneyland passes instead, and it was wonderful. The kids simply loved unwrapping their treats (many of which were dollar items or toys they already owned that were long forgotten about after being confiscated after not being used properly). It was fun. Parker had been earning quarters for doing chores during the month of December to be able to buy a gift for Austin. He chose to get Austin his favorite plane, Ripslinger. He took a lot of pride in that gift. I like that system and will definitely do it again next year. Austin also got Parker a plane. It was a Planes Christmas!

Pete got me a necklace I had seen but felt too indulgent buying. Lucky me!

Then we went over to Denise's to have a call from Uncle Dan, who's been on his mission for about 16 months. He has lost about 130 pounds in the past two years. We are so proud of his progress and his positive spirit. He is doing great and it was fun to connect.

 Then we went to my parents to open gifts. Such a fun time, except that was the beginning of the flu... my brother had it the week prior, then Parker... then my dad came down with it Christmas day. Poor guy. The boys loved spending time with the great grandparents.

 And watching "Planes."

Then we settled the boys in at the grandparents so we could clean up Christmas at our home and pack for DC.

Christmas catch-up

Pete and I got in late last night from DC, and it was a super fun getaway for the two of us. However... I was so glad to see my little darlings this morning when we went to pick them up from Grammy and Papa's. We got frequent updates about their cuteness and happiness, so we were never worried that they would miss us too much. However, by Saturday night, I wanted those boys in my arms! The reunion this morning was great. They were happy to see us and I love how Parker took such ownership over taking care of Austin in our absence. Warms my heart. Thanks Mom and Dad for letting us get away. It was such a treat and the boys had the time of their lives:) Our trip was fun... minus the stomach flu and not actually attending the wedding we went out for... more on that later.

Back to Christmas. Christmas Eve we have a tradition of spending the morning at an amusement park with the Dahlquist fam, this year was Legoland, and then heading to Yorba Linda to do Lieber Christmas in the afternoon. It's the best of both worlds. The Legoland documentation on my end is limited but Denise took some good pics that I will have to steal.

Onto the Liebers....

I made a Lieber family book with old pictures from several generations of our family. I had asked Grandpa Lieber to recall his life and stories and then compiled it into a book that I gave to all the family. I'm really glad to have this record of our family story and the pics all in one place.

 Grandpa Lieber and his great-grandsons.

 Jenna and Kendall.

 All my aunts and uncles on the Lieber side.

 Opening gifts. The boys were super spoiled.

 Austin got a Mickey Pillow Pet which he thought was the greatest thing ever!

 He loves "Mouse!"

So special to spend the holidays with family. We are so blessed.

Lil cuties...

Hope you all had a great Christmas. Pete and I were off to DC the day after Christmas. So lucky to have my parents keep the boys. THANK YOU! We headed east for his brother's wedding. More details and pics to come. 

There was probably a lot of this...

Pancake making...

 Lounging in jammies....

 And riding Santa's reindeer... Giddyup!

Merry Christmas

Wishing you the very best Christmas!

Twas the night before Christmas...

Excited for Christmas tomorrow... how about you?

Christmas at preschool:)

We went to watch Parker during chapel time at his preschool last week, then came back later to his classroom to watch his class sing a few songs. Amazing.

Here they are in the classroom... that's my little soprano singing and then singing the next verse of "We Wish you a Merry Christmas." Yup... he's mine. 

"Away in a Manger." One of Parker's favorite songs year round. 

And finally... "I'm a little pinetree." 

Little Shepherd boy

Austin and I got to help out with cookie decorating in Parker's class the other day. It was such a treat to see him in action. Austin hates to leave their class every day at drop-off, so he was especially excited to join in with the big kids! Already at the writing table...

 They had shepherd costumes along with baby Jesus in a manger for dramatic play. Parker and Sadie got dressed up and Parker said, "Sadie, I'm Joseph and you're Mary." She responded, "I'm not Mary. I'm a shepherd." "Fine, but shepherds don't hold baby Jesus."

 And then Austin wanted to participate.

Sadie cookie decorating. 

 

And Austin doing his special "Mickey mouse cookie". It pays to have Grammy as the teacher:)

Some of the sweetest sights...

Chloe reading to the boys. Have I mentioned how much they ADORE her?!?!?

 Parker spending time with daddy. He loves their special time together since it is minimal at this time.

Kids Sing performing at Old Poway Park

One of our favorite places to perform with Kids Sing is Old Poway Park, at their Christmas in the park event. I made the mistake last year of having this be our FIRST performance of the season. Yeah, maybe having our largest audience (well over a thousand people) at our first performance...not the best idea. So this year we started with the nursing home and then worked up to this final performance.

The being outside factor makes things a little more challenging (ie... kids get distracted, hard to hear, etc...), but I love the atmosphere. Here's Wee Sing singing. Parker did great, but the two little girls fighting stole the show:)

Clark Griswald as a child...

Have you seen "Christmas Vacation"? We always joke about my dad being like Chevy Chase's character, especially with decorations. Everytime we go over there... more decorations. The kids are in heaven, especially because he lets them be his little helpers. If I imagined Clark Griswald as a toddler, this is probably what he looked like: 

Busy Tuesday

Last week we had a busy Tuesday. In the morning after dropping of Parker at school, Austin and I drove to Encinitas to meet Baby Emma (Carter's new sister). She was only 6 days old. Austin put his hands right out to hold her. He adores babies. When Parker heard her name, he asked if she was going to "come out looking like a dog?" My parent's dog's name is Emma. haha. 

 Then we picked up Park and drove to D'land for a few hours. We spent most of the time at CA Adventure. It was crowded and we only did a few rides, but it was still fun to be there. Then we drove home after the parade.

 I told Parker to nap on the way up... he didn't listen.

 Lovin' the ferris wheel. Another favorite ride is the Buzz Lightyear one with the laser guns.