More from Christmas Eve

After we left Aunt Dot's house, we headed home to get ready for bed and the much anticipated Santa visit.  Abram had a meltdown before we could get home.  We think it was because of his selective hearing, in which he heard us say that Santa couldn't bring presents until you go to sleep.  He didn't hear the until you go to sleep part and spent the better part of the next hour crying and saying "Santa no bring me presents."  We finally convince him that Santa would bring him presents and that it would be really nice for us to give something to Santa first.  So after many tears and reassurances, we set out to fix plates of cookies for Santa.  Katie of course got in on the act.

Here they are fixing Santa's special plates of cookies.

 

  

Then we had to very carefully carry the cookies and milk downstairs to sit by the fireplace.

 

Daddy helped pour the special glasses of milk, so Santa wouldn't be thirsty.

 

Katie got a little distracted, during the process, markers always get her attention.

 

The specially given plates of cookies and glasses of milk for a Santa who is going to be full if he eats that many cookies at once.

We all climbed back upstairs got into our pjs and spent the next several hours trying to go to sleep.  Katie fell right asleep, but Abram stayed up until about 11:30 calling Santa and singing Jingle Bells.

Christmas Eve

After we made cookies, we decided to run off a little energy so maybe the kids would sleep some for Santa's visit.  We got outside and played some before it got too cold and we had to come back in and get ready for church.

A family shot (minus Mommy taking the picture).

 

Katie showing her great posing style and proud of her Christmas decorations.

 

Abram admiring the wonder of the season.

After the Christmas Eve Candelight Service, which we all survived with eyebrows and hair in tact, we went to Aunt Dot's for a little Christmas Eve pizza.

Aunt Dot and Katie got their groove on with some Christmas music.

 

Abram helped Grandma Reid with some very serious project.

 

Then Katie moved into the kitchen for some more dancing and showing off her pretty, green Christmas dress (it spun really neat!)

 

And a little Christmas present warm up.

Cookies for Santa

 

Yes, Abram lined them up like this.  He did all 24 this way and then we had to move them around to fit on the plate so it wasn't one big blob.

Sharing the Spirit

Not only did we fill the house with Christmas spirit, we had it overflowing into other houses of those we loved.  We visited Papa Ted to help him put up his tree. 

Abram and Papa Ted got started with the base of the tree.

 

Then Katie added some limbs with the help of David.

 

Abram put on the top layer, with a little help from David.

 

Katie also got a little distracted by a little piece of tinsel stuck on her hand and then...

 

helped Uncle Jeremy put the angel on top.

 

If you move your head really fast to make your eyes blurry, you'll see the finished product.

Oh, Christmas Tree

Right after Thanksgiving, we knew it was time for the tree to go up (see I told you we were behind).  We also knew that noone had the energy to keep two very active toddlers away from it 24  hours a day, so we made it all kid friendly.

The tree, pre-decorations.  As you can see Dean is checking for approval.

 

Abram adding some ornaments

 

As usual, Katie doing the same thing her big brother does.
 

The final version, as it lasted for a day.  If you look closely, you can see exactly how tall the kids are by the fact that all the ornaments are in the exact same spot.  Many of them even on the same branch.

After we got the tree up and admired it for a minute, the redecorating began.  Katie especially enjoyed taking off each ornament and moving it to a different spot.  For a while, there was even a bucket sitting beside the tree for her to put all the ornaments in that she would take off.  Now the majority of the decorations are on the top 3/4s of the tree and the entertainment value has worn off.  They still enjoy looking at it and moving things around every now and then.  It is so much fun to watch the kids with their awe and wonderment of everything that is Christmas.  They bring new meaning to the season.

Christmas Spirit

So we have been getting into the spirit for a while around here but because things have been so busy, we haven't done real great sharing our adventures.  We are going to try to make up for it over the next two weeks. 
One Saturday morning, we decided to go have some Christmas pictures taken.  When we got home, Mommy decided to try out some candid shots herself.  Noone cooperated but at least you can see some ways the Fletchers show their spirit.

 

 Abram and Katie in their red and green admiring the ski tree.  Yes, it is made out of old snow skis left laying around our house.

  

 Katie showing her favorite light.

  

 Abram trying to "cheese" for the camera, but as always also on the move.

 

Then he climbed the stairs to show our tree, garland, and snowman on the porch.

Hope each of you is in the holiday spirit!

Happy 3rd Birthday Abram

Abram's 3rd birthday was so much fun.  He really knew what was going on this year and was so excited.  As you can see from the many pictures he celebrated in style and for several days.  Enjoy! 

Birthday Wishes

Abram got this great birthday card in the mail the other day. Check out the video to see just how much they enjoyed it.

Thanks Aunt Cynthia for the entertainment. Think this one might get warn out!

Two "Cool" Kids

OK, so it is a cheesy title but I just couldn't resist and don't worry we didn't walk away for them to be able to close the lids on themselves or anything like that.

Thanksgiving Stop #2

After a quick nap, we made our way to Papaw and GramT's house for some more yummy food and lots more things to be thankful for.

When we got there, Papaw was hard at work on another fabulous turkeys.

Abram, Lindsey, and Debbie had to do a little supervision to make sure Papaw was doing things right.

Sitting still didn't last long and Lindsey was the first victim of the cutest "Come play with me, please."

Then it was some sword fighting with GramT.

After dinner everyone sat around, trying to digest the great food and have a little time to catch up.

Except Daddy who found a moment when the kids were entertained to sneak in his Thanksgiving nap.

After a wonderful visit, it was time for pjs and saying good bye.

Check back tomorrow for our final stop.

Thanksgiving Stop #1

Our first stop of the day was at Daddy's uncle Jerry's house.  There were lots of cousins there to play with, lots of very yummy food, but best of all were all the reminders of the many things we have to be thankful for.

Abram and Katie had their first experience at the kids' table (don't worry Mommy and Daddy were very close).

 

As you can see all the wonderful family we got to spend time with.

 

After lunch there was lots of time to play with our favorite cousins.

 

Abram and Cousin David found a special hide out.

 

The weather was so nice, we got to work off some of that food playing outside.  Uncle Marc helped Abram work his off.

 

Uncle Marc helping the kids build "rock bunnies" (don't ask!)

 

Abram being a big boy exploring Uncle Jerry's pond and bench.

 

Katie is trying to encourage Uncle Jerry's grapevines to grow by giving their supports a little shake.

Check back tomorrow to see our next stop.