Christmas has come and gone...

We, more like I, survived Christmas! It really is crazy with three kids to manage, especially with this being our first Christmas with a full, fledged baby - both boys were nearly a year old for their first Christmas. We had lots of fun with family and we were able to keep things pretty low-key.

Christmas eve day my dad came over to celebrate and open gifts with us. When my dad asked the night before what he should bring to eat for lunch I honestly hadn't thought about it so I asked the boys where they promptly replied "Cheeseburgers and Macaroni". I told my dad we'd think about it as this didn't seem the ideal christmas eve feast. Well the boys were pretty insistent, so they got their wish and Papa (my dad) brought them McDonald's, obviously they were thrilled! And the rest of us just snacked and enjoyed the delight - and a fry or two - from the boys. We had a nice couple of hours opening presents and playing with the new gifts. The boys received books, Michigan Pj's, lincoln logs, games, and some clothes. And their "big gift" was a full set of instruments and power tools! The boys had a blast with both. The power tool set came with a drill, chain saw, saber saw, circular saw, blow torch, jack hammer, and safety goggles and helmet, everything you could need except ear plugs or aspirin to survive all the noise! The instruments were a recorder, triangle, moroccas, tamborine, and all the other little noise makers I remember from my grade school days. We got everyone to grab an instrumentand we all rocked out together as a band, it was pretty funny! Rylan got a new outfit, a stuffed animal doll, and some new books, but I think she most enjoyed watching the boys act crazy and excited with their new gifts.

After my dad left we enjoyed a quiet evening. The boys and I made chocolate chip cookies to put out for Santa. Chris finished making his homemade meatballs and sauce for all of us to eat for dinner. We had the fire going all day and night, it was very warm and cozy with the Christmas spirit everywhere! At bedtime the boys got to read "The night before Christmas" with their Grandman (Chris's dad) narrating the story, they loved it! Of course they also were full of energy and super excited for Christmas to come. We tried to explain that if they didn't go to sleep then Santa might not stop with gifts, after a little arguing they seemed to buy it and finally went to sleep. Once the boys and Rylan were in bed it was time for Chris and I to wrap presents and stuff stockings. Surprisingly we were able to finish by 10pm, I thought for sure it would take us until midnight at least! After setting everything up and putting the presents in their places, Chris and I enjoyed some nice quiet time by the fire with a drink and watched a show, a great way to end Christmas Eve.

Jake so excited for Christmas he put socks on his hands - strange boy!

Christmas day was wonderful, and VERY long. Brenden crawled into bed with me and Chris around 2am, Rylan woke up to eat around 3:30am, and Jake came in our room sometime around 6am saying "he was too excited and couldn't sleep anymore!"

The boys up bright and early - well not bright since it was still dark outside

We first opened stockings before breakfast since the boys were so excited. I thought this was a bit of an off year for me in the stocking department, but everyone seemed to enjoy everything they got. Poor Rylan only had three things in her stocking, but was very pleased with the $0.80 plastic keys!lol. The boys got the a few small toys, socks, underwear, an ornament, and some new markers and paper for coloring.

After we made a nice breakfast - waffles, eggs, bacon, cinnamon rolls, and orange juice. Its so rare these days for all of us to sit down to a nice breakfast, it was really great! After breakfast it was on to the presents! Everyone got exactly what they asked for and so, so more!

Santa, grandma and grandman, and our family were quite generous for Christmas this year. Chris's parents sent lots of gifts, some from them and some from "santa". Chris and I had some gifts from us and some from "santa" as well. The kids all got clothes, books, and movies. Rylan got a new doll especially for teething and has been thoroughly enjoying it. Brenden got a new race track and Jake got a marble track as their "big" gifts. The boys and Chris also received survival packs from Santa - really Grandma and Grandman - that were a big hit. The kids enjoyed all of their gifts and so did Chris and I. Somehow I managed to not take a single picture, but Chris got lots on video.

The rest of the day we played, relaxed, talked with family and friends, and just enjoyed being together. We decided not to go anywhere and the boys had a nice dinner the two of them and Chris and I had a nice dinner the two of us after all the kids were asleep. It was a lovely Christmas!

The Mantle with all of our wonderful Christmas cards!

Thanks to everyone who sent one, we love seeing everyone and it makes the house feel so festive!

Christmas with Mana

My mom came into town from December 8th to the 18th. While she was home we celebrated Christmas with her and my Aunt Steph, Uncle Don, and Bamma (My mom's mom). My mom and brother first did Christmas at my Aunt's house and had dinner and when they were all done, everyone came over to our house for dessert and presents. For dessert I made my mom's homemade Chocolate mousse pie, it was just as good as I remember it from my younger days! Jake was a little disappointed, he was expecting a cake not a pie, but quickly got over it when he saw all of the presents to open.

Pictures of my Mom and Bamma before they came over:

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As usual, everyone went overboard on gifts. They were all very thoughtful and did much more than we needed. The boys got new Batman Pj's, some clothes, a cardboard Rocket Ship playhouse, legos, and much much more. But the big hit were the Leap Frog Leapster Explorer. They are a hand-held game system for kids where the games are to help with different types of learning, i.e. math, spelling, language, etc. The boys have been playing with them non-stop, they even went through one set of batteries in less than a week! I'm hoping they'll be good for long car rides and plane trips.

The boys in their new Pj's

Brenden investigating the present before opening

Brenden playing with his new Woody - Wow that sounds bad...lol

The night of this celebration was the same night as our first big snowfall here in Michigan so it took a while for everyone to arrive. By the time everyone made it here it was nearly bedtime for Rylan. She was able to visit with everyone for a bit and she got to show off her big smile while we changed into Pj's, but she didn't get to "open" any presents. Once I got her down to bed, Chris and I opened her presents for her. The next morning she learned that she had received lots of cute new outfits and a new play mat that made animal sounds, as you can imagine, she was thrilled:-)

Rylan with Me, Bamma, and my Mom

Rylan getting ready for bed - her favorite time as you can see by the big smiles

We had a great time. It was so nice to have everyone over. Even though it wasn't actually Christmas day, the Christmas spirit was everywhere!

This is what happens...

My mom is in town for the next week and a half to celebrate Christmas with our family. And when Mana is home in the winter it means UofM Basketball games for the boys. Both boys went with my mom and brother to the game tonight and here are the pictures my brother sent me tonight from the game....apparently they had a little trouble with the law :-)

"It wasn't us officer"

"Let's see what you've got there, son"

"Looks like I'm gonna have to call this one in"

"It was me, I did it! Please, take me instead!"

Looks like all trouble could be forgotten with a silly picture of Brenden

Looks like it was quite the fun time! Can't wait to hear all about it :-)

Rolling Over and Teething

So Rylan has a new trick, she can roll over. The trouble is she is only doing it in her sleep. She sleeps on her stomach - don't judge, it works for us - and she has been rolling from stomach to back in the middle of the night and waking herself up. And she's not happy about it, neither am I for that matter. She did this for the first time over Thanksgiving when we were in Cleveland. There was one night she must have done it every 1/2 hour for about 2 1/2 hours, needless to say, there wasn't a lot of sleep for me or Chris that night. Since Thanksgiving, she has only done it a handful of nights. It seems to be on nights where something is bugging her, gas or teething - we'll get to that in a minute. I've been working with her to learn to roll from back to stomach so she can get herself back to sleep, but so far no luck. And really she hasn't rolled from stomach to back yet while she's been awake. She's getting pretty close, she's able to get her legs up and roll to her side, she's just not able to complete the turn, but hopefully it will be coming soon.

In the first week of all of this accidental rolling over it was clear that it was happening because something was bugging her. She'd have her butt way up in the air in her sleep and her arms tucked up under her and at her mouth and then she'd get her arm stuck and plop she was on her back. It seemed like it was just gas or something not sitting right in her, but it has become clear that teething seems to be part of it as well.

She has become the drool queen lately. Just today I could see the pool of drool in her mouth and eventually on me. She has been chewing her hands like mad and generally when you give her a pacifier she only wants to chew on it. She'll chew on just about anything you put in front of her. Jake started showing signs of teething at 2 months old so I'm not surprised that its starting with Rylan. We did break out the tylenol last week when you could see she was uncomfortable and within minutes she was a happy little girl again. I'm pretty sure I'll be stocking up on massive amounts of Tylenol and Orajel in the near future.

Some pictures from the pool today of her nonstop finger chewing

Christmas!

Christmas time is here! I have always loved Christmas, and since becoming a mom I have especially enjoyed decorating the house. I discovered in my first Christmas with Jake that being the mom at Christmas is a lot of work, and often times very tiring. And the little joys like seeing your child's face when they open their presents comes and goes so quickly. It's all very draining, but I have found that getting the house decorated early allows me to enjoy it all a lot more and makes it last longer.

We don't go too crazy around here. Chris usually puts a few lights up outside, we do a Christmas tree, we have a nutcracker advent calendar, and I hang stockings on the mantle over the fireplace. We have a few other knickknacks around the house, and of course, the Elf on the Shelf. We also started a tradition last year that's from my childhood where the kids look for evidence the elves were in the house the night before and left a gift, usually a new decoration like Christmas themed window stickers or a new ornament on the tree.

Last night we finished our decorating. The house looks fabulous and the boys are already fighting over who's turn it is to put out the Nutcracker on the advent calendar. It's looking to be another good Christmas at the Eby house, that is if Jake doesn't open all of his presents before Christmas like he did last year :-)

Stockings on the mantle over the fireplace

Our Elf hanging out on the Mantle

Reindeer my grandfather (Pops) made

The Nutcracker Advent Calender

The Tree!