Christmas 2013 Recap: Part 2

Christmas Eve we all slept wonderfully. I think everyone was so beat from all of the activities the previous day, we had to wake both kids up which is practically unheard of. At 7:30, we got the camera and video ready and went int o Ryan's room to get him up. He was not too thrilled about us bombarding him.

We took him outside to see if the reindeer ate all of the food and lo and behold, there was the trampoline staring him in the face. He was not too impressed. He reacted very differently than we were hoping for and basically implied he knew he was getting one and so that was that. He looked at it for a moment then decided he wanted to go inside and eat breakfast. Didn't want to get in, jump, etc.

I think he was more excited (at the time) about the few little gifts Santa brought him - clothes, books, DVDs, games, you know super boring stuff!

Then, being the giver he is, he wanted us to open our gifts and the gifts he made us. He really is just so sweet and is such a natural giver.

 The door hanger he made for us

About an hour later, we decided to wake up B man (around 8:30 which never.ever.ever. happens). He also was not amused and very out of it.

We took him to see his chairs and clothes Santa brought him (we left the toys for the grandparents to give him as we already have soooo many!)

 He just sat in the chair messing with his stuff, acting like the King for a solid 10 minutes. It was pretty funny.

 Loved his new hat

After playing for a bit, Ryan then decided it was time to jump on the trampoline. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pics because I was feeding B breakfast, but we have some of it captured on video. He quickly fell in love and can only talk about going out there and jumping now. We have it located pretty close to the back of our house in hopes he will go out there and jump on his own, but so far, he gets bored by himself after about 2-3 minutes of jumping.

We headed over to GiGi's for a Christmas breakfast and game of Mexican Train. I didn't take any pics, but it was very nice to just relax. We took the boys up to a park close by to play and Ryan rode his bike around the block some. Around lunchtime, we headed over to my parent's for Christmas dinner.

B found my mom's glasses and looked very intellectual posing for pics and playing with an iPhone.

We opened some gifts first.

 New hat for the ski trip!

B was loving the box, but once it was opened, I think he loved the gift more. The boys have been at the doctor's office a lot these days and they always seem to get obsessed with those big play cubes. So far, this has been the biggest hit from Christmas. Of course, Ryan thinks it is his too.

CoCo and her boys

 Another attempt at a family pic.

We then stuffed our faces with tenderloin and a lot of yummy food and headed home. We were pretty tired after nearly 48 hours of celebrations, but it was so much fun and more than anything I loved experiencing this time of year with Ryan because he really understands now and was seriously in Heaven for the past month. Just as we were almost drowning in gifts and boxes, we went and met Paco for lunch this past weekend to celebrate. I love this pic of he and Ryan walking together.

We came home with a bunch of new loot for the boys, but this seems to be the favorite so far. Those chairs that fold out into little beds. It's really Bradley's, but like with most gifts, Ryan just kind of assumes ownership. They really do love each other so much (for now), I can't get enough.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!

Christmas 2013 Recap: Part 1

It was so nice to actually be able to celebrate Christmas this year with our family, outside of our house, and not with a 5 day old baby! Wes and I were off of work all week and just able to spend a lot of time with family and friends which was so much fun. We started the celebrations the Sunday before Christmas at my Aunt Vivian's house for her annual Enchilada Christmas dinner. My cousin, Alli, lives in Chicago with two precious girls and they were in town along with my cousins Kim and Rob and their two boys. It was fun for all of our kids to play together and spend time with one another.

Ryan with his second cousins, Jackson and Will

 B and his godmother, Alissa

 Poppy messing with B

 Poppy and Will playing

I love spending time with all of my cousins, aunts, and uncles on the Hicks side. It was always so much fun growing up with a huge family. On Monday, my two besties and their boys and hubbys came over to play for a while. We aren't able to get together too often, this may have been on of the last times we were all together. It was taken 6 months ago.

Crazy how much they grow up in just 6 months!!

The boys were behind the camera trying to make the babies laugh, but apparently the boys did not find it amusing at all, but we did!! Love these girls and their boys so much. I hope they get to be as close as we are one day!

I ordered this cute little advent calendar from PBK this year and this is has been by far the biggest hit of the season around our house. He serious looked forward to moving the candy cane everyday. He even told my mom one day when she asked if he would want to spend the night and he told her that he couldn't because he needed to move the candy cane in the morning. He just loves to stand and stare at it and it always makes him so giddy about Christmas just being near it!

Peaking!

On Christmas Eve, we usually go to my parent's for lunch to spend time with my mom's side of the family. Unfortunately, my grandmother has been pretty ill the past few weeks, so we decided to postpone until she feels better. We still went over there for a Los Cucos lunch and kind of celebrated B's birthday since my family was sick for the party! It was next to impossible to try and get these boys to sit still and take a pic in front of the tree. We tried our, my parent's, and GiGi's.

 First time CoCo has seen B in over 3 weeks!

 Opening his birthday gift

 cute boy

After lunch and some relaxation, we headed to GiGi's for a yummy Christmas dinner and lots of gifts to open!

B has not been a huge fan of opening the gifts. Luckily, he has a very willing brother to take care of that job for him!

 This pic cracks me up, with his leg all propped up, pretending to read the gift tag :) 3 going on 13

Ryan's big gift from GiGi was a new bike. It's about time he learned to ride one, so it was a perfect gift. He figured it out in a matter of seconds and is already a pro!

B loves his grandmas. As much as he prefers me 99% of the time, if either of them are in the room, he just grunts and yells and throws himself at them until they will hold him. It's pretty cute.

 Love these boys!

 Sweet B and Allie

 Allie and GiGi

We feasted on salmon and filets, enjoyed good company, and then headed home pooped after a long day. Ryan was so excited for Santa to come. We put out the reindeer food in the backyard that he had made at school, put out cookies and milk for Santa, and read T'was the Night before Christmas. We tucked him in bed and almost an hour later, he was still not asleep and was calling for me asking if Santa had come yet.

Then, it was time for my little elf to get to work. I didn't want to take any pics in fear that somehow Ryan would find them. He already has soooooo many questions about the logistics of Santa, the elves, reindeer, etc. So I thought better of having pictures stored on my phone or computer. Wes was putting together the trampoline in the freezing cold in the backyard for a while. Luckily, he started the night before because it took about 3.5 hours in total to construct this beast. We finished setting everything up and headed to bed for another long day of celebrations ahead. To be continued.....