KAGY: Have a holly jolly christmas

We started our holiday season off this Thanksgiving with Thanksgiving at our house. Mark's grandmother and grandfather, aunt and uncle, and mom and dad came to stay with us. My mom, dad and brother also came over and I got a surprise visit from my aunt. It was great fun! We well I woke up the next morning and went shopping at 3 am with my best friend and my mother. We got 90% of our christmas shopping done, but ran into a ton of crazy's along the way.

This Christmas has been a great for teaching about the reason we celebrate. Aiden is supremely interested and loves this time of year just like I do. It was very important to him that we get our christmas tree, and it must be big, and be put in the center of our living room. We have our big tree but it is not in the center of the room. We decorated our house for the first time with christmas lights and let the kids play in the ever growing piles of hickory nut leaves.

I also started an advent calendar this christmas. I started but did not finish. I got somewhat off track. I began by adding a piece of candy in each little door and we would talk about a piece of the christmas story from the kids bible, or read a bible verse. Since then I have gotten a plan from Sandra and plan to start it hardcore next year. The lack of planning started my slackness, but what really got the ball moving was what happened in the wee hours of the first weekend of advent.

Aiden woke up very early and I took him into the living room and put on a movie for him to watch. I got him a cup of milk and his breakfast bar and left him playing cars. Usually Aiden will come back in our room 15 times. The result of this is never going back to sleep but rather just closing your eyes. This is really the story of my life lately, but thats another story. So, this morning he did not do this and I when I woke up at 11:00 I flew out of my bed. I was not worried about Taylor because I know she will stay in bed just as long as you will let her most mornings, but I was relieved when I found Aiden still quietly playing with his trains and cars. That is until he looked up and his mouth was covered in chocolate. Our conversation went something like this:
Me: Aiden, why do you have chocolate all over your face?
Aiden: I ate chocolate
Me: Yes, I know that Aiden, but from where?
Aiden: From the calendar
Me: (running to the calendar and frantically opening every door) you ate it all?!!! All 20 pieces?!
Aiden: I did not eat baby Jesus' birthday.
Me: Does your belly hurt? Do you need to go potty? We don't eat chocolate without asking mommy or daddy!

Needless to say he did not eat much for the rest of the day. So this is how our holiday began.

Friday we went to see Santa. Taylor cried and Aiden had a long talk with the big guy. Aiden ran

right up to him and began telling him that he wanted a rope? for Christmas. He also asked him if he liked chocolate milk. He was a hoot. Santa even chuckled a few times. After Taylor got as far away from Santa as she could she pointed and called out "Santa!" and "hohoho."