Christmas 2013- Ignore the year date on the camera...it is 2013 Christmas;)

I know, I'm "late" on posting Christmas- but I was waiting to take a picture of my snowflakes and I just went about my days without taking it. So I finally took the picture and put it on the computer so here it is:
Snowflakes!

I really, really, REALLY wanted so bad a nativity set to be my one decoration for this year to focus on Christ and the beauty of what Christmas is about. BUT....sometimes you just have to be creative so VOILA:

This was my little nightly project for a few days and I got to use all those toilet paper rolls I'd been saving....Cute Nativity set printout for kids I found here: http://www.ucreatewithkids.com/2012/12/5-free-printable-nativity-sets-for-kids.html . They didn't last that long...Grant got a hold of them and would bite them...it was fun though for a little while.

Santa Pancakes were fun and easy and soooo cute. My homemade whipped cream didn't make the beard look as cool as the pictures I'd seen....

But...didn't seem to matter to Grantster.

Or Jay:) They looved them! 

Christmas Eve before we left to family's house we let Grant open a couple of gifts we had gotten a few months before, hoping he would like them because he can change so much every month....I put the pictures in a series because his face is so serious until the gift is unwrapped.

He did not like that the toy was wrapped in plastic

That's acceptable...

Cute note: He played with his train for a minute then quietly and sweetly said, "Thank you". It was the sweetest moment. Jay and I just turned to each other amazed that he wasn't prompted and realized that our little boy appreciated our gesture and it was just sooo sweet. I wanted to record his cute voice saying thank you so here's him after being prompted:

That afternoon we were off to Nana and Papa's!!!

My favorite game is the white elephant exchange and the silly gifts- I just love getting random things and I actually got some nice things that I had been needing (namely a cute owl kitchen timer...how I have gone this long without one?) One of the gift we made was this lovely ornament using my last year's calendar of Justin Beiber which was promptly put over the head of the sock monkey on the top of the tree:

We did get a family photo but yikes! Nobody told me my butt looked like it was growing out of someone's head and my belly looked just squished and just no. Nobody should let a pregnant woman sit like that for a photo- really? Nobody told me that I looked like a squashed potato! Come On!!! Everyone else looks great ugh...that will be one thing that I will always remember from now on when I'm pregnant- I just won't sit like that for photos. Ever.

Oh did I mention what they got us this year? A DEEP FREEZER!!!! I didn't realize how much I would be obsessed with it but I am already stocking up with cooked meat to add to dishes, homemade chicken stock, homemade tortillas, breads, veggie mixes and now I just got some ingredients to make homemade enchilada sauce to stick in there! It's soooooooo fun to be able to make things from scratch and stick them in there. I don't think there is any other way to do this and I can't believe I've lived this long without one! Oh and it's perfect because I've started making meals for after the baby is born so I have some things on hand to prepare easy meals. I am so in love.  That was the best and most thoughtful gift and we appreciate it so much. You guys are the best.

Then Christmas night....
Off to my side of the family's celebration. We did some white elephant exchanges there which was fun because my sweet little grandma got into the spirit of things and stole my gift! It was a plastic back massage device which actually I kind of liked but I opened the next present and there was another one in that one- ha ha guess my family pulled together the gifts super fast after they had opened their Christmas gifts. It was still a lot of fun.

We got some deep blue (I need to try it on my mid-back to see if it will help that little throb I get during pregnancy- well this time it's a throb, with Grant's pregnancy it was a lot more uncomfortable so that's a great thing right there). And Doterra OnGaurd- we looooove OnGaurd and use it when we start feeling a little under the weather- we really feel it helps our bodies stay healthier and get better quicker than when we don't use it and it's sooooo nice. We also got pjs and G got some Monster trucks that do wheelies- he loves it! And Jay's neck has been suffering in his white shirts for church so we are glad to have a bigger necked shirt for him to not be strangling himself while at church. Thanks ma and pa!!! We are soooooo grateful!


We partied that night then Jay left to work the next few days while Grant and I hung out at my parent's house. Grant loved running around a big house and I got kind of lazy because I really didn't have to do anything- even take Grant outside because he was so content with all his aunts and uncles and their devoted attention to him. It was fun relaxing and "shooting the breeze" as Jay would say...I wonder what that means- like with guns? You shoot the air? Just for fun? Well, that phrase seems to fit how I would like to describe the feelings associated with these lazy days so we'll just say it. It also kind of makes me think someone farted but I don't know if that's just because of our family's potty humor? Okay- anyway....

Overall the best part of Christmas break was just doing what we wanted. Just hanging out with family and doing things we normally wouldn't be able to do with a work day/ staying at home. So THANK you to all our wonderful family that made this year's Christmas one to remember!