Friday, December 23rd was Vic's first day off! First of all, the night before, we had our final monthly date. This past month, we decided to schedule Kirsten to come babysit 3 different nights so we could get some dates in! The first one was to dinner at Razoo's and errands. The second one was to dinner at Casa Rod and drinks at the wine bar with Chris and Katherine. And the third one was dinner at Cheddar's and stocking shopping! Every date was fun, but this third one had a mission. With an expensive couple of months, we decided not to buy one another Christmas gifts, although I love that tradition. But, it was important that Santa bring stockings to us as well, so we decided to make it a game. We each had $45 and 45 minutes to shop for one another at Target to fill our stockings. So, we went in and split up and walked around to shop for one another. It was harder than you would think! But, it was also really fun. We gave ourselves categories to help us shop: something to read, something to wear, something you want, something you need, something to do, and something to remember (like a sentiment). Vic ended up with some socks, a cooking magazine, some chapstick, a 2016 snowglobe of a Santa on a beach, ha!, a Dolly Parton CD, sticky tape to wrap electrical cords, and a snack. So, nothing super fancy, but super fun to do! I think we need to make this a tradition! And although I didn't know until Christmas morning, I ended up with an advent calendar box for treats each year, a new book,
Anyways, it was really fun to make time to spend with one another during December this year. Although we had to trick Everly and manipulate the afternoon nap so she would just go to sleep earlier, (because she just cried the whole time she didn't sleep, with Kirsten during our first date), the kids loved having Kirsten and we loved making time during the busy month to just visit and of course go out to eat at real restaurants! I failed to ever take a picture, but it was so nice.
Anyways, on Friday, we got up and took the family to see Sing!, a new cartoon movie about animals in a singing competition. It was SO good! Only a couple of questionable words and nothing scary, so it was perfect for our kids. Everly hung out in our laps and even snuggled up in my arms to take a nap when she got tired. Then, we went to eat lunch at Koppe Bridge and then headed home for a fun, cold, afternoon!
That afternoon, some of us took naps and others made cookies. Look at Everly! She was perfectly safe and not stuck, but this may be one of my favorite pictures of all time. Look at those cute little legs sticking through! I took this picture, and then slid her out and she never even woke up!
We also opened our Christmas Eve present that GG gives to the us every year (a day early). It is always filled with goodies and the kids had been asking constantly when we could open it. Even Everly was getting suspicious.
In it were all kinds of Christmas things: bandaids, books, a puzzle, little notepads, giant pens, snacks and the best thing each year...pajamas! They were really cute this year too!
Then, we had one final activity for the night. Can I tell you how much the kids, mostly Atticus, LOVE having Christmas activities to do? Whether it's a craft or a game or anything, they love them. So, I saw this "candy cane hunt" on a blog and decided it sounded easy and fun. We just hid those small candy canes all over the house and then turned off the lights, gave them flashlights and let them hunt for them. It was really fun and in the end, they got a candy cane for a prize! Easy peasy!
And, finally the kids were in bed and we sat up to watch a Christmas movie, as we had been doing every night. Vic and I both love to sit in the living room with all of the lights off except the Christmas lights and watch Christmas movies this time of year! It's so festive and fun! But, on this night, Atticus, who had napped that day, came out not long after Grace fell asleep and wanted to stay up. So, he colored with me on the couch while we watched our movie. Sometimes, it is really fun to have one kid stay up and spend some quiet time in the evenings with us. Plus, he is so excited for Christmas, it was hard to say no.
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