Merry Christmas!

Christmas morning started early around here.  Ryker was up 6:20 asking for water, coughing, and burning up.  I gave him a breathing treatment, some Motrin, and water and he climbed in bed with us and fell back asleep pretty quickly.  Camden woke up about an hour later and came in bed with us too.  He fell back asleep and we all woke up finally around 8:20 and headed downstairs to see what Santa brought!

Santa found these awesome colored pencils made out of sticks that Ryker thought were too cool!

Santa gets our boys one big gift and fills their stockings.  Ryker's big gift this year was an Imaginext castle.  Ryker kept saying, "Santa got me X, just like I asked for!"  Sooo cute!

Camden was more interested in eating breakfast when he first came downstairs.

Ryker had to get his dragon from Nonno and Nonna to see how it would interact with the castle.  The knights yell, "Dragon!  Run!" when you roar the dragon near the castle.  Pretty cool!

After Camden finished eating, he was all about opening up his gifts.

Ryker got some new movies!

Cam's big gift was a LOL Elmo

To say that he liked is an understatement.

Once Santa's gifts were opened, it was time to pass out the rest.  Ryker loves this part!

They had a Santa shop at Ryker's preschool again this year.  He got Cam a teddy bear.  They were loving on each other but I didn't have the camera ready.  Cam was still cheesing it though!

We bought Cam a play smart phone.  The best part about seeing him play with it was when he held out from his face and cheesed it up like he was taking a picture of himself.  It was hilarious!

Ryker was pretty psyched about his Batmobile.

When we moved in to Mom and Dad's we only brought light jackets thinking we would be out by the end of October at the latest.  Dad let Robert borrow some of his jackets when necessary.  Robert has fallen in love with one particular coat of Dad's.  I bought him this one because it is so much like Dad's coat and he can take it with us when we move. :-)

I also managed to sneak Robert's diploma out and get it framed.  He was thrilled and can't wait to put it up in his new office.

My sweet boy watching me open his gift to me.  In the middle of opening his stocking stuffers, he stopped and asked, "But, what about the presents I got you? We need to open those!"  Such a big heart he has and I love him so much for it!

Uncle Dave, Aunt Kate, and Hudson came over around 11:00.  We had a delicious brunch and then opened gifts.

Nana and Papaw got Cam his very own robe so he and Ryker can match.  Cam loved wearing it and was mad when I tried to take it off.  He got some new stuffed farm animals from Uncle Dave and Aunt Kate that he was pretty interested in.

The boys' last gift was a riddle with a clue leading them on a hunt for their last present.  Ryker LOVED it!  He opened clues in the laundry room, dining room, living room, and their room, before finally heading to the office...

To see their new play kitchen.  Mom and I found this incredible three-piece set while we were in Ohio in September and have been hiding it in the attic ever since.  Ryker thought it was pretty cool, but Camden LOVED it!  He didn't want to come back downstairs to finish opening presents.

He cheered up when I let him wear my new ear warmers.  He loves wearing hats!

Nana giving Ryker some kisses after opening her gift from him.

Nana cuddling with her two youngest grandsons.

Robert bought me a new camera for Christmas which I was thrilled about.  After letting it charge up, it was time to experiment.  Hudson enjoyed some time in the Johnny Jumper while everyone else played cards. 

We played Horse, Spoons, Egyptian Ratscrew, and even Operation. ;-)

Christmas at Grandma Thacker's

Christmas night is always reserved for Grandma Thacker's house.  We all gathered with my aunt and uncle, my two cousins, and my new cousin-in-law for a meal and gifts. 

After dinner it was time for a bit of horseplay.  Ryker loves blowing raspberries on Cam's stomach.

Ryker didn't want his picture taken so I was running around chasing him.  I snuck up on him and snapped this one.  He was genuinely spooked and the evil mom that I am, I thought it was hilarious!!!

We always open gifts youngest to oldest.  Hudson really enjoyed his new puppy!

Cam got this adorable hat and gloves set that he LOVED modeling for everyone.  He cheesed it so bad and everyone smiled and cheered for him, which only encouraged him more.  He kept laughing and clapping for himself.  It was hilarious!  (PS- I think this picture is just way too adorable!)

Cam showing Hudson how his new toy works. ;-)

Ryker was psyched about this Hot Wheels track from Uncle Mark and Aunt Carol

Grandma perusing her new calendar.  I've made one for her, Grandma and Grandpa Sheepie, and Aunt Karen every year for the past 3 years. They are a hit and will likely be the go-to gift for years to come.

Unfortunately, Ryker's temperature soared again while we were there and his cough got worse.  He was miserable!  We cut out pretty quickly in order to get him home and medicated and to bed. 

Christmas Eve

Mom spent the morning baking her famous cinnamon rolls.  They are so delicious and are synonomous with Christmas.

Aunt Karen and Jo stopped by to bring the boys their Christmas gifts around 10:30.  Ryker got some new games, clothes, a magnetic moose (that he loved), and a cardboard train that he can climb in and even color.  Back in September while at the Country Living Fair I lamented the fact that you can't find cute aprons for boys anywhere.  My boys both love to help in the kitchen and I told Jo I would love for them to have some cute aprons to wear.  She said a gal she works with makes them in her spare time.  She and Aunt Karen picked out some fabric and had some made for each of the boys.  They are so cute!

Cam was asleep while they were here so I had to send them a few pics of him opening the gifts later.

This set of foam blocks are so cool.  Cam LOVES them! 

We went to Aunt Chelle's in the afternoon to celebrate with the Brown's.  We had a great meal and then opened gifts.

Ryker turned Cam's inch worm box into a race car.  It cracks me up that out of tons of toys, kids will choose a box to play in!

After Aunt Chelle's we stopped by Grandma and Grandpa Sheepie's to give them their presents and spend time with my cousin Mike, his wife Jalyn, and their kids Ashlyn and Carter, along with Aunt Karen, Jo, Nana and Papaw. 

Cam was being as rotten as ever.  He was hanging all over Grandpa's legs.  He's such a cute stinker though!

We came home, sprinkled our special reindeer food on the lawn, and set out our treats for Santa.  Ryker wasn't feeling very good and after some meds and a breathing treatment, they were both out like lights!

Santa came!

We sorted the gifts and put the ones for the 4 of us in front of the tree so we'd have less sorting in the morning with two antsy boys.

Santa even left each of the boys a note!

   

Christmas with the Brown's

Sunday was a full day for us.  We had nursery duty at church in the morning and then headed over to the new house to measure for the new fridge and sink before driving downtown for lunch.  We met Grandma and Grandpa Sheepie, Aunt Karen, Jo, Nana, and Papaw at the Old Spaghetti Factory.  It's one of our favorite places but we don't get there very often.  It was a great time and the food was delicious as usual.  After lunch we went home so the boys could take a quick nap.  Then it was time for Christmas with the Brown's.  Robert's Aunt Robin had everyone over for food and fun.  We had a great time visiting with everyone.  Ryker loved playing with the kids and Cam loved the attention from the older girls. ;-)

Heather and Jay were great with Cam and kept him entertained most of the night.

Jay sent this to me.  She is so good with kids and I loved having her hang with him.  It let me enjoy the company of others instead of chasing him around.

We had such a great time but stayed way too late and Ryker wasn't feeling too good by the time we got home.  I started giving him breathing treatments and some meds when we got home.

Jolly Days

We met Aunt Chelle, Uncle Robert, and Nathan at the Children's Museum to check out the Jolly Days exhibit and go down the Yule Slide.  It was pretty crowded and hard to keep track of the three kids, but we had a pretty good time anyway. 

Ryker and Cam both loved making it snow inside the giant snow globe.

We headed to the Yule Slide first thing.  This was so comical I wish I would've had Robert video it instead of take pictures...allow me to explain...

1. Ryker rode down with Cam on his lap and I rode down with Hudson.  Michelle and Nathan were in line behind us.  Robert was downstairs to photograph the fun.

2. Wee!

3. Yay!  We made it!

4. Hudson was giggling like crazy...too funny!

5. Camden got up and immediately started climbing back up the slide.

6. The poor bag collector tried to collect him too. Meanwhile, Ryker thinks Cam's idea was brilliant and tries to follow suit...

7.  ...and falls instead.

8. He quickly recovers as I try to wrangle both Cam and Hudson.

9. I tried to get both boys situated all while Ryker climbed up the slide (unbeknownst to me).

10. I hurriedly tried to get out of the way blissfully unaware that we were causing even more trouble.

11. I realized Ryker was climbing the slide and yelled for him to get down.

12. He quickly turned around and slid down.

Yeah, it was quite the ride!  Never a dull moment when I'm out with these three boys!  LOL

Santa wasn't there yet, so we went into Teddy Bear's Playhouse to pass the time.  Ryker created this lovely artwork with some sort of Silly Putty-like substance on this mannequin.

Then it was time for Santa.  I stupidly parked the double stroller outside of the line because I thought it would be too hard to navigate through the line.  Not my best idea!  After several escape attempts by Cam all while I held 20 pound Hudson, we arrived at Santa's chair.  The boys were happy, I was sweaty...  I took several pics on my phone (yeah, we seem to have lost the charger for my camera so I am without a decent camera for the foreseeable future) and this was the best one.  Please forgive the creepy eyes, I can't seem to edit them out. :(

Robert, Michelle, and Nathan took off after seeing Santa.  The boys and I stayed for a bit and enjoyed the Jolly Days exhibit.  Cam especially loved fishing.

He really liked to sit in the fishing hole with the fish which was pretty funny.

Hudson, for some reason, thought a fish sign on the wall was hilarious.  He kept smiling and giggling at it.  So funny!

Ryker sliced his finger on his last trip down the slide in the ice castle which was met with an overly dramatic reaction requiring a makeshift bandage out of a diaper wipe.  I had already packed us lunch, so we went ahead and ate in the cafeteria before heading home for naps (and a couple real band aids for Ryker).

Unexpected Treats

We had plans to meet Aunt Karen at Texas Roadhouse for dinner tonight.  We typically go the week before Christmas and tonight was the perfect night.  To our surprise and delight, Santa Claus and one of his elves came tonight.  The elf passed out candy canes to all the kids and Santa was available for pictures and lap-sitting.  They also had free face painting. 

Camden was quite fascinated with Santa and wouldn't look at me.

Ryker, on the other hand, wanted nothing to do with him.  I think he is now noticing that not all the Santas look alike and is a bit suspicious.  I think it's time to tell him that these are just helpers. I may wait for him to say something first though. I'd like to let him believe for as long as possible.

Next up was face painting.  He was so excited!

Full Spiderman mask...awesome!

 Unfortunately, in spite of these extra goodies, it wasn't our best dinner out.  The kids were not exactly calm and collected tonight.  Camden wanted nothing to do with sitting in his highchair...or sitting at all for that matter.  Ryker was pretty good up until he got in trouble with Robert for not listening.  I think his feelings got really hurt and he burst into tears.  In an effort to get him to calm down I told him he was going to ruin his face paint.  Wrong thing to say!  He proceeded to cry even more as we tried to salvage his face paint by blotting his tears with a napkin.  Eventually, I had to take him to the bathroom to calm down.  He made me take a picture so he could see that it was still ok.  Here's what we got:

Yeah, you can see that the white around his eyes was gone from the tears and there are streaks down his cheeks.  This one is a Drama King for sure! 

We survived the meal and got out of there in one piece and I managed to hold on to the majority of my sanity.  All in all, not too bad in my opinion.  Lol!