Christmas Morning

Here are the kids this morning. They were so excited about Santa!




Hayden asked Santa for a Belle dress and he delivered!

The boys each got a riding toy. We bought them from a neighbor who never used them. Spencer thinks the Mickey one is his and they fight over it constantly. We saw it coming, seeing they both love Mickey Mouse. This will help them learn to share!


It was such a perfect morning. We took time with each present and opened it, took it out of the box and let the kids play with their toys. So often you go from toy to toy and they forget what they have received but this way, they really got to enjoy everything. We ate cinnamon rolls for breakfast, had a leftovers (ham, potatoes, peas, rolls) lunch, played, played and played, and the kids watched their new movie, "Cars" and ate popcorn, it must be Christmas!

Christmas Eve

Here are the kiddos on Christmas Eve. Joey humored me and let me get the kids dressed in their Christmas outfits and I took pictures. More to come from Christmas Day, but this post is for the grandparents!

Traditions

I love Christmas traditions. They remind me of my childhood and I love thinking that my kids will cherish these times in our home. Here are some of our Christmas traditions...new and old.

1. Build a gingerbread house. We did this when I was growing up and I love doing it with my kids.



2. Hang the Christmas cards we receive on our front door. This started in our apartment in Los Angeles and has carried with us. Our door is almost full, we may have to start using other doors in our house.



3. Read the boots (it doesn't have a name) story on Christmas Eve. Joey brought this tradition to our marriage. When we aren't with his family for Christmas they call us when they read it and we listen from wherever we are and it always makes me cry.

4. Get PJ's from Santa. Joey and I both got new PJ's from Santa growing up. I remember waking up when it was still dark outside on Christmas morning and seeing my new pajamas next to my bed. I would change as fast as I could into the new PJ's and run to my siblings rooms to wake them up. I'm the youngest so I was the annoying little sister that woke everyone up.

5. Open one present on Christmas Eve. Again, we both brought this tradition to our marriage. In my family, we would usually open our sibling exchange gift on Christmas Eve.



6. Ham, peas, scalloped potatoes and crescent rolls. This is a must have for Joey on Christmas Eve, and then we have the leftovers on Christmas Day.

7. This year I'm attempting to make homemade cinnamon rolls for Christmas Day morning. This may or may not be a new tradition, depending on how they turn out!

8. In our stake they do a live nativity, and it was the such a beautiful reminder of the true meaning of this season. This is going to be an annual tradition for our family.

9. On Christmas Eve we watch "How the Grinch Stole Christmas", read from the Bible, then put the kiddos off to bed. After the little ones are snug in their beds, Joey and I watch "It's a Wonderful Life" and now that we have a fireplace we will get to watch our Christmas movies by the crackling fire with some hot cocoa!



What are some of your favorite traditions??

Baby It's Cold Outside!

Living in Southern California is wonderful! However, I do miss the cold nights by the fire with some homemade hot chocolate. The past week it has been pretty chilly and perfect for hot chocolate...there is even snow on the mountains in the distance. It is perfect for Christmastime!

Christmas Program!

Hayden is in a co-op preschool that meets twice a week. It's been a great way for me to get-to- know other moms and for her to get-to-know some other kids. Here are some pictures from the Christmas Program. The kids sang and recited a poem, and then everyone enjoyed games and goodies. Hayden was super brave and sang a solo!

Gingerbread House

I love Christmastime. Growing up we made gingerbread houses...sometimes my mom would make gingerbread and other times we would use graham crackers. I'm so glad for these "kits"...it makes my job much easier!

Joey was having trouble getting the chimney to stand up...it was actually my fault, I put way too much candy on it!

I was in charge of icing.

The boys were in charge of eating all the extra candy.

Thanks and More Birthday!

Here are some pictures from Hayden's 4th birthday. We had a pretty quiet day. I hadn't been feeling well all week. Hayden was supposed to have a friend over that day but the friend's mom took Hayden for me since I was under-the-weather (actually it was salmonella poisoning...I was at the tail-end of it but still feeling a little icky). She took Hayden to Target and got her a birthday present, she put a candle in her PBJ sandwich for lunch and spoiled her for me....she is just one of the many good friends who helped me get through this week! Thank you Kelli, Tawni, Abby, Bethany and Mindy. When she got home, she watched the Wizard of Oz, had pizza for dinner, then opened presents.

Happy Birthday Hayden!

Our little girl turns 4 today!!! Happy Birthday honey bunches!

I remember when we found out we were pregnant. I was so happy! The pregnancy was relatively easy but she decided to come 3 weeks early...the Friday before finals of my last semester at BYU. It took a little juggling but both Joey and I were able to take all our finals and graduate! She is the light of our lives!





Hayden wanted a "real" pedicure and manicure for her birthday so last Saturday I took her to Happy Nails in Rancho Santa Margarita. The staff was so nice. They sang her "Happy Birthday" and treated her like a princess. She loved it!

Ridin' the Hogs

Joey's firm had a party at a bowling alley on Saturday. Hayden tore up the lanes and got a 98...she used the bumpers but still she rocked it! Joey, who never bowls, got a 164. Seriously he is good at everything! We won't talk about my score...first of all, I stink and secondly, I let the boys "help" me a few times. After we bowled, the kids found the arcade area and rode the motorcycles.

Spencer was paying attention to the "road"...he wouldn't look at the camera.

Girls gone wild! Give that boy some beads!


I hope this is as close to riding a motorcycle as Hayden gets...I had a few boyfriends in college who drove motorcycles and it's a miracle I'm alive!

Love the shoes!

Hayden went shopping for her December 10th birthday with my in-laws when they were here for Thanksgiving. While at Nordstrom, Hayden spotted these "Fancy Nancy-esque" shoes and Nonni and Bobpa couldn't refuse...she wears them all the time. In fact, the other night I noticed she had gotten up after we put her to bed and she put them on and fell asleep. It was a good buy! She gets her sparkle-loving fashion sense from my mom who, if we could find a pair of these rhinestone shoes in her size, would be the happiest lady ever! Thanks Nonni and Bobpa for the great shoes!!!!

Here Comes Santa Claus...

Last night we went to see Santa Claus at Irvine Regional Park. We took the train through the Christmas lights to Santa's village. Santa was very jolly and he might have been English or Scottish...I bet you didn't know that but he definitely had an accent.

Waiting in line with my wonderful hubby. The train starts running at 5pm and we got there at 4:40ish...I would highly recommend going earlier rather than later because as we were leaving the line was crazy!Hayden told Santa her Christmas wishes...we will see if she is a good girl and gets what she asked for. Santa is just hoping she doesn't change her mind on Christmas Eve like she did last year!
The boys didn't cry when they sat on Santa's lap...and that's all I could ask for.
The whole family and Santa.
Bobpa, Nonni and the kids.
Thanks Bobpa and Nonni for the great visit!!

Happy Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving yesterday. Joey's parents are in town and we had a feast fit for a king, if I do say so myself. I stressed about the turkey all week and, to be honest, it was the best thing about the meal...beginner's luck apparently!

Bobpa, Nonni and Hayden

The table before the meal


The boys decided they wanted to wear their Thanksgiving meal

I'm so thankful for my family. I have a wonderful husband who loves me for me and, most of the time, I'm grateful for his sense of humor. I have three beautiful children who bring me joy daily. I love being a mom and I'm grateful for all I learn from my children. I'm thankful for my extended family. I have wonderful in-laws who treat me like a daughter. I have wonderful brothers, sister, brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law. I'm thankful my parents moved back to the States...even though they live in Tennessee, I can call my mom at normal hours and talk to her. I feel like I have so many people who love me. I'm thankful for this time of year to reflect on what's important.

He passed!!!!! (Not that there was any doubt)

This afternoon and evening were a little stressful but at 6pm this evening, Joey found at that he passed the California bar exam on his first try. He didn't seem all that stressed out but I managed to stress for him. I'm so proud of him and all his hard work. I love you baby!

Our little clown...

Hayden cracks me up...here are a few of her "funnies" from today.

I was giving the kids a bath and they were splashing and being a little crazy. Hayden pulled a towel into the bath and I said, "I'm so mad, I can't even speak" to which she replied, "Mom, you need to have surgery to fix that." I couldn't help but laugh.

Then right before bed she was playing in her room while I was reading on the floor in the boys room. I put the boys down and went to put her down to bed. I opened her door and said, "Wow, Hayden it stinks in here." She said, "Yeah, my Barbies tooted." Too funny!

Thank goodness kids are funny!!

A Typical Saturday Morning...

This is a typical Saturday morning at the Anderson house...

Lincoln loves his "glasses" from his doctor kit. He was doing a little reading in our bed this morning.


Hayden was in a princess dress by 7am and playing in her room.

Spencer was in time-out...poor kid has a hard time listening.