Christmas

Santa came two days early to our house! (We won't be home on Christmas Day and wanted to have the kids celebrate here too! Plus, it gives St. Nick more time to deliver gifts on Christmas Eve if we are all set!) It's not all that climactic but here are the videos from this morning!

Funny Phone Calls

Ellie and I were sitting at the table eating and I heard her start pretending to be on the phone with Santa.  She's so funny.  This is a good one for you, Aunt Katie!!!!!!

Christmas Party #1

We had family over last night for a Christmas celebration, and Santa even showed up!! I regret not taking a video of that! Anyway, here we are playing the traditional Breen/Snyder game of "pass the gift on AND" with the presents Santa brought in his sack. The kids were so excited (ok so were the grown ups). My heart was so happy to see everyone so happy!!

Albany Snow

We got a good amount of snow last weekend.  After Evan went to sleep we went outside to play! I love night snow the most...it's so quiet and fresh.  I thought I had uploaded the other video to youtube but I guess I didn't (and it's deleted from my phone).  Here's a little glimpse at how we sled in the city. 

Ellie Sings

Here is Ellie's interpretation of Zombie, by the Cranberries. She heard it in the car and really liked it.

      

Original Song:

 

Here is Roar by Ellie:

       

And the real version:

Heads Up!

This is a funny video of Ellie playing "Heads Up". If you've never played this game, go to your smart phone right now and get it!!! So much fun. 

Elf on the Shelf

When we were kids, my family had an elf that we creatively named "Elfie".  Each morning he would hide somewhere in our house and we would race to see who would find him first.  I totally should have thought to replicate this idea and sell it for $30 a pop like the Elf on the Shelf! Three years ago, my Dad bought Ellie our family's elf.  At the time, Ellie loved to say "BUBBLES!".  We don't know where his first name came from, but it is Jimminy.  Jimminy Bubbles is a boy elf, don't believe Ellie when she tells you otherwise.
Last year, Jimminy Bubbles came to hang out (literally, from the fan) at our house.  Ellie got it, sort of...and then was so sick for Christmas that he kind of got lost in the commotion.  This year, we built up his arrival and this morning there he was, wearing the only footwear that Ellie will wear (I just got her another pair of those pink boots at Target!) She believes that JB watches and reports the choices she makes back to Santa. It's a fun tradition and we are looking forward to seeing what types of antics he performs this year! Here is a video of Ellie after she just woke up, looking for Jimminy Bubbles. 

Christmas with Kids

O, Christmas Tree

As many of you know, kids make Christmas time so much fun! Yesterday, Gigi and Papa took the kids for the day so James and I could stay home and decorate the house.  We decided to not have the kids help because they would be into EVERYTHING and Evan is in the "hmm what is this? let's chew on it to see" stage.  They had a blast at Gigi's and even got to see and play with Uncle Michael! First we cleaned and James put up shelves in the toy room (no more low storage...we finally got smart after Ellie found a marker and drew a self portrait holding balloons on her $140 Anywhere Chair and then "decorated" the curtains.)

I hung the stockings on a shelf because Evan would pull them down from the mantel.  I actually like the way they look on the shelf!! We put up the creche on the shelf above the stockings. All looks great and it is nice to have a clutter free and clean living room (for this morning anyway). 

Here is a video (a little long) of the kids as they see the tree lit up for the first time. You get to see a little of Ellie's "I'm not little" attitude at the end.  Pay attention to Evan after I say "wowwww"- he repeats it.