In Case You Were Wondering

We might not have Barbie shoes or Polly Pocket paraphernalia lying around our house, but we do have our fair share of boy toy clutter. What you are witnessing is the carnage and destruction left over from what is known as a "Battle Royal" at our house. This is when the forces of Transformers, G.I. Joes, Star Wars, Army Men, Dinosaurs, and any other action figure or toy come together to duke it out. The staging of the scene probably takes longer than the actual battle, and every battle is different--different strategies and outcomes. I hear the Tickle Monster (on the left in the picture directly above) is very effective on those Storm Troopers.

The Gift of Giving

This year Seth really got into the whole giving part of Christmas. He would shut himself in his room and furiously wrap presents for everyone. The catch was that these presents were various household items, clothing, and toys that we already own. He was so thoroughly excited about them and about giving them that I didn't have the heart to burst his bubble. He was so proud of himself. Of course, Sam really was happy to open up one of his ties and Chase was just thrilled to be opening anything. It made me wonder why we spent the money we did on new things. Shoot, if it's all about the unwrapping at this age then I think Seth was really onto something. Our gifts:

You Gotta Love It

The faces we all hope to see on Christmas morning:

Signs Of Christmas

The taste-testing of various eggnog brands. (bluck)

The cutting out of snowflakes to hang from our ceiling. (They really are having fun, I promise.)

The frosting of Christmas sugar cookies.

The Christmas violin recitals.

The sleeping by the Christmas tree. (or lack thereof)

The making of goodie plates for our neighbors.

The jumping on the bubble wrap.

The daily counting and resorting of presents by size, shape, or addressee.

And last but not least, the unveiling of Christmas pj's and books on Christmas Eve. (They really do ask for the "feetsies.)