Santa does know all! He knew Gramma Jean was staying with Owen, so he brought her a Lego car to assemble! So the three of us put it together!
Category Archives: Christmas
And still more gifts…
There was such an over abundance of gifts this year that we opened some on four separate days…and today we finished them.
Owen got Tinkertoys from Grauntie Rose and Uncle Jim. (I miss the wooden toys of yesteryear, but these are cool, too.)
>>> Tinkertoy Transit Building Set
He had to open them right away!
Charlie liked the box!
First we built a windmill (one of the patterns given—I’m not that smart):
Then we tore apart the windmill to build the train. Gramma was impressed with how quickly I put it together…but I’ve had practice with Legos and this was far fewer pieces! Then I left Owen to his own imagination and he built this spachship:
Then he opened his Lego book from Doug and Marie: “OH. MY. HEAVENS.” 🙂
>>> LEGO Minifigure Year by Year: A Visual History
Ninja Turtle Trouble
Or, technically, Ninja Turtle “pop up” game. The game went on a little longer than his attention span…but he won so it was all good!
More morning toy fun
She loves to play with this game of Owen’s—it’s a bunch of letters that look like cookies!
>>> ABC Cookies
We have since moved the contents to a screw-top container! 🙂
The light sabers got him!
She’s liking her pony a bit more now!
Just a little confused as to how to correctly sit on it. 🙂
New bath toys from Grauntie Rose!
>>> Sassy Soft Swimmers Animal Characters Bath Toy, 3 Pack
Post-party pictures with Gramma
One of my mommy group friends invited a bunch of people over for Christmas dinner, so we all went! I made mashed potatoes and peas and peanuts. I forgot my phone (EEK!) so didn’t get to snap any pictures. I grabbed my friend’s phone to take a cute picture of Katie eating a candy cane, but long story short I didn’t end up with it. The kids had a blast running around playing with other kids—and Katie tested my nerves by wanting to go up and down the slippery wood stairs by herself! The dinner was delicious and there was about as much dessert as dinner!
When we got home, I managed to snap a few pics of the kids with Gramma—but we didn’t get any with me and the kids. (We had planned to before the party, but it was chaos trying to get out of the house on time.)
Santa was here!
>>> Rockin’ Rider Candy 2-in-1 Pony Ride On
>>> Mindscope Twister Tracks Neon Glow in The Dark
These are all taken within about a half hour. Yes, it was chaos. And normally I wouldn’t post this many pictures, but it’s Christmas! Enjoy!
She carries her pony around like it’s a stuffed animal!
Both kids had M&Ms from their stockings for breakfast! 🙂
Of course Maggie got a present, too. The cats got jingle balls but they couldn’t care less. The do watch them once in awhile when Owen puts them on his track and they get pushed around by the cars…but I haven’t seen either of them even bat at one.
The blue ninja mask that Owen asked Santa for!
>>> Power Ranger Blue Mask
Christmas morning clutter.
Owen really likes Lambie so I got him one…
But Katie loved it more so he gave it to her!
Giving the pony a drink!
Putting a dog treat in the tunnel!
Stealing my new Tervis “Mommy’s Sippy Cup” cup! So now I have a chewed straw already!
Playing Owen’s new squirrel game!
>>> The Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel Game
Maggie sat at Gramma’s feet and looked pathetic until she moved the laptop and freed up her lap.
Achievement unlocked: Santa duties complete.
I had been wrapping gifts after bedtime for a week, so I thought my last night would be easy since I just had to bring everything in from the garage and label them.
Ha.
I wasn’t finishing until 10:26. 😐
Cookies & Carrots
Gramma making faces behind me to try and get Owen to smile.
And the typical goofy smile I usually end up with!
And carrots for the reindeer. I was just going to put them with Santa’s cookies, but Owen said they had to go on the front porch!
Happy boy!
Katie singing with her bear
If you listen closely at the very beginning, you can hear her singing along with the bear. 🙂
The second round of presents…
We didn’t take as many pictures this time, as the kids spent more time playing with old and new toys among unwrapping gifts.
Katie liked the wood vegetables from Aunt Marie and Uncle Doug.
And her new singing bear from Grauntie Marge:
And Owen LOVED his Mecha-Pede from Grauntie Marge. It really is quite cool—it has pincers and a tail, it lights up, and the eyes glow! And it’s remote-controlled!
Time to play with the new toys!
Katie’s new bear laptop from Gramma Jean.
And Owen’s hand-me-down Jack-in-the-Box!
The first round of presents…
EDITED TO ADD A FEW OF GRAMMA JEAN’S PICTURES! BE SURE TO LOOK THROUGH THE POST AGAIN!
Since there were SOOOO many presents under the tree before Santa even got here, we decided to let the kids open some. Owen was SUPER excited and Katie quickly got into the spirit—she is actually really quite good at opening presents!
Let’s just say once the first present was opened, it was pretty much chaos. I had planned to take videos for Tom…but once things got started, it was all I could do to keep snapping pics. I feel bad because I missed a really great opening by Owen (details later) but between two kids opening presents at the same time, each of them wanting to play with each other’s things (and not their own), mini tantrums from both when they didn’t get their way, Owen just wanting to blow through all his presents without actually taking even five seconds to look at what he just opened…I was glad I got some pictures.
Katie loves opening clothes…because of course she wants to put them on right away. It might be pants on her arms or a PJ top on her legs, but she doesn’t care.
Gramma Jean bought the kids a sandwich-making kit and both had a blast with it. Owen made GJ a lovely peanut butter and ketchup sandwich! I think they played with it for 10-15 minutes before wanting to open more presents!
Then Owen opened the cash register from Grannie and Papa…and he was EXCITED!
And of course Katie LOVED it, too, because it made noise! And she figured out how to get the drawer open in about three seconds.
Helping Owen open his next present.
Katie co-opting Owen’s gift. She got one of her own shortly thereafter. 🙂
Playing in the cash register box!
And then Owen grabbed (what I knew was) the Doc McStuffins kit. I had wanted to record it because I knew he would be super exited about it. But before I could tell him to wait a minute, he was ripping it open.
And of course Katie recognized what it was and was immediately interested, too!
He was SO damn cute. As he was opening it, he says “OH…MY…HEAVENS! This is my most favorite thing ever!” or something very close to that. (Of course I was sure I would remember it, but of course I didn’t.) He just went on and on about how great it was while I was opening it and taking everything out. And the doll! It talks! (I hadn’t realized that.) So that was exciting. And Katie wanted everything and Owen didn’t want her to touch any of it. (He eventually relented.)
Giving Grauntie Marge a check-up!
Posing with his new doctor’s bag.
My favorite picture of the night!
Katie opening the hand-me-down Elmo. She loves Elmo, so I couldn’t wait for her to see him. She did like him, but the batteries were mostly shot so he wasn’t very exciting at first. A quick change and he was back up to speed…then I realized he had a broken arm. But she loved watching him and carrying him around.
Owen playing with Katie’s school bus. Funny story. I actually got it for Owen A LONG time ago and put it in his closet and forgot about it. Then he didn’t really need it so I thought I’d save it for Katie but left it in his closet. Fast forward to about four days ago when I happened to have his closet open and he said “Mom! I want that school bus!” So on the spot I decided it would be for Katie, and explained how we give gifts to people we love and that we know they’d like, so why don’t we give this to Katie? He accepted that, so then we wrapped it together—our first wrapping attempt. It didn’t go too badly, though I apparently didn’t stress enough that we keep gifts SECRET because he told Katie it was a school bus when she saw it under the tree. 🙂
Opening a big squishy package from Grannie and Papa!
He had no idea what it was, other than he was excited it was Sparty. So I reminded him that he liked to curl up/hide in the pillowcases that Grannie had made him, so she had told him she was going to make him an Owen-sized bag! Oh my, yes, he remembered, then he was SUPER EXCITED!
Someone else liked it, too!
Owen wanted us all to fit in the sack but we didn’t quite fit so just the kids were in it! (This is the only family picture we ended up getting!)
Someone wasn’t happy that we told her she couldn’t play with Owen’s Doc McStuffins doll. She was also TIRED as it was past her bedtime.
A cookie alphabet matching/spelling game from Grandma Marsha!
Serious Katie opening a present. You can tell she’s concentrating because her tongue is out.
Not a great pic, but I left it in so you can see how long her bangs are! This is why she wears pig tails all the time (but tonight was bath night).
Minion PJs from Gramma Jean!
And of course Katie co-opted them to put on!
A Christmas flap book from Grandma Marsha!
Magformers from Grandma Marsha!
A thank you hug!
Finally! Bedtime milk with Gramma…wearing a tote bag of Grauntie Marge’s!
Both kids went to bed about 30-45 minutes later than normal, and both were TIRED even though neither claimed to be. But it was super fun and I’m glad we did it. The kids loved most everything and I did a pretty good job shopping for the grandparents! There are still more pre-Santa presents to open, but that will come tomorrow…
Helping make cookies for Santa
Of course, his help involved stirring for about 13 seconds total. 🙂
Owen’s big surprise!
I kept Gramma Jean and Grauntie Marge’s arrival a secret just in case something didn’t work out…
Eating Grannie Lin’s cookies!
Yummy care-package cookies!
Pre-Christmas Chili Dinner & Parade
We were invited to a friend’s house for a pre-Christmas chili dinner today. This is before we headed out. Yes, it was unseasonably warm.
Owen accidentally found his old Buzz Lightyear that I was going to surprise him with on Christmas…so I made him “help me around the house” to earn it—and he never set it down except to get dressed! (We just watched Toy Story for the first time a few weeks ago and he loves it!
Katie wanted to go outside.
Owen had fun playing with all the kids there—running around outside (with Buzz, of course!). And Katie had fun wandering in a new house. There were enough other parents there that you didn’t actually have to keep a dedicated eye on your kids so it was more enjoyable than I thought it would be.
We originally weren’t going to stay for the parade because it started at 7 (Katie’s bedtime) but they changed it to 5:30 so we were able to go! Our first parade! And a small-town parade at that! It’s been A LONG TIME since I’ve seen any parade—let alone a small-town one—and I was reminded just how interesting they were…about five police cars (county and city from surrounding areas), six fire trucks, ambulances, people who were running for mayor/commissioner/whatever, girl/boy scout troops, etc. Blah. Let’s just say I’d never have gone except I wanted Owen to see it since he’s in love with everything Christmas. And it was warm (it was 65).
But I have to say a parade in the dark is kinda crap. There’s lights on the trucks/floats/etc. but you can’t see any of the signs. But Owen had fun so that’s what matters!
Waiting for the parade to start:
The posse we were with (not everyone):
Yes, Buzz came with him. Owen never set him down all night.
Clapping!
Waving!
They were throwing candy and Owen got a raspberry lemonade sucker that he didn’t like—but Katie did!
The fire trucks were loud!
Happy boy!
Santa ending the parade!
Then it was a quick walk back to the host’s house, goodbyes, and we were home by 6:40!
Owenisms 33
Owen: I don’t like that smoke.
Me: It’s exhaust.
Owen: I don’t like it—it tastes like bad.
Owen: Mom I feel blue.
Me: Blue? (Making sure I heard him right.)
Owen: Yes, blue. It means sad.
Me: Yes, it does. Where did you learn that?
Owen: Learning school.
Trying to decide what to take for Show & Tell this week that starts with C or is holiday-related.
Me: How about a coyote?
Owen: What’s that?
Me: It’s like a wolf.
Owen: We don’t have that.
Me: How about chocolate? Or cheese balls?
Owen: Noooo! You don’t take food.
Me: How about crayons?
Owen: No—we have those at school.
Me: How about your [Fisher-Price] Christmas tree?
Owen: YES!
(It’s part of a Fisher-Price Christmas Village Owen got from Aunt Marie and Uncle Doug two Christmases ago. Both kids LOVE it!)
Owen put his ninja costume on.
Owen: Mama, if there’s a bad ninja in the house I will take care of him!
Me: Are you a bad ninja?
Owen: NO! I’m a good ninja!
Santa Owen
Owen wanted to wear his Santa hat for the last day of school.
Owen’s Christmas Tree
And Santa hasn’t even been here yet!
That little stinker knows…
I mean just LOOK at that face! 🙂 She knows I caught her doing something she shouldn’t be. And she already knows and understands my counting to 3. Except she doesn’t move at 1 like Owen does. She waits until I count to 3 then stand up…THEN she does it. STINKER I TELL YOU!
Owen’s Christmas Party
It’s not really a party—it’s more like a post-afternoon-snack snack with treats like M&Ms, cheese balls, and candy canes with the parents standing off to the side watching the kids eat. It’s exactly how the Halloween party played out as well…but just not what I’d think a party would be. But then again, it is only Pre-K…maybe the parties get better. 🙂
Someone discovered the presents!
Christmas lights at the farm!
This was another surprise mystery trip for Owen! I got a sitter for Katie so it was a mom and Owen only night!
The local autism society chapter sponsored a trip to the “Festival of Lights” hayride at Mike’s Farm (a local family-oriented business that includes hayrides, Christmas trees, pumpkin picking and a variety of other crops in addition to a home-cooking restaurant).
I knew Owen would love it (he’s always loved lights but this year he loves everything Christmas!) and thought this would be the perfect opportunity because it was a reserved trip and we wouldn’t have to wait in the always-horrendously-long lines.
Of course it started off a little annoying—there was supposed to be someone there with a sign for our group but we walked all over and there wasn’t (and I was only there 20 minutes early). I finally got in the line to get tickets and when I got to the front she said “Oh no you don’t need to pay here…you will pay as a group.” I asked where and she just says “Oh behind the barn.” Oooo-kay. So we walked around again and I finally just stopped and asked some people if there were there for the autism group—and they were. Phew! The lady with the sign finally showed up about 10 minutes before we were supposed to be leaving on our hayride. So, not great planning, but it all turned out okay.
Owen was excited just looking at all the tractors lined up…
On the bales of hay!
Then we started! They played Christmas music which I thought was a nice touch…and it came into play later (which I had been somewhat spoiled by reading the reviews beforehand) but I’ll get to that. Also, we obviously hadn’t been on this before, so the first five minutes were really boring and there were barely any lights and I was seriously thinking “I PAID FOR THIS?!” And then we rounded a corner…
A gingerbread house with gingerbread people—which really excited Owen because they have been dealing with gingerbread all week at school!
“Look! Mama! A snow globe!” I didn’t even know he knew what a snow globe was! (Thinking later, we have a small snow globe ornament on the tree.)
And a still! Only in North Carolina, eh?
I missed shots of the live action scenes because they were behind me and we weren’t supposed to take video—but the action was following along to the song. Of course I don’t remember the song, so Googling led me to “A Soldier’s King” by Kenny Rogers:
No one seemed to notice the man beside the road
He was just a ragged soldier out there in the cold
But he seemed to have a purpose only known to him
As he walked along the streets that night through the town of Bethlehem.In his head he held a memory of all the wars he’d known
In his hand he clutched a medal for the bravery he’d shown
And the weight of every battle he caried in his heart
But his eyes were clear and searching for a manger in the dark.
As we approached, you saw a guy in cammies start walking in front of us—as if we were following him, just like the song was singing. And then he stopped at the manger and we stopped to watch the scene play out (which was really just listening to the song). I’m an emotional sap—and even moreso at Christmas and even moreso with Tom gone—so I wasn’t really paying close attention and was trying to block out the song so I didn’t lose it completely.
Then we moved on and towards the very end, it was some other jazzy Christmas song where it was talking about snow (heck, it might even have been “Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!” for all I remember) and it started snowing! They stopped the tractor and just let us sit in it for a minute. Owen was thrilled!
And if I wasn’t already emotional enough, they ended with “God Bless the USA.”
And 30 minutes later—almost on the dot—we were back! I asked if Owen liked it and he did—and he said “Thanks, mama, for bringing me!” 🙂 I told him I liked doing special things with him and he said “I love doing things with you, too!”
So it was a great night!
Someone wants the snowflakes!
It looks a little better now.
I bought some pre-lit garland at Target today. Owen liked his surprise—he had to keep going outside to look at it. 🙂
Hanging snowflakes!
I hate the little white 3M tabs, but I gave up on the suction cups this year because they never stay stuck (we tried putting them up last night and half fell down before Owen went to bed).
Owen hopes Santa will like these!
Hanging more ornaments
I let Owen hang the stitched ornaments tonight. They all went in about a 1′ x 2′ square section. 🙂
Ornaments she can play with!
I got out the bag of stitched ornaments that my Grandma Smith made (and got passed down to me after she died). I figured Katie couldn’t really hurt them…and she LOVED them. Getting them out of the bag, putting them back…tongue out the whole time, working hard.
Meeting Frosty
She was very intrigued by the toddler-life-sized Frosty at Owen’s school today.
