Countdown to Christmas

December is crazy, what with school winding down, holiday festivities aplenty, and the Littles’ ever-growing anticipation for Christmas. Oh, and the SUGAR….so, so much sugar. And this year didn’t disappoint! No siree, we whooped it up and chowed down with the best of them.

Countdown to Christmas ~ 2017

#5: Christmas Lights!

No, this is not our house. Mama couldn’t handle that workload (or the subsequent electricity bill). But our Littles always love driving around and looking for Christmas lights…and breaking as many laws as possible because no one wants to sit still when there are lights to behold!

This house was a great find, with coordinated music to boot! And you know what that means, don’t ya?
Minivan Dance Party!

#4: All I Want For Christmas Are My Two Front Cavities

What are holidays without a sweety-goodness overload? We’re talking cookies, gingerbread houses, brownies, chocolate mousse, and so many more cookies. I can feel my teeth falling out just thinking about it.

Throughout all of our baking endeavors I had three (very eager) Little Helpers.

Oh, and Daddy too. He’s more like my Obliging Wingman.

Their skill level proved to be a bit suspect, but they made up for it in cuteness.

Side note: A few of you may have heard me remark that the Lil Mister is somewhat accident prone. This particular injury (above right) came about by the collision of a very wiggly Lil Mr. Whirlwind and a very padded ottoman. He had a bruise for weeks. And just when his head had finally healed he managed to sled straight into a bush and roll out with a face full of scratches. But more on that later.

We even got to decorate and eat more cookies at Miss Gina’s!

#3: Daddy Loves Princesses

Our next big Countdown moment was going to see Disney on Ice. The plan was that Mama (Extraordinaire) would take the Lil Miss and the Lil Mister to the event, and Daddy would relax (contentedly) at home with the Lil Sir and talk about manly things.

That was all well and good until Mama (who has become very forgetful in her old age after relinquishing all of her brain cells to her beloved progeny) realized that she had accidentally double-booked herself, and that she and the Lil Miss were scheduled to be out of town that very same day.

Oops.

So Daddy was given the supreme pleasure of taking his two boys to watch EVERY SINGLE DISNEY PRINCESS leap and twirl and warble and sparkle.

Suffice to say, he was THRILLED.

Trooper that he is, Daddy made the best of it and the boys had fun. Even if there were no Cars On Ice that a certain Mama may have accidentally promised (in a particularly distracted, I’m-trying-to-get-dinner-on-the-table-and-you’re-still-in-my-face-with-unending-questions kinda moment).

The Lil Mister even got to go on his first date! With the lovely Little Miss Ellie that is, his BFF.

The same sweet Miss Ellie who was so moved by all of the PRINCESSES and SPARKLE that she occasionally burst forth in an outpouring of hugs and kisses for her Lil Mr Knight in Shining Armor.

#2: O! for a horse with wings!
~William Shakespeare

And where were Mama and the Little Miss during this sparkle-induced Hug Fest? Why flying north, of course, to Philadelphia so that we could cheer on Cousin Haley in her play!

Haley was a Rockstar Velveteen Rabbit and her whole fan club was ridiculously proud of her.

Especially this Lil One. Who loved the play so much that she decided we had to stay at the theater the entire day so that we could watch Haley perform a second time.

It was a great Cousin-Fest of a weekend.

And that brings us to our final Countdown to Christmas moment…

The much anticipated

#1: Preschool Christmas Pageant

As we have only one Little in preschool these days, this event got to be a special shining moment for our Lil Mr. Thespian.

(And as a Fellow Middle Child I must admit that I relish any opportunity to heap attention on my oft hedged in Little Man.)

I arrived early with my Lil Set-Up Crew,

Tweedle Dee

and Tweedle “Don’t See Me!”

They fall more into the management camp, as all of the manual labor was left for Mommy to attend to.

But at least they nabbed us some seats in the front row.

And then it was time for the performance to start!

With our Main Man leading his band of merry (and distracted) Little Shepherds.

Here’s the whole class. To the left are his teachers, Miss Tara and Miss Ann. They are AWESOME. I’d become a Frog tomorrow if only they’d let me. And if my tush still fit in those small seats.

And our Lil Mr. was ready to shine!

Here’s a video from the performance.
Type in “wright” to watch. It takes a few seconds to get rolling.

(Didn’t get enough? You can scroll to the bottom to watch more.)

We were all very impressed.

(And identical…my Familial Companions, I mean. Cause you know, I carried the kids, I birthed them, I fed them, and now I even teach them. But all of our Littles still look exactly like their Daddy!)

At the end of the performance there was a very special visit by the one and only,

Santa Claus!

As the performance came to an end we tried our best to capture some photos of our Lil Motley Crew together with Santa. But as often happens, that didn’t pan out very well.

Santa must go through some pretty intense training so that He can keep HO-HO-HOing during meltdowns.

We finally settled for this.

And then I remembered that though the Lil Mr. does not look much like me, he does in fact act a lot like me.

Meaning that he was out of steam and needing some vittles, STAT!

And low and behold, we got our merry back and had a good ‘ole Christmas-y time.

We love counting down the days until Christmas, and anticipating the birth of Baby Jesus. What a beautiful, full time of year. And (so long as we’re all well fed), a lot of fun too!

TPPK Christmas Performance Videos
Type in “wright” to watch

Parenting Little People Through Christmas ~ Lessons Learned

Christmas. What a rollicking holiday it can be, chock-full of parties, school performances, church services, cookie baking, gingerbread house making, carol singing, and more. As the parents of (growing) Littles it seems that each Christmas becomes busier than the one before. And so each year the hubs and I try hard to be thoughtful about our family’s holiday plans, aiming to make them heavy on the joy and Jesus and light on the stress and strain. And each year we score some wins, suffer a few fails, and learn a whole lot in the process.

And so as we wrap up our “Round 6” of this whole Parenting Little People Through Christmas experience, I’d like to share a few buds of wisdom that I gleaned from the holiday. Get excited.

1) Despite that internal Mommy voice nagging at you to JUST KEEP SHOOTING, it’s probably best to not get your hopes up for capturing “the perfect” family photo on Christmas morning. Because the chance of finding a moment when everyone is actually looking and cheerful (or at least not p-oed), and no is being pummeled by a sibling is slim to none.

2) No matter how overflowing your daughter’s dress-up box may already be, there can NEVER BE TOO MUCH PRINCESS. We’re talking princess dresses, princess hair, princess art projects, princess books, princess bear (thanks to the financial black hole that is the Build-a-Bear workshop). There’s no end to the princess possibilities! So just lean in, embrace your inner sparkle, and remember that no matter what you buy her she’ll always just want to “look like Elsa.”

3) Boys are simple. And your Little Man can never, ever, ever have enough trains.

Other moving vehicles are neat. Amusing even.

But trains? That’s where it’s at.

As in ALL OVER YOUR HOUSE. (Maybe pick up some steel-toed slippers for yourself while you’re out.)

4) You can, in fact, get away with buying your third-born just 1 or 2 gifts. That is if, and only if, one of those gifts is a “GAH-BAGE TWUCK!!!” Then you’re golden.

5) It’s helpful to marry a man who combines an endearing mixture of creativity, frugality, and complete and utter devotion to his children. The outcome – in the present department, that is – can be pretty fantastic.

6) No matter what you say or do, or how many bibs, utensils, napkins, or threats of “Daddy’s pulling out the garden hose!” you provide, your 3-year-old son WILL turn his Christmas dessert into a sticky, goopy, uber-disgusting face mask. It’s just what he’s gotta do.

7) When you are at the brink of exhaustion, having spent all of your I-must-make-Christmas-magical-and-wonderful-and-memorable-for-my-children-who-would-probably-have-been-just-as-happy-with-a-box-off-styrofoam-peanuts-and-a-spoonful-of-frosting energy, you should dump your kids in the car and MAKE HASTE to your parents-in-laws’ house…

Where you can pawn off your overly-stimulated Littles on their aunts, uncles, and cousins and drown your exhaustion in a plate full of ham and a glass full of vino.

8) And finally, when all of the festivities come to an end and you find a brief moment for reflection (as you squeeze yourself between the mounds ribbons and wrapping paper on your couch), you will ultimately conclude that all of the planning, the late-night projects, the self-imposed stress, and the occasional meltdowns were worth it.

Because of this. (Err…These?)

And because of the birth of JESUS, Christmas IS a beautiful, wonderful, amazing time of year…deserving of every bit of celebration and hoopla we can muster.

(And you have 364 days until you have to pull off the whole crazy feat again!)

A few video snippets from our Christmas morning. Type in “wright” to watch.