Cousins' Christmas

We celebrated Christmas with our Winterhoff family this past weekend, in what L&L refer to as "Cousins' Christmas".  This year, there were a couple of new "cousins" to add to the  

joyous chaos, as Scout (the Richmond Winterhoff's 8 week-old mini Labradoodle puppy) and Hailey (the Charlottesville Winterhoff's new yellow Lab) joined the family.    

The human children (that sounds funny, but it is how we clarified which "kids" we were talking about all weekend) loved the furry children, and the dogs were a big part of the Christmas celebration (and received LOTS of attention from their adoring cousins).  This created a tally of 3 dogs, 6 children, 8 adults, and a partridge in a pear tree in one house for our weekend festivities, and we think that Bean and Poppy deserve a medal for being such accommodating, gracious, and flexible hosts.  

One of my favorite parts of Cousins' Christmas is the children giving gifts to each other.  They carefully select presents for their cousins, wrap them, and are excited to watch everyone open their presents.  This makes our hearts happy as parents and is fun for everyone:

There are gifts from aunts and uncles, piles of presents from Bean and Poppy, and traditions (such as "back to back" presents) that have been carried over from the time that these little boys' Daddies were young:

I will remember this Cousins' Christmas as the year that Leah squealed with delight when she opened the two girl superhero figures that she received.  While other 4 year-old girls may have Disney Princesses on their Christmas wish lists, our little Peanut asked for Batgirl and Supergirl... "so I can have my OWN special super heroes when I play with Bubbie...": 

Sure enough, as soon as all the presents were opened, Leah joined the boys as they played with their action figures.

This was the Cousins' Christmas where the children randomly exclaimed, "PHOTOBOMB!" without really understanding what it meant... until SOMEONE "ruined" their annual Christmas picture with a concrete example:  

*Mark seems to think that the term "ruined" is subjective here.

This Cousins' Christmas, I wondered how many more years she would sit in this small rocking chair, as she does every December, and open her presents with such childlike wonder and awe:

This Cousins' Christmas, I gave thanks for grandparents who play, snuggle, and lovingly plan every detail of our holiday celebrations: 

We toasted to this Cousins' Christmas, to children who are old enough to go out to a restaurant and entertain themselves... which means we can all enjoy a fun family meal out.  No more diapers, strollers, and naps to work around... Cheers!

We love our annual birthday party for Jesus on Sunday morning of Cousins' Christmas weekend.  The children shared their own special gifts with baby Jesus, and whether it was a song on the piano, singing a Christmas carol, playing the recorder, or reading a Bible verse, they all were a part of the special Christmas message:

Blowing out candles on Baby Jesus' birthday cake.  

And oh, how lucky we are to be able to continue our celebrations with Great Grammy and more of our extended family at another special Christmas gathering.  More cousins, more presents, and more special memories together!

Surrounding sweet little Charlotte with her adoring big cousins/fans.

Luke teaching 2 year-old Everett how to play Connect Four.

On Monday, our family went to Christmas Town at Busch Gardens, where we saw 8 million beautiful twinkling lights, watched spectacular live shows, rode several rides, and toured a magical Christmas wonderland.  It was a special treat to receive Christmas Town passes, and we loved this unique part of our Cousins' Christmas weekend: 

With so much fun and excitement last weekend, it's hard to believe that Christmas day is still to come.  What a very merry Cousins' Christmas it was this year!

Pickle in the Tannenbaum

It seems like every Children's Christmas Program in our family has a good story behind it.  Remember the one year that Luke told us that he was starring as Joseph in his preschool program, but was actually the donkey?  Well, when we found out recently that the 2nd graders at Oak Ridge Elementary were going to perform "Holidays Around the World" in mid-December, we were excited.  Parents received an e-mail from the music teacher a few weeks ago with a list of classes with their corresponding country/holiday.  There was one sentence in the e-mail which stated, "Please see the chart below to determine what costume your child should wear."   Luke's class was listed as "Germany/Pickle in the Tannenbaum".  There was some social media chatter among the other moms in Luke's class:

"Should we dress the children as pickles?"  

"As Christmas trees?  

"Should they wear all green?"

"How about lederhosen...Wouldn't THAT be something?" (chuckling to ourselves)   

"Maybe a beer stein in hand...?  Just kidding, of course..."    

I made it a point to ask Luke's teacher for clarification, but he seemed equally clueless.  And then, recently, another parent told me that she cornered the music teacher, and that the teacher's response was, "Oh, YES, lederhosen, peasant shirts, ALL of that!!"

This parent was kind/brave enough to inform the music teacher that most of us were pretty clueless about costume expectations, and the wonderful teacher sent out a very specific, detailed list (with pictures) for costume inspiration, which magically appeared in our e-mail inboxes the next morning (exactly one week before the program).  Here's a look:

So, I (along with every other stay at home mom in Oak Ridge) spent that entire morning running around Greensboro searching for Alpine hats, German attire, and anything that would be considered acceptable to be worn by a seven year-old boy that would not be categorized as "dorky" or "tights". 

3 hours later, I texted Mark:  "I have white nylon soccer socks, suspenders, and a pink Hello Kitty fedora that I magically plan to spray paint/stick a feather in it..."

I will omit the part of the story where I stood in a store, and, in a moment of desperation, basically pleaded with a cashier (a perfect stranger, mind you) to sell me the Bavarian hat that she mentioned that her son wore as a costume when he was younger (and that she still stored in a hat box in her closet at home).  Luckily she laughed off my request, and I left with some of my pride intact (but no hat).  

Poor Luke came home from school and I bribed him with extra IPad time if he would try on my ensemble:

This poor kid...

Ready to go yodeling!

I felt relatively pleased with the outcome, and then one day before the performance, Luke came down with a fever.  I told someone, "If he isn't able to go to school and be a Pickle in the Tannenbaum, I may cry..."

First World Problems, I know. 

But luckily, our little German boy was better by Thursday, and the musical went off without a hitch.  And yes, there were giant pickles that were paraded across the stage:

That's part of our "German" class posed next to the "Hanukkah" class, who were instructed to wear their "blue and silver" Sunday best.  Not pictured are the "Kwanza" student body, who were able to don anything red, green, yellow, OR black.  Some people get all the breaks!  (There was one boy wearing authentic German lederhosen, and it was quite an impressive get up.  I wonder how many IPad minutes his Mom had to use as a bribe...

Luke and Aiden: Best buddies.

The program was very cute, and the song "Pickle in the Tannenbaum" is actually quite a catchy little tune (that we've had stuck in our heads ever since...).  The kids had fun, and we enjoyed watching Luke, who was happy and not at all concerned about his costume once he saw that he was "twins" with his best friend, Aiden.  (Meanwhile, Aiden's mom and I did lots of behind the scenes coordinating...).   The pink Hello Kitty hat didn't make the cut, but that's probably for the best, and we loved the comic diversion that "Pickle in a Tannenbaum" provided this holiday season.  

As they say in Germany:  "Frohliche Weihnachten!"   

                                    ("Merry Christmas!")    

Christmas is Coming!

Christmas Checklist:

Tree:  Check!

This is classic.  Please note that Luke had to place the star on the top of the tree in 30 seconds or less so that Daddy did not suffocate.

Kids' Ornaments:  Check!

Visit with Santa:  Check!

Mommy was perhaps the most giddy with anticipation that we bought tickets to visit "Santa and the Deacon" at a WFU Alumni Event last weekend!  It doesn't get much better than this for our Wake Forest/Holiday Loving family!

Festival of Lights:  Check!

Christmas-Themed Parents' Night Out: Check!

Leah's preschool hosted a wonderful event last Friday night so that parents could have a date night.  Mark and I enjoyed a fancy dinner at a swanky restaurant (where I exclaimed, "WOW!  We could NEVER bring our kids here!") while our kids enjoyed a fun-filled evening of Christmas activities in their pjs.  What a lovely holiday treat!

Preschool Christmas Program: Check!

  Our sweet Leah sang her heart out at her preschool Christmas program, and it was darling to listen to all of those sweet little voices.  Mark showed up to surprise Leah, and the smile on her face when she saw her Daddy was one of those moments that I want to freeze forever.  I love the above picture of Leah's biggest fan in the front row recording her performance.  The adoration that those two have for each other is priceless.   

Gingerbread Houses:  Check!

Leah and I went to Luke's school this morning to help the entire second grade (120 students) decorate gingerbread houses.   It was a sugar-filled, sticky, festive morning of complete chaos and Christmas cheer.  I wish there was a way to show you the gallons of sprinkles that were left on the cafeteria floor at the conclusion of this activity.  The kids had an absolute blast and ate as much candy and icing as they put on their creations.  Making gingerbread houses is wonderful holiday tradition that Oak Ridge Elementary started years ago (and is still led by one of their retired teachers), and there were many parents who came to volunteer this morning.  I loved that the children were able to pause and just be kids for one morning, am so thankful that we live in such a wonderful family-centered community.  We love our school, and FULLY appreciate those teachers who get to deal with the sugar highs of all those students for the rest of the day.

My little elf hiding in the cafeteria cubbies.

We've been doing so many fun things that put us in the holiday spirit and remind us that Christmas is coming SOON!

Our Magic Hat

It makes an appearance each year at this time.  As we unpack boxes of Christmas decorations, the kids will see it and exclaim, "Our Santa hat!".  They will take turns wearing it as they decorate the tree, and the moment that they put it on, the world becomes just a little bit cuter:

It's a little piece of Christmas magic, which makes Mommy nostalgic and full of love for these adorable little Santas of ours.  Every December, the hat is worn for several days with vigorous enthusiasm.  One year, Luke wore it shoe shopping, to the movies, and to school.  I have taken photos multiple years of my babies (who became toddlers... who turned into big kids...) donning this hat, and it never gets old.  Even the Santa mustache that goes with the hat is an annual tradition, as well as the antlers that our reindeer proudly wear:

 Each December, our magic hat is a festive sign that Christmas is coming.  Luke wore it to church on Sunday, which elicited many smiles from parishioners on the first Sunday of Advent.  I found Leah wearing it as she watched for her brother's school bus one afternoon this week, and she also insisted on completing pages from her Christmas workbook that afternoon, as she explained, "I look like Santa Claus today, Mommy": 

I've found Luke sleeping in the Santa hat on several occasions, and each time, my heart feels like it is going to burst as I watch him dream magical Christmas dreams:

 Last night, I found Luke reading before bed in his (size 10) fleece footie pajamas and Santa hat, and for a moment, he seemed so much younger to me.  It was a glimpse of my little boy, which made me especially thankful for the magic that this hat truly holds... in bestowing special memories each Christmas season as we watch our children grow.

Luke wanted to wear the hat to piano lessons tonight, and I happened to record this.  Magic, indeed.  Enjoy!