Advent Calendar, days 13-16

Still having fun with the advent calendar!

December 13: The boys "helped" me make Christmas candy for Jeremy's co-workers and Holden's Pre-school teachers. We made Rocky Road Fudge, Peppermint Bark and these delicious cookies again! And actually, the boys didn't help at all. I thought Jeremy and Pax could have some one-on-one time and Holden would really get into helping me. But he didn't. Out came the candy canes and that's all he was interested in. Pax had his first taste of candy cane on this day also. He had a few licks, made a sticky mess and then he was over it. So it ended up in the trash. Oh well. Maybe next year.December 14: Tuesday evening was one of the best activities thus far. At least in my mind. Maybe that's because we got to spend several hours of fun with the Myers! We went to the beautiful Gaylord Texan and walked through Charlie Brown's ICE. The kids were free and I had a coupon for all of the adults. It was still a little pricey and definitely not something we will do every year. But it was so much fun and I feel like we made some really funny memories in that short amount of time. Get ready for picture overload.
We were bundled in our regular coats + the blue coats they gave us for sliding. The kids could barely walk. And poor Pax could hardly even move with his layers on. It was hilarious.
And here we go . . .
You might notice from this picture that I am wearing flats with no socks. I might as well have been barefoot! It was 9 degrees, people! And the weirdest part is that I knew all of the facts and never thought of wearing my warm winter boots.
Josh and Jeremy with the babes. Josh is holding Camryn though you can only see her hat. I'm telling you, they could hardly move with all the layers on. And Pax looks enthused, right? This is how he looked during most of our stay at ICE.
Oh! Mister Holden had a great time! And he still has some sort of wind burn on his cheeks today!
And he loved the ice slides! And so did I! Kinda felt like a kid again.
I set Pax down so I could take some pictures. He fell over and was screaming for help. He couldn't get back up. Amanda suggested I snap a picture before helping him back up. Smart thinking. :)
The kiddies. I love that you can only see Camryn's red little nose and her eyes. She was not a fan of the frigid temps. Funny funny memories. They won't remember but we'll have the pictures to prove it.
It ended with the nativity scene.
And a final group shot of us and our sweet friends. Fun fun evening, if I haven't stressed that enough.

December 15: Holden attended a Birthday Party for Jesus at school! I love that his school made that the focus of their Christmas festivities. And I love that later that afternoon as I was cleaning in the kitchen and he was rolling his little car on the floor of the dining room, I heard him exclaim with great excitement "Jesus is BORN!" There was great emphasis on BORN. :) Sometimes as he's playing he has little conversations with himself. And yesterday I heard him repeating what some dramatic storyteller had said at school that day. Oh my little boy, he's getting bits and pieces at just 2 years old.

December 16: Today Holden picked out a Christmas gift for Pax. We went all out and shopped from the dollar spot at Target. Holden is into police cars right now. And so he chose a small wooden police car for Pax. And then he played with it throughout the rest of my shopping. And then he wouldn't let go of it. I had to pry it from his hands for the cashier to scan it. And then he got yogurt on it during his snack time. And I was continually reminding him "remember you are giving that to bubba for Christmas." I don't think he completely gets it. It's a tough lesson in giving for a 2 year old. :) But Pax will also be getting Holden something fancy from the dollar spot also. Perhaps it should be another police car. :)