Nope, don't have one. Never do. But I want to assure our family that no, I didn't resolve to blog more often, and have already failed. It was merely a glitch that would not allow me to post pictures. And I know that's what really matters, right? So, here is the long awaited - or not - post. Enjoy. :)



December has come and gone, can you believe it? We had a very busy Christmas, as usual, and I have just finished downloading all 163 photos off my camera from just the last week alone. One could probably understand why I don't update as often as I used to. The photos alone are a task to sift through.

We started the month off with Jonah's class attending the Festival of Trees. I was a parent helper (one of the perks of being the field trip coordinator is I get first dibs on what field trips I want to go on!), and it was a great time. It was no different than taking Jonah and one of his good friends on any other day. I didn't have to watch any other kids - it was great! While the boys enjoyed the trees, they really got into the activities. Cookie decorating, "fishing", shopping in the kids only store, and more. Jonah bought a gift for his brother (a reindeer cover for a wreath ring, which he though was a scarf), and a gift for his dad (a magnifying glass).

Until Christmas Eve, the house was busy with crafts, baking, playing outside in the unseasonably warm weather, and having a little Christmas party for the kids. We also made a gingerbread village. Which was promptly invaded by the gingerbread monsters.

The boys were spoiled, as per usual. "Favorites" are on rotation as they normally would be only two weeks after Christmas, but the boys are both enamoured by their new Cars shirts. Joel and I do not buy any textile or houseware items with licensed characters on them, so Jonah was thrilled to see that Santa got him a shirt. Benett was happy with his Mickey shirt, but was pretty bummed it wasn't a Cars one. Oh Santa. Gramma to the rescue, she gave him his own yellow one. Little boy is now happy. :)



A tradition that I once loathed, is still around, and I now enjoy. Mostly because it isn't me having matching jammies and lining up for a photo! And the photos don't come as easily with three busy boys, soon to be four! So, this is the best I could get.
 

The kids had a great time everywhere they went. A few photos of Christmas Eve:


This Christmas, Benett got to meet one of his great grandmas, and while he too was too busy to sit for a photo, we did manage to get one of the boys showing her how to play Angry Birds. It was a very special Christmas for Jonah - I don't think we've ever allowed him to have this much time playing video games! Even Cuddles, his class stuffed animal got in on the action.

Oh, have I not introduced you to Cuddles? This little creature is somewhat of a prized possession in the kitty cat kindergarten class. They each take turns taking it home, and Jonah was lucky enough to get to take it home for all of Christmas break. This in and of itself it a HUGE deal to the kids. Teacher didn't get the memo that my kid doesn't care one iota about Cuddles. So let's just keep the secret amongst ourselves, and pretend that Cuddles was towed around affectionately instead of purposely placed into photos for his scrapbook page.
 
After Christmas Eve, we came home and had the boys complete their "tasks" for the evening. Reindeer need to have their magic food sprinkled so they can find our house:
Santa needs his goodies too. Oh, and we didn't forget the elves. We made them elf donuts, a big hit, and super cute too:

 Christmas morning was the usual - the kids slept in a bit. Ah, perhaps one of the best Christmas gifts!
Benett woke to his stocking of goodies and was particularly thrilled with the mandarin at the bottom. His brother was just as amused at the same age. Love it.




 They headed downstairs to inspect the loot. Or rather, to see who got the biggest present.


 And of course, we dove right in to the new toys.
 

That evening, we had our usual family dinner and Benett proved to be a ham as per usual.
  Never disappoints, that kid.

 I had to share this photo too. Here the boys are learning how to string a guitar with their dad. They actually seemed interested, and it was adorable to watch them tighten the strings with him and figure out what number string went where. I don't think we have a little mariachi band or anything, but perhaps one day they will all be fixing their guitars together.

Oh, did I forget to mention my favorite Christmas gift?! We decided to potty train Benett. It was such a success doing it at this age (and therefore the same time of year) with his older brother, we figured why not? And he has done wonderful. We are so pleased and to say we don't miss diapers in the day would be an understatement.



 We also bid adyou to our avocado plant. It was somewhat hard to see this go. Yes, I will be the first to admit that I stink with indoor plants, but this one was different. It was forgiving. It had meaning. You see, when Jonah was a wee one, I fed him an avocado as one of his first foods. I soaked the stone of it and watched it grow. Just as I watched him grow. And look how well they both did.

I'm just glad it's the plant that bit the dust.