Pre-Christmas December 2015

December is a busy month. The days leading up to Christmas are full of checking off To-Do items mixed in with a little bit of stress and a side of fun. I have to admit to feeling a little overwhelmed this past December. It was very reminiscent of December 2012 when I was pregnant with Camden. I felt like I was going through the motions and just trying to keep my head above water. I blamed my 2012 December on the fact that my little sister got married just days before Christmas and that we had houseguests for a few weeks during the month. When I found myself feeling the same way this year with no houseguests or weddings to plan, however, I realized that the common denominator was, in fact, pregnancy. Oh joy. Add that to my list of "reasons I'm glad this my last pregnancy." 

Despite my "Bah Humbug" pregnant attitude, we were able to do a few festive activities throughout the month. There were naps by the Christmas tree:

And Monday playdates with Ryan:

Mondays are the only day during the week that Brady doesn't have to go to preschool. Since we aren't rushed at the noon hour to get Brady off to school it makes for the perfect day to meet Ryan at school for lunch. We went a couple times in December and even got to stay for Ryan's after lunch recess. Ryan is such a proud big brother and he loved showing Camden off to his friends. His favorite activity while we were there was giving Camden piggy back rides around the field. Both boys loved it.

Both Ryan and Brady wrote extensive Christmas lists for Santa this year. Ryan included things like his own computer, an iPhone and a real grappling hook on his list. I'm glad those weren't the only things on his list. I told him to think about what he wanted most from his list and was relieved when he settled on Mine Craft Legos. Phew! I don't know what we would have done if he'd said a computer! Brady asked for more reasonable things like Power Ranger toys and more stuffed animals. Our city has a "Visit with Santa" night each year so we took the boys over to the clubhouse for hot chocolate and a chat with the big guy. They decided to hand deliver their lists to Santa that night. Luckily, I had already finished up most of my Christmas shopping but I grabbed this picture last minute so I'd have a copy of the lists to look back on if I needed to. Thank goodness for the zoom feature!

The visit was quick. Literally just long enough to take this picture- but it was worth it. And no tears from Camden this year! :)

My sister, Anne's, birthday is on December 10th so we had a little birthday dinner get together for her the week of her birthday. My brother and his family happened to be in town that same week so it was fun to get the families together. My grandma also joined us. I didn't manage to get a group picture, but somehow have like 5 different shots of Anne blowing out her birthday candles. I would make a terrible event photographer.

We were able to score some reasonably priced tickets to a BYU basketball game one Friday night and it ended up being a really fun evening. Camden and Brady even sat through the whole game. With four boys in my future I'm sure this is just the beginning of sports game family outings. It's so fun when we can find something that we all enjoy!

Each year the Bellows side of the family gets together for a little Christmas party. This year Pam and Doug got everyone tickets for the Polar Express on the Heber Creeper. The grandkids were in train heaven! The railway was just a few minutes from Jason and Kristen's house so we all had dinner at their house before the train ride. It was cold, but once you got on the train it was very comfortable.

Camden has reached the less-than-cute stage of making dorky faces when I ask him to "smile." I have to keep repeating to myself, "It's just a phase. It's just a phase." Also, I love Pops' yawning photo bomb in the background. Haha.

We rode the train for about 20 minutes and sang Christmas carols until we reached the "North Pole". We never got off the train but Santa hopped on board and visited each of the train cars and gave each passenger a bell. He got right in Brady's face and asked him what he'd like for Christmas. I think Brady was a little out of his comfort zone with a stranger in his face so he panicked and said, "Nothing." It's a good thing we already gave Santa his list a couple weeks before!

Somewhere along the way we picked up the tradition of making a gingerbread house each year. The kids always look forward to it and, with the pre-made kits you can buy now, it's always a fairly simple family activity. I think this was the first year Camden got into decorating and he had a blast.

Camden was less than cooperative when it came time to take a picture ("It's just a phase. It's just a phase.") so I asked Ryan and Brady to take a quick picture with the finished house before heading to bed. Their smiles were all sorts of awkward...

until I said "Toot!" instead of "Cheese" before taking the picture. The things you'll do for a decent picture with real smiles. 

It started snowing the week before school let out for Winter Break. It was great timing and the boys were anxious to get out and play in the snow. There is a fantastic little sledding hill across the street on the golf course that is just the right size for my boys.

I was tasked with pulling Camden up the hill on his sled which was okay once or twice, but by the seventh or eighth time I had to take off my coat and was huffing it up the hill. Luckily, Ryan was there to take over for me when I'd had enough and then, by the end of the evening, Camden was pulling his own sled up the hill! Thank heavens!

I've been trying to stay active this pregnancy (you wouldn't know it by looking at me... or my scale!). Running at this point is out and I sort of hate the prenatal exercise DVDs I have so that leaves me with walking. This winter has made that nice and difficult with the constant snow and ice so I have not been able to be as consistent as I would have liked (notice I said "trying to stay active" in that first sentence- I have not been very successful). I probably make it out once or twice a week if weather permits. I got this picture of an underpass I walk through on my route. I thought the icicles looked pretty cool.

With such a cold and snowy winter we have been seeing a lot of deer in our neighborhood and on the surrounding trails. I took this picture on another one of my walks. The deer was standing right in front of me but by the time I thought to take a picture it had walked down the trail a bit. Unfortunately, we see just as many dead on the side of the road as we do alive. Some times they are even the same ones you saw alive a few days earlier. :(

My grandma hosts a fun Christmas party every year. I remember going to them once or twice whenever we were in town when I was young. My cousins who are local have been going every year since before some of them were born. We always have a big family dinner and then play a present exchange game. It's so fun to watch my boys make some of the same childhood memories that I have. At 80 years young my grandma is a total trooper to host such a large group after all these years. We always look forward to her Christmas parties and it is so nice of her to provide an opportunity for extended family to get together.

The Sunday before Christmas I had the boys wear their Christmas colors. I was looking for an Instgram worthy shot in front of the Christmas tree but it was Camden's goal in life for that not to happen.  ("It's just a phase. It's just a phase.") Brady didn't really help the cause either. (stubborn much?)

I am not one to take pictures of our Elf on the Shelf and post them on social media... or am I???? This was just too good of a spot not to share. #Sorrynotsorry

I decided to do treat plates for my neighbors this year. Fact: we have a lot of neighbors. Like, A LOT. I only had enough plates to deliver to all the people who gave us something and my immediate next door neighbors. It kept us plenty busy. Next year I will be on the hunt for a more simplified neighbor gift- but maybe that's just pregnancy talking. ;)

I waited until the boys were out of school to do the neighbor gifts so they could help me make the deliveries. Ryan had the cute idea of wearing Santa hats so they could be like Santa's helpers. (There's a reason he's my favorite...)

It was super snowy the morning we decided to deliver the treats. So snowy that I didn't really want to drive and get stuck so we walked around the block to deliver the treat plates. It was slow going with this little guy taking up the rear- and stopping to eat snow every third step. Ironically enough, by late afternoon the roads were clear and we could have driven no problem. Neighbor treats were one of those nagging To-Do items floating around in my brain though so it felt good to just get them DONE. (Don't you just love my Christmas spirit this year? Blah.)

We took the kids one evening to see the lights at Thanksgiving Point. They have quite an impressive collection of lights that you drive through. It's something we've done in the past and the kids love it. Ryan and Brady remembered going last year and were so excited to get out of their seat belts once we got into the display. Being in a moving car with no seat belt is such a thrill!

I'm happy that we were able to do a few fun holiday things leading up to Christmas this year, but I am also hopeful that next year I can slow down enough to enjoy it more. :) And maybe not be pregnant- that would help.