Christmas Traditions

Taylor's year ot put on the angel

Oops, maybe this pic should have been first-cutting down our tree

Visiting Santa at the Christmas tree farm-one kid screaming, one kid smiling and one kid refusing to get anywhere near Santa.  Sounds about right!

Our Gingerbread House

Mailing letters to Santa

Baking cookies with friends

Downtown on the Circle

Cousins baking cookies at moms (Mamaws)

The three cookie bakers!

Christmas at the Zoo

Christmas Eve at my moms.  Todd refused to wear his matching pajamas b/c he had to run into CVS to get something :)  His don't really match anyway, so whatever....

Sprinkling Reindeer dust so Rudolph can find his way!

Leaving milk and Cookies for Santa.  I have no idea why Connor is shirtless.  We don't ask questions.

I am big on Christmas traditions and wanting to do the same thing every year so the kids will remember doing them and perhaps pass them on in their families.  The hard part for me is that I want to do EVERYTHING holiday related and really it is just too much.  For example, I want to cut my own tree down, see Santa everywhere (breakfast with Santa, see Santa land at the State museum, etc.), ride Polar Express in Connersville, do the Gingerbread exhibit at Connor Praire, do Jolly Days at the Childrens Museum, ride around and look at lights, walk around downtown and look at lights, Christmas at the Zoo, Make our own Gingerbread houses, bake cookies, make Christmas Candy etc. etc. etc.  Aren't you exhausted just reading that?  There is no way we can fit all of that into our already busy holiday schedule with Todd's work, Taylor's school events, family events and just every day activities.  There are some though that have already become traditions and that I will continue with.  Others we can do if there is time.  Traditions are still young in our family is Taylor, our oldest, is 7.  Two main ones are that we cut our own tree down at a tree farm and visit Santa at the tree farm.  We also make sure to go downtown to mail our letters to Santa and walk around looking at lights and then get hot chocolate and a treat from the South Bend Choc. Company.  We have gone up into into the monument on the circle the past couple of years but it was closed this year, much to the boys disappointment!  I tried to get tix to the Polar Expess but by the time I stopped dragging my feet-they were sold out!  We did manage to go to Christmas at the Zoo for the 2nd year in a row.  I love this!  It is beautiful and fun!  AND FREE if you have a membership!  Other things we do are sprinkle reindeer dust and leave cookies and milk for Santa on Christmas Eve.  We bake Christmas cookies with my mom and sister every year-1200 cookies this year!  And then deliver them to loved ones.  I also set out every year the Santa pictures from all years past.  There is even a picture of me with Santa when I was a little girl that my mom gave me for Christmas one year.  We alternate years that Taylor and Connor get to put the angel on the Christmas tree but everyone helps put on ornaments while playing Christma music.  All of the ornaments on our tree are special to me and one of my favorite things is to look at each one before it gets put on.  The kids like to put their own ornaments on-as I get them each a new ornament every year with the year marked on it.   My mom did this for me so when I got a place of my own, I had 23 ornaments from each year of my life ready to be put on my tree!  I found matching pajamas this year for everyone which I was really excited about!  Christmas morning before we go downstairs, daddy reads the story of how Jesus was born from the Bible and says a prayer so we can make sure in the hustle and bustle and Santa celebrations that we do remember why we celebrate Christmas.  I am so blessed to have my beautiful family.  We got a lot of nice material things for Christmas but all I really need is my family and friends to make me happy! (I am sure that is a line taken straight from a Lifetime Christmas Movie) Here are a few highlights of the Mann Family Christmas traditions!

Taylor is 7!

My baby boy turned 7 last week!  It can't be possible that 7 years has passed since Taylor was born, but unless we accidentally celebrated an extra birthday somewhere, it is so!  I am so proud of the little boy that he is.  He is smart, sweet, caring, creative and passionate about competition!  He played baseball, football and basketball this year and has loved every minute of it.  He is a natural competitor and is so intense when he is playing.  But he truly does enjoy any sport at any time.  Maybe a little too much.  It is too early to tell if he has any talent or not, but as long as he has fun, then it doesn't really matter (well, that is what I say-I'm pretty sure Todd would word that a little differently).  I am proud of how well Taylor has done in school and how he strives to do "the right thing" and earn high marks on his behavior chart.  I wish he would try that hard at home. For his birthday we had a birthday brunch with the family and had birthday muffins.  Then he had to go play a basketball game, then he invited some friends from school/sports teams and his BFF Aidan for a party/sleepover.  Since it snowed that day, they first suited up in snow gear and went out to throw snowballs and be boys in the snow. Then we had pizza for dinner and loaded up in the car and Todd and I took them bowling.  Then back to the house for cake and craziness and finally a movie to wind the night down.  All were alseep by midnight and Todd and I were EXHAUSTED the next day.  But Taylor loved every minute of his special day.  On Taylor's actual birthday that week he requested McDonalds (ugh I know-I cringe every time they request that) for dinner and we made a gingerbread house as a family.  I hope that he has a fabulous year in 2011 and I can't wait to be right there for all of his adventures.  My heart is filled with overpouring love for my big guy.  Happy Birthday Tay! 

 Cranberry and orange birthday muffin!

 YES, we broke down and got him a DSi for his b-day.  I really wanted to wait until he was 8 or 9 but that was his big gift request this year.....for this we should be nominated for "parents of the year".  This was actually the first year that he quietly opened presents instead of getting super excited with each one. 

 Snowball fight!!! Connor wanted in on the action!

 At the bowling alley:  Taylor, Jacob, Caleb, Matthew, Michael and Aidan

Our attempt at a basketball failed with the orange color turned out more pastel....so maybe it was the basketball for My Little Ponies....

Happy Birthday to you and you and you!

 December is filled with birthdays for us!  And with birthdays, come fun celebrations!  I will probably have  separate post about Taylor's birthday because he is my baby and he had a super long day filled with lots of activities.  First up I went to dinner with my very bestest of friends to celebrate my friend Jiffy's 30-something birthday.  We went to this really cool Italian restaurant with a fabulous atmosphere, yummy food and a cool story about it's history.  Then the following day we had a day of celebration for Taylor.  In the morning, we had a brunch with family, then he had a basketball game, then his friends came back to the house and they played in the snow, we got pizza, took them bowling, then back to the house for cake and a sleepover! WEW-we were BEAT the next day and did not get out of our jammies all day!  But it was all worth it to see Taylor enjoying himself so much.  Next up in the line of birthdays are hubby, Todd, and his twin brother Troy.  Troy lives out of town so we didn't celebrate with him.  Taylor has b-ball practice on Friday nights (WHAT?  CRAZY you say?  We have no weekend b/c we have practice on Friday and games on Saturday?  BINGO!)  We had a quick dinner of chicken tettrazini (sp?), Todd's favorite!  Then after b-ball practice we opened presents and headed downtown for one of our holiday favorites (mailing Santa letters, walking around downtown and going to South Bend Chocolate Company for hot chocolate and cookies!  Soooo, we end December with the celebration of Jesus' birthday on Christmas Day coming soon! I am sure I will have many pictures to share from that.  Until then, I am featuring a few from our celebrations.

 The girls at Jiffy's birthday dinner at Iozzo's.  We let the husbands come too-but we didn't invite them into the picture :)

 Taylor's family birthday brunch (he requested a cranberry orange muffin"

 Taylor's "friend" birthday party

Happy Birthday Daddy!  He didn't order a dessert so I made him hold the candles :)

Ho Ho Ho! Waaaaaa!

We got our Christmas tree at a Christmas tree farm near us.  Well, I guess if you call a 45 minute drive near us.  It is always exciting because we get to take a hayride out to the fields, select our tree, saw it down and carry it until we flag down the tractor again.  Then, while they are getting our tree ready, we go into the toasty warm for hot chocolate and popcorn and to visit Santa!  The boys were eager to help daddy cut it down.  Connor couldn't figure out a good way to help so he decided he would hold on to the strap of the bag that was on daddy's back.  He really felt like he was helping and the pictures of it are hilarious.  Then they all three helped carry it, Connor grabbing on to the very tip of the tree-just to be a part of it!  When it came to seeing Santa though, he wanted NOTHING to do with it.  He wouldn't even walk by Santa to go to the bathroom.  Taylor hopped right up there and told him what he wanted (and we totally had to change what he was getting after he talked to Santa, which involved taking things back and ordering new ones-guess that's what we get for trying to be prepared and done with our shopping early!).  Claire screamed the minute I sat her on Santas lap.  Which happened last year.  But Connor was more than happy to write Santa a letter when we got home.  We will take them downtown and deliver them to "Santa's mailbox" this weekend.  Hope they get what they asked for......

Here it is, time to saw it down!

One more pic with the tree before we get it down.

Here is Connor holding onto daddy's bag "helping" him.  Sweet boy!

The boys carrying the tree

Claire's not-so-happy visit with Santa

Oh look, last year's picture with Santa-same face!

Last years picture with Santa-same coat!  Same Santa too-that helps!

Gobble Gobble (puke puke)

Tis the season of icky sicky, fa la la la la la la la la.  Oh wait, this is a post about Thanksgiving, however that does lead to the icky sicky.  We had 4 Thanksgiving celebrations this years!  I am VERY thankful to have friends and family to enjoy 4 celebrations with.  My friend, Jiffy hosted a Thanksgiving celebration for a group of friends that I love dearly!  All was well....until I got home and proceeded to spend the next two days throwing up and in bed, therefore missing Thanksgiving celebration at my moms. Boo.  But, not only did I get the stomach bug, I apparently passed it on to other people at the celebration-and then the vicious chain just exploded and suddenly everyone in our family and that we knew had the flu.  I am sure it didn't ALL start with me, and I had to have gotten in somewhere-but I am still amazed at how many people had this "THING".  Claire just got over it and Connor is having his own version of it right now.  So, back to that THanksgiving thing.....we went to my dad and Carla's Thursday early afternoon and then up to celebrate with Todd's family. I was the "roll girl" this season bringing a 30 pack of THE BEST ROLLS EVER to each celebration.  They really are the best rolls ever and can be bought for $6 for a pack of 30 at Sam's Club.  They are called Sister Schuberts http://www.samsclub.com/sams/shop/product.jsp?productId=125636.  You can get them in smaller pack elsewhere, but trust me you will want 30. I also made sweet potato casserole and struessel pumpkin pie.  Mmmmm to both! Okay, it's naptime and I am obviously craving some conversation or this wouldn't be such a long post..... Here are a few pics from our Thanksgiving season (no, there won't be any of anyone heaving in a toilet, I promise)

Taylor had a program at school where he had a speaking part and sang.  Then we went back to his classroom for a first grade FEAST!  I made mashed potatoes for 37 people!  That was interesting...

These are the hats they wore during the program.  Cute and all, but REALLY?  You couldn't even see the kids faces, they kept falling off and the kids played with them the entire time.  Is it okay to be bitter about 1st grade crafts??

Cousin Quinn pushing Claire in a baby stroller. 

We went to visit Aunt Erika (Todd's sis) at her appt. the day after Thanksgiving.

One of the kids tables at our "friends" Thanksgiving.  We had a group picture of all of us-I will post it when I get it.  There were 14 adults and 17 kids (& one on the way).  They officially outnumber us!