Christmas, Part Two

We had a very low key Christmas day.  Typically we spend it with my side of the family, but unfortunately Auntie Mer was on call and spent Christmas at the hospital.  So we laid low and had a nice, quiet day at home.

We woke up early - ok, not really.  The girls were told that they had to stay in bed until 7:00 a.m., so at about 7:01 a.m. they woke us!  We were happy to get started on the gift opening, seeing that Santa had arrived and left a stash of stocking stuffers and gifts for us to open.

The girls were fortunate enough to get an iPad Mini from Santa this year.  A big hit with Quinn - not so much for Sullivan.  I was surprised by that, simply because she is obsessed with playing apps on my phone.  I thought for sure Sullivan would like the iPad.  Maybe in time.

When asked what their favorite gift of the morning was, Quinn had a hard time picking between her Figit Friend and the iPad.  She loved them both to much to choose between them.  Sullivan, on the other hand, most liked the pack of markers that was in her stocking.  Go figure!

Later in the day, Grandma  Jane came over to hang out with us.  We lazed around and watched a movie.  A great way to spend the afternoon.  I don't think that the girls got dressed in their everyday clothes until nearly 4:00 p.m.  That's how lazy we were and how much we enjoyed the day!

A Pooley Christmas

As we typically do, we started the season of celebrating by going to church on Christmas Eve. Each year it seems as though our group gets larger and larger, which is in no way a complaint.  We officially took up a whole pew this year- Nana and Papa, GiGi, Eric and his girlfriend (Jenn), my mom, Ryan, myself and the girls - ten people in all!  

Before church, Sullivan and Quinn posed for their picture.  In years past, I have always been a bit nervous about capturing a picture of the two of them together.  Sullivan was at such an active stage that getting her to smile and stay still for more than a couple of seconds was impossible.  This year, I got so many good pictures it was hard to choose just one!  A sign that they are growing up way too fast!

We, minus my mom, went back to the Nana and Papa's house after church where we spent the evening enjoying each other's company and opening presents.  It is a great way to spend the evening.  And as usual, the girls got WAY more than they needed and asked for.  And as usual, we were blessed that everyone wanted to and was able to provide a great Christmas for the girls (and for us)!

Quinn and Sullivan both loved all their gifts, but were super excited about their DreamLites (a pillow pet that lights up) and Stompeze (slippers).  Sullivan is showing off her alligator Stompeze below.  

Ryan's favorite gift?!  The women's Vikings sweatshirt his mom bought for him!!!  

(That's right - women's!)

Think that one is going to have to go back to the store!

It was so nice having GiGi here with us to celebrate.  We typically don't get to see her for the holidays, so this was an extra special treat that she was here.  Quinn and Sullivan enjoyed seeing her and spending time with her while she was here.  They even spent a night with GiGi at her hotel last night.  How many children can say that they were able to spend the evening and have a sleep over with their great-grandma?!  We are so blessed that they are able to do so!

All in all, a very good Christmas Eve with the Pooleys.... more to come about our other Christmas festivities soon!

Christmas Program

Sullivan had her Christmas program at preschool this past weekend.  She looked so beautiful in her Christmas dress (and accessorized with the green necklace ALL by herself).

She insisted that she also have a picture with Quinn before we left. They look so cute together!

Ryan and I predicted that Sullivan would be the one to wave proudly once she saw us.  We predicted that she would also shout out a great big, "Hi Mommy. Hi Daddy." too.  We were 50% right!  We got a great big, proud wave.

She and her classmates did such a great job singing their hearts out!  The program itself lasted all of about ten minutes, but ten minutes that were worth all the preparation leading up to this special day!

We were so thankful that Grandma Jane, Nana, and Papa were all able to join us for this very special occassion. 

 

 

You'll Never Believe This...

Take a peek at who called our house tonight....

That's right!  Santa Claus called the girls tonight to check in!  How lucky are we?!  

Christopher had reported back to Mr. C about the girls' behavior and he wanted to say that he would do everything he could to bring them what was on their wish list.  

The girls were ecstatic (and that is an understatement!) to talk to him.  Quinn reported that Santa asked for cookies on Christmas for himself and oatmeal or carrots for his reindeer.  You better believe that this year especially, Quinn will have that done!!  Sullivan reported that Santa kept saying, "Ho, Ho, Ho!!" to her.  She was not in the least bit shy to talk to him.  It was almost like they were long lost buddies that hadn't spoken in years!

Below is a snapshot of the girls with Santa this past weekend.  

We were able to visit him and share a wish or two with him.

Who would have known that we would be so lucky to not only get to visit him, but he would also call us from the North Pole too?  Quinn and Sullivan are SUCH lucky girls.  I guess Christopher really must have put in a good word for them!

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

How can you not love my little nephews?!

Crew and Judson just light up the room!

This Year's Ornaments

Ask Ryan - I start shopping for Christmas early on in the fall season. I love it.  I love thinking about our year and what were highlights or hobbies or representations of our girls from that year.  This year I found many ornaments that remind me of the girls. Such good memories!

Quinn

Gymnast - 

Quinn has been in gymnastics for several years now and surprisingly we have never gotten her a gymnast ornament.  We were able to find a blonde hair, blue eyed gymnast that resembled Quinn.

Bike - 

This was the year that we said good-bye to the training wheels and Quinn learned to ride bike on her own.  It was a rocky start, but by the end of the summer, she was cruising up and down our block like a proud peacock.

Sullivan 

God Book - 

Sullivan loves to read books and to be read too.  She always has.  And this year when asked (during her star of the week at preschool) what her favorite book was, she responded, "The God Book."  That being said, she was referring to the Bible.  So when I stumbled across this ornament, it was only fitting.

Sully Monster - 

Sullivan loves Monsters Inc. for the sole fact that the big blue Monster has her same name.  She is proud of that fact.  Every time she sees a picture of Sully she says, "Very Funny Sullivan!" Needless to say, she is pretty excited to see the new movie this summer.

Hair Accessory Ornament - 

I made this ornament for Sullivan out of ponytail holders and a hair bow.  Whenever you think of her or see her, it is inevitable that she is sporting a side ponytail and a bow near the front of her head.  It almost defines her.  As you may have remembered, I tried to change that fact a couple of months ago when I gave her a new haircut.  That backfired on me (big time!) and Sullivan is back to sporting the side ponytail.

Quinn and Sullivan -

VW "Slug Bug" 

This past summer, one of Quinn's friends introduced her to the slug bug game.  She then introduced it to Sullivan.  Let's just say that we are still playing the game to this day... not always so willingly from Ryan and I, but the girls are still playing strong!

I had a blast shopping for ornaments this year.  I think they represent the girls to a T.  Can't wait to see what next year will bring!

Decorating our House...

A week or so ago, us ladies partook in another family tradition of building our gingerbread house.   This is a tradition that I look forward to doing every year.  It is a tradition that I do with the girls.  Ryan is a great spectator, but seldom joins in on the fun.  He just doesn't know what he is missing!

After I had constructed and frosted the roof, the girls dove into the candy and began pasting them on with frosting.

Really there was no rhyme or reason to the candy selection or where it was placed.  One would think that my OCD (or Quinn's) would have kicked in, but not so much this time around!  The girls made that house look so festive and so colorful.

The house was pretty full of candy from roof to floor.  But that doesn't mean there was a little extra pieces leftover to sample when all was said and done.  My girls really don't like candy though. Or anything sweet. Ha. Ha. Ha!

Christopher Pop-In-Kins

Quinn and Sullivan wake up every morning and the very first thing they do is search for Christopher, our elf.  Most days he is here, but not always.  When he isn't here, we speculate that he goes back to the North Pole to report to Santa about Quinn and Sullivan's behavior.  Most recently, he has been up to a lot of shenanigans and funny business.  Here is what he has been up to....

Typing a Letter to Santa

Christopher was found recently sitting at our antique typewriter in our family room.  

He had started to type a letter to Santa regarding the girls.  The note wasn't finished so the girls had to predict what he was going to say.  The last line of the note read, "The girls have been rather..."

Quinn predicted they had been good and he was about to write that to Santa.  Sullivan wasn't sure and didn't really know what Christopher was going to say.  She agreed with her big sister.  I'm not sure if they were right or not, but the next morning Christopher had finished the letter, sealed it in an envelope and asked the girls to mail it to Santa Claus.  Time will tell, I guess.

Wearing Necklaces

Christopher also was spotted wearing most of the girls' necklaces.  He even sported Sullivan's pink glasses necklace. Doesn't he look beautiful?!

Playing Games

One of Quinn's favorite card games is Uno.  She just loves it.  So it was only fitting that Christopher was playing Uno one morning.  He had invited a couple of Quinn and Sullivan's favorite friends to join him.  

The amazing thing about Christopher's visit on this particular day is that the card game continued on throughout the day.  When Quinn came home from school she noticed that some more cards had been played.  After gymnastics, we came home and even more cards had been played. Before bed time, Quinn and Sullivan both noticed that Christopher had thrown his hands up in victory.  Christopher had WON at Uno!  Amazing how all of this happened right under our noses.  What magic!

The following night, Christopher was playing Sullivan's game of Sequence.  This time he brought along an entourage of spectators and was taking on Minnie Mouse as his opponent.  Much like the previous night, the game continued all day long, with Christopher being victorious again! 

Taking a Bubble Bath

Bright and early this week, Sullivan found Christopher soaking in the "tub."  Knowing that the tub was WAY to big for him, Christopher filled the sink with bubbles (marshmallows) and invited a couple of friends for a pool party.  

Dora and Ariel enjoyed the bubble bath just as much as it looks like Christopher did!

Decorating the Kitchen

We woke up this morning to quite the sight in the kitchen.  Christopher had TPed the kitchen and was hanging upside down from our chandelier.  He had an important message for the girls - reminding them to be good and to always be truthful.  We have had a little bit of trouble remembering those rules this week, so I think Christopher was there to gently remind them to be on their best behavior. 

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The best thing about Christopher joining our household is the amount of tattling (to me) has greatly decreased.  The girls usually run to me to try to tattle on each other if they feel slighted.  Over the past week or two, they have directly bypassed me and went straight to Christopher.  "Christopher, Sullivan just ______ (fill in the blank)."  or "Christopher, Quinn is being mean to me."  How sweet it is to my ears to not have that directed my way.  I just need to ask whether Christopher has a Valentine's Day elf friend, and Easter elf friend, maybe even a Fourth of July elf that could come visit our house?!? Let's hope!

Dear Santa,

As I have said before, their is a stark difference between Quinn and Sullivan's personalities.  It is evident in how they act and how they carry themselves.  It is also evident in this year's Santa letters. 

In true Sullivan fashion, you have to use your imagination to understand what she means in her letter.  In her defense, she has never written a Santa letter before so she might not be sure of what it really means to write a letter.  Sullivan's letter to Santa was scribed by Quinn (with the exception of her signature)...

We asked her for clarification about the whole bat thing.  No clue what she is talking about.  I don't think she knows either.  But after all, it is her letter and if that is what she wants Santa to know, I'm good with it!

Quinn's letter is much more traditional than Sullivan's letter.  It is full of a list of wants, just like most other 6 year old children. They are all things that she has wanted for some time. She wrote the letter all by herself one Saturday afternoon.  Not her best handwriting or penmanship, but that's what happens when you give a pen to a six year old!  Maybe Santa will bring her a new handwriting book?!

As you can see - two different letters from two different children!  Here's to hoping that Santa resolves his bat issue at his house, that he brings his reindeer that Sullivan loves on his journey to our house, and that he brings the girls just what they want for Christmas.  That is, if Quinn and Sullivan, wind up on the 'nice list' this year.