Christmas Day 2010

Christmas day was a lot of fun! Each year my children beg me to let us have a crazy hooligan, freaky-frenzied, wrapping paper flying, arms flailing, gone in a flash, present opening free-for-all-- as opposed to taking turns opening the gifts. Much to my children's dismay, once again, the answer to that request was a resounding "NO!"  Call me a mean Mom, but I forced us to stick with tradition, and open each gift one at a time.  And, despite the required turn-taking, they all seemed very happy with their gifts.  I enjoyed watching their reaction to each and every one.



Do we look exhausted? We were so excited for Santa, that we hardly slept a wink.



We had our traditional chocolate chip cinnamon rolls for breakfast.



Creed opening the very first present.



Karen got some lovely princess fingernails from my sister, Michelle. They were a real hit until her turn to open another gift came around, then nails were flying left and right, making unwrapping nearly impossible.



Kyle got a spy watch with a snake cam that records around the corner. He was spying on the people around the corner in the kitchen. So far I haven't seen the snake cam slide under the bathroom door, but I would imagine it is only a matter of time.



All of the girls got a tiara from Grandma and Grandpa.



Creed got a stuffed doggie from my his Great Grandma and Grandpa.

Cameron, Michelle, and Kailani.



This was the note Santa wrote to the children on his goody plate. It said, "Thank you for such a wonderful treat. It was fantastic! I had to hurry to get it before Comet. He loves treats. Merry Christmas to all of you. You have been so good this year. Love Santa   PS-Sorry Comet sneezed on your plate." (notice the green reindeer boogie-- gross!)

 

Karen wearing a snow princess dress that Santa brought to her cousin, Little Z.



My handsome Dad, wearing his new BYU hat.



At about 9:00, after an exhaustingly perfect day, I went to put Creed to sleep. It wasn't until then that I stopped to really realize this was his first Christmas. And even more importantly-- it was his last, "first" Christmas. I felt that familiar panic that comes when I stop to notice how fast time is flying by. I scooped him up, and rocked him to sleep. As I rocked, I thought about how it is sadly ironic that I spend a good portion of my baby's first year walking around in a sleep-deprived haze-- too tired to appreciate how precious each moment is. If I wasn't so tired, I might have spent more of the season noticing how quickly my sweet little boy is growing.  I would have also spent more time thinking about the tiny Christ Child born so long ago. I would have wondered if Mary had the same feelings, holding Him, that I have when I cuddle my perfect little boy. I would have thought about if it was hard for her to share Him with others the way that it is hard for me to be apart from Creed. As I sat there, rocking my boy as his first Christmas came to a close, my heart overflowed with gratitude for the gift of my son, and-- more importantly-- for the gift of Heavenly Father's Son, Jesus Christ.  



I adore this picture, because Creed was looking at me with those love-filled eyes.



The Nativity Story-- Rhees Family Style!

All my life, I have heard people talk about how much they love the family tradition of acting out the Christmas Story on the night before Christmas. We have many wonderful traditions in my family, but this has never been one of them. However, we decided this year (largely due to the fact that we had Creed to play the little baby Jesus) to give it a try. I don't know how the production goes in other families-- but out "pageant" may best be described as a comedy.  We began by drawing parts, and finding a costume.

Our Nativity had a Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus, and a Donkey--



If you can't tell, the sweetie in the pink sparkly outfit is a cow.



That donkey is really adoring that tiny baby!



 My sister, Julie, was the pregnant innkeeper (perhaps a new baby for our Christmas pageant next year)--

We had shepherds watching their flocks (on a leash)--



Sunny was a very obedient "sheep" for my Dad.

The angels were cute, and sang a very lovely (and original) song--

 

Lastly, we had the wise men (well 2 of them atleast) bringing gifts--

My mom was the narrator. I didn't get a picture of her, but she was wearing a nice blue robe (good thing, or she may have felt out of place). I don't know how much of the story was actually heard, and I know there was quite a bit of improv acting going on.  I'm quite certain most families Christmas re-enactments don't include hot pink sparkly cows, sheep on a leash, a donkey who keeps kissing the baby Jesus, or a wise man doing a moosh-face joke-- but ours did-- and I wouldn't want it any other way.

6 Months Old!

My baby turned 6 months old this week. I am amazed at how quickly babies grow up. It makes my heart sad, I am trying to enjoy every moment-- as each stage cruises by.  Creed is such a sweet little guy. He loves to smile and "talk". We have even heard a few really great belly laughs from him.  He can sit up (with a little support), and is already getting up on his hands and knees. He already has his lower left tooth, and likes to chomp on things. We fed him some rice cereal, and he LOVED it!


He was so excited, that he grabbed the bowl and spilled it all over, before the first bite.



First bite of rice cereal.

 

Such a happy boy with a full tummy.

 It has been so fun having Creed in our family the last 6 months. I am excited to see more of his little personality emerge as he continues to grow.  He is such an angel.

Thanksgiving 2010

This year, we stayed home for Thanksgiving break. It was sad to be away from our loved ones, but it was also a lot of fun to be home.  The week went by WAY to quickly. We played games (like "Don't eat Tom" and Thanksgiving BINGO).


Kailani is a Master at avoiding Tom

The girls made Indian costumes. We tried to talk the boys into making some construction paper loincloths-- but they weren't interested (I know.. every party has a pooper).

And of course... we ate (and ate, and ate, and ate). By the time we sat down for the feast (around 3:00 instead of the 12:30 we had hoped for), we were all famished--due to a stubborn turkey that was still partially frozen despite 4 1/2 days in the refrigerator. It was fun to use our best place settings, and eat at the dining table.

One of the greatest blessings of the day (and everyday) was a sweetheart who helped A LOT with the prep and clean-up.  It was a wonderful day!!!