Christmas Eve 2011

After taking care of a few things at home we headed over to my parents house on Christmas Eve to have time to spend with family.  We were joined by Derrick, Shay and Grace.  After an early nap the girls got into their fancy dresses and we headed to church.  Grace was still sleeping so Derrick stayed behind with her.  The girls did great at Christmas Eve mass and Maggie was excited that they played some songs she knew from her Christmas pagent ("Go Tell it on the Mountains")...she belted that one out!!  We headed back to Nana and Papa's to have some snacks and then a yummy dinner.  We all ate way too much food of course.  Next up was what Maggie had waited patiently for all day...some present opening.  We opened up presents from Derrick and Shay and Nana and Papa.  Before leaving Maggie made sure to sprinkle some reindeer food in Nana's yard to help Santa find his way.  On they way home Maggie remembered we had forgotten to set out cookies so she called Nana and of course they took care of it.

By the time we got home it was well past Molly's bedtime so she went straight to bed.  Maggie, Andy and I read the Night Before Christmas.  Then Maggie selected her favorite cookies for Santa, set out some milk and carrots, sprinkled the reindeer food in our yard and then finally headed to bed.  I told her she could get me when her clock said 6.3.0...we will see what happens....

Christmas with the Ensign's

Friday we headed over to the Ensign's to have a little Christmas celebration of our own.  They are our family and it is too busy to see them on Christmas because we each have our own chaos to partake in.  Usually Chrissy and I just get together with the kids because for the last few years it has just been too busy.  Lucky for us we were all able to get together.  We made a couple of homemade pizzas to devour.  The kids were able to entertain themselves.  Maggie and Lucas played while Molly explored and poor Layla enjoyed a movie while chewing away on her fingers to make her teeth feel better.  The adults were able to have real adult conversation.  I can't even tell you the last time the two families hung out together, it has been way to long and needs to be done more often.  We had so much fun.  After dinner the kids exchanged gifts...and then a whirlwind and we were home!  (Chrissy I have to say when we got home and Maggie was able to put her other earrings on the earring board you got her she just sat there and admired it.  She loved it and talked about how beautiful they looked, so much better then sitting in a box she said!)

Maggie's 5th Birthday

Maggie's birthday started out just like any other day.  I made her some muffins but then it was off to work and she had school.  Maggie took cupcakes to Rosa's and to school to celebrate with her friends.  She came home with a birthday crown and a book made for her by her classmates.  She had her last night of swim school so I made dinner and we planned to take her out the next day for a family dinner out to help celebrate. 

A Christmas Story

Sunday was Maggie's Christmas pagent at preschool.  The performance was the same as last year, but twice the fun.  Maggie had been singing all the songs for what seemed like weeks in preparation for the big show.  This year Lucas and Maggie were so excited to see us in the audience, the pointed, laughed and waved as much as they could (I think they were a little nervous last year, but pros when it came to round two).  They sang songs that told the Christmas story complete with hand motions and all. 

 They were so excited because Chrissy's mom (Lola to Maggie and Lucas) promised she would wear this reindeer headband and of course she didn't diappoint!  Chrissy has a picture of that on her blog if you want to check it out! :)

Message from Santa

Maggie's Message
http://family.go.com/santas-list/video/246755-vollerasmm/

Molly's Message
http://family.go.com/santas-list/video/246758-vollerasmm/

Maggie's Birthday Party

Today was Maggie's fifth birthday party.  Being winter and all we are stuck inside for Maggie's birthday.  We had done Bouncetown two years in a row so when Shay offered to babysit Marley (because it would be next to impossible to have a house party with her around) we decided the party would be at our house.  A small side project of mine has been to get the basement simi finished so the girls have another place to play and we have somewhere else to put all their stuff.  My goal was to have it finished so the kids that came for the party to hang out downstairs.  It was done and the party turned out to be a pretty decent success!  Maggie's best friend is Lucas and then her next closest friends are her cousins.  We had the family over and then we were also joined by Ethan, Jack and Becca.  The kids made gingerbread houses.  I had the candy and frosting all ready to go for them and the houses were preassembled which made the rest fun and easy.  After that little activity we had some food, presents, and cake.  In between it was absolute chaos, but everyone was happy.  Maggie absolutely loves all her presents and got a lot of great things.  Thanks to everyone for making her day so special!

Happy getting close to Christmas!!

Maggie and Molly have a countdown calendar made by Dave's stepmom Joan.  We absolutely love it and Maggie looks forward to seeing who gets to open a gift each day.  The shirts and pajamas are just a few of the things they have gotten so far.

Sorry for the red eye...I am behind in posting clearly and don't have time to edit right now!!