Christmas 2015

I know... it's been a month since my last blog entry. Let me explain. A few weeks ago I planned to write my Christmas blog entry as I do every year and I left my computer open on the end table in the living room. The cord is plugged in across the room on the other wall and I tripped on the cord causing the 2009 computer to crash closed and fall to the ground. Now it won't start. So now, I need to take my laptop to a computer place and have the pictures saved because all pictures from the past 7 years or so are on there. Seriously crossing my fingers they can be saved!

When that happened, we then decided that since we just bought a laptop in September that was hooked up to the tv, I should use that one instead of buying a new one. We ordered an android box for the tv and now I write on the laptop that was once not so accessible being hoked up to the tv. So here I am a month later!

So Christmas....

Our Christmas tree on Christmas eve! I always get this picture before we leave for my Mom's Christmas eve supper because that's when we take most of the gifts from under the tree! Christmas Eve was busy as always with first visiting Aleksy's Babcia and Uncle in the early afternoon then heading home to prepare baked good tins, a vegetable dish and gather all the presents. We thought it was busy in previous years, but that was nothing! Add a 3 month old to the mix and that's a lot more work!

The baked good line up: Christmas sugar cookies, ginger snaps, chocolate peanut butter squares, shortbread squares, rice krispie peanut butter balls, brownies, cranberry walnut tea biscuits, and butterscotch peanut butter marshmallow bars. It was a little trickier this year finding time to do all the Christmas baking but I did manage to squeeze it in. I took a couple of Sundays in December to bake while Aleksy took care of Logan!

We got to my Moms for Christmas Eve supper around 4pm. We had lots of hang out/time for drinks before supper so there was lots of picture opportunities: all the kids with Aleksy and Frosty! We also opened some presents before supper (the Bran man had to work Christmas eve!).

And when supper was ready Aleksy took on his position as the turkey carver as usual. The girls were ready for supper (so they could finally open their Christmas presents!!).

And present time! Mr. Logan was getting a bit on the cranky pants side toward the end of the night. He had a pretty long day for a 3 month old... So he spent present opening time wrapped in his comfort blanket with his pacifier. First Christmas family photo!

By the time we wrapped up at my Moms after supper and presents, it was pretty late. We had aimed to be home for around 9pm but with Christmas Eve being crazy as usual, we got home later than expected around 10:30pm! So Logan's picture with his cookies and egg nog for Santa and carrots for the reindeer is a very very sleepy Logan. Look at that glossy eyed little man... all prepared for Santa!

Because of Logan's late night, Christmas morning was a bit later than a usual Logan morning... around 8:30am. I was so excited for Christmas morning with Logan I woke up a bunch of times! When we all first woke up, we all opened up our stockings (Kate included). Santa brought Logan some bath toys, socks, a book, and toy in his stocking!

We also did our best to take a picture of Logan in front of the Christmas tree with our stockings. This is the best we got!

The thing about Christmas morning with a 3 month old is that he doesn't understand what's happening, so after a morning bottle, opening stockings, and taking pictures it was time for a nap! So Christmas happened in shifts... after Logan's morning nap we then got to presents around 11! Christmas is going to be so different in years to come!

Logan got some pretty sweet Santa presents including a jolly jumper which he tried out for the first time on Christmas day! He had the standing and a slight wiggle down right away! The jumping comes later...

After presents, it was time to vigorously prep food for Christmas supper, which we hosted and clean the house. The stuffing, turkey, carrots were our responsibility! We had lots of help from Aleksys Mom with sides and help with mashed potatoes from my sister! Aleksys brother watched Logan for a while and we still were rushing until 3:30 when Aleksy's parents arrived!

Christmas day supper! So delicious, I just wish I could eat more! After supper, my grandparents and uncle Scott, aunt Cindy and cousin also joined us for dessert and some gifts. It was an early night with everyone leaving for about 10pm... then Aleksy's brother stayed behind and his girlfriend Nicole also joined and we stayed up until 3:30am playing cards against humanity with drinks!! That was the first night ever that Logan slept the entire night... his gift to us after staying up so late!

Christmas day family photo! This family picture makes me so happy!

Logan in his "my first Christmas" onesie!

For Christmas, my Grandma was busy knitting all 6 of us striped hats! So on Christmas I suggested we all bring our hats to my Grandma's the next day (boxing day) where we celebrated my Grandma's birthday! And we got this shot! Yup... Logan and I have matching black and white striped hats!

Christmas festivities continued on after Boxing day on the 27th when Zac, Sam and Scarlett joined us for some Christmas supper leftovers and kiddie present exchange! I love Logan's face in this picture as he opens his present form Scarlett! He's the best. He loves staring at bigger kids like Scarlett.

And on Tuesday the 28th, Logan took his first road trip since Kitchener when we went to visit Nikki and Jon Jon in Burlington. I'm not going to lie... Logan and me both cried on the car ride. For different reasons... Logan was frustrated in his constraining car seat and I had immense guilt for bringing him on a 1.5 hour each way car ride. I'm better now that he's made 2 trips to Hamilton + this trip to Burlington AND a Toronto trip! Logan's a champ! And I don't cry anymore...

On this day at Nikki and Jon Jon's, Logan got a fantastic ninja turtle onesie for Christmas (our 5th ninja turtle!!) and he rolled over for the first time! We even got it on camera...

Here's the boys with their babies....

We celebrated Christmas with Chels, Warren, Andzelika and Paul on New Years. We went down to Hamilton for Logan's first overnight and he did really well... slept from 9:45 to 4:45am for his bottle! He also did well with the car ride.. it was nice that the round trip was separated by a day...

We had some supper, opened some Christmas presents, put all 4 kiddos to sleep upstairs then played some pictionary and all of us made it to midnight! We missed the count down though because we were confused about the exact time... And because we have a baby and Chels is preggers we only stayed up until about 12:30-1am... not too bad for us though!

New Years day we had a big breakfast (like we always do at the Browns..) and headed back to London afterward!