December 24th

Getting so close now...Kids rockin' out, much like my kids. Dragons and all.
Voila! Nothing spectacularly unusual! Yay for mama not having to do more than absolutely necessary!
On Christmas Eve the last few years, we have gone to visit at Grandma Cathy's house to see and exchange presents with my step-mom, my dad, and my step-siblings. It's a small crowd that we have to fit in around all the other holiday partying. My sister Laura has four children, Mark, Braden, Noah, and Emmalyn. Aleks and Bastian rarely get to see their cousins, so this is always a treat for them. My boys are a little more wild than the other children though. We, uh, aren't very strict parents at all.

The boys with their cousins at Grandma Cathy's house, pre-presents, post nibbles. These four were born within just over four years of each other. For about six weeks each summer, their ages are in a direct line. Next June, Noah will be 7, Aleks 6, Emmalynn 5, and Bastian 4.Jon and Anna Kiss - the couple from H & M. Rare picture of the two of us together...
Upon returning to Grandma Cat's house, the boys opened their special gift - a Gingerbread House kit Papa had picked up. So we built it. The icing was sickly sweet and corn-syrupy. I was in charge of it.
The boys were in charge of decorating.
We pretty much did it exactly like the picture... eh.
The boys proceeded to continuously eat it for the next several days.
Especially Bastian.
After dinner, the boys got to open yet another present - their holiday Hanna Anderson pajamas with matching Swedish moccasins. This is the third year in a row they've gotten them. They're so adorable and organically soft...

I noticed that Aleks kept randomly singing "and a partridge in a pear tree," to himself, so I recommended my sisters and I sing the whole song with him, much like our caroling in the car last Christmas Eve. Our singing is terrible:


Then we decorated the tree. We were very Christmasy.
Aleks found an Elf hat in one of the Christmas boxes.
Jim and Natty attached what has been our tree topper the last several years.
Giselle Bündchen in lingerie and a Santa hat. Natalie used to work at Victoria's Secret and while working Christmas Eve three years ago, the employees were given the opportunity to take home the displays that would have to clear out by the 26th. She grabbed this stupid thing as a joke for Jon. We found she fit nicely upon the tree and remembered that she is indeed an "angel."
Aleks got down to writing another letter to Santa to leave with cookies. Also, drawing out plans for every holiday from here til doomsday (Christmas Day: 1) Open Presents, 2) Christmas Feast, 3) Christmas Party).
So we had to work on the having cookies bit. This would take care of not just Santa, but the baking cookies activity we skipped back on the 20th. We made peanut butter blossoms, everyone's favorite. I did the cookie part.
The boys unwrapped the kisses. And ate quite a few as well.