Christmas with a 2 Year-Old

The terrible two's are talked about a lot,  oft times with good reason I must admit.  But a two year old at Christmas is a dream.  This Christmas was sooo perfect.  All leading up to Christmas we were able to do so many fun holiday things and Luke just got the wonder of the thing we were doing.  He loved seeing Santa, but didn't wonder why he wasn't bringing him presents.   He loved driving through the lights, he loved cutting the countdown Christmas chain, making pretzels for the neighbors.   He loved taking the neighbors the little pretzel bags, he would say Merry Christmas, then turn to me and say I'm Santa, I have big hands.  Made Wassail.  We made a manger for baby Jesus and filled it with straw when we did nice things.  Read Christmas books everyday, became Frosty, reindeer, santa.  Sang Christmas songs...mostly just Rudolf.  Just such simple simple things and it was enough.  I loved it! 

He came down Crismas morning and just stopped and said....Santa came.  We had a kitchen there for him unwrapped.  He just played and played with that.  I had all the little accessories individually wrapped up inside it.  But he didn't care to unwrap any presents he just wanted to play with what he had it was so fun.  Of course it didn't last forever,  he did get the idea after going to house after house he started to ask for presents.  But Christmas morning at our own house was so sweet.  This was the first time we have done it on our own.  The timing was perfect, it was so sweet to be together just our family.   And then go spen time with our extended families was perfect.

Digging for Treasure

Everything is so fun when you are two.  Luke so looks forward to the snow...which I get.  I love snuggling up with a good cup of cocoa.  Okay I even love making a snowman, and a snow angel.   Sledding is super fun when I am all bundled.  Bud this is not what Luke loves about the snow he wants to go shovel.   When ever he sees it snowing he says ooo....lets go dig.  You see the first snow of the year I took his shovel out of the sandbox and told he could shovel like me.  He was thrilled and all of the sudden he was digging for buried treasure...ah to be two.

Really getting into making a snow angel...he also makes them happily indoors.

The gangs all back-bowlin'

My siblings got back from their missions in  the last 6 months or so, so we thought it was time to renew our tradition of going to the bowl game.  It is Bryan and I, my little sister Kimber, little brother Mark, and Bryan's grandma Kaye.  We have a lot of fun and a lot of spicy chili!

On the field after we won.

Took a little detour to Arches.

Can't remember what this Arch is called but it's one of my favorites

Dicken's Festival

Bryan's Family has great memories of going to the Dicken's Festival.  For his mom's b-day we went and got pictures with what they refer to as the Real Santa Claus.  I have to admit he was the most charming Santa Claus I have ever met. 

When Bryan was starting to doubt Santa they went to see him and gave him all sorts of inside info to convince Bryan that he was real.   So this year Bryan's Dad palled up with Santa again with out us seeing.  When we finally got through the line Santa says... "Bryan welcome back it's been so long.  O my Luke come up here sit on my lap."  It was so funny.

Tis the season

We went to temple square this weekend.  We had such a fun time doing a little family Christmas activity.  The lights were beautiful.  Luke LOVED temple square,  everywhere he looked there was a waterfall.   We could have gone in the middle of July and it would have been the same for him, he thought we were just on a scavenger hunt for waterfalls, rivers, and ponds and was in heaven.

 These two pictures make me feel super short and Bryan look super tall, they are taken at the same spot.  I look as tall as Luke and Bryan looks as tall as the temple.


We also got our tree up.  Luke is convinced it is not just a Christmas Tree, but an "O Christmas Tree"  He insists we sing about it daily.   We had a blast putting up the tree together, but the funniest part was when Luke was on Bryan's shoulders adding the top piece and said "ooo so comfy"  So random it had us really laughing.