11 Things About Christmas in '11

In no particular order, although I just know that Chase is going to love that he came in first!

1. Uncle Chase is AWESOME! He was roommates with Talmage, and T would not go to sleep at night unless I promised him that Uncle Chase would come into their room later. Chase also helped with morning duty and let me sleep in. He's grown up a lot for being my baby brother!

2. The cousin dynamic was hilarious! Talmage is the oldest cousin, and was just as bossy as my cousins say I was when we were younger. The only problem is that cousin Kai is faster than a speeding bullet and most of the time T would just run after him saying, "No Kai, no touch that." Or T would try to block things (the TV, the door, food, Riley dog, trains, etc.) with his whole body. They did get along though, and I can only imagine that these three boys will appreciate their cousin-ness more every year.

2 1/2. James always got new jammies on Christmas Eve growing up, and we have continued that tradition with our little family. They called them 'twas gifts, and I think that's just about the cutest name a present could ever have. I smiled when I wrote 'twas on T and Evie's boxes of pajamas. Evie got some pj's from his grandma as well, so he was extra festive this season. I don't know what it is about baby bums that make holiday characters so cute. Santa bum=cute. Reindeer bum=cute.

3. My mom took my sister and I out for a girls only pampering day as one of our Christmas gifts. We had our make-up done at MAC, got to pick out some make-up and went to lunch. It was SO fun I can't even explain it. Thanks Mom.

4. I got to spend time with Ash, which pretty much made my whole vacation. We don't see each other enough (although we talk on the phone like 100 times a day) and when we're in the same place I tend to hog her time and follow her around. But I'm allowed to, cuz she's my sister.

4 1/2. I don't know what was more fun--decorating gingerbread houses, eating loads of candy, or hearing the scream from Chase when he realized the nephews had pretty much eaten his house into oblivion!

5. I really love that Christmas in California is like fall anywhere else. It's cool and crisp, but you can play outside, rake leaves and ride your new bike/trike/scooter/etc. on Christmas morning. I see the romance of having a white Christmas...but I'd take a green one any day!

5 1/2. My siblings and I are seriously, so mature. You don't even want to know what Ashleigh was saying to get Chase to smile in the first picture. And then we all surprised my Mom with silly faces in the second picture...but she only saw Ashleigh's face and yelled at her (playfully) after the picture. It was hilarious! It's the first Christmas the four of us have spent together in a long time.

6. On our way back to Sac, we took the boys to the pier to see the big Christmas tree and mostly to see the sea lions. T loved the whole experience, and Ev was just happy as can be in his snow suit!

7. Uncle Jordan is a stud, which is pretty much all that needs to be said about this guy!

8. The Wiggy 2nd Cousin crew is growing more and more every year. I know that someone must have a better picture, because my attempt at capturing the kiddos was rather unsuccessful. We spent a wonderful Christmas Eve at Great Papa's house. I wish I had more pictures from the night, but Aunty Lynn (our resident photographer) was home sick. She was super missed.

8 1/2. Christmas morning was MAG.I.CAL. Notice the absolutely gorgeous stockings? Jim's mom made them for me this year as my Christmas present and I am in LOVE. They are complementary, but they each have their own style and flare. I couldn't be more thrilled to have matching stockings for my little family. Anyway, Santa came and can you guess it? T got trains for Christmas--Thomas and James and Percy! He was thrilled. Evie got a little Scout puppy and loves cuddling with him and chewing on him.

9.Christmas dinner at the McKee's was delicious and fun. After dinner we played my Mom's bells and sang Christmas carols. My mom's rendition of "five golden rings" during the 12 days of Christmas definitely stole the show!

10. The day after Christmas we spent at my Aunt Michelle's house, and as always it was a success. The house was decorated beautifully and the food was delicious. And PS, my cousin Sam and I were twinners. Fun!

10 1/2. These two little boys made my Christmas complete. Gosh I love them.

11. My parents gave T a Lightning McQueen scooter for Christmas and he loves it. He's wanted a scooter for some time now, and he loves to show us his cool tricks. The Big Wigs told me they had gotten him a shark helmet, which I assumed was a helmet wiht pictures of sharks all over it. Boy was I surprised when I saw a literal shark helmet! T loves it and has been wearing it nonstop lately.

Um...if you made it to the end of this post you are my hero. Gosh, that was a mouthful...and I kind of had to fudge it to make the list only 11 items long!