Getting ready for Christmas is almost as exciting as Christmas itself. There's nothing better than sharing traditions with Madelyn and Jay and creating our own.
Our family completed our annual Counting Down with Kindness project.
We donated cookies for a bake sale at Madelyn's school which raised money for a Mr. Heffner's family, a teacher who unexpectedly passed away leaving a wife and two young children.
The kids made 30 Christmas cards to deliver to residents at an Assisted Living Center.
Watching Madelyn and James pass out the cards to the residents made me so incredibly proud. We talked about why the people were living there and what their life was like. They probably do not get to see children often. It might be hard for them to hear you. Etc. Etc. My children, who can be shy with their own family members at times, rose to the occasion.
Madelyn received a kiss too!
Madelyn made card for a little girl in Utah with cancer who requested Christmas cards.
I learned the hard way that it's not a good idea to let a 2 year old pick out a Christmas gift for his sister on December 6th! It's impossible to wait 19 days to give that gift! James was so excited to go to Target and pick something out for Madelyn. Going to Target's toy aisle is his all time favorite activity right now and the fact that we actually were going to buy something put him on cloud nine. He carried the Play Doh out proudly all while repeating, "This is for Madelyn. I'm not going to tell her what it is." We went home and promptly wrapped it. For the next 24 hours, James carried the present around (while Madelyn insisted it go under the tree) asking if he could give the present to her now. "Is it Christmas now?" He also kept forgetting what kind of Play Doh it was so he would ask, "What Play Doh I get Madelyn?" One can only tolerate perseveration for so long. We gave in and let him give it to her early. He was so excited, both to give the present and try it out. (For the record: Play Doh Plus is a total mess. Picture Play Doh and multiply it by 5. Crumbly. Sticky. Everywhere. It created a sweet memory though.)
Madelyn also was very excited to pick out James' gift. She gave him the Bat Cave. The gift he wanted more than any other!
We made cut out cookies for Santa. We went heavy on the sprinkles. That's the way the big guy likes them, right?? James also tried to eat as many sprinkles as possible while decorating. I likened the cookies to Immune System Boosters (like if they don't make you sick, they definitely are making you stronger!)
We went to the light display at Rotary Gardens in Janesville with my parents, Joe, Jessica, and Taylor. The kids loved the model train display. The train conductors (?) were playing with the kids and would stop the 'Lil guy' (as Jay coined him) in front of them and wait for the next long train to almost crash into it before speeding off. It was a big hit!
The light display was impressive!
It would have been even more spectacular with snow on the ground. It was a warm night which meant it was muddy. Ugh.
The kids saw Santa. No tears with this bunch!
They were all smiles. Madelyn requested an Anna doll while James wanted the Bat Cave.
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