Christmas Day

Our living room was full of presents for Christmas. We took this photo on the afternoon of Christmas Eve, and we still didn't have everything under the tree. We were missing a few presents from the morning of Christmas Eve and all the presents from Granny and Granpy. On the morning of Christmas Eve, Will was done waiting, as he opened three of his gifts before we got out of bed. Thankfully, he only opened presents to him. We weren't so lucky on Christmas Day, though. Before anyone else had gotten up, Will had opened one to him, one to Avonlea Jane, two to Mommy, one for Daddy, and one of Micheala's. 

                             

Will is clad in his Thomas PJs, a gift from Great Grandpa that Will opened on Christmas Eve morning.

Opening a batman mask from Uncle Dillon

Avonlea Jane told us a few days before Christmas, after finding out that we'd purchased Batman masks for Taran and Finn, that she wanted to use her Christmas money to buy her own mask after the holidays. Uncle Dillon got her just what she wanted without even knowing.

Opening another gift from Uncle Dillon

Little Red Riding Hood puppets from Great Aunt Tori and Great Uncle John

Modeling an owl dress Grandma made

Michaela helping Avonlea Jane open her new sleeping bag from Granny and Granpy

On Christmas Eve, Avonlea Jane got the movie Brave from our friend Gail, and in the movie was a merchandise flyer. Avonlea Jane looked through it and said that a Brave doll would be a super special toy to have. Then, our special girl happened to unwrap said doll from Great Uncle Nick.

Avonlea Jane holding up her special gift to us

Our new cutting board from Grandpa and Grandma

Grandma made someone a special hat

Hello Kitty earbuds!

Peeking at The Gruffalo's Child

Checking out his Batmobile from Great Uncle Nick

A laptop from the coolest parents of all time

Loving her shirt from Renee and Travis

Exploring Will's new Thomas tent from Mommy and Daddy

Avonlea Jane's "grand finale" gift

William's "grand finale" gift from Great Aunt Tori and Great Uncle John

A he-he!

Some of the aftermath

Later in the day, we had some friends come over to celebrate with us. We couldn't tell if it was Joe who came to our house or Tony Stark. 

Look at all of those cute kids! Tarran and Finn were also decked out in holiday sweaters.

More Batman masks!

Let's sleep in Will's new tent.

Saying goodnight to a wonderful Christmas

Celebrating the Solstice

Michaela had a Christmas dance during the last week of school and needed to take in some kind of holiday treat, so we decided to do some baking. Avonlea Jane declared she wanted gingerbread cookies but gingerbread piggies instead of men, so that's what she got. We made a huge batch of gingerbread piggies, and at the same time, I also made paleo gingerbread cookies (grain-free, dairy-free, sugar-free). While the kitchen was being used as a baking assembly line, I also made some tea breads for Christmas afternoon. I made what I consider the taste of Christmas, my grandmother's cranberry-orange-walnut bread, and a paleo approximation, which tasted great but had a texture more akin to a Brittish pudding. I was waiting until Christmas Eve to make pumpkin pie and paleo pumpkin pie. 

Can you tell which recipe is my grandmother's and which is the paleo version?

Ready for her first school dance

On the day of the Winter Solstice, the kids and I went to a special program at Appleton Farms celebrating the arrival of the Farm Nisse, a Scandanavian tradition. The Nisse (pronounced nissie and the same thing as a Danish Tomten) is an elf who watches over the farm and its creatures. He's never supposed to be seen by humans, but he does declare payment at least once a year for his help. On Christmas Eve, you leave out porridge for the Nisse, and if he likes the porridge, he blesses your seeds and your animals for the coming year. If he doesn't like the porridge, prepare for a bad year of farming. 

After some caroling and cookies, the kids all gathered around to hear the story The Night Before Nisse. 

While we were at the farm, a new calf was born. Both kids liked walking through the milking barn.

Will was thrilled there were "he-hes" in the barn, but he didn't want to get close to them. He was horrified that Avonlea Jane would risk petting them. 

When feeding Maestro, Will was screaming, "A'Jane, no! Scared!"

Making bird seed ornaments for our outside tree

The Nisse arrived and tried the porridge, declaring it good. 

Going out to the fields with the Nisse to spread the newly blessed seeds

Someone fell down and was covered in field muck.

Trying her own bowl of porridge 

(There happen to be no pictures of Will because he was in the Ergo the whole time.)

Avonlea Jane had to ride home in just her socks, underwear, and Will's sweatshirt, because her boots, pants, shirt, and coat were covered in muck.

When we got home, we had a fabulous Solstice dinner with Daddy, Michaela, and Michaela's previous foster family: our friends Robert, Leticia, Taran, and Finn. We ate a lot of tradition winter foods (hog, broccoli, beets, squash, oranges, pomegranates), listened to mid-winter songs, and ate exclusively by candlelight to symbolize the darkest day of the year. After dinner, we brought out a yule log cake, read a book about the Solstice, and sang "We Wish You a Happy Solstice." It was a day and night full of special Advent activities.

The next day, the kids hung up their bird ornaments.

Mid-December

Some of our Advent activities have been a little more low-key over the last week, from watching The Miracle on 34th Street, to shopping for our toys to donate, watching The Polar Express, attending Avonlea Jane's Christmas concert,  seeing Santa Claus at the mall, and driving around Salem to see Christmas lights. Our bigger endeavors over the last week were making a gingerbread train and hosting our Meetup group's annual holiday party. 

Avonlea Jane in her last week of school this year. 

When heading out in the rain one night this week, David stopped me to say I looked just like Dillon. 

As for another pair of siblings, Avonlea Jane has started giving Will "he-he" rides, just like Daddy. Occasionally, she has to limit how many she gives out in a day, and Will doesn't care for hard limits. 

Getting ready for Avonlea Jane's Henny Penny Song Fest and keeping busy with the Nook

Will has been adept at using the Nook for quite some time, but Daddy is always impressed. (Avonlea Jane even figured out how to make her own purchases on the Nook. Uh-oh.)

The little kids filing in

Avonlea Jane is a little to the right of Mrs. Hermann, who is the teacher on the left. 

Partway through the program, there was a surprise visitor.

After her song fest, we headed to the mall to get pictures taken with Santa. 

Will had no interest in actually sitting on Santa's lap.

Later that night, after receiving a huge box in the mail from Grandma and Grandpa, the kids all colored their enclosed elf masks. 

Also included in our giant box was a gingerbread train kit. Will was torn between wanting to play with candy and wanting to play with his new horse he named Court. When we went to go see Santa at the mall, we also stopped by Barnes and Noble, and Will found this little horse. "Want he-he, Mama. Want he-he now, Mama. Peez. Horse now, peez." How could one say no to that, even if it is so close to Christmas? It was the most words he's ever put together.