Merry Christmas (Early)! - 12/22/10

Merry Christmas (early) from our family! Since Kevin has to work over the holiday, we celebrated an 'early' Christmas as a family...but, Santa is still coming on Christmas Eve! Harrison had so much fun and did a great job helping hand out presents. Declan seemed to enjoy all of the excitement as well! I took tons of pictures, so of course it was hard to trim down which ones to include on the blog...this is only a small part of what I took!

We made cookies for Santa, but I don't think any will make it to Christmas Eve!

Digging in to the first gift!

Baby Declan wasn't left out (we even took a break for most of his nap time).

"I wonder how often all of this craziness takes place??"

Looking for the perfect gift to hand out (or open).

Checking out his new book while Harrison runs around opening gifts.

"I wonder what this could be??"

"This one looks neat!" (see video)

"For Me!!"

The aftermath.

Time to start playing!

What happened?

Helping Declan play the next morning.

Declan was in love with this little blanket he got...even the next morning.

And some videos....

Numbers, Letters, and Colors - 12/21/10

Harrison can consistently count to 3 now. Five seems to be his favorite number and you can see in the video what he has chosen for his favorite letter and color.

Zoo Lights! 12/20/10

We ventured out to the Denver Zoo to check out the light displays last night. It was packed with people! We might as well have been at a shopping mall the day before Christmas, but Harrison still had fun and both he and Declan were little angels...not a single moment of fussing from either of them.

Harrison liked the giraffes and made zebra noises for us ("Nee-aw")

Checking out the lights...hands on!

Declan was warm and snug in his little stroller 'compartment' and stuffed into his overalls. His favorite part was when he got out to eat...he was so interested in all of the people that he wouldn't really eat!

Christmas Elf and His Reindeer - 12/19/10

Investigating Under the Tree - 12/18/10

Harrison was curious about all the gifts that have appeared under the tree over the last several days and decided to investigate. He was good and didn't try to open any of them, but he calls them all 'candy bars'! I guess we know what he is still wishing for on Christmas morning!

I Love My Hippo! 12/17/10

Our Silly Little Book Worm - 12/17/10

Playtime - 12/14/10

Jingle Bells!! 12/14/10

Harrison heard 'Jingle Bells' come on the radio while he was eating lunch and started to 'sing' with it, so we got out his bells and he 'sang' just a little bit. It's the only Christmas song I've tried to sing with him, but he seems to like it....or maybe he likes ringing the bells!

Cozy in My Sweater - 12/13/10

Starting to Play with Toys - 12/12/10

Here is a cute video of Declan playing with his rattle (eventually).... at the beginning, he seems to be mesmerized by the light on the camera.

Talking to Daddy on the Phone - 12/9/10

It took Harrison a little while to get settled into talking to Kevin on the phone the other night...first he talked into his 'pretend' phone....

...then he just held the phone and smiled and giggled at me

...and finally he settled into the conversation!

I'm a Little Candy Cane - 12/7/10

Our Official Visit to See Santa! 12/6/10

Harrison is in love with Santa now that he has figured out he can ask him to bring cookies and candy and cake (oh, and he has added toys to his list now, too!).

Checking Out the Sunday Ads - 12/5/10

Harrison and Declan's First Holiday Party - 12/4/10

We took Harrison and Declan to a Neighborhood Holiday Party. Harrison got to have lunch, listen to music, decorate (and eat) a gingerbread cookie and open a present! He ran right up to Santa and sat on his lap (big surprise) and LOVED the gingerbread cookies (no surprise there). Declan was fast asleep for the whole party, so unfortunately, he is missing from the pictures.

It isn't Easy Being this Cute! - 12/3/10

Letter to Santa - 12/2/10

Harrison kept saying 'Santa Claus' this morning, so I asked him if he wanted me to help him write a letter. He was very excited and eagerly told me what he wanted and even helped hold the pen the whole time I was writing. In case you can't read it, he asked for chocolate cake, cookies, a chocolate bar, a ball, and more cake! I didn't edit his requests at all (except that he listed cake about 5 times!)

Watching Baby Einstein - 12/2/10

Declan was captivated by Baby Einstein (and Harrison agreed to let him watch it even though it didn't hold much interest for him). The sticker on his shirt was a 'gift' from his big brother. Harrison shared both of the stickers he got from his Christmas Countdown Calendar with Declan...very sweet!