Christmas in the Koll House

This year, we will be celebrating Christmas with my entire family - all three of my brothers, my sisters-in-law and all of the nieces and nephews.  This gathering only happens once ever 3-5 years because one of my brothers is a missionary in Brazil and is only in the states that often.  With that going on next weekend, we decided that we would celebrate Christmas with the boys on Sunday, the 18th. 

Our traditions begin on "Christmas Eve" so, after all of the birthday party things were put away, we brought out the boys special Christmas Eve gifts.  Each year we get them a new pair of PJ's and a fun toy. 

 The boys in their new PJ's in front of the tree - it was after bath so they have some pretty slick hair going on.  Their special fun toy this year was a Cell Phone (a toy of course) but the phones are awesome.  Darryl and I can record messages to each of the boys in the phone and, when it sits for a moment after they close it, the phone rings.  It makes them SOOO excited to hear it ring. 

 This is a tradition from my side of the family - growing up, my brothers and I always faced the tree and my mom took a "backwards" photo.  So, we worked to get the boys to face the tree - they thought I meant to SIT in the tree so they tried climbing in it HA! 

Once the boys went to bed, we finished wrapping some gifts and filled their stockings.  Everything was set out, ready for Christmas Morning!

 My boys are young enough that they don't wake up at 5:00 AM yet for Christmas - as a matter of fact, Josh woke up at 7:00 and came into our room.  We all snuggled in and watched cartoons until Nate got up at 8:00.  I even managed to sneak to the kitchen and get breakfast going.  Now, once Nate was up though, they noticed their stockings and I almost didn't get photos! I love "packing" stockings :-)  The boys got cars, slippers, flashlights, socks, new cups, and Josh got a puzzle while Nate got a book.

 After we had breakfast (I am going to post our Christmas recipes on Friday - in my weekly recipe post!), we started with the gifts.  It was so much fun watching them - but we had to keep reminding them they had more!  They just wanted to play.  It was so much fun to see them interact with their new stuff and to see how they gravitated towards certain things - sometimes the things that weren't ever their gift.

 I saw this idea last year on a blog I follow - once we were done, I gathered all of their gifts, and had each boy get their photo with their gifts.  I think it will be fun to look back at this in future years and see how their interests change and grow.  What were the big hits with Josh?  The Melissa and Doug Pizza set and Cutting Food set.  He played with that stuff for hours.  I highly recommend those sets - they are really great.  He also loved the Sketch and Doodle thing.  Of course, the guitar was a favorite too.  I was kinda surprised that he didn't go after the camera more - he is always asking for mine and loves to take photos but he was not impressed (yet!)  Now Nate LOVED the camera and has already figured out how to play the games that are on it too.

 Here is Nate!  Nate loved the Sketch and Doodle as well as the guitar.  He also got a Pirate Thomas the Train set that is the Take and Play version .  Josh had gotten one for his birthday so we thought it would be nice for both to have a different "piece".  Now they can hook them together and play OR they can play by themselves with their own train set.  We got each of the boys a Bounce-Back-Racer.  Nate LOVED IT.  We are actually going to put those away and let Darryl play with the boys on the weekend with those until they really learn on to use them.  By the spring they will be ready to take them outside to play. 

Once the gifts were opened, we just enjoyed the day.  The boys played with ONLY their new toys all day long and we played too!  Later in the afternoon, Josh got very interested in his new puzzles.  They are actually jigsaw puzzles.  Both Darryl and I worked with him on how to look at the pictures and then put the puzzle together.  (Notice Nate is playing with the camera??) 

When I put the boys to bed tonight, I asked each of them "Did you have a fun Christmas?" And they both replied YES!!  Josh told me that he Loves Christmas because he gets presents and gets to play with Eat (Nate) and Daddy.  Isn't that the best???

We still have more "Christmas" to look forward to!  On Friday, we'll be gathering with Darryl's family at the nursing home to celebrate Christmas with his Grandma and then we'll be with my family on Saturday and Sunday. 

I apoligize for slightly blurry photographs.  My camera seems to be going that direction.  I'm holding out for tax time so I can finally buy my nice camera :-)



The Very Hungry Caterpillar - Nate's 2nd Birthday Party

Saturday was Nate's 2nd Birthday Party and we chose the theme "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" because that is one of his favorite books! 

We started out the excited of this party by sending out adorable invitations that I found at LuvBugdesign on etsy. 

Isn't the design adorable?  I asked to have a photo of Nate added and she did a fabulous job.  I love how bright and colorful the invites are - how can you NOT smile when you look at them?  (Obviously, this is NOT Nate's invitation - it is the photo for the etsy shop!)

For the decorations, I used several ideas/inspirations.  Our main focal point was a giant Poof Ball Caterpillar that hung in the middle of the living room.

The picture doesn't do him justice (and you can't see his eyes!) but this guy is fantastic.  I found the idea over at Catch My Party and fell in love with the idea so I headed over to Martha Stewart.com for the full tutorial.  I learned a few things.  One, I used a mix of never before used tissue paper and used tissue paper - next time I would buy all new.  It is much easier to fold it when it is all lined up.  The used paper tends to be slippery and want to slid out of the folds.  Two, it doesn't have to be perfect - either the folding or the rounding of the edges - once you "poof" it, no one will every know!  They really are easy to make and make a huge statement in a room.

I used two different sources for the printables I used to decorate with around the house.  First, one of the inspiration parties I looked at was over at Polka Dot and Puppies.  Her party was fantastic and she shared some free pintables to use with the food or just as decoration which stated what the Caterpillar ate each day. 

I hung them on my fridge and on the cupboard doors. 

Then, I also ordered a packet of items to print from another etsy store called The Party Project.  This pack was designed for me but she has tons of stuff in her shop and it is great quality. 

Here are just a few samples - the items above the arch could also be made into a banner but I used them flat against the wall.  Then I used napkin wraps also.  There was banner with Nate's name, pinwheel patterns, party hat patterns, cupcake toppers and wraps and more. 

Now for the food!!!  I meant to take pictures of every item but somehow, only managed to get these two shots. 

Don't you love the cake?  I found the inspiration over on Pinterest and was looking for an excuse to make it.  It fit in perfectly with the them because the book has dots all over the front and back covers.  My boys always start on that page and say "dot, dot, dot" :-)  All of the food that was at the party came from the book.  The Caterpillar eats through LOTS of food through the week until he gets REALLY big! 

On the first 5 days (Monday-Friday) he eats through different fruits such as apples, pears, plums (I could not find plums anywhere!), strawberry's and oranges.  I took all of those fruits plus watermelon, which he eats through on Saturday, and made Honey-Lime Salad from Mel's Kitchen Cafe.  This fruit salad is fantastic and you can use any fruit that you want in it.  This salad was a favorite of Josh's - he couldn't stop eating it :-)  Then, on Saturday, he eats through TONS of things:
1. Chocolate Cake - notice that some of the little cupcakes are Chocolate?  Well, the cake was supposed to be chocolate but when I made the first cake, it totally flopped.  I've never had a cake mess up as bad as that one did so I ended up running to the store and buying a yellow cake mix to use for the cake. 
2. Ice Cream - we served ice cream with the cake :-)
3. Pickle, Swiss Cheese and Salami - I made a cheese tray (but I didn't use Swiss cheese)
4. Sausages - We had Bratwurst and I did them in the crockpot - they were so good.  As a matter of fact, my dad said they were the best he's every had.  All you do is brown the brats in a pan on each side.  Slice some onions (as many as you want).  Layer some onions in the bottom of your crock pot, lay the brats on top, and more onions.  Then add apple juice until the brats are covered.  Then cook on low for 5-6 hours or until they are cooked through. 
5. Cupcakes - I cheated :-)  I bought those cute little Christmas cupcakes at our local grocery store
6. Cherry Pie - I knew we didn't need big cherry pies so I made these little cherry pies inspired from Bakerella (This is her photo too since I forgot to snap a photo!)

7.  Lollipops - yes, the caterpillar actually ate through a lollipop!!!  I used them as my centerpieces and did a very easy version of the Lollipop Bouquets.  I just used some glasses (they are McDonald's Coke glasses that they have been giving out!), stuffed some tissue paper into the glass and added some Tootsie Pops.

Isn't that fun?  I also used Nate's copy of the book as part of the centerpiece - it is very well worn! 

There are TONS of ideas out in blog land/pinterest for more ideas about food and decorations.  Yes, you could really go overboard!

One last food item - on Sunday, Mr. Caterpillar is recovering from his stomach ache due to all he ate so he ate through a leaf.  We had my "Famous" taco salad :-) 

Don't you love his shirt?  I really enjoying picking out shirts for the boys for their birthdays and when I saw this design on etsy.com, I knew it was the one.  SAMEmonogram was great to work with and went above and beyond for me :-)  I was so thrilled to get Nate's shirt - it was just way too adorable!

Because I love games (even though everyone else acts like they don't HA!) we did play a little game.  I just put together a quiz with some basic facts about caterpillars and then they had to try and put all of the food in order.  Games are a great way to get people talking :-)

Now for the fun stuff :-)  All of the photos!

 Nate, waiting to open his birthday presents.  Yes, he can be serious!

 Josh is really loving getting his picture taken so when I started snapping photos of Nate, he had to get in for one too. 

 Papa, Josh and Nate - the boys went CRAZY when Papa arrived - they love him very much !!

 Nate decided to play the game with Nana - I think he really wanted to read the book she was using :-)

 I love this photo!!  He is standing in the dining room pointing up to the cut outs on the wall from the book and naming all of the food items.  I love hearing that little voice.

 Time to open gifts :-)  This was the movie "Cars" - and yes, we even watched it after every one left the party.

 Ok, this ball was the hit gift of the day.  It lights up, spins around and plays music.  Once we showed them how to use it, the boys didn't want to put it down.  As a matter of fact, Nate didn't even want to finish opening his gifts HA!  Nate's Uncle Kel and Aunt Deb sent this too him and he just LOVED it!

 Once we could sneak the ball away, he did discover his gift from Papa and Nana - this great new work bench with lots of tools.

 Josh wanted a picture with his "glasses" - the safety goggles from the tool bench.

 Finally, time for the cake!  We had to keep the boys out of the kitchen after I made it because they kept trying to steal the kit kats off the sides. (Should I mention that my mom and my sister-in-law picked M and M's off the top - so many that when I brought it to the table, there was frosting showing where their used to be M and M's!!!  )

 Papa had to help Nate blow out the candles - Nates "blow" tended to go up instead of out HA!

Needless to say this was one happy little boy.  He pulled lots of kit kats off the cake and ate them, licked lots of tootsie pops, and just had an all around great day.  At about 6:00 both boys said "Mom, I'm tired" HA!  So we shifted gears, and started our Christmas activities with their Christmas Eve gifts since, in this house, Christmas Eve was Saturday night but, I'll save that for another post :-)

Weekly Menu - The one with a birthday party and our Christmas

Isn't it just crazy that Christmas is just one week away?  It seems like it was so far away and now, it's all almost over!  We have a busy weekend which will impact our menu this week too!

Saturday - Today is Nate's birthday party - I'll share our menu when I post about his birthday after this weekend!

Sunday - Christmas weekend will be very busy with the McMaster Family Christmas gathering so Darryl and I are celebrating our family Christmas with the boys today.  For breakfast, we are going to have Orange Julius and Cinnamon Rolls, both items from Darryl's childhood Christmas tradtions.  To go along with all of that sweetness, I think I'm going to make Biscuits and gravy.  I plan on making the gravy up on Saturday night so we just have to heat it up in the morning.  Then, our big Christmas dinner will be Pork Shoulder, Parsley Potaotes, Green Bean Casserole, Cherry Fluff Stuff, and Rolls.  For Dessert - my plan is just to have leftovers from the birthday party

Monday - Spaghetti, Garlic Bread and salad OR Leftovers from the weekend depending on what is left!

Tuesday - The boys are having a Frozen pizza - I'm planning on finishing up shopping.

Wednesday - Baby Mama Casserole, muffins and the last of any leftovers or just fresh fruit

Thursday - Today is Nate's actual birthday - we are having mac and cheese and Hot Dogs because Nate loves them.

Just a quick post :-)  Another busy week!

Our Christmas Advent - Week 3

Each week I have a "revelation" when it comes to my plan for our book advent.  This week I have two.  First, I shouldn't have spent weeks planning stuff because I'm finding that I plan for tomorrow, today.  I am glad that I have the books already on hand but as far as the activity - well, I find so much cute stuff out there on a daily basis that I totally shift plans each day.  Oh, and second, I should have skipped the books HA!  I was CONFIDANT that my boys would LOVE the books because we read to them, per their request, every day, many times a day.  They could care less about the book in the activity box.  Other than "Counting Christmas" they haven't even gone back to a single book to have it read the first time let alone a second time.  Maybe they are just too young or maybe because the book is with the activity and they just want to do the activity - I will not give up!  I even plan on doing it again next year :-)

Now, on to our plans we accomplished this week :-)

Day 12 -

 The book for today was "Mooseltoe".  I would love to tell you what a cute book it is but, well, we haven't read it.  The boys had no interest!  We did watch the Praise Baby Christmas DVD though :-)  The boys LOVE it . .. except when it ends Josh gets sad and just cries for "more".  The music really impacts him a lot. 

 I know that last week I said no crafts but I've changed my mind.  Today we made Christmas trees using wrapping papers that I had cut so that they I could sort them by size and color HA!  Then they used glitter glue and markers to decorate the trees.  They turned out great!  I plan on framing them and using them next year as decoration on my picture wall (I take down the family pictures and replace them with Christmas pictures for the season)

Day 13 -

 Here's the book we didn't read today ;-)  Biscuits Pet and Play Christmas . .. they did actually touch the fuzzy part but that was it!!

 Then, our activity today was creating TP angels.  The boys colored the graphic, which I found at Holiday Kids Crafts.  The boys colored to their hearts content.  Then, when they told me they were done, I cut them out and attached them to the Toilet Paper Tubes.  I thought they would play with them but they didn't.  Imagine that. 

The finished products :-)  Do you love all that color LOL  I think they are adorable but my kids made them so what do you expect?

Day 14 -

 Our book for the day was "My First Christmas" by Tomie dePaola.  I wish they would have wanted to read it . . ..

 For our activity, we did this great activity cards from Oopsey Daisy (and you can print them too!)

 The boys loved doing the actions like "Twist like a snowflake", "Chuckle like Santa" and "Prance like a reindeer."

 When we were done, Josh used them like flashcards, which I thought was pretty creative.

We also colored some candy canes, which, I cannot remember at the moment where I got them from.  Nate loves to color - he picks one marker at a time, uses it, puts the lid back on, and places it outside of his box.  He does this until all of his markers are out of his box meaning he has used each color.  He is then done coloring :-) LOL 

Day 15 -

 Today's book was title "Sleepy Jesus" and there even a faint amount of interest in this book until they saw their craft HA!

 We were also going to watch "The Little Drummer Boy" but Josh insisted "I don'tlikeit" and we watched Boz over and over and over and over . .. again.

 Our craft today was AWESOME!  It was a cut and paste shape nativity set.  I precut the shapes out but then each of the boys had to match them to the background and glue them on.  I was impressed with Nates matching skills and with Josh's glue stick ability - we haven't done much with glue sticks because, well, they like to eat them still. HA!

You can find this great printable over at 2 Teaching Mommies and she also shares some links to other Nativity sets that you can print and cut that are for older children as well.

Day 16 -
We did nothing.  This was not my original plan but on the 16th, I spent the whole day getting ready for Nate's birthday party.  The boys played well together and even helped me out some and when they asked for "The Box" - they even understood that we didn't have anything in it today because Mommy had to work on Nate's party.  Both boys are SOOOO excited about the party!!

We'll hopefully pick back up with a few last activities next week.  We have some busy days so I don't know if we will get it in on all 5 days be we are going to aim for at least 2!