December Part 3: Christmas and Festivities

On the plate:  Monkey bread

Soundtrack to cook to:  Mariah Carey Holiday on Pandora

From December 23-29, my mom, dad, sister, and her husband came to Boston to visit and be with us for Christmas.  It was very nice to have all of them over and be able to celebrate together.  We had fun continuing old traditions as well as making new ones.

My dad and William playing with the gingerbread play dough
in our kitchen.

My dad and the boys banging on the drums and playing
music in the basement together.

It's time for Penelope's 2 month check up.

Our little cherub at her 2 month check up.
Statistics:
Height:  24 inches long (93rd percentile)
Weight:  11 lbs 15.5 oz (56th percentile
Head Circumference:  15 3/4 inches (84th percentile)

She was in size 1 diapers, began to smile, enjoyed
dancing in hot baths, and tolerated tummy time.

On Christmas Eve, we headed over to the small park in our town and checked out its decorations.

The boys on Santa's sleigh in the park.

Alex wrote a letter to Santa, so the boys mailed the letter together.

There they go!

The boys having fun in Santa's sleigh.

Can't get enough of these guys :-)

My dad with the boys and one giiiiiiiant Santa Claus.

Time for our big dinner!  On Christmas eve, we celebrated with a lobster dinner.  Alex ate his weight in lobster while William preferred the sides.  Either way, we were happy to share this meal with everyone.

Alex, my dad, mom, my sister's husband Pete, Joseph,
my sister Kristen, and William on Christmas Eve.
We were ready to dig in!

Later that evening, Santa left a package on the doorstep
for the boys to open that evening.
They each got pajamas and wool socks.

The boys answering the door and getting their present from Santa.

Merry Christmas 2015!

Oscar with Santa's footprints and letter to the kids,
ready to rip open the presents and celebrate.

Alex coming downstairs on Christmas morning.

Our big boy after he read Santa's letter.

Mmmm!  One of my favorite traditions is to make
monkey bread for Christmas morning breakfast.
I could eat this entire thing on my own it's so delicious.

I love this recipe because the prep takes less than 10 minutes,
sits overnight on the counter, and then you bake it for 30 minutes
in the morning and you're done!  The house smells amazing
and the result is a buttery, caramel, nutty, and chewy confection
that will have you going back for seconds.  It pairs perfectly with coffee.

William arriving downstairs on Christmas morning.

Alex and William on Christmas morning.

They were beyond thrilled to find that Santa got them umbrellas.
(These were seriously their favorite gift.)

Time to open presents!

The kids were too excited to pose for pictures, but
if you see their faces, you can tell that they were
saying, "Cheese," so it kind of counts, right?  :-p

Oscar enjoyed helping the kids open their presents as well.
Oscar didn't have any gifts in his stocking this year because
he dug through both my sister's and parents' luggage
and found his gifts ahead of time.  He's a mischievous little guy
and loooooves to "unpack" our guests' luggage.

Woo hoo!

The boys with their beloved umbrellas.  To this day,
they still bring their umbrellas with them around the house.

William reading a Star Wars book with Grandpa.

Little Miss P busted out of her swaddle but continued to
sleep well.

William wanting to eat all of the lobsters that we had for dinner.

Sibling love

My mom decided to make rice crispy treats with William.
This little guy loooooves to help out in the kitchen.

Mom and William making rice crispy treats.
They turned out great and William was so proud of himself.

After that, my mom and William were making snowman
ornaments together.

Me and Penelope snuggling

Penelope's first Christmas :-)

The boys (still) playing with their umbrellas.

My mom, me, William, Alex, and my dad doing a "cheers"
to the tree with a traditional cup of egg nog.
We've been doing this every year for as long as I can remember.

William enjoyed the egg nog.

Alex wanted to shield me from the rain....inside the house....
that was pretend.  :-)

Mama B and Grandpa passed out.

Grandpa and Miss P having a heart-to-heart.

Grandpa and Penelope passed out again.

The boys playing "turtle" and popping in and out of the boxes
with their turtle shell umbrellas.  Who needs conventional toys?  :-)

The next morning, we met my sister's husband Pete and his family (minus his younger sister Shannon) out to brunch at Del Frisco's Grille.  It was so nice to see them and catch up.

My dad, Norah and Pete (Pete's parents), Kristen,
Pete, Tara (Pete's sister), Alex, Joseph, and William
at brunch that morning.

Thankfully Penelope took a bottle and then took a nap in her car seat.
*Phew!*  This mama was able to eat her breakfast
in peace.

Joseph and Oscar snuggling.

The great thing about family visiting meant that there were built-in babysitters!  Since my parents and sister were staying with us, they offered to watch Penelope while Joseph and I took the boys to see Star Wars:  The Force Awakens.  The boys had been looking forward to seeing this movie for so long.  It was nice to get a break from nursing, baby screaming, and bouncing for a little bit.  I'm not a huge fan of Star Wars, but I will admit that I actually enjoyed the movie.  Since the boys are so into it, I've learned a lot and I actually understood what was going on in the movie!  Lol!
Thanks so much, mom, dad, and Kristen, for watching Miss P!  :-)

Joseph, Alex, William, and me at the theater, ready to take
in the newest Star Wars movie.

Mmmm!  Movie theater nachos are my weakness.
I loved that this theater had reclining seats and little
tables.  It was super comfy.

You know the kids are into it when they're not even
touching their snacks.  :-)

Penelope on December 27

Later that day, my mom and sister helped the boys to decorate a gingerbread house.  Alex did one side of the house and William did the other.  They enjoyed eating the candy (of course) and licking the frosting off of their fingers.

Kristen and the boys decorating the gingerbread house.

Alex's side was neat and orderly.

William's side was all over the place.
(It says a lot about their personalities.  Lol!)

The boys with Mama B, decorating the gingerbread house.

Later that evening, my parents and sister watched the kids so that we could go out to dinner with our friends Liz and Peter.  It was so great to see them and to catch up.
Thanks again, mom, dad, and Kristen!  It was so great to be able to get out of the house for a parent's night out.  :-)

Liz is in a Peter and Nikki sandwich.

We had a super fun night that night.  :-)

That next day, my parents and sister took the boys out to run around and burn off some steam at the park.

Mom and William driving the firetruck.

So cute!

Alex worked on his "Jedi training" with my Dad
while he was climbing up the structure.

Thanks for taking all of these pics, Weez!

A little tummy time for Miss P.

She's lifting up and controlling her head like a boss.

Miss P snuggling with my parents.

Milk drunk :-)

Oscar doing his best goofy face.

We were cracking up!

Now it's time to say good bye to all our company.  Thanks for all of your help, mom, dad, and Kristen!  We enjoyed our time together with y'all.  It was so great to see you guys and Pete, to catch up, and to spend the holidays together.

Mom with the grandchildren

Me and Miss P :-)

William building a tower...

...and then knocking it down!  :-)

The phases of tummy time for Penelope:

Happy and inquisitive

Apprehensive and tired

FRUSTRATED!  Pick me upppp!  :-)

A happy little bear.

William "clipping" Uncle Pete's nails before he left.  :-)

I love the holidays with all of the traditions, great food, and quality family time.  We had a wonderful time with everyone.
Until next time...

Love and kisses,
Nikki