December was so busy and fun! We spent so much time with family and did a lot of Christmas activities. And Christmas was wonderful this year!
Christmas Magic is so beautiful when you have children 💓
During December, we unwrap a Christmas book each day as an advent countdown. With the book, we do an activity (sometimes they match thematically). This was our pile of books this year.
November 30 Activity:
Make Paper Countdown Chains
Ashtyn's was left, Parker's was middle, and Rylee's was right. Ashtyn is old enough now to do her chain on her own, Parker is half way there (she did about ten of them on her own before I helped her). Rylee was actually asleep on the couch when we did our activity, so I did hers for her.
December 1 Activity:
Make Gingerbread Cookies
It was especially fun to decorate these cookies because their cousins from North Dakota were still in town. It was really fun to do some holiday activities together before they went back home.
December 2 Activity:
Visit Santa
We went to Milk and Cookies with Santa through a local real estate group and it was so cute. Santa was really cute with the kids and they loved seeing him.
Navy and Rhen came with us.
These two are such cute little baby cousins.
December 3 Activity:
Polar Express Party
We had pizza for dinner and hot chocolate for dessert (like in the movie) and everyone came in their pajamas to watch the movie. The kids ended up playing more than watching and it was so fun having everyone there.
The two baby boys in their Christmas PJs!
Ready for the party in their Christmas pajamas!
How the kids when I want to take a picture 😂
These three cousins were born within months of each other and had a blast running around together. They also loved being diaper girls together.
December 4 Activity:
Decorate the Christmas Tree
December 5 Activity:
Make Gingerbread Houses
We had family come over to decorate with us. Ben cut the graham crackers and then Melissa and I put them together for all the kids. I was a little worried because we had so many kids but it went really well. We had tons of candy at each table and the kids were really independent about decorating. They all had a blast.
December 6 Activity:
Drop off a Basket to a Family in Need
A few years ago, we stopped exchanging gifts in my in-law's family and use the money instead to help a local family in need. It's one of my very favorite traditions and I'm always so humbled to watch my girls give so much of their own small amount of money.
December 7 Activity:
Decorate Mini Tree
The girls have a little tree they get to set up in their room. They love it.
Their fake "presents" for each other 😂
December 8 Activity:
Christmas Crafts
I was crazy this year and got out a bunch of "extras" for the crafts. The girls were in heaven and the clean up was pretty messy.
I'm not sure they understood "Christmas crafts" 😂
December 9 Activity:
Write to Santa
The girls, of course, tried to change what they wanted from Santa last minute and I had to remind them what they had already told Santa.
Then Santa brought their new wishes too 😅
December 10 Activity:
Make and Deliver Cookies
This is one of my favorite things to do at Christmastime!
December 11 Activity:
Make Ornaments as a Family
Rylee was feeling pretty sick the day we did ornaments, but we managed to do it at a time when she was doing a little better.
This year, we put paint inside plastic bulbs. They turned out pretty good, though we have some ideas for how to do it even better sometime in the future.
December 12 Activity:
A Birthday Party for Jesus
We made an apple pie with vanilla ice cream (Ben and I love the pie, the girls love the ice cream) and sang Happy Birthday to him. Then we looked at the present we gave to Jesus last year and wrote down something we would do this year as our present to him. Then we watched The Child.
You'd think, kids.
No. Dad. Dad put the Santa on him 😂
December 13 Activity:
Candy Cane Party
We did a candy cane hunt with cousins, ate candy canes while we read The Legend of the Candy Cane, and made paper candy canes. I also had a science experiment planned, but the girls ate the candy canes before I had the chance to do it with them.
December 14 Activity:
Christmas Playdoh and Fake Snow
December 15 Activity:
Paper Snowflakes
After we make the snowflakes, we put them up in the girls' room on the ceiling.
It was one of their favorite things.
December 16 Activity:
Fingerprint Christmas Tree
December 17 Activity:
Engineering with marshmallows and toothpicks
I wanted to do gumdrops, but I couldn't find any to buy. I figured marshmallows (with the hot chocolate tie in) were festive enough.
December 18 Activity:
Look at Christmas Lights
Look at Christmas Lights
December 19 Activity:
Christmas Dinner and Carols
December 20 Activity:
Make Sibling Gifts
This is one of my favorite traditions! Ashtyn made Parker some paper dolls, Parker made Rylee some Octonauts toys, and Rylee made Ashtyn some bookmarks.
December 21 Activity:
Wrap Kids' Presents
December 22 Activity:
Dot Sticker Wreath
December 23 Activity:
Make Christmas Cookies for Santa
December 24 Activity:
Play Games
Christmas Eve 💓
Christmas outfits!
This is how Parker really felt about taking pictures 😂
We have a friend in Norway that we do a Christmas exchange with each year. She loves Sloths, so this year, Ben painted this picture for her.
Is it even Christmas without a Brandon Sanderson new release?
Ashtyn put a kiss on top of a ginger cookie, like the peanut butter kiss cookies.
Christmas:
Ben's aunt put together this cute surprise for the kids, to have Santa come visit on Christmas Eve morning. It was super cute and the kids were really excited.
Christmas Eve night, we went to Lindi's house for soup and to do the Nativity. Ashtyn was a shepherd, Parker was Mary, and Rylee was a sheep with Navy.
Monson was the donkey and riding him was Parker's favorite part of the Nativity.
When we got home, we each opened a new blanket and then read The Night Before Christmas before setting out our stockings and cookies and milk for Santa.
Ashtyn was super surprised to find a Baby Alive Doll in her stocking. She'd decided after talking with Santa that she wanted one, so she had asked for a science kit and was going to save up for this doll.
Rylee really wanted underwear and Dashi and got both. She wanted to put on her diaper and start potty training right then, but I told her she needed to wait until the beginning of January. She has loved her Dashi, carrying it around with her everywhere.
Rylee got play food that you can cut (fruit and a pizza) from Ben and I. She wasn't over-the-top-excited to open it (just happy), but it's been the most played with toy since Christmas.
Ashtyn got three new games for her DS and has really enjoyed playing them.
These were some second hand magnetic dolls that the girls were super excited for. Not pictured (not sure where the picture went), Parker got some My Little Pony figures that have already gotten a lot of play time out of them as well.
This was the girl's surprise present: Skyward Sword. They were so excited and have loved playing it with Ben so far.
Oliver got some teething toys (he can hold them if you hand them to him, but he is still growing into them) and a mirror that he absolutely loves.
I had a very bookish Christmas and loved it!
The week leading up to Christmas, Oliver started struggling with sleep some at night. I wondered if it was a sleep regression, but then on Christmas Eve, he had a runny nose. Christmas morning, he was doing great and we decided to drive out to West Jordan to see my family after opening presents. About an hour after we got there, he started acting really fussy and got a fever. He didn't feel good at all and it was stressful to be away from home while he was sick. Christmas night, we slept really well and was doing a lot better by the next morning.
This is Rylee dressed up as "a grand finale" at my mom's house 😂
Some of the food at my mom's party (I took the pictures to show a friend).
Oliver loves Grandma and Grandpa!
Playing with cousins 💓
Rylee fell asleep (she was up late and woke up early because of traveling), so I didn't get a picture of her with Sophie. 
My mom made these adorable crocheted horses for all the grandkids. They are blankets that can folded up into toys that the kids can ride. The girls love them!
Playing in the snow:
Oliver:
Cousins:
Little Jonathan 💓
Oliver kept crying, I think because Jonathan was so mad 😂
These three were born within five months of each other.
We loved being able to see these cousins so much this year and miss them!
Parker's block mermaid
Ashtyn made a beach out of blocks
This is a beehive that Ashtyn made
Parker's favorite thing to make right now with the blocks is a rainbow
Parker was mad at me for doing her hair, so she bit this face into her apple.
Oliver never lacks for attention or stimulation 😂
We did a little girls' date while the dads stayed home with the baby boys to see Encanto. It was the first time I had taken the girls to the movie theater and they loved it! Encanto is also now Rylee's favorite movie and she wants to watch it every day.
Later in the month, Ben and I did a date to go see No Way Home in the theaters. It was super fun to get away from the kids for a bit and I loved the movie!
Oliver is such a big boy 💓
Playing Skyword Sword and just relaxing after Christmas.
This is real life, so you can see how messy the house was 😂
Ashtyn snuggling in the horse blanket Grandma Dee made 💓
Aunt Melissa made this adorable matching game for the girls and they've loved it!
It's nice because not much keeps Rylee occupied, so anything like this that does is amazing!
Ashtyn doing a science experiment from her science kit!
Aaaaand we're all sick. Again. Rylee always gets it the worse, her immune system is going to be amazing after this winter.
Ashtyn reading books from Grandma Dee to Parker 💓
Rylee has gotten three ear infections this year (each time from a cold).
Luckily, we've been able to get rid of them each time with an onion poultice.
Playing on the switch with their new controllers!
Oliver's favorite toy 😍
He loves to sit and look at it!
I love doing a walk through of my bullet journal every year on my YouTube channel and it always does so well!
Talking with cousins after Christmas 💓
Oliver's favorite things are looking at his hands or eating his hands!
He also got this adorable Avatar onsie from Santa 😍
My birthday:
I made an apple pie (my favorite dessert right now 😂) and homemade ice cream the day before my birthday so I could have it on my birthday.
We went to a local pizza place called Antica Forma for lunch (I knew I could get Ben to agree to bring the kids with us since it was my birthday 😂).
Parker didn't like pizza, but she loved the little cup of Gelato that they got.
Ashtyn and Rylee both liked their pizza, which was a pleasant surprise.
New Year's Eve, we had a special dinner of steak and nachos and salsa with ice cream. Then we let Ashtyn stay up a little later (9:30, not midnight yet 😂) with Ben and I. We played a new game we'd gotten for Christmas, Exploding Kittens.
Ashtyn's Christmas concert:
An interview video for Grandma and Grandpa:
We had such a wonderful year in 2021 and loved the holiday season! We can't wait for all the wonderful things 2022 has in store.
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