Ho, Ho, Ho!

So stinkin' cute!!!

Merry Christmas! This is going to be part one of two different Christmas posts I do because I just have so much Christmas related stuff to post. Of course I never got around to posting about our trip to see Santa before Christmas, so that will be here along with a few other Christmas activities we did! It has been a very crazy busy Christmas season for us, but also a ton of fun. We have been going non-stop since Thanksgiving(which I have failed to post about but will one day!) and loving every minute of it. So much so I haven't had any time to post anything!:) First up... a little visit with Santa and his reindeer!

Don't you just love the family size sleigh?!?

And yes, that is a real reindeer you see there. A local toy store here, Learning Express, had Santa and his reindeer come for a visit and you know me... I just had to go take the boys to see them. I could not believe there were going to be real reindeer. I don't think I even realized there were real reindeer until we got there and I saw it for myself. It was so cool. I enjoyed it as much as Hayden! Sawyer must have enjoyed it too, he was wide-eyed and watching the whole entire time we were there! I hope it is something the store will continue to do each year, because we really enjoyed getting to visit with Santa and his reindeer. Hayden even told Santa what he wanted for Christmas... without crying!:)

A couple of the reindeer up close and personal!

Our friends brought their little boy Peyton, and this
was my attempt to get a shot of Hayden with him.
Peyton cooperating, Hayden mad at me!:)

Next stop... The North Pole! Yep, you read that right. We made a little trip to the North Pole this year. The North Pole Express took us there and we had a great time. Hayden is into choo choo's right now, so it was a lot of fun for him, and Sawyer is always up for a new adventure! The event follows The Polar Express book, so we let the boys wear their PJ's for their first trip to the North Pole!

I took this of Sawyer while he was waiting for me to change
his clothes so we could board the train. Look how happy!

Ready to board...

Hayden... all aboard and ready to ride!

He loved that he could stand up and see out the window!!!

Sawyer loving the ride!

At one point they brought each of us a cookie and
some milk. Hayden thoroughly enjoyed his!

He even tried to share it with me!

When I told him I didn't want any of his, I looked over
and saw him breaking his cookie into pieces and
placing it on the window ledge. I suppose
he was saving it to share with Santa!:)

Fun times with my boys!

He showed me on numerous occasions how he could reach the window
even when he was sitting on his bottom! Such a big boy huh?!?

About half way through our trip we got adventurous and let
Sawyer try sitting in the seat alone... he LOVED it!:)

Happy Hayden!

Another visit with Santa... this time Hayden wasn't so
into the telling him what he wanted idea!

Finally, we made it to our real visit with Santa! I have been wanting to take Hayden to see the real Santa at Phipps since he was born, but never made it online at 3am to get a reservation! Now that Sawyer is here I was determined to get down there and see him. Not determined enough I suppose because I didn't make it online to get a reservation this year either... but, we did get lucky and get to see him anyways. We went down to Phipps on a day it was raining and pretty icy forcing some people to cancel and allowing us to take their spot!:) I was so exited when they told us we could see him. Oh, and it was so worth it. The DVD of the boys with Santa is so cute! I am pretty sure I will be up whenever I need to be next year so that we can go again! Much better than the regular mall Santa and no wait since it is reservations only. Awesome is all I can say! Hayden seemed really excited about it waiting for our turn, and even started walking right up to him to tell him what he wanted...

Santa waiving...

I wish Daddy would have been on the other side of him
with the camera because his excited face was
priceless. I was a few steps in front of him
with Sawyer so I could see his
excited little face!

It was when Santa wanted him to sit on his lap that he started to get a little apprehensive...

Where did my Momma go?!?

There is no way he could hear what Santa was saying to him because he was too worried about finding me in the crowd! Next thing I know Santa is reading Hayden's letter and boom... the crying begins!

What are you saying Santa?

If Sawyer had a little bubble over his head to
say what he was thinking it would read...
"Are we supposed to cry now?"

It wasn't awful uncontrollable crying like the past years, but he certainly wasn't enjoying Santa's company! Sawyer on the other hand was just as sweet as could be. I love some of the faces he made at Hayden during their visit. It was like he was looking at him thinking "What is wrong with you? It's Santa!" All in all it was a great visit, and when it was all over Hayden even went back to leave his letter with Santa!

So sweet!

Oh, and let me add here how much he LOVED the candy he got after sitting with Santa. I have said before how he is not much of a candy person, but the boy sure does love a candy cane!

Daddy and Hayden!

Mommy and Sawyer!

Our next stop was none other than The Pink Pig! I absolutely love this little Atlanta tradition and hope we will always be able to fit it in. It is nothing more than a little train ride, but something about it only being there at Christmas time and being in the shape of a pig just makes it so much fun! I truly remember going downtown to ride it as a child and I'm sure the boys will have those great memories one day too!

Daddy and Hayden... ready to ride!:)

Momma and Sawyer! Can you believe they made me put him
on the seat instead of in my lap?!? They said for safety
reasons, but I am wondering what is more safe
about this?!? I mean he can't even sit up by
himself yet... crazy right?!?

Having so much fun on our ride!!!

Up next... a Christmas tree farm! The first week of December we went to a local Christmas tree farm thinking we were going to cut down a Christmas tree. We have always done a fake tree and something about actually going and cutting down a real tree seemed appealing to me, so we decided it would be a good time to go and try it out. Well, we did make it to the Christmas tree farm, but we didn't exactly get the type of Christmas tree I was thinking of. We ended up leaving with a teeny tiny Charlie Brown Christmas tree. Super cute, just not what I had expected! I was thinking we were going to come home with a big tree for the family room, but nah... just a cute little kid tree for upstairs! I really wasn't crazy about the type of trees you could actually cut down at this place. They did have frasier firs(that is the kind I like best for the house), but they were already cut for you which isn't near as fun! We are thinking we are going to try it again next year, but do a little more research and find a place where you can cut down the type we like. Hayden had fun running around and loved the little tree he got, so it was worth it! The day we decided to go was most definitely the coldest, most windy day of the year, so we couldn't really enjoy it to the fullest, but next year we will do better. Sawyer spent his time bundled up in the stroller... poor little guy couldn't even really get out it was so cold!

Ready to pick out his tree! Yes, we have since gotten him
a different jacket that does not go down past his knees!!!

All bundled up and taking a nap!

He had as much fun running up and down this
bridge as he did looking for his tree!

Family pic... please note the cute little tree I am holding!!!

Next up... putting the ornaments on the tree! We have a little tradition that the boys each get to put one ornament on the tree before we put any others on it, and it is so fun for them. Well, not so much Sawyer yet, but you know what I mean! Hayden hasn't really been able to do it himself until this year(we have helped him the past two years), and he had a great time with it. Probably not my best move to let him put up a Lenox ornament, but it was the one I had set out because it was Mickey Mouse and dated 2010. Before I had fully thought through it I had already told him he could hang that one, so there was no turning back. Luckily for me it didn't break, but it did of course fall from his original limb of choice. I will do better in choosing which ornaments they will get to hang next year! It was so cute watching them hang their ornaments...

Sawyer helping Mommy hang his very first ornament...

Hayden putting Mickey on the tree!

Trying to fix him from where he fell!!!

He finally got him in the perfect place! This is him
showing us how he can use a finger to touch
the ornaments from here on out!

I know you are wondering how the finger touch method worked out all season, and surprisingly enough... it was great! We put the ornaments all the way down to the bottom of the tree just like before we had kids and only a few of them have gotten broken. And those were before they even got on the tree... I'm pretty sure they were stepped on or thrown(since the finger touch rule only applied after they were on the tree!). Note to self... apply the finger touch rule as soon as the decorations come out next year! Now for a few pajama pics...

My sweet little boys!

Lost under their hats!

Sleeping like an angel...

Even when his brother tried to lay down on top of him for a quick snuggle!:)

I told you they were sweet!

Posing with their kid size Christmas tree!:)

Even Syd had her some Christmas PJ's!:)

And on Christmas Eve we all had matching pajamas!:)

Of course I have tons more pictures from actual Christmas day festivities, but that will have to wait for part two of the Christmas posts! Just a few more fun pics for part one...

Remember this cute snowman pic of Hayden
from when he was first born?!?

Well I just HAD to take one of Sawyer in the
same outfit! Cutest snowmen ever huh?!?

We had a little neighborhood Christmas party earlier in the month and I had to include a group picture. We had such a great time. We did a gift exchange and enjoyed dinner together. It is always one of my favorite parties of the year and this year was no exception. It was so much fun!

Pretty amazing that we even got the kiddos to look
at the camera all at the same time huh?!?

Somehow Sydney missed the photo, but she
was dressed and ready for the party too!

Christmas 2010!

That's it for this post! As you can see, we have been as busy as ever. We are so glad we could share it with all of you! Check back soon for actual Christmas Day pics!:)

He's a Ramblin' Wreck from Georgia Tech!

The happy graduate!

That's right... Uncle Troy graduated from Georgia Tech this past weekend. And with an Aerospace Engineering degree I might add. Yep, true Georgia Tech nerd!:) We love a reason to get together and have a good time in this family, so this was naturally the perfect reason for a celebration! The actual ceremony was on campus at the Alexander Memorial Coliseum(basketball dome) which was pretty cool. Well, cool other than the fact I had to park a mile away and walk with both kids in the rain all the way to the coliseum. Yes, you read that right. It was crazy. I tried to get the cops manning the place to let me pull up front and unload the kids with my family that was already inside, but they just were not having that. So, off to park a mile away it was. Luckily for me, a nice lady offered to help me by carrying Hayden under her umbrella. Unlucky for her, Hayden squalled the ENTIRE walk to the coliseum because he wanted me to be holding him. Impossible seeing as I had all of our stuff, an umbrella and was carrying Sawyer in the carrier. Yes, Matt was working!:) I felt so bad for the sweet lady and told her she did not have to continue carrying him and he could walk with me, but she insisted and said it didn't bother her at all. She even tried calming him down. It just wasn't happening. She carried him all the way to the entrance walking right beside me and neither boy got wet one little bit. Just in case you come across this blog and are reading... thanks again sweet lady! So, to begin with graduation was complete chaos for me and I was covered in sweat and rain, but the day ended up being a lot of fun. Oh, and we are super proud of Uncle Troy! So proud we yelled as loud as possible when they announced his name. Super fun I might add. Even Hayden joined in on the yelling fun! And, believe it or not, Sawyer slept right through it!:)

My big camera lens came in handy when I wanted to find him in the crowd!

He did it!:)

Checking it out...

Buzz graduated too!:)

Although Hayden did thoroughly enjoy cheering for Uncle Troy
when it was his turn to graduate, this balloon drop was
definitely his favorite part of the event!
And sweet Uncle Troy even
brought him one of the
balloons when he
came to meet
us!

You know we had to get the family pic! Notice Hayden worrying
about his fallen balloon! The boy LOVES balloons!

After the graduation was over we headed over to The 57th Fighter Group Restaurant in Atlanta. Super cool place and absolutely perfect for Uncle Troy. The food was yummy, the planes were awesome and the servers didn't seem to get too annoyed with my two crazy boys!:) Perfect!

Hayden had a blast with this door. I tell you,
the child can make a toy out of anything!

He thought he was big stuff opening and closing it
all by himself. Such a big boy!:)

Sawyer was just as sweet as ever!

Uncle Troy loved that I had him pose with this shirt he got as a gift!
And I'm pretty sure he will be super excited
when he sees that I put it up
on the blog!

The little pig that turned out to be a lot of fun!

We decided we would give Uncle Troy money as a graduation gift which is something I never like to give, so I had to find a way to make it a little more fun than just putting it in a card! When I found this gold piggy bank I knew that was the way to go! It was Georgia Tech gold after all! We filled it with lottery tickets, which were winners by the way, and money and Troy seemed to enjoy it. Who knows, maybe we'll give money again sometime if I find another cool way to give it!!! To end the day we took some pics with the graduation man...

Happy Graduation Day Uncle Troy! We are so proud of you!!