Merry, Merry Christmas!

*Be Prepared For Ridiculous Amounts of Pictures*
 
The Baylys had a pretty spectacular Christmas this year. Lots of good, quality family time, lots of good, quality food, and lots of good, quality laughter. On the 23rd we went to the Rogers, where the kids enacted the annual Nativity play.

Check out Maisie's star costume, it's freakin' awesome. Uncle Kevy also put his beard to good use.

It's crazy how real it looks, and how much it ages him. The next day was Christmas Eve, and we hung out with the Baylys,eating a tasty brunch. I never get pictures, because we mostly just sit around and chat. The kids all played hardcore with their cousins, and this was the result on our drive home.

Maisie was the only kid left standing. What's funny about this is, other than Finn, none of these kids even nap anymore. That night we had a special early visit from Santa, we read/listened to the Polar Express while eating popcorn and eggnog, and then the kids were off to bed. We had given them a 6:00 a.m. wake-up time, but 5:55 was about all the girls could manage. We let Finn keep sleeping in order to ensure that he wouldn't be beastly later on. Teag and I got all the tree lights plugged in, and then had the kids be cozy for a minute while we got everything ready to open presents.

We let them tear into their stockings first.

Rory totally digs pistachios, so Santa really knew what he was doing. The other girls got some peanuts in their shells, something I remember getting in my stocking when I was kid. They also got some other sweet presents, with an apparent "Frozen" theme.

Princess Elsa doll

Olaf Earrings

Then we took turns opening the rest of the presents. Maisie got a Lego set that she was VERY excited about, President Business's Lair, from the Lego Movie. She also got some books, more jewelry, Maleficent the movie, and some other things.

Danyn, who won't hold still when she's excited, making picture taking in low-light very difficult, got a Dolphin Cruiser Lego set, a new jewelry box, notebooks, a movie, and some more stuff.

Rory got a princess tent, a microphone, a kitty that can walk and meow, a princess coloring book, and some Lego's as well.

Teag and I got some cool presents too. Teag got a bunch of aviation biographies, something he really seems to enjoy, and some gun-related stuff.

I got some books myself (never can have too many!), and some jewelry, as well as a few movies, and a super nice pair of snow gloves.

We had just about finished unwrapping everything when Finn woke up. It was perfect timing. The girls all watched him excitedly open up his loot.

He got an airplane, a tool set, a Bubble Puppy, a fire engine tent, some Lego's (of course!), and a hard hat. He spent most the morning walking around with his "struction" stuff on.

As soon as all presents were opened, the kids immediately went into build mode.

Rory and Finn also made great use of their tents, and had quite a lot of fun bringing other people in and out of them.

Teag and I were incredibly tired, and made use of a little down time for a quick nap amid the debris.

After that, it was breakfast and shower time, and then off to the Rogers for more presents and our Christmas lunch. The three girls all got hand-crocheted jackets/shawls from Grandma Rogers, and Finny got a Fisher-Price car wash that he absolutely loved. Teag and I got some "date nights" from my parents (GC's to restaurants and movies), and this amazing picture puzzle from Nate and Elle.

Nate created the whole idea for it, and executed it brilliantly! It's based on those number puzzles you see all the time as kids, and all the pieces move around wherever you want them to go. Seriously cool. After presents we ate food, and then I worked at getting Finn down for a nap. Despite sleeping in somewhat, the overall excitement had taken its toll, and he was wrecked. He didn't sleep long, however, and when he woke up, he was very lethargic and cuddly, something Grandpa got to take full advantage of.

Later that night, Jan stopped by to bring Finn his present, a handmade bomber jacket, complete with cool patches.

Finn loved it and wore it all night, not wanting to take it off even when we put his pajamas on.

We had to fight to get him out of it for bed. He wears it everywhere we go now, and gets quite a few compliments.

So that was our Christmas. It may not have been anything fancy, or elaborate, but it felt like a great success. The kids seemed to especially enjoy their presents this year, which always feels good as a parent, and we encouraged the kids pick out presents for their siblings that were something they would really like. I was blown away by the thoughtfulness and generosity I saw from them as they worked out their little budgets to coordinate with their desires for each other. It felt like such a great day, and a great season.

Merry Christmas to all!

Christmas Countdown

So it has become a tradition, along with the already traditional Grandkid Sleepover, to send them home with some sort of countdown calendar. My mom and dad work at making it different every year, and this year in particular, have worked to make it more about the real meaning of Christmas.
This year, the kids came home with a string of envelopes, one for each day leading up to the 24th.

Inside each envelope is a magnetic figure, part of the manger scene, and some instructions.

Some of these are fun things, like calling up Grandma and Grandpa and singing them your favorite carol. Some of them are service oriented, like doing a random act of kindness, or making a card for your mom and dad.

They even get some fun stuff for themselves, like a candy cane to represent the shepherds, or some glow-in-the-dark stars to put up on their ceilings, that represent the star the wisemen followed.

They've also added "wool" to their sheep.

With just a few more days until Christmas, the manger is almost complete.

I can't believe how much work my parents put into this, hand-cutting eleven sets of figures out of magnetic paper. Writing instructions for every day for twelve days. Making up individual bags, and sorting things into all of them. Not to mention all the money involved. It's so much work, but the kids love it so much. I appreciate all they do to make this special and memorable for our children, and especially how hard they work to teach our kids about Christ and the true reason for the season.

Tis The Season

December seems to be a month where you cram in a years worth of activities into a few weeks; there's always something going on. The good news is, most of it's pretty fun stuff. We Baylys have had no small share of Christmas festivities to participate in ourselves, and this post is here to cover a few of them.

We decorated our house, and sent out Christmas cards, using the picture below.

Our kids have really enjoyed the tree this year, and can often be found playing or reading nearby with the tree lights on.

Maisie and Danyn both had the opportunity to participate in a Christmas play that another ward was presenting. They were recruited by some friends of theirs to be angels.

Danyn was particularly excited about this, because she has a crush on one of the little boys in that ward.

We also got to visit with Santa, which happened to be Finn's first opportunity to sit on Santa's lap. He handled it like a pro, chatting him up like it was no big deal. In fact, he didn't want to wait his turn, and had to have Dany hold him back a little.

Rory was brutally honest with Santa, confessing that she'd been somewhat naughty, but then charming him in the end.

We also went to the trolley at Thanksgiving Point, something the kids enjoy every year.

And of course, the annual Bayly gingerbread house. The kids patiently waited while I iced up the roof for them to adorn with candy.

And that was about when the patience ended. It pretty much turned into a free-for-all after that.

Look at the intense concentration

There was many "tastes" of the frosting, and many disappearing candies, but it turned out pretty cute in the end.

These are three of the extra pieces, decorated by Danyn, Rory, and Finn. Can you guess which one Finn did? Take note of the bite out of one of the gingerbread men for a clue.

Our Christmas season has been fun-filled and exciting, and we hope that yours has been as well! Merry Christmas to all, from the Baylys!