Christmas Morning

The boys woke up at their normal 7:15ish and we proceeded to go downstairs to see what Santa delivered.

Connor was happy to see the toys but wanted to see what Santa had eaten off of his plate.  He confirmed that Santa drank all of his milk and that he and the reindeer finished most of the cookies and carrots. 

The boys started with their stockings, which included numerous Playmobil animals that were potty training rewards from the summer that we never gave to the boys. Santa was lucky that we had so much in reserve. 

The boys received some new farm animals, including horses and sheep and pieces in the Playmobil Country line. 

The Meerkat family was on Connor's top 4 list and Jackson got to it first, which is actually surprising because Connor was moving at warped speed. 

Connor was happy to take it off of Jackson's hands and confirm the number of meerkats.

Animal stamp sets will be fun crafts. 

Diving in to the good guys from Playmobil, the CityAction Police.

This map of the United States has been requested and will help with identifying where some of their favorite people live, including George, Mickey and Minnie and the Chocolate Chip. 

Santa treated the boys so well that we didn't get to breakfast until lunchtime.  It was so nice to see their excitement as they opened up each gift.  There will be a lot of putting items together in the next couple of weeks and managing all of the small pieces.

Christmas Eve Festivities

We started off  the morning at the Towson Diner for Breakfast.  Connor adamantly ordered a grilled cheese and Jackson requested french fries.  It was 10 am and since it was Christmas Eve, we went with it.   The boys worked on some sticker creations while waiting for our food. 

Besides his grilled cheese and helping with the french fries, Connor ate almost 1/2 of Michael's egg.  He apparently likes them.  Jackson did eat his breakfast food that I had brought with us. 

After waking from their nap, we started working on our Cut Out Sugar cookies.   We used a Charlie Brown set that my family had when I was growing up.  The boys were all over it.

The Charlie Brown cutters were hard to work with so the set of cutters that we had worked a little better.  We were able to do ALL of the designs that we had.  They were definitely hard to work on but we will try again. 

Connor couldn't handle having access to the dough without eating it.  He was borderline out of control with it.  We were lucky that we were able to make as many as we did.

After changing into their pajamas, the boys started setting up the plate for Santa.  Jackson was so thoughtful and suggested that besides carrots, the reindeer would like the reindeer cookies as well. They worked together and we had to make sure that each boy delivered the same number of items to the plate.

With twins, it is never easy.   Both boys had to carry the plate over.  Then, Connor delivered the glass of milk.

 

After the plate was set, we read a couple of Night Before Christmas books along with the original by Clement Moore.

The boys were kind enough to pose for some pics.

Merry Christmas to ALL and to ALL a good night.

making sure Santa knows they are on the GOOD list

After a fun breakfast, we tried again with Santa after getting shut down the previous night and finding a line of over 100+ people at Kenilworth.  I ventured in to the mall to see if it was possible and was one of the last people allowed in line prior to Santa's lunch hour.

Since we had already delivered the list, we wanted to make sure that Santa knew that with Mistletoe's final report that Jackson and Connor were on the GOOD list.

Jackson found this keypad that wasn't working but is available next year Santa!

 
Always willing to lend a hand and help with the decorations.

Connor has his game face on and was o.k. with the sitting with Santa as long as we were both available too and going to sit with him during the picture.  

Jackson digging in to the sack. 

So sweet.

Giving some moral support to the newborn that was ahead of us.  He started clapping when he heard Santa's elves encouraging the little boy.  His sweetness really does make our heart want to burst!!!

Connor wouldn't sit on his lap BUT was more than willing to chat with him via the ottoman. Apparently, that was a safe enough distance.  He relayed his list to Santa again who confirmed that Mrs. Claus would help take care of things.

Delivering the Official Santa List

When we saw Santa at the Fire Department, he instructed both of the boys to write a list.

Connor's was very easy as he had 4 items, which were all Playmobil.  His list included the Meerkats, the dalmations, the Animal Care Station and the Police Jail.  Jackson, on the other hand,  is very hard to sit down and relax in the first place much less getting him to look at a magazine and give you ideas.  After asking again and again, he finally decided on lots of Playmobil animals. 

Since they know what letters most items start with, they had tons of questions and were almost accusatory about whether or not not the items were added to their list.

The Mailbox that is to receive our precious lists. 

On our way to find the mailbox, Jackson and Connor were checking out the mall. They hadn't been in a couple of weeks due to the holiday season and how crowded the mall is in December. They were laying on the beds and checking out the trees. 

They confirmed that it was a working mailbox. 

Jackson was first and next was Connor. 
 

The lists have been OFFICIALLY delivered.

Christmas Pretzel Doodles

Since our first experience with Pretzel Doodles last year, we have made them for different occasions, including the Super Bowl and Valentines Day and Thanksgiving.

The boys had off school so we had some time and it is good way to keep them busy.  Plus, we like to bring treats to people's houses to showcase the boys' culinary skills.

Jackson is antsy with a lot of activities but takes pride in being the big helper and relishes tasks like unwrapping the Hershey kisses.

Connor working on eating some and placing some on the pretzels.

Jackson worked on his plate adding the M&Ms. We've found it easier to give the boys separate plates to avoid fighting.  They are less concerned about the numbers and it gives them some independence.  Jackson loves the M&Ms and kisses but struggles with pretzels that are not in the shape of a stick and because of this, he will never even try them.

Since Connor consumes about the same number of M&Ms as he uses for the pretzel kisses, it takes him awhile but he always finishes with pride.

Delicious and ready to share with our family on Christmas Day.