High School, Pre-School, & Diapers: Christmas 2013

I love, love , love the traditions that come with the Christmas season. Some old. Some new.

Here are some of my favorite ladies and I gathered together for a Favorite Things Party, a tradition started by Heidi and few years back.

Love.

An even newer tradition..."The Polar Express" (J & I started this with the kids last year.)

This year did not disappoint as we surprised the kids again with tickets under theirs pillow at bedtime. Conductor Dad was waiting at the door to the garage to punch their tickets.

They boarded "The Polar Express" only to find Ma, Papa, hot cocoa, and their own special bell awaiting them! (Even with a mini van, it's a little bit of a squeeze to get us all in there!)

And off we went to see Christmas lights!

Now for an older tradition...

No matter how old Dominic is I think we will still include him in our Santa visit!

An intense conversation with The Big Man...

(I just love this picture.)

We always go to Broadway Plaza in Walnut Creek to see Santa.

The intimate room they've had in the past has been perfect for my Connor, who has such a fearful heart and is so scared of big, obtrusive decorations of any kind.

This year they changed their Santa-visiting-location. They used an empty store. It was so impersonal.

We got so caught up in Christmas craziness that we put our visit off till the last minute and ended up going the morning of Christmas Eve. The line was long and Santa was...well...tired.

NEVER AGAIN.

This year we'll go as soon as we pick Dom up from the airport!

(Can you imagine? This year Dom will be "coming home for Christmas!")

Later that evening Connor sang in the Christmas Eve Children's Choir. These kids are so cute!

...and he was in the play as well!

He was so nervous! But I really don't think anyone was as nervous as I was!

(All I could picture was him totally blanking on his lines or being so completely nervous that he would shoot vomit all over his fellow angel and Mother Mary!)