The Adventures of Arthur, Our Elf on the Shelf

As usual, I've got some catching up to do on my poor neglected little blog! I visit it often, maybe with the hopes that someone else has started updating my posts for me, who knows. I've got about a thousand posts to post, but every time I start, I seem to run into technical difficulties, then end up frustrated and turn to Pinterest for some cheering up, which gives me tons of wonderful ideas and activities to do with the kids, which I then want to post about on this lovely blog of mine...eventually.

And thanks to a technical difficulty-free picture upload session, I can finally begin posting some of our holiday festivities, traditions, and highlights from 2011, starting with Arthur, our Elf on the Shelf. After seeing all of the wonderful Elf on the Shelf ideas (on Pinterest, of course), I had to jump on the tiny red bandwagon and get the boys an elf of their own. It ended up being such a wonderful new tradition, and definitely one of the Christmastime highlights for Jaden and Elijah. After just seeing the movie Arthur Christmas, the boys decided to name their elf Arthur, and Arthur quickly became a part of our family. He was a hot topic in each day's conversations, an influence on extra good behavior, and the reason why I went to bed way too late (or jumped out of bed in a panic in the middle of the night) many nights, just trying to make sure he had the most perfect hiding spot when two excited little guys awoke with anticipation each morning, ready to begin their search.

So here are some of the many adventures of Arthur...

Arthur's farewell gifts for the boys...

While Christmas Eve meant the excitement of Santa's arrival, this year it also meant saying goodbye to our sweet Arthur, who brought so much fun, joy, and surprises to the lives of two little guys for 24+ days. They were very very sad to see him go, and even though he will be back next year, it's just so far away! The rules of "elfery" specifically state that in order to preserve your elf's magic, no touching is allowed. The boys were very dedicated to this rule the entire time, but on his final day, I assured them that a final hug goodbye was perfectly okay!

Holiday Season Part 5: Christmas Day

Phew! Finally made it to my Christmas Day post! Thought I might never get here. It would have been much easier to just skip it and join the year 2011 with the rest of the world, but I hate for there to be gaps in what I consider my documentation of my kiddos childhood! And Christmas day is arguably one of the most exciting, most eventful, and memorable days, especially in the eyes of a four and two year old! As an adult, I would love to be able to see Christmas through the eyes of a young child. In their eyes it must be a picture of pure joy and perfection. They don't have to worry about all of the "behind the scenes" hustle and bustle of it all; although I do admit I love all of the busy preparations and and little details of the season as well. I love everything about the Christmas holiday.

This year we really tried to make it a priority to help Jaden begin to understand that the joy and beauty of the season is not only in the gifts we receive from others, but more so in the giving of ourselves to others. He was very receptive to it, and really is such a loving and caring little guy. He loved reading the Story of Christmas and was very curious about baby Jesus and wondered when he would get to meet him. He was sure he would be there when he woke up on Christmas morning. And he really got into the spirit of giving and wanted to pick out something for someone else everywhere we went; and of course, just like any other four-year-old little guy, he couldn't wait to see what Santa would bring him. And between ourselves and other family members, the underneath of the Christmas tree often looks like Santa's sleigh exploded in the living room. This year I struggled with deciding exactly how many presents would be designated "Santa" presents because I don't want the boys to think that Santa brings any and everything. I also wanted them to really appreciate the individual that the gifts actually came from; and besides, Santa shouldn't get all the credit, right?! So after much contemplation, we finally decided that in honor of the Three Wise Men and the gifts they brought to Baby Jesus, the boys would each receive three gifts from Santa. I felt it would be a meaningful way to tie Santa into the true spirit of the season!

Christmas Morning!

Just like any other morning, Jaden stayed true to form and was up before anybody else in the house. And after a long night of playing Santa, I was awakened waaay to early by a wound up little guy announcing Santa's arrival! But it's amazing how the fatigue was instantly transformed, and I felt just as joyful as Jaden did! Jaden got to open his stocking and presents from Santa while we waited for everyone else to wake up. The presents that Santa brings are always wrapped in Santa wrapping paper, and this year had a special bow and Christmas bell attached. I even had my brother-in-law address the labels so that I wouldn't be discovered! Santa brought Jaden an Imagniext Helicopter, Superheroes Dress Up Trunk, and a Transformer Jet. And in his stocking were some cars, baseballs, and a "real" football jersey. And I'm not sure why Santa thought it would be a good idea, but he also got the boys a ball house!

And Elijah, also true to form, slept most of the morning away! When he finally decided to join the party, he was amazed and excited by all of the people and commotion! Santa brought him a Little Tikes Shopping Cart, a Healthy Dinner play food set (which, ironically, you can see him admiring in the picture below while holding an iced sugar cookie in his hand), and the Little People A to Z Learning Zoo. And in his stocking, he got cars, a toy train, and a toothbrush.

On Christmas morning, my brother and sister-in-law and their baby Landon, and my sister and brother-in-law and their little girl Aubrey all came over to my mom and dad's house and we had one HUGE gift exchange. I feel so blessed that we are such a close family and really cherish these together moments. We are very fortunate to share the closeness that we do and that our own children are able to begin sharing these wonderful memories and traditions together!

When my brother, sister, and I were babies, our Aunt Jeanette made us each an amazing quilt with our names and birth announcement on it. This year my mom surprised us with a "special project" she had been working on, which was quilts for our babies that she had modeled after the ones my Aunt Jeanette made us! A true treasure!

Precious Moments.

We had such a wonderful Christmas and it's sad that it comes and goes so quickly! Fortunately Sam was off the whole week after Christmas, so this was only the beginning of a week full of family, fun, get-together's, tons of board games, and lots of love and laughter! If only we could bottle up all the joy, love, and peace that the holidays naturally exude and sprinkle a little bit of it here and there throughout the year...if only.