Christmas and Birthday

The week of Christmas is a busy one for us, with Haley's birthday falling just two days after Christmas. It was a great holiday and birthday. No one was sick. There were no family emergencies. Just a nice family holiday and birthday celebration.


The kids were thrilled to get to open one gift on Christmas Eve.

They each got a new set of pajamas to help them tuck in and go to sleep while waiting for Santa.

Such excitement to see what Santa brought!

They also enjoyed the presents from Mom & Dad and their Grandmas and Grandpa. The scooters for each of them have been a big hit, even though it has been too snowy to ride them outside yet. Hardwood floors will do in a pinch!

After Christmas, we proceeded to get ready for Haley's birthday. I made her cake - a butterfly as requested by the birthday girl. I think it turned out pretty good! Sure, it's nothing compared to my sister's cakes (she does this professionally and she's impressive!) But for only my 2nd attempt at cake decorating, I was pretty pleased with myself.

While I decorated the main cake, the kids decorated some cupcakes. Preston REALLY likes sprinkles, as you can tell from the thick layer on his cupcakes. =)

Haley opted not to have a party this year. Where her birthday falls during Christmas break, it's a little hard to have a party with her school friends until after the new year. She didn't want to wait that long to celebrate, so instead she decided to have a family party. She chose to go to Build-a-Bear workshop, where she and the boys each enjoyed making a new stuffed animal to take home. She also got to choose where we went for dinner that evening, and chose to go to the Yak & Yeti (an Indian buffet). She loves it mostly for the sliced oranges that she devours (8 or 9 big slices!), but enjoys the other items, too. When talking to Grandma on the phone, she listed off all the foods she ate: chicken tikka masala, samosas, lamb curry, mango custard, pakora, naan... there was probably even more. She ate a lot! (As did the rest of us - we love that place!)

After church on her birthday, she got to have cake and open presents. She loved everything she got. Especially the new clothes... between the two sets of grandparents she got enough new clothes to wear a new outfit every day next week when school starts again. Most of it pink, purple, lacy, sparkly or otherwise very girly. Just what she loves!

Happy birthday sweet Haley! I can't believe you're 6 already!