Does it get any cuter than this?!

 

First I ate a camel

And then a tall giraffe

But when I ate the elephant

It really made me laugh

If you think that's funny

That I ate such a meal

It's animal crackers that I ate

And none of them were real!

Row, row, row your boat

Gently down the stream

If you see a crocodile (alligator, dinosaur)

Don't forget to scream!  Aaah!

Christmas Day 2013

Christmas morning was fabulous.  The kids didn't get up until eight-ish.  It was so low key.  We scaled way back on gifts this year.  I think there were maybe a dozen presents under our tree.  Even at that, they were excited with what they got, since lots of though went into them.  And I really think, with all of the other people who buy them presents, they don't need an excessive amount of stuff from us.  And hopefully it will help them to focus more on the giving than the receiving.

Hayley got the Pop the Pig game, a Monster High doll, a Monster High movie, the Tower or Terror movie, and a dance bag.

Jackson got two tractors, some clothes for his Build-A-Bear, the Monster's University movie, and a bike.

Jeremy got new Skechers, that he had seen, tried on, and liked in Vegas, but hadn't purchased.  And a airplane calendar for the new year, but that's a given for him. :)

I got a darling new iPad cover and a lanyard from Brighton for my work badge.  Funny how you get exactly what you want when you send your husband an email with links and recommendations that say "this, or something like this" and "here's the website or the addressed of their local stores."

Such a Merry Christmas, but I have to say it was really stressful to not have the month of December off like I have the past few years when we were year round.  As much fun as it was, I can't say that I'm sad that it's over.  I think it would help if next year I was a little more organized, a little more put together, and a little more patient.  I had a hard time finding the Christmas Spirit when I was so busy rushing, rushing, rushing.  Oh, well.  All's well that ends well and there's always next year!

Christmas Eve 2013

This year at the Bachman Family Party on Christmas Eve, we decided at the last minute to throw together a little talent show.  Hayley gave a little ballet lesson:

It was kind of loud, so I had her do it again the next day for my mom and Robert and Whitney.  She still goes kind of fast, so here's what she's saying: "I'm going to tell you some ballet words.  Jete (jee-tay) means to throw.  Plie (plee-a) means to bend your legs.  Releve (rel-uh-vay) means to raise up on your toes.  Tendu (taun-du) means to stretch your leg.  Pique (pee-kay) means to prick.

 

And Jackson, after being tricked into it a little from Jeremy, sang his Animal Crackers song:

 

Okay, so I was going to include Jackson's "practice videos" of his song here too, but there are some doosies, and I think they need their own post. :)

After our show and the required Nativity, we moved on to opening presents.

Hayley hit the jackpot with a cousin gift of a Monster High game and hair markers AND art stuff galore from Grandma and Grandpa including her own ream of paper and three rolls of Scotch tape.

And Jackson.  So I've come to the conclusion that Christmas overwhelms this boy.  We have a picture of him like this every Christmas for the past few years.  I think it doesn't help that we're always up way past his bedtime, and we have to take turns, and there's lots of "We're not going to open it right now..."

Once I got him in the other room, away from the Christmas craziness, and let him play with one of his toys, he was back to his happy self.

Give this boy anything tractor-ish and he'll be happy in a hurry. :)

Hayley drew Payton this year and we got him some Hexbugs and a Hexfish.  He kiddos wanted to try the Hexfish out right away.

Payton later told me that was one of the best presents he'd ever gotten.  Score!  And kudos to Payton for the "thank you" and the compliment.

Fun party, especially when Jeremy surprised me and everyone else by informing us that he was not going back to work after his lunch hour after all.  Merry Christmas Eve to me!

JHE Sing-A-Long

Every year at Jordan Hills we have a Christmas Sing-A-Long the day that we go off for Christmas Break.  Second Grade sang Boogie Woogie Santa and the kids could wear their cowboy hats since it's a bit twangy

They also sang Holly, Jolly Christmas.  I love that Hayley is on the end so I could totally see her do all the actions. :)

We've sure missed our school friends while we've been off for Winter Break!

Hayley the Baby Mouse

A bunch of the girls in my class last year were in Mountain West Ballet's production of The Nutcracker.  Hayley and I and some of my friends from school were able to go and watch them perform.  I loved it, and after talking to some of the moms loved how it was organized.  It's a community ballet theater run mostly on volunteer work from the families of the dancers.  Dancers try out, but everyone gets a part.  Then they continue taking a ballet class at their home studio, and then have rehearsal once a week for their part in the production.  I was really excited when Hayley decided to try out this year.

She really wanted to be cast as a Bon Bon (the little girls that pop out of the lady's big skirt) but instead got Baby Mouse.

She was a little disappointed, and it took a little convincing, but she decided to accept the part.

 It's a good thing, since she was the cutest little baby mouse there was!

It was great for her to make some new friends with the other mice, and also with some other girls from our school.  These are all of the girls from Jordan Hills that participated in The Nutcracker production.  Two of them are former students of mine, but it was so fun to get to know the others (and their moms) a little better.

She was also very excited to invite pretty much everyone she knew to come and watch her.  I only got a few pictures, but thank you so much to all of you who supported Hayley by buying candy and popcorn from her fundraisers, and/or coming to watch her perform.  She loved seeing you all.

I'll tell you what, this is one loved little girl!

Mountain West Ballet is performing Cinderella in the Spring.  I really am hoping that she decides she wants to do it, especially since you have to be eight years old for that one (you only have to be six for Nutcracker) and the auditions are on her birthday, so she would barely make the cut off.  It's like it was meant to be!  Either way, just doing something kind of new has been a great experience for her.

Kearns Christmas Celebration

We've been to the Kearns Oquirrh Park Christmas Celebration before, and this year Hayley saw the ad and really wanted to go again.  I was torn, as it was so crazy busy the last time we went, but we ended up going.  We got there right as it started, and I was thinking we'd get in line first thing to see Santa.  When we got there at 5:30 however, there was a sign that said Santa was arriving at 7:00.  That meant we had a bunch of time to kill.

So we took some pictures with the mascots...

And had the clown make us some balloon creations...

And then about 6:40 we got in line for Santa and waited.  And waited.  And waited.  Apparently Santa got stuck in the snow, and was going to be indefinitely late.  After 40 minutes of standing in the same place trying to keep my kids somewhat still, we decided to bag it.

Of course, about ten minutes after that Santa showed up.  Not like you could miss it when they started playing "Here Comes Santa Clause" over the loudspeakers for everyone to hear.  We did get a shot of Hayley and Mrs. Claus as she came by.

Hayley wanted to get in line again, but I was so done, and it was so past Jackson's bedtime by then.

We did do the tractor ride on the way out.  It had been the only thing that Jackson wanted to do all evening.

Fun, but oh my gosh, it was sooo cold that night!  Plus snow and wind.

Maybe we'll try again next year.  Maybe Santa can be a little more punctual, eh?

The Santa Visit

When I told the kids that we were going to see Santa, they were both really excited.  Yes, even Jackson.  This is the first time that he had not been adamantly against the idea.  I thought maybe his bravery would falter as soon as he saw the jolly old fellow, so you could imagine my surprise when he ran right up, hopped on Santa's knee, and did this:

Yep, he's smiling with Santa.  Don't die of shock.  It's been a long time coming.  When Santa asked what he wanted he said, "A present and a candy cane." Pretty easy to please.

This one knows the deal and smiled like a pro.  She's been figuring out about Santa though.  The other day she said "Mom, I think I saw Jackson's bike downstairs before Christmas Day." "Hmm, maybe Santa dropped it off early." "Mom, that candy that was in our stockings? Wasn't it sitting on the counter?" "Hmm, maybe Santa shopped at WalMart too." The funny thing is she hadn't come right out and asked, or I probably would have told her.  Then she just said, "I'm going to ask Dad. I'll figure all this Santa nonsense out." By the time Jeremy got home that day, she'd forgotten, or just decided not to ask.  I'm kind of hoping I don't even have to tell her straight out, but if she asks me directly, I'll tell her.

Anyway, it was a fun night, even if it wasn't with THE Santa. :)