We started off Christmas break with new adventures to parks in Brighton. I have been missing experiencing new things and exploring the place I live, like I did every day in Germany. I loaded up the boys in the car, got our snacks and the stroller and headed to two new parks. We parked at one, walked to the other, played at that park, then walked back and played before coming home. The boys did awesome playing at both parks! They were confident in their climbing, tried new things, and were both so brave on big new slides. It was refreshing to walk around and see the city from a new perspective. The weather was perfect and I enjoyed talking with Klaire as we walked from place to place. That’s one thing I really missed in Germany, was being awake when the people I love are awake and being able to talk and visit with them while doing life. It was nice to know I wasn’t the only one I knew that was awake!
 |
| Jay's Gingerbread house from school |
 |
| Hugh running through the tunnel |
 |
| Can you see both boys? |
 |
| The planet at this park was cool, although I don't really know how it's supposed to be played on. |
 |
| Hugh being a big boy and climbing up to the big slide! |
 |
| If Hugh goes to bed with socks on his feet, he will almost always wake up with them on his hands. |
 |
| Jay, Me, and Hugh enjoying post nap cuddles. |
Friday night for date night, we made toffee. I had made the rest of the Christmas goodies for our treat plates earlier in the week but saved the toffee to do with Matthew. It’s been something we’ve been trying to perfect since we’ve been married. We make it every year and some years it’s turned out okay, sometimes good, and sometimes very bad. This year, we pretty much nailed it! One batch we cooked for a little too long, but the other batch was perfect, and both tasted delicious! And, one of the batches had a little spot of butter that didn’t dissolve which was minimal and easy to avoid eating.
Saturday morning we spread our Christmas cheer by delivering our goodie plates. I made a couple gluten free only plates which were extra fun to deliver because gluten free people don’t often get goodie plates. We didn’t spent long visiting, but there were a lot of people we wanted to share the Christmas spirit with. The boys were super good during the visits and enjoyed going to the few doors we let them out for. Someday, they will love it! In the evening, we had our ward Christmas party. We sat by the Dahls, which made Jay and Hugh both very happy. They haven’t spent much time with Ben, but loved him and were excited Katie was there. Jay insisted on going up for the Primary portion of the little show and before the party, I told Matthew that was his job. Last year it was a major struggle. I had to hold Jay and wrestle him to stay in place on the stage for the one song the Primary did. Jay did amazing this year! Matthew waited with him in line as they read a long story and different primary kids came to the stage. He was the last kiddo who came and held the wreath and listened and watched all the kids on the stage. He stayed in the same spot, Matthew didn’t have to go with him, and it was beautiful to see the change. We helped clean up all the chairs and tables because Jay LOVES that part of all the parties. He knows how to fold the chairs up and takes them to where they need to be. When we finished, the line to see Santa was gone and we did our visit. The boys have been saying, “ho ho” everywhere we got and whenever we see a Santa, so I was surprised when we stepped into the room and Jay turned into a stone wall. It took all of our strength to even get him close to Santa and Hugh stayed close to Dad which was a safe option. We snapped a picture, got the goodies, and hit the road to go to bed.
 |
| Hugh's becoming more demanding and opinionated, he insisted upon wearing the glasses and eating! |
 |
| Goody plates all ready to go! |
 |
| Can you see Jay? He's toward the right side, turned backwards to watch all the kids |
 |
| Me, Jay, Santa, Lincoln the elf, Matthew, and Hugh |
Sunday was extra special because we got to got to Grandpa and Grandma’s house for a Blaylock Christmas party! The boys were so excited and couldn’t wait to get unbuckled and into the house when we arrived. The food was delicious, as always, and it was fun to see Mike and Jenna and Andrew and Jessica and their families. We don’t get together often enough! Jay had a bit of a hard time regulating his energy and keeping his physical contact down, which was hard. And, Hugh wouldn’t let go of me until the last 10 minutes we were there. We played Christmas Charades and did a live Nativity. Jay acted out one thing and so did Hugh, and we enjoyed watching the Nativity. Because Grandma and Grandpa went to Utah to help Aunt Ashley with a baby, they missed Jay’s birthday celebration and got to give him his present in front of all the cousins. Jay loved his remote control car and couldn’t contain the joy of seeing it move to the push of the buttons on the remote. He was very sweet and let several of the other cousins play with it too. He did request a “pimer” also known as timer to time their turns, which we convinced him he didn’t need and he could simply wait. We were all tired by the end of the evening and got home around 10. Jay somehow didn’t fall asleep until we were almost home, and like clockwork, he was up at 6 am the next morning.
 |
| Happy Sunday, a red bowtie to celebrate the season! |
 |
| Hugh in his Christmas get-up |
 |
| With a little extra time before church, everyone got some wrestling in |
 |
| Merry Christmas from the Blaylocks! |
 |
| Emery, Cambrie, Mike, Grandpa, Jenna, and Kate |
 |
| Brady, Caden, and Tanner were the wisemen! |
 |
| Jay and Grandpa and Grandma |
 |
| Happy birthday to our little five year old! |
 |
| He was so excited to get his car working! |
 |
| I couldn't quite capture the joy in the photos, but I tried! |
 |
| Emery, Jay, and Hugh |
 |
| Hugh, admiring the singing Disney castle |
 |
| Grandma, Matthew, Jay, and Hugh looking at Hugh's Mickey Mouse ears |
Monday was our party day with the Merrills. They were out of school and it was the one day we’d be able to see them during the break. Matthew was supposed to have the day off, but one of the new clients he has was having some issues which needed to be resolved before the winter break. I was extra grateful for the company! The kids did well playing with each other and Jay was excited to have everyone there. During naps, I helped Kylee make a lasagna and then helped Katey sew Christmas jammies. We were a team, I pinned, she surged. I pinned, she surged some more. She pinned, and I stitched on my sewing machine. I felt like a little elf, set to work to get the jammies done by Christmas Eve. Katey is always finding ways to help me, it we nice to be able to return the favor and help get all five jammies almost done. By the time the Merrill’s left, Matthew had wrapped up work and we were so excited! Finally our holiday celebrations could begin!
 |
| Hugh and Jay playing with new fun birthday toys |
Christmas Eve was a remarkably productive day, thanks to Matthew being willing to jump in and take some of my to-do’s. I stayed home and got food prepped for dinner and for the cabin, while he and Jay ran to drop off a package and get a free cake. We were so excited about our free gluten-free bundt cake, lemon raspberry, and so delicious! The weather was nice enough I cut all the boys’ hair outside on the back porch while Matthew cleaned up leaves and the boys played well during Matthew’s haircut. Christmas Eve evening is always one of my most favorite days, it always felt like that’s when the magic begins. I set up a little Nativity Scavenger hunt for the boys and as Matthew read different scripture passages about Jesus’s birth, we would run and hunt for a little baggie with parts of the scene described in the scripture. Jay and Hugh were very excited to hunt for the bags and I hope they caught a little bit of the story of Jesus along the way. We let the boys open one gift and they both got new jammies and were so excited to put them on and go to bed! Win for us! Matthew read me the Anniversary story, which is a Blaylock tradition, and then we went to bed to wait for Santa to come.
 |
| Hugh, Me, and Jay with our lemon raspberry bundt cake |
 |
| Jay matched all of these puzzles and put them in a line, it was awesome! |
 |
| Hugh loves his pockets! |
 |
| Hugh, Jay, and I putting together the Nativity scene from the scavenger hunt |
 |
| Opening Christmas PJ's |
 |
| New pajamas are the best! |
Christmas Day was full of excitement and energy! Jay could hardly stand waiting to open gifts. Hugh thought all of the candy was amazing enough, he didn’t need any presents, and we managed to sneak in breakfast between opening the boys stockings and then the rest of the presents. Jay got a little hand bike, called a cyclone, and Hugh got a scooter. Those two toys entertained the boys enough to keep the energy in check while they had to wait while Matthew and I opened our stockings. We used little helping hands for every gift, which made everything a little more exciting! My biggest gift was an electric scooter! It works just like the one we rented in Germany and I definitely rode around the neighborhood in my jammies trying it out. We had so much fun and caught the few moments of sunshine trying out our new toys outside. Grandma and Grandpa came to visit and we did an extra round of opening gifts with them. We wanted to save the gifts from them so they could see the boys open them. The boys were so excited about their basketball hoop and the four basketballs that came with it! We can’t wait to hang it up in the basement and let the fun begin. Matthew got an impact driver and bits, and I got a jacket, water bottle, and a beautiful sewing machine! I’ve been borrowing Grandma’s old sewing machine for a while and she gifted it to me this Christmas. I am so excited! Grandpa tried out our new scooter and then they headed home. It was a short visit, but we loved that they came to share a little bit of Christmas with us. Much of the afternoon, I spent packing for the cabin and trying to be sure we were ready to go with all the clothes and necessary things, including doing laundry. We enjoyed Christmas dinner together and watched the Nativity movie from the Church. We were tired by the end of the day, and also felt like it was an awesome Christmas!
 |
| Hugh and Jay excited for all the presents |
 |
| Jay got some new socks from Santa and wanted to put them on immediately |
 |
| Hugh with his stocking and me |
 |
| Hugh trying out his new hat and new scooter |
 |
| Jay on his cyclone bike! |
 |
| Hugh giving the cyclone a try |
 |
| Matthew with his stocking and Hugh as a helper |
 |
| Jay got to help me open my stocking |
 |
| I love their excitement about everything! |
 |
| Opening gifts |
 |
| Little People park set |
 |
| New socks for Dad! |
 |
| Magnetic tiles have been a huge hit around here |
 |
| Jay and Hugh both got a box |
 |
| Playing and playing! |
 |
| New socks for Hugh with balls on them! |
 |
| Jay got a measuring tape |
 |
| Walkie Talkies for Matthew! |
 |
| And for everyone else... |
 |
| Jay loves the walkie talkie too |
 |
| Opening my scooter! |
 |
| Jay was very excited! |
 |
| First spin on the scooter |
 |
| Hugh's first ride and Jay trailing behind on his bike |
 |
| Matthew's turn, and Jay on the cyclone |
 |
| Jay cycloning like a champ! |
 |
| Hugh working on his scooter skills |
 |
| Grandpa and Grandma watching gift opening |
 |
| Jay and Hugh got a basketball hoop from Grandpa and Grandma! |
 |
| New tools for Matthew! |
 |
| Grandpa giving the scooter a spin, and Jay driving along on his cyclone. |
 |
| Jay was very excited to put on his new sheets from Grandma and Grandpa! |
 |
| Hugh's favorite gift...the basketball hoop! |
One thing we did this year was writing down something every day that was a gift for Jesus. Steph shared a template with me that had a simple place to write a persons’ name and if you served them, prayed for them, gave them time, or did something else. Or, you could use the little template and share something you were grateful for. We would do this each evening with the boys and read a scripture with a different name of Jesus. The boys loved it and it helped Matthew and I keep the true Spirit of CHRISTmas with us throughout the month. It helped me live a little more intentionally every day knowing I needed to have something to write on my gift for Jesus each night.
