It was such a festive, fun and busy holiday season but we wouldn't want it any other way! Rich has always teased me about my LOVE for Christmas and with kids I think it is just amplified even more! It is seriously the best!!! Here are some other highlights from the festivities and also some of just the daily grind of December, too...
On December 2nd we went to Breakfast in Bethlehem at RBCPC with the Ozecks, Nani and Finn. Following breakfast there is a reenactment of Joseph and Mary's trip to Bethlehem and the birth of Jesus filled with songs, large puppet animals and involvement from the crowd. The kids all seemed to enjoy it, well, other than Charlotte and Finn who were kind of over sitting in the highchairs by this point but at least were entertained enough to stay in the room and to be quiet enough to enjoy the performance. 
The babies did not want any part in this photo...a foreshadow of what was to come with Santa pictures!
Our table!
Our good friends, the Tirados, were also there so had to snap a picture of these sweet kids who have been friends since we first moved here and are now in the same 1st grade class.
On December 3rd they had Breakfast with Santa at our church so we spent the weekend enjoying breakfast at church-ha! Rich was out of town for his marathon so Nani and Poppa joined us and were lucky enough to witness these gems!! (Sidenote-Rich did incredible in the marathon! It was the CIM in Sacramento and although he was just shy of breaking 3 hours coming in at 3:00:12 we are so proud of him and his dedication and he was very pleased with his results). Anyways, I told the kids before they went to sit on his lap that Charlotte would probably cry but just to keep smiling and they did just that! Poor Charlotte on the other hand is probably scarred for life! I can't decide which one is my favorite!
We began our filling the crib for baby Jesus tradition on the first day of Advent. Even Charlotte has a crib this year and everyone is looking forward to doing kind deeds for others to make their cribs comfortable for baby Jesus.
Ella received this craft from the Breakfast in Bethlehem and was pretty proud of herself for completing it!
Ella made the all star team for soccer (the Rising Stars) so practices continued in December. We had practice two times a week leading up to the tournament on Decmeber 6th and 7th so it definitely made for a busy week but she LOVED it!! She played 1 game on the 6th and 2 games on the 7th. It is so fun seeing her shine.
Julia, Charlotte and Joseph were great troopers at the field during practices and games.
She played goalie during one of the games and did awesome. It was chilly both nights but a fun experience and really boosted her confidence! She's already talking about playing soccer in the spring.
This just made me laugh so I had to get a picture of it. Charlotte has been loving taking her diaper off and running around naked so this is a normal occurrence these days. The stroller that Ella is pushing was just gifted to us from our neighbors and the girls all love it but I feel like it is always in the way!! And, poor Joseph just appears to be bombarded by these girls in this picture (which is pretty much the norm, too) but it just makes my heart happy!
Crazy December weather...low 80s for most of the month which means sundresses still!
The nights and mornings are still chilly though so we can get away with footed pajamas though, too!
Sweet Jules-I am soaking up the three days a week that I have with just her and Charlotte as they both seem to be growing up way too fast. Julia told me this month that she no longer likes the song, "You are My Sunshine" which was her favorite for so long (not gonna lie, I got a little teary eyed when she said it) and she just comes up with the cutest little one liners these days, although all still very hard to understand. One day this month she came up to me while I was in the kitchen and says, "Mama, come here, "I have to show you something and it's not good" and then lead me to the couch where she spilled her shake. She can be very emotional these days and will easily break into tears if she doesn't get the cup or bowl or spoon or whatever (you get the idea) that she wants but normally is full of smiles and just goes with it. She is still very independent as she can get herself ready in the morning or before bed by herself, goes to the bathroom without any help, basically takes a bath by herself, and honestly I feel that I could leave her outside playing with the older kids without any problem at all (although I don't do it). She has a bad habit of a love for gum and also a bad habit of loving anything to do with "booty"-ha ha. She loves shaking her booty, talking about her booty, slapping Charlotte's booty in good fun-she's a funny one! She also has recently started the bad habit of biting her fingernails (and toenails!!!!). Honestly, she probably bites her toenails more than her fingernails-its so gross, especially because she rarely wears socks, but there is no stopping her. Her hair is normally a rat's nest as she doesn't like to get it brushed but when her curls look good, gosh are they just adorable! She has also taken the leadership position in leading our "favorite parts of the day" around the dinner table and now dictates to us the order in which we go in and always reminds us to show "what means yes and what means no." I keep telling her to stop growing up and she'll say so sweetly, "But Mommy, don't you want me to grow?" And then I tell her "Yes, but I also want to keep you little" and it's so true.
Sweet Jules-I am soaking up the three days a week that I have with just her and Charlotte as they both seem to be growing up way too fast. Julia told me this month that she no longer likes the song, "You are My Sunshine" which was her favorite for so long (not gonna lie, I got a little teary eyed when she said it) and she just comes up with the cutest little one liners these days, although all still very hard to understand. One day this month she came up to me while I was in the kitchen and says, "Mama, come here, "I have to show you something and it's not good" and then lead me to the couch where she spilled her shake. She can be very emotional these days and will easily break into tears if she doesn't get the cup or bowl or spoon or whatever (you get the idea) that she wants but normally is full of smiles and just goes with it. She is still very independent as she can get herself ready in the morning or before bed by herself, goes to the bathroom without any help, basically takes a bath by herself, and honestly I feel that I could leave her outside playing with the older kids without any problem at all (although I don't do it). She has a bad habit of a love for gum and also a bad habit of loving anything to do with "booty"-ha ha. She loves shaking her booty, talking about her booty, slapping Charlotte's booty in good fun-she's a funny one! She also has recently started the bad habit of biting her fingernails (and toenails!!!!). Honestly, she probably bites her toenails more than her fingernails-its so gross, especially because she rarely wears socks, but there is no stopping her. Her hair is normally a rat's nest as she doesn't like to get it brushed but when her curls look good, gosh are they just adorable! She has also taken the leadership position in leading our "favorite parts of the day" around the dinner table and now dictates to us the order in which we go in and always reminds us to show "what means yes and what means no." I keep telling her to stop growing up and she'll say so sweetly, "But Mommy, don't you want me to grow?" And then I tell her "Yes, but I also want to keep you little" and it's so true.
Charlotte is climbing everything these days so had to snap this photo of her standing on the horse looking out the window for proof! She is busy!!!
Did I mention she is BUSY? She is!! She just wants to keep up with the big kids except she is not independent (obviously) so is always "yelling" at me or someone for help with whatever she needs! For example she wanted the backpacks buckled on her chest so started yelling "Bu bu" for them but then it seemed that once they were buckled she wanted them undone. She definitely keeps me from getting any task done quickly but also keeps the days so interesting and we love watching her personality grow.
Although in many ways she isn't independent at all, she has also gained so much independence recently. I no longer feel like I have to be hovering behind her when she's outside as she can navigate the terrain and has learned some boundaries. These pictures really show me how big she truly is getting!
This picture just makes me laugh so I had to include it. Joseph received a few Lego sets for his birthdays and this was the "left over" legos from one of them. He does such a great job of putting the sets together all by himself but I think he always has a few too many leftover pieces!! He insists they are just extras though...
These two sweet girls got into Ella's chapstick on the way home from Stroller Strides one day.
Charlotte wasn't as nearly as pleased with the outcome as Julia was!
I love, love, love watching the girls and their imaginations. This is a typical day in our home with babies everywhere, doctor stuff everywhere and basically just stuff everywhere!! They play SO well together though and are so creative.
Oh, Charlotte!!! Charlotte and Julia normally take a bath together in our downstairs bath and I've started taking Charlotte out first and getting her dressed while letting Julia have some quiet time in it which she really enjoys. One night I had gotten Charlotte dressed and was hanging up her towel (Rich was in the kitchen doing the dishes) and I hear Julia yelling, "Mama, Lar Lar is back in the bath!" Oh goodness, was she ever! She jumped right back in fully clothed and everything! She's a little spitfire, this one!!
We didn't have any huge plans fro New Year's Eve which was so nice considering we were all still getting back in the routine after the trip to Atlanta so we spent a few hours that afternoon over the club and played a round of mini golf (which always ends up just being the kids climbing all over the statues and hitting balls whenever and wherever) but is so much fun.
Julia seemed into the game for the first few holes but...
then totally lost interest and started throwing the balls into the obstacles,
and even resorted to trying to kick them! Too funny!
Our NYE consisted of watching the Netflix countdown at 6:30 and all of the kids were asleep by 7:00. Rich and I tried to rally for a bit but ended up not being too far behind! Not the craziest start to 2018 but it was a relaxing way to end 2017 which was such a wonderful year for us. It is surreal to think that a year ago Rich had just lost his job and in the past year he was unemployed for almost 2 months, then took a job which caused him to travel every other week but then was recruited for another job which began in November! What a year! Throw in three cross country trips (Boston/NY and two to Atlanta), a weekend beach camping, a wedding in Arizona, 2 marathons, selling our Ko'Olina condo, buying a new car and then 6 months later selling it, having lots of family and friends come to visit, and, oh yes, having 4 kids with the youngest just turning 1 in September...it is no wonder we were in bed early! We are so blessed and so thankful for this life that we have and look forward to what 2018 has in store for us!
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