The Night Before Christmas

Christmas is celebrated different in Peru and the USA so Dave and I have merged some of our traditions and feel that we get the best of both worlds. We hade a nice Christmas Eve Dinner and program. The kids opened  one present and went to bed very excited in anticipation to the next morning. They could hardly wait to see what Papa Noel had left under the Christmas tree for them. Ethan wrote a short note to Papa Noel and left him some milk with white chocolate covered pretzels. Dave has spent a good part of Christmas day assembling toys and I don't think he enjoys it too much. 

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Celebrations

Christmas time is definitely a time for celebration and we loooove parties. We attended several Christmas parties and had a great time!
ALL ABOOOOOAAARD!!! polar express party.

Our branch had a nice Christmas dinner and play.Dave was one of the magi at the Church's play.There were lots of things to do at the Polar Express Christmas Party we attended, the kids wore their pajamas and had lots of fun making crafts, at the music and story workshop and in the play room. We frosted cookies and watched part of the polar express movie. Ethan was very impressed with Mrs. Claus and told me he never thought he would meet her at a party!Our USDF party was also fun, the kids ate way too many sweets and Ethan danced away. Gavin did not like Santa at this party either!

Part III Season of giving

As part of our season of giving, this week we focused on our immediate family. Each one of the kids took a dollar from their piggy bank and used it to purchase one gift for one sibling. This is the first time they do this. I must admit that I was surprised at their eagerness to give and did not expect them to be as excited as they were.  I told them that they would pay for the gift and I would pay for the tax. That initiated and entire discussion on taxes and government and I will just say that Ethan will never be a socialist; he did not like taxes one bit! 
We strolled through the aisles of the dollar store and after carefully choosing and deciding what to buy, they each purchased their gift.

When we got home I helped each of them wrap the present. Gavin thought that his purchase, an edible one, was to be eaten that night. He had a meltdown when he found out he could not open it but finally managed to pull himself together and put lots of tape on Ethan’s gift.
It was a fun night and I learned that children naturally give freely of their love, themselves, and their piggy bank. 

A season of giving

Continuing with our Christmas tradition of making it a season of giving instead of getting, we did more caroling this week. For family home evening we went to visit some elderly women. We sang to them, off tune, but they enjoyed it; we also gave them some cookies.  We were very grateful it was not snowing and all of them lived in the same building so we were much warmer and drier than last week. On our way home we witnessed a terrible car accident so we stayed around until the police, ambulance, and fire trucks arrived and Dave gave his account of what he saw. While we waited in the car for Dave to finish his report to the police, I took the time to discuss with the kids a little bit about elderly people, loneliness and the importance of visiting them. We talked about those in our family that are in that situation and why we always keep in touch with them by calling, writing (drawing) etc... Heidi was very sweet and pledged to always keep those who are old and live alone in her prayers. By the time we got home all but Ethan were asleep but he definitely wanted that hot chocolate cup I had promised. When I tucked him in bed he whispered to me how much fun it had been to visit the old ladies.

Christmas Tradition

One of our Christmas traditions is to go caroling on the first Monday of December. We pick about ten families each year and as soon as the door opens we start singing and give to them a homemade treat. This year we made caramel popcorn, it was yummy and fun to make with the kids. Our singing was not fully coordinated and it was snowing, but we still had fun.  I like doing this at the very beginning of the month because it helps set the tone and mood at our house for a "giving" Christmas. It gives me an opportunity to teach the kids about the fun of giving instead of getting. I even mention Santa because he is always giving and never getting any presents. Ethan felt bad for Santa so he wants to make him a present this year!
After all the singing we came home and had some hot chocolate and caramel popcorn and discussed how God has given to us his Son, and His Son has given to us His life. We went around the table saying what we would like to give to Jesus this Christmas and I suggested to all the kids to be reverent in sacrament so that I don't go crazy!

Santa!

We attended a Christmas party from the Utah Down Syndrome Foundation and Santa was there to delight all the kids. We thought it would be fun to get pictures with Santa. Gavin does not like Santa.....still and tried running away....again. Maybe next year he will do better! He did love the brownies, ice-cream and candy canes (stuffed himself full)!

First Haircut

Gavin had his first haircut and did awesome. He just let the hairdresser cut his hair with no problem as long as she did not block the movie he was watching. Here is a step by step transformation.

Before the hair cut.

What a stud!

Kailey waited very patiently for Heidi and Gavin to get their hair cut.

Cutie!