Christmas Day

He asked for the Cars 2 movie and he was so excited to get it!
He was pretty much excited about everything he got...
The other thing he asked for... a train.

His first piggy bank!
Brody was very surprised to get a train table with tracks...


He played with it all morning! He has played with it almost everyday since...
Brody was so excited when Ryker finally woke up to open his presents.
I am head over heels for these two handsome boys!
My happy Ryker.


He loved the wrapping paper!

They love their Grandpa!
My parents gave him some legos and they kept him busy almost the whole morning.
Ryker loved the piano he got from his aunts!
We get Maquel and Hannah gag gifts each year for Christmas along with their "actual" gift. This year we got Maquel a flask. (She would always ask for one from my mom to get a reaction out of her and of course she would say no. I don't think my mom was happy with us that we actually got her one.) The funny thing is...she actually uses it! She puts water in it and keeps it in her purse. Haha!
Hannah definitely has "Bieber Fever" and so when we saw this Justin Bieber doll we had to get it. Haha...she's such a good sport!
As we would open a gift we would just throw the paper/boxes behind the couch. Brody thought it was a fun play pit.

Ryker found his way underneath our Christmas tree.
Brody still playing with his legos...

My new pots and pans from my parents...I love them!
Jayson got me these leather boots...he did such a great job! I love them!!

Christmas day was so awesome this year! Since Brody was so afraid of Santa coming to our house he didn't sleep well at all! He came into our room multiple times and at 4am he was so terrified that he would not go back to sleep. To calm him down, Jayson said that they could go downstairs to see if there were presents under our tree, and that if there were that means Santa had already come and there was no reason to be afraid anymore. Well...it worked, only then he couldn't go back to sleep because he was too excited. He laid in bed with us until probably 5:30am and then we finally got up...he wasn't going back to sleep. We decided it was okay to start without Ryker...he didn't know what was going on anyway.

Brody was so excited to see all of the presents under the tree. We started with stockings first. He had so much fun pulling out each present and unwrapping them. He was so excited about each thing and would say out loud, "thank you so much Santa for my present." He literally said that after each gift....what a sweet boy I have. The only two things he asked for this Christmas are Cars 2, the movie and a train. He opened Cars 2 in his stocking and we saved his train for last. Santa left a note next to the empty plate of cookies that said Brody had another surprise in the basement. I don't think he had any idea when he asked for a train that he was going to get a whole table with tracks and everything...he was so excited. He's had so much fun putting different tracks together and playing with his trains. I love seeing him so excited...and he really was so grateful for everything he got.

Ryker woke up around 7am and he had a couple of presents to open. Of course his favorite thing was the wrapping paper. Haha. After we were finished at our house we went over to my parents...our Christmas Day tradition. Once we got there we had our annual breakfast of orange rolls, sausage, chocolate milk, grapefruit, etc. Yummy! Then it was time for more gift opening. I always have so much fun seeing my sisters open their gifts. We got way more than we deserved and Brody and Ryker were spoiled and we had a great time! Unfortunately, Jayson had to leave for work after lunch and the boys and I went home to take a nap...which was very much needed. The plan was that I would go back over to my parents after we woke up to play games and my sisters and I were going to do nails, but Jayson was lucky enough to be able to come home early..it was dead at work. So we went back over together and had a nice dinner and played some more.

Jayson really outdid himself with my presents this year. We usually don't get each other anything, but we decided to this year. He got me the cutest pair of boots ever! He knew I wanted a pair and he did such a great job picking them out...(he even went on my Pinterest account and looked at boots I had pinned...he is so sweet!) He got me a great cookbook and some Mac eyeliner also! I was so spoiled! I love you, Jayson! Thank you! My other favorite gift was from my parents... new cookware! I needed new pots and pans so desperately. I love them! But really, Christmas is all about spending time as a family and remembering the birth of our Savior. Brody would say, "it's Jesus' birthday." I'm glad that he got the true meaning of Christmas this year. I'm so thankful for the birth of my Savior and everything he has done for me. I have so much to be grateful for. Merry Christmas everybody!

Christmas Eve

Ryker even got in on the cookie-making fun.
Brody loved using the cookie cutters.

Rolling out the dough...
He was an expert!
He loved using the spatula to put the cookies on the cookie sheet.

Trying a sugar cookie...
I think he ended up just eating cookies for dinner that night...he loved them!
Brody and Ryker with Grandpa Harris on Christmas Eve.
Brody with his "girlfriend" Darcy. I'm sorry Brody that you inherited my short gene. She is a tall little girl..and adorable! He was really embarrassed to have his picture taken with her.
Darcy's mom says that she talks about marrying Brody in the temple! Haha! He's already a lady killer.


Brody was the angel in the Christmas program.
Ryker with Aunt Heather.
Brody wouldn't let this Santa box out of his sight. He put all of the new cars he got that night in there.
How did Santa's bag get on Grandma and Grandpa's porch?
My handsome boy!

Setting out Santa's cookies...

This Christmas Eve we had a lot of fun! It all started the day before Christmas Eve with cookie making. This was the first year we made cookies to set out for Santa...really because it was the first year Brody got the whole concept. We made yummy sugar cookies and Brody had a blast doing it! He helped roll the dough out and cut the cookies out and even put them on the cookie sheet. He also helped frost and sprinkle the cookies. It was so fun to do together and we will be doing it every year from now on. He had to pick the best cookies to put on the plate for Santa and even changed his mind a couple of times and would say, "no, this one will be better for Santa." So cute! We also put carrots on the plate for the reindeer.

We always spend Christmas Eve with Jayson's family and this year we had to do things a little different. Jayson had to work Christmas Eve night, so we had more of a late lunch with his family. We had yummy pork burritos, (cafe rio recipe) and Jayson's mom even bought Cafe Rio tortillas and mild sauce and the house dressing. It was so good! Then we did a little gift exchange before Jayson had to leave for work. We also took a little walk with Jayson's sister Heather over to her friend Jen's house. She has a little girl Brody's age named Darcy. They've had a few play dates and have gotten along really well. Darcy really likes Brody and has talked to her mom about wanting to marry Brody. She said, "When we're older we'll get "scealed" in the temple." Haha, how cute! Heather told me that during one of their play dates while they were watching a movie, Darcy said that she was really scared and Brody went over to her and put his arms around her and said, "I'll protect you!" What a little gentleman I have! He was really embarrassed to go over to her house to give her a gift. I'm glad that he has a good little friend to play with.

This year we signed up to go to Jayson's work and talk to Santa on the radio. They've done this at the Salt Lake Center since I was little and I even remember going with my dad and family. It was so fun to do it with Brody and all of our nieces and nephews. Before hand, they have the controller who works there fill out an information sheet about the child to give to the person who plays Santa. (i.e. what they want for Christmas, if they have brothers or sisters, good things they've done throughout the year or things they need to work on, etc.) When you go into the center there is a special radar scope that shows Santa's sleigh flying in the air and he calls the child on the radio to talk to them. It is so neat. Brody did exactly what I thought he would and wouldn't even put the phone up to his ear. My two nephews and niece thought it was great though and I had so much fun seeing their reaction. Hopefully Brody won't be as shy next year.

After we were done talking to Santa I took the boys back to Jayson's parents house and we did our annual Christmas program. Brody dressed up as the angel and I think he was a little embarrassed. It was so fun to see him involved this year. Then Santa left his bag on the porch again with a present for everyone inside.

Once we got home, we set out Santa's cookies and went to bed. It was quite a struggle to do alone and I'm so glad Jayson won't have to work Christmas Eve night next year. Brody was so excited for Santa to come except the week leading up to Christmas. He started to get really scared that Santa was going to be coming into our house and every night at bedtime he would ask, "where's Santa? He's not coming tonight, right?" I felt so bad that he was scared. I guess I didn't explain very well that we wouldn't even see Santa and that there was nothing to be afraid of. Poor little guy. Needless to say, he didn't sleep well and kept getting up throughout the night. More to come with that part of our Christmas story this year...