christmas eve 2012

Well, this very first picture is actually from the Sunday before Christmas, but I thought it was a nice family photo so I needed to throw it in.  It can also segway into how confusing it was for my kids to go to church two days in a row.  Come Christmas Eve, Jimmy was like, "We just went yesterday!"  I had to sell Christmas Eve Mass as something really special with lots of nice music and getting to see the baby Jesus.  That mostly worked.

During the day on Christmas Eve the aunts and uncle helped the boys make a gingerbread house (via Ikea).

Note to everyone, don't skip the step where you build a cardboard house underneath (you know what I mean Katie Bird).  This picture below is actually us failing miserably and trying to fix all the pieces that kept breaking.  I don't have pictures of how we had to stop building so I could go hot glue some cardboard together.  Next year, I hope I remember to be on top of these things.

But after the fiasco, we managed to get it going again.

The boys were happy with the finished product and excited to eat it.

Christmas Eve Mass at St. Thomas was very nice.  It was crowded, but thankfully the grandparents and aunts went early enough to save seats.  The boys were relatively good.  Jimmy seemed exhausted and Gus was a bucket of energy.  He only had to go outside for a little bit with Aunt Angie, but he did insist on repeatedly asking to see Baby Jesus at the top of his lungs--not the worst thing he could be screaming at church, but he did like to pick opportune moments of silence.  

We managed to get another good family shot.

And the boys were excited to see Baby Jesus at the end.

(On a side note:  Gus started pretending to be Baby Jesus all the time during Christmas and it hasn't stopped.  Some days he insists on being called Baby Jesus.  He says I am Mary, Dad is Jophes, and Jimmy is an Angel)

After Mass we went back to my house for dinner and Christmas Eve presents.

The boys got Star Wars Ornaments with Legos inside.  We let them play for a bit, but then I desperately tried to get them in bed "early" since they had been going to bed so late for about a week.  We put out Cookies for Santa and read "The Night Before Christmas" and "The Grinch."  Then they both took a long time falling asleep.  I am sure all the grown-ups laughing in the other room didn't help and the thoughts of Santa coming make it hard for any kid to sleep.

"The stocking were hung by the chimney with care in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there..."