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Jolly! Christmas Day

We had a great Christmas morning.  The pictures never seem to turn out for us.  But the kids were very exciting.  Andrew got everyting he asked Santa for...stuffed eel, Batman castle (cave) and new batteries for the drill Santa gave him last year.  Grace and Mae were also happy with their gifts.  Grace got her coveted American Girl doll "Molly".  Such lucky kids!

Andrew helped me set the table and was in charge of the decor.  It was his idea to sprinkle Christmas bows at the place settings. 

 

Oh yeah, Monty came to Christmas too.  He was nervous and awkward the whole time.  You can practically see him quivering in this picture.

Here Mae is telling Monty to just chill out.  Stop being so odd.  Relax. 

Grace was thrilled with her Molly doll.  She also got a few outfits for Molly, some books and a Molly bed from JuJu and PopPop.  Lucky girl!

No Christmas morning is complete without a wrestling session!  Look at Mae dominating PopPop with a Micky Mouse doll to the face. 

 

Finally, here are some of Andrew's facial expressions from Christmas morning.  

He is one expressive little guy.

Jolly! Christmas Eve

We had a very nice Christmas  Eve this year.  We got a ton of pictures of the kids.  Of course, Andrew and Mikey were too cool to pose nicely.  However, Andrew was willing to give him a big smooch for the camera!

Mae was a total ham for the camera.

 

She tried to show Ben her "cute face" pose, but he was not into it.

But I did get one cute shot of him - such an adorable little guy!

The kids were spoiled with all their gifts.  Grace loved her cowgirl boots from Aunt Molly and her new rainbow loom from Grandma Jane and Bop.  I love the rainbow loom too.  It keeps Miss Grace busy for HOURS!

 

When Andrew opened his Lincoln Logs, he said "Whoo hoo!  Ya hoo!" and did a little dance.  Then he got serious when he saw his Batman toy. 

Mae was totally confused by Christmas.  She had this stunned look on her face.  Like why is everyone going crazy?  New toys?  For me?  What is going on?

Jolly! Trip to Chicago

A few weeks before Christmas, Kevin and I took Grace and Andrew down to Chicago for the day. Mae stayed with Grandma Jane so she wouldn't slow us down.  The kids were total troopers and they had a blast.  First we had some business to take care of, we got Kevin a nice new suit.  Then we headed to the Bloomingdales building to check out the huge tree.

After that we went to the American Girl store.  Grace had her heart set on a Molly doll for Christmas and was a little upset to see all the Molly dolls were missing from the shelves.  However, Santa delivered anyways.  He plans ahead.  Just like me.  Andrew liked the bitty baby double jogger.

Then we had lunch and the kids said they wanted to go to the top of the Hancock building, take a train ride and go to the Shedd aquarium.  I told them that was a lot and asked if they were up to it.  Andrew replied with a big smile, thumbs up and said, "We can handle it!"  Love that kid.

 Kevin took them to the top of the Hancock Building, which Andrew is now obsessed with and talks about all the time.

So we did all that, including a walk from the red line to the Shedd....in brutal wind, cold weather, and Kevin had to carry Andrew.  Who is literally the world's slowest walker.  He is like a three legged turtle.  Seriously.

The kids had a great day, and we are already thinking of what we will do on our next trip.  Maybe an overnight one next time!

Catching up - Fall fun

                            

Jolly! 2013 Christmas Card

Jolly! Ineffective Elf

Buddy the Elf has been assigned to the Malone kids again this year.  Buddy reports good and bad behavior back to Santa.  It is my hope that Buddy's presence incites good behavior (defined as lack of whining) from Grace, Andrew and Mae.  I had high hopes since when Buddy arrived, Andrew got this look on his face that can only be described as, "Oh Shit."

 

But, so far, not so good. 

The kids love talking to him. 

Telling him what they want from Santa.

And asking lots of questions...(The answer to every question is "He/Santa is magic.")

 

The whining has not stopped, if anything it has been ramped up a notch. 

 

 

Dear Santa, Next year please send your best Elf.

Love, Bridget

Jolly! Angel Prayer Service

At St. Jude, there is a prayer service the day before christmas break.  The first graders dress up in angel costumes complete with tinsel halos.  They sing songs and play an active role in the service.  It is ridiculously precious.  Really, could not be sweeter.  

Jolly!

 

 

We really outdid ourselves this year with the light display.  Yikes. This, if anything, proves I have a sense of humor.

 

My little Mae.  Making a mess.

 

Just when she is getting to the age where she should give up her paci, she has become a little hooked.  Look at the reindeer ears!  She put those on herself.  Love her.

 

I had a cookie exchange with 3 dozen ladies, who each brought 3 dozen cookies.  It was so fun!  And wow, parties without men or kids sure are easy to clean up after.