Merry Christmas 2017!

A wonderful Christmas this year indeed. We continued all of our family Christmas traditions starting with the gingerbread house on Christmas Eve. Then later on after a dinner of spaetzel soup, we attended Christmas Eve mass. When we got home, we put on our jammies and opened some gifts from our family. We wrote our notes for Santa, and put out his cookies (we forgot the milk, oops!) then headed to bed. I had no trouble sleeping knowing that Santa would come although I was upset that I heard him on the roof as we were getting ready for bed. I thought he was there and that he would pass us because I was not yet asleep. There was no issue as we woke up Christmas to presents under the tree. I got everything I asked for, including a few things I didn't even expect like an army truck, the Perfection game, a telescope and some flying airplanes! We enjoyed breakfast after Cora and I, together put the star on top of our Christmas countdown tree! 2017 was a magical Christmas and I am very thankful for all of the toys I got and all the great traditions that we have!

Special Activities

In the days leading up to Chrismas, we had some special family time. On Thursday night when Dad got home from work, we went straight to the bowling alley to try bowling for the first time! I had a blast, dancing bowling, eating pizza...I didn't want to leave. Then, the next day, Mom took me to see a movie called Ferdinand. We read the book before the movie so that I could understand better what was happening in the movie. I loved it! I especially loved my big, reclining comfy seat and personal bag of popcorn!

A Flurry of Excitement

I'm so good now, I can do the YMCA dance!

There has been so much going on recently. Mom keeps Cora and me busy with lots of activities like movies at the Renaissance center, riding scooters on the suspension bridge, reading and roller skating. Not to mention, we had a visit from Grammie and Gramps! While they were visiting, they stayed with us while Mom and Dad went to a hotel. I talked Gramps ear off and enjoyed reading with Grammie. Even better, the weather was cold and sometimes snowy, so we took them to Marbles Museum to show them how much fun it is! We got to open Christmas presents from them too while they were here. I didn't mind at all! We had a fun visit with them.
The day after they left, we went to visit someone very special. SANTA! I wasn't nervous at all this year and I told him everything that was on my list. Plus, he sent a letter back to us so I know that he is on the same page with me. After visiting with him, we went for a sleigh ride through the blowing, flurries in the air! After that excellent evening, all I have to do now is make sure that I behave until the big day!

Preparations

It doesn't take the Young's long to get prepared for Christmas. The day after we got home, we hung our outdoor decorations. The pumpkin from my field trip was still on the porch. Instead of throwing it out, Mom let me paint it like a christmas decoration. Then, a few days later we celebrated Dad's birthday! He turned 37 this year and I feel bad that we were all sick on his birthday, but luckily we were well enough to still see him open presents and enjoy cake together.

The week after we got home from Thanksgiving, we finished our last day of our second quarter at school (it included pajamas and watching the Polar Express) we went to find our Christmas tree. This year it didn't take us long to pick one out at the tree lot, but the shortness of time it spent to find it was no indication of how tall the tree was! It was so tall, Dad hat to trim the top just to stand it up! We enjoyed decorating the tree and putting out all the ornaments (ESPECIALLY dancing Santa).  Because we are now done with school for the year, we can do fun things during the day. Mom took us to the mall and let us look around at toys to prepare our lists for Santa. Now that I knew what was on my list, I could finally write to Santa and put it in the mailbox so his elves would know exactly what I want!
On St Nick's day (Dec. 6) we woke up in the morning to find a gift left by the fireplace. The gift was for Cora and me and inside was a cookie maker! That evening after dinner, we made cookies. The cookie maker makes all sorts of shapes that we can decorate with sprinkles! What a cool gift we got! The decorations are out, cookies are made, Santa letters mailed. Now all we have to do is enjoy the season and have fun! Next up - a visit from Grammie and Gramps!