Our Holiday Season: The Condensed Version

The month of December was so crazy for us!! Here is a play-by-play of our chaotic, yet never boring and always exciting, month for your reading pleasure. And I swear - this really is the condensed version. It could be much much longer!

*Of course, everything is always interesting and fun when you have a newborn to take care of! Cole is doing really great. He sleeps pretty good both day and night and is already growing so fast. At his one month check-up he weighed 9 lbs. 11 oz.! That is exactly three pounds more than at birth. He still seems so small to us, although his clothes are fitting much better. His brothers love him to death and give him more kisses than they give Bryan and I together combined! Christmas time was so exciting with him around too. He got to go to the airport to see Uncle Kory come home from his mission and he got lots of cuddles from his baby-hungry aunts! (Don't ask - they aren't trying for a baby right now!!!)

Rix always wants to hold Cole. The only problem is that when he is done holding him, he just lets Cole go. No worries - he hasn't fallen off the couch because of Rix (but he has fallen because of Bryan!!!).

Kristen was a lifesaver and came to help us with Cole for the first week. It was so great to have her and Luke here and we were beyond sad to see her go. It was lots of fun to see how big Luke was compared to Cole. You totally forget how little they are!

* We got to witness our only brother come home from his mission. I have seen homecomings before because of all the Pearson boys, but it was so fun this time to have my sisters involved and see the excitement and nervousness of my parents (and by parents, I mean mostly my mom - she was a wreck!). It was very emotional and lots of fun to see him after two years. And the most fun of all was introducing Kory to the nephews he had never met: Roman, Jack, Bryce, and Cole. He is at BYU right now (go Cougs!) so we are excited to visit him when we go to Utah again.

My mom made this beautiful sign for us to hold up for Kory. It was so fun to hold it and watch for him! However, we got lots of strange looks - mission homecomings are not common at SeaTac! And I apparently didn't get the memo that we were supposed to wear black :)

Kory leaving the security checkpoint. It was crazy to see him again - almost surreal! But he looked the same (a little bigger to be honest!) and it was like he was never gone in the first place.

*Gearing up for the holidays is stressful enough - but with a newborn and lots of family in town it is downright exhausting! Here are the things we did this year to celebrate the season.

We went tp a tree farm because I thought it would be fun to get a tree from there but they were a little steep in their prices. Rix wanted this tree, but the price tag was screaming "I'm too expensive! Go to Lowe's where I am cheaper!" So we listened to that tree.

Bryce was just happy to be out of the car seat.

Rix helping me decorate the tree. Bryce is noticeably absent from the picture. He was more of a destroyer of the decorations than a helper, so we waited until he was in bed to decorate.

Rix is a goat (can't you tell?) in his preschool's Christmas pageant. He is not my performer AT ALL and just stood there looking like this for the entire performance. Oh, except for when he was turning around and getting mad at the people behind him (who weren't doing anything to be mad at) or when he was curled up in a ball on the floor during one of the songs. Acting is off his resume.

Hayden, Rix, and Olivia decorating cookies for Santa. The phrase we heard the most during this time was "The icing is not for eating - put it on your cookies!" Apparently the kids thought the plastic knife was a utensil that was meant to help the frosting make it into their mouths instead of on the cookie. Sugar rush anyone?

* And of course the season isn't complete without visits from Santa himself!!!

This is at our ward Christmas party. Rix was the first to sit on Santa's lap and sat there for at least five minutes telling him what he wanted for Christmas and other random subjects. He even told Santa to bring his younger brother a purse (how thoughtful!).

And what is Christmas without the token "crying on Santa's lap" picture? I don't know what scared Bryce the most - being away from Daddy or the huge white beard in his face.

Nana and the grandkids doing the "Jingle Bells Dance" while waiting for Santa to come to the house on Christmas Eve. Note Rix's jammies are unzipped - that should make Jason and John so proud!

Santa came to Nana and Papa's house on Christmas Eve. The older kids were so excited and it was so fun to watch them as Santa came in the room. He gave them each a candy cane (which they devoured in seconds) and they each got to sit on his lap. It was really exciting!

See Bryce's face? Santa is a good fifteen feet away from him and he is still upset. However, Santa did give him a candy cane too, which seemed to appease Bryce for a few seconds. Roman wasn't a huge Santa fan either, but Jack just looked at him with wonder (or was it confusion?).

*And of course Santa made it to our house that night. Presents were everywhere!!!

Bryan's stocking. Needless to say, it was not filled to the top but it was so fun to see his face when he saw how huge it was!

Bryce getting blocks from Mommy and Daddy. He wanted to open them right away.

Rix got a Hot Wheels car and movie from Nana and Papa. He loves them and asks to watch the movie all the time, which doesn't happen because I don't want to see it that often.

* We threw my mom a surprise 50th Birthday party even though her birthday isn't until January 21st. This ensured complete surprise for her because she wasn't expecting us to do anything a month early. It was a total hit and lots of fun - although the planning and executing of said plan was super stressful!

Mom right after we yelled "surprise!"



Opening presents with the help of Rix (you can see his feet behind the table). The party was lots of fun with lots of yummy food!!!

* The Pearsons came for Cole's baby blessing and, of course, we had tons of fun while they were here (are you all surprised the bowling and watching football games was on the agenda?). It was great to hang out with them and for Rix and Bryce to see them again.

Pom Pom, Jason, and John holding Cole after church. Don't they look so cuddly?


Grandma Pearson holding Cole before they leave back to Utah.
Cindy and Bryce at breakfast. Bryce warmed up to the Pearsons very quickly and rattles off their names at random times during the day. We need to visit Utah soon so he doesn't forget everyone!

Cole and Aunt Lindsay having a moment of communication. Apparantly whatever Lindsay said to Cole has him completely shocked!

* My mom got another surprise for her birthday on New Year's Eve when my dad gave her a Wii. She had been wanting one forever but couldn't find any available. She even resorted to sending Jage and Adam to stores at the crack of dawn waiting for shipments of the Wii, but was denied every time. We had lots of fun playing the Wii on New Year's Eve.

* My sisters were here for three weeks and it was so fun to let the kids play (and fight) together and to hang out with them and their husbands. We did lots of shopping and game playing while getting ready for Christmas and the surprise party. I already miss them (who will go to Target with me for no good reason?) and am keeping my eye on airline prices for Cleveland!

Does this give you any idea how crazy the Hjelm household was during the month of December?

One last sibling shot before we go our separate ways!