Workman Family Christmas

It's not December in Fulton without a big family dinner at Kristie's grandparents' house and this year was no exception. The bigger all the kids get the harder it is to fit in the living room, but that doesn't stop us from having a great time. After this party, Kristie, Charlie and I drove home for a few days while Jack and Max enjoyed some quality time with How and Pop — but not before they enjoyed quality time in Great-Grandma's basement with the older boys.

From How's House

From How's House

From How's House

From here, you'll notice a distinct theme: books.

From How's House

From How's House

From How's House

From How's House

Down time at How's house

Our holiday trips to Fulton are about so much more than tearing wrapping paper off presents. Kelly and Kevin were able to be there the same time we were, and even Uncle Kyle hung allowed his nephews to play with the big boys — which is only fitting considering how much young Kyle liked to be around Kelly's friends when they came over about ten years ago.

How's house is a great place for trying out your new presents, especially with so many non-parent grown-ups around. But even the new toys can;t compete with some of the old classics. And if you're Jack, you find a way to blend the two.

Bowling: Start 'em young. From How's House

Don't Rock the Boat with Uncle Kevin. From How's House

Jack turned the basement into party central. From How's House

Cosmic bowling. The stereo was thumping. From How's House

From How's House

Breakfast, SpongeBob and brother love. From How's House

Pajama drumming is the best kind of drumming. From How's House

Monkey see, monkey do. From How's House

Cymbals — that's my boy! From How's House

Christmas presents at How's house

Well... at least I'm getting them posted before February, right? Here's some photos from our Christmas present bonanza at How's House at the end of December.

From How's House

From How's House

From How's House

From How's House

From How's House

From How's House

From How's House

Christmas night at Pops & K's

We went back down to Libertyville for Christmas dinner and more presents. Uncle Matt was there (we'd also seen him after church the night before) and, while we did more than open presents, well, that's what my pictures feature. So here goes.

Reading the tag of a gift from Kim & Micah. From Pops and K's

It was a puzzle-riffic Christmas for Max. From Pops and K's

Uncle Matt's new popcorn popper. From Pops and K's

This is what happens when you ask Max to help distribute presents. From Pops and K's

Charlie sizes up his new SpongeBob toy. From Pops and K's

Uncle-ception! From Pops and K's

Other highlights of the night included Charlie finally understanding the joy of opening gifts (though not quite grasping how the joy continues after the wrapping paper is off — he shrieked with glee a few times just at seeing a cardboard box) and Uncle Matt's brilliant decision to make note of the unintentional comedy of Doodle ("A box is not a present!"). One of Max's notable proclamations came after opening a Hot Wheels track set: "Now that's what I call cars!" We got it set up for them at home the next day:

From Hollands at Home 2012

Up next: Christmas in Fulton!

Christmas morning at home

Christmas morning at our house was a bit more subdued than usual. As noted in the previous post, Charlie slept in again. Max squealed with delight at everything he opened (" 'Cars' underwear! That's what I always wanted because Jack has 'Cars' underwear!") though usually he was too frenetic for me to get a good photo.

Kristie did a good job of making sure the stockings had lots of similar items, which Jack understood quite well. Max still seemed surprised if he opened something identical to a gift Jack already revealed. Charlie, on the other hand, saw Max playing with a toy (like the bus in a picture to follow) and immediately grew jealous of the new toy. That jealousy prevented him from opening his own version of the same toy. He sort of got over it by the end of the morning, but I expect things to go a little more smoothly next Christmas.

And now, the photos.

Stocking time. From Hollands at Home 2012

It's 2012 and we still ove our PEZ. From Hollands at Home 2012

Hey look! A bus! From Hollands at Home 2012

Christmas Eve at Pops & K's

Our Christmas Eve began with Charlie sleeping something like 15 hours from the night of the 23rd to the morning of the 24th, which is to say we did not exactly get an early start to the day. I can't recall all the particulars of what we actually did while the sun was up, but I do know we eventually headed to Libertyville for a light (yet absolutely delicious) supper before heading to church for the 7 p.m. worship service. This year I was able to remain in the sanctuary the entire hour instead of sit in the narthex feeding Charlie Cheerio's one at a time for 45 minutes.

Before we left for church, Jack but together a four-slide Christmas Eve PowerPoint presentation, then connected a laptop to Pops & K's living room TV so we could view it on a loop. Here it is, in its entirety:

From Pops and K's

From Pops and K's

From Pops and K's

From Pops and K's

He actually put together a similar presentation for Christmas Day, but I forgot to take pictures of that effort. (I do recall the slide about Kim's absence contained an even larger sad face). After church we doubled back to Pops & K's. In the last few years this was the time when the boys would get to open two presents — one small toy and also the special pajamas K purchased (and pre-washed!) to be worn that night and the next morning. It was a nice tradition, but it got sidelined this year since a few months ago Jack and Max decided they prefer to sleep in their underwear. So instead they each opened a DVD. It was less sentimental, but the next morning when Kristie, Charlie and I were still fast asleep, Jack and Max cracked open one of the brand new movies and fixed their eyes on the TV screen, happily (and quietly!) leaving us to our slumber. That's a tradition this dad can endorse...

Scoping out "The Lorax," his new favorite. From Pops and K's

A grateful (and adorable) recipient. From Pops and K's

The big brothers help open Charlie's DVD. From Pops and K's

Charlie was busy throwing a fit, but I still love this photo. From Pops and K's

JackSpeak

Scene: In the van, leaving school after intramurals today.

Kristie: Jack, how are your glasses working at school? Can you see better now?
Jack: I can see stuff I don't even need to. Like my teacher's wrinkles.
Kristie: Please don't ever tell her that.

The J-O-Y Project

From Hollands at Home 2012

Speaking of Pinterest projects, here's some photographic evidence of an idea Kristie learned about in late 2011, only it took us until near the end of 2012 to actually execute the plan. The pictures pretty much speak for themselves: give each kid a letter, take their pictures, frame 'em up and boom — instant seasonal decoration. The above photo is from our brief attempts at getting all three boys in a single image. Below are the three "best" we got for the final product.

(Jack was in a lousy mood because we made him change his clothes and also it was cold outside. He's covering his mouth and laughing after Kristie threatened bodily harm to me just to get a reaction out of him. Charlie's photo is from the next morning (dressed in the same clothes again) since we got nothing good out of him the first time. And every single image of Max was perfect.)

From Hollands at Home 2012

From Hollands at Home 2012

From Hollands at Home 2012

Here's my mom holding the pictures we gave her Christmas day.

From Pops and K's

We gave How the same prints, but in a single frame with three openings. We also showed her the following 5x7 prints of our best outtakes from both shoots.

From Hollands at Home 2012

From Hollands at Home 2012

From Hollands at Home 2012

At this point it's a split decision on which set of three is superior, and the 8x10 at the top is pretty awesome as well. We're also finding some broader appeal than just the grandmothers, so if anyone wants copies of the photos, please let me know.

Holiday prep

Yeah, these pictures are from before Christmas, but it's still holiday break here, and my goal is to get all our Christmas-season photos uploaded before Jack goes back to school a week from today.

For starters, Kristie had some leftover cutout cookie frosting and a project idea from Pinterest. Using our last two ice cream cones and a bag of Skittles our kids didn't really need to eat, she turned me and Max loose. Here's Doodle placing stars on one of the "trees."

From Hollands at Home 2012

Meanwhile, Charlie was busy enjoying the first of many Christmas cookies this year. The kids freaking loves cookies, but not enough to pronounce the word any better than "ee-ee!"

From Hollands at Home 2012

Here's our finished art project, complete with powdered sugar snow.

From Hollands at Home 2012

And, though not especially Christmas-y, I did take this picture of Jack and his new teeth later the same night.

From Hollands at Home 2012