Merry Christmas To All!

After presents we all took a nice shower or bath, had a nice breakfast, and got ready to go to Aunt Ann's for Christmas dinner.Patrick and Elizabeth all dressed up in their Christmas best.
What a cute little man. Patrick wore the same sweater when he was two or three. I just love it and was so excited when I found it again at Macy's.
Pretty little princess, Miss Elizabeth. Her outfit wasn't complete until she put on her ruby red shoes. Just like Dorothy, not my teacher, the Wizard of Oz.....so she told me.

Merry Christmas!

Come on, Come on, Come on.....enough pictures. Let's go have fun!
Two pretty girls hanging together :)No Christmas is complete with out the Uncle Will slide.
Patrick and Elizabeth just love playing with their older cousins.
So present time is a bit hectic. There are paper balls flying all over the room and what seems like ten people opening gifts at once. Patrick loves it and jumps right in!
Patrick hamming it up with the family.
Watch out Uncle Rich, Elizabeth and Megan are on the attack.
Even with coats on there is always time to work over an uncle. It is a Louer tradition.

Christmas Morning

Here is our beautiful tree laid out with all the treasures from Santa. And overflowing stockings.....true Santa fashion!
Santa left Elizabeth a Princess vanity that is also a musical center......complete with keyboard, microphone/brush, tambourine/mirror, lipstick/whistle. She was really excited to see it all put together on Christmas morning.
Patrick realized that he must have been a good boy this year when he came downstairs and found that Santa had left the Dragon Castle. It was first on our list to Santa.
Patrick got a Nerf shooter. Actually a double shooter.....one for him and one for Dad. And it comes with a dart board. This is the only way Santa could justify giving the shooter.....target practice.
Elizabeth was pleased with all her princess gifts. Pat and Liz did a great job taking turns opening gifts on Christmas morning....once they realized whose gifts were whose.
Elizabeth got a play Mystery Machine and all the Scooby Doo gang. Tons of fun.
And Patrick got a Woolly Mammoth. This one better not get lost!Santa brought both kids snow shovels.....for playing and helping out. We are at that age now. I think chores go better when they come from the direction of Santa.
And then there were stockings. Patrick and Elizabeth are great kids who deserve all the great gifts that Santa, and everyone else, left for them :)

What a cute Princess!

Christmas Eve

Everyone is already, waiting for our Christmas Eve guests.....Pop-Pop, Grandma, Uncle Buddy, Grandpa, and Linda, to arrive for Christmas Eve dinner and festivities.
Tease a three year old by saying that you think you hear Santa's sleigh bells and this is what happens. Too funny!
So before bed we had lots of chores to do. We had to leave carrots for the reindeer. Eight.
And a nice plate of cookies.....heavy on the peanutbutter blossoms.
And then we had to hang our stockings.

Last chore was to read the Night Before Christmas with Mom and Dad and snuggle into our warm beds. We can't wait for tomorrow....can you tell?

Pretending

Today while Brian and I were trying to get the house cleaned up for our Christmas Eve guests, we were putzing around in the kitchen, and we heard the kids playing nicely in the livingroom. They were pretending that Patrick was Santa and Elizabeth was visiting him. Patrick even had the hat and probing questions that Santa asks. It was too cute.......so cute that I ruined it with a picture. After my photos they got all shy and found a different game.

Breakfast With Santa

Today we went to Breakfast with Santa at the zoo.....our favorite place! We had a great time!Patrick and Elizabeth tried out Santa's chair. Verdict - big and comfy.
We were able to get our food quickly and then get in line tol talk to Santa quickly. Made for a nice morning.We were very impressed that Patrick sat on Santa's knee. He did it without hestiation. Must be growing up.
The is as close to Santa as Elizabeth was going to get. I think she told him how old she is. At least there were no tears :)
Patrick was very serious the whole time he was talking with Santa. They were very secretative too. I have no idea what they were talking about.
No one wanted to do a craft.....just decorate cookies. Elizabeth picked pink frosting, of course.
Patrick is an expert decorator! Lots of frosting, lots of sprinkles!

Cookies from Mrs. Clause sure were yummy! Now off to see some animals.

Wii with the Louer's

Yup, we got a Wii. Yup the kids love it......especially Brian the big kid.
Patrick is pretty good at playing tennis, baseball, and bowling. He has even taken an interest in the boxing and golf. Guess we really are big kids now!

Happy Birthday Patrick!

Patrick was given the choice of what he wanted for dinner on his birthday. Despite our persuading for Tully's (it was pay what you weigh night), he chose Chucky Cheese's. So, we went armed with hand sanitizer and a no ball pit rule. It wasn't nearly as bad as Mom and Dad thought it would be and the kids had a ton of fun.
The horsey ride was a big hit, even though both kids came in dead last in the race.Whack-a-mole, but with sharks. Patrick and Elizabeth loved playing this one. Wonder why??
Both Pat and Liz loved the virtual roller coaster......it was pretty neat.
Of course the boys had to play one shooting game.....against Mommy's wishes.Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Patrick, Happy Birthday to you!!!

Elizabeth is such a good little sister. She picked just what Patrick wanted......the Penguin!
Scooby-Doo Trouble looks like a lot of fun!
Holy Cow.....what can it be??? The BATCAVE!!!
Patrick was so excited to get the Batcave for his birthday. He asked to call Santa before he went to bed though. I guess when he didn't get it at his birthday party he had asked Santa for it. He wanted us to call him so that he wouldn't have two Batcaves.