christmas 2011

once again our christmas holiday went by just as fast as it came. it seems there is never enough time to accomplish all of the crazy ideas I have in my head. I have to find content in knowing that I did enough. enough to make the season magical for the boys and enough to help continue to create the memories that I know they will eventually remember forever. even if I don't manage to pull off all of the martha stewart details that I wish I had gotten around to, I can look back at the pictures and know that christmas was special. we spent it surrounded by our amazing family - and not one pinterest idea could beat that in a million years. so here is a quick photo spread of the fun times we had...followed up with a video montage of a few extra moments caught on film. oh how I love the holiday season!

christmas eve - we spent the whole day at nana and papa's house (my parents) with almost all of the family. baby quinn and her mom and dad were in south dakota this year, but we will celebrate the new year with them in just a quick week. the little boys all had matching pjs and were lucky enough to spend nearly the entire day snuggled up in them.

we figured that we should avoid any late evening gift opening tantrums by starting the morning out with brunch and presents. brilliant. after naps we changed clothes and headed to church.

christmas eve church service is one of my favorites. I love that the pews are crammed with familiar faces of those who live far away, but have returned to be with their loved ones for the holidays. I love the carols, the decorations, and all of the little ones dressed up in their christmas outfits. I remember packing the pew with all of my aunts, uncles, and cousins and staring in awe as they reenacted the story of HIS birth. it's not christmas without that moment and I am filled with a sense of peace knowing that our children are experiencing the same things.


christmas morning was all about waffles for breakfast...

until miles remembered that santa had come! I couldn't believe that it took a little reminder from us to get him to recall that it was, in fact, christmas morning. pretty sure that won't happen again...ever.

they were thrilled with the spread on the mantle and just as excited about exchanging the gifts under the tree.

miles was so happy about his new outfit that he insisted he put it on...over his jammies. can you guess what was worn to grandpa's house?? (sans pjs this time)

grandpa and the rest of the kroenings spoiled the boys.

on a side note: plastic lined wrapping paper makes for some priceless photos.

as does the water/glitter glass.  henry thought he was going to get soaked and miles ever-so-carefully tried to dump it into the sink.  after he realized nothing would come out, he nervously hid it in the pantry.  
 
they were in love with all of the new trucks and tractors, but seemed most enamored by uncle clayton's new socket wrench set. I guess next year we know what to get them :)

henry soaked up the sun while napping on the couch and we all were in need of our beds early that night.


for the first time EVER we did not celebrate christmas eve night with the greseth family. this was certainly an adjustment, but one that was necessary as all of my cousins are growing up, getting married, and starting their own families. not celebrating is not an option. this amazing close-knit extended family is one the things I am proudest about. I know that they are responsible for the person I am today and I cannot imagine the christmas season going by without a houseful of greseths...or a plateful of Norwegian goodness. bring on the meatballs, polsa, and lefse. yum.


santa was so good to us this year.


Untitled from robin kroening on Vimeo.

funny bug

the many faces of henry bug.

love. this. boy.

sweet treats

december was full of sweets AND treats.  sure, we had our fair share of cookies - thank you to the annual family and friends cookie exchange.  I am grateful to all of the talented bakers for sharing a dozen of their scrumptious cookies with me...twelve dozen to be exact. wow, my growing waistline really didn't need all of those extra calories, but they were delicious!

buggy concurs.


we were also treated to miles' first sunday school program. this pregnant momma had a few tears in her eyes as I watched my first born stand in the middle of all those little faces and sing every word to Get Ready for the Baby! and Comfort Comfort Everyone. 

little brother waiting for the show to start.

he is transforming into a little boy right before our very eyes and we are incredibly proud of him.


the "cousins in matching pjs picture" speaks for itself.  sweet as can be!


the week before christmas we were treated to a sing-a-long concert by JaNeal's Joy.  the kids at miles and henry's daycare all performed for the residents of a local care facility. they have done this for decades and we are so blessed that our children get to be a part of this legacy.  they all decorated sweatshirts for the big event and wore them proudly.  it was heartwarming to see the residents' faces light up when the little ones came marching in ringing bells and singing Jingle Bells (or JingER Bells if your name begins with H and ends with Y).

miles was a little shy when it came to the microphone, but he perked up for the singing and belted out each song and cute little rhyme.  henry bug loved the microphone and did a stand-up job of remembering the lyrics to all of the songs...not too shabby for a 23 month old.

at the end of the show, the kids go around and wish all of the residents a merry christmas and shake their hands. henry was all into it.

but my shy-boy was slightly more hesitant.  he shadowed a bigger, braver friend for a few handshakes and then got up the courage to do it himself.  he is growing.

of course, the residents wouldn't let us come and perform without being treated to a slew of yummy cookies and punch.  yes we will eat sweet treats bigger than our faces. thankyouverymuch.

our phenomenal and very special daycare provider, JaNeal...she is a gem!
one of the most anticipated treats of the holiday season had nothing to do with frosting or sprinkles and everything to do with "the ranch."  every christmas, janeal rents out the lodge at a local campground and throws a magnificent holiday party.  there were two-horse open sleigh rides...complete with a chorus of carols.

a slew of DE-licious potluck goodies were waiting for us after we finished the sleigh ride, not to mention a steamy glass of apple cider...it certainly was chilly out. 

the kids all ran up the stairs to get ready for the program as the moms, dads, grandmas, and grandpas rearranged the chairs to get a good view of the little singers. it was quite a sight as they all came marching down the grand wooden staircase in costume.  henry was thrilled to be a little shepherd. miles, on the other hand, had told us that he was going to play joseph.  I was a little surprised to see that he was in fact a shepherd.  about ten minutes into the program we found out why.
miles: but JaNeal, I was supposed to be joseph.
janeal: oh, but when we were getting dressed you said you didn't want to be joseph. you can be joseph next year, ok?
miles: hmmph
the look on his face clearly shows his regret in that backstage decision. bummer dude.

the rendition of little drummer boy was precious. all of them held their sticks on their laps ("put on your seat belts!" janeal said) and then drummed along with their fearless leader, janeal.  impressive.

the costumes came off during intermission and after a few adorable songs about santa...

...the big guy himself showed up!  our boys haven't had a lot of encounters with mr. claus. we have seen him from afar, sang hundreds of verses of santa claus is coming to town, and met him in years past, but we have no quintessential mall santa photo in our repertoire. disappointing, I know.  so kyle and I were both curious as to how our boys would react to the big man in red.  drum roll please...

no tears!  could these be my children?  I had an insane fear of santa when I was a little girl and was pretty traumatized by those first few meetings.  I was ecstatic when they both smiled at him and then turned to us and said "it's santa!"  henry's tune changed rather quickly when he was asked to sit on santa's lap and open his present. cue daddy.

once he realized that he was getting an actual gift, he looked up and said "thank you santa!"  thatta boy.

miles was brave. he marched up there, perched himself on santa's knee and answered all of his corny questions.  present earned.

janeal is an angel on earth. we are incredibly blessed to leave our children in the care of someone who truly loves our boys. she snuggles with them, prays with (and for) them, hugs them, plays with them, and tells them that she loves them. the peace of mind I have when I drop them off each morning is priceless and when I hear "mommy, I just love going to janeal's house" - my heart is warmed. now THAT is a sweet treat.

brotherly "love"

for the most part, big brother and little brother get along famously.

miles is a gentle and kind teacher and henry responds sweetly to his brother's guidance. they give hugs, share toys, play games, read books, and giggle uncontrollably.


we love to sit back and watch their relationship blossom.

reality check
I know that brothers fight.  I have two of them.  they are good buddies now, but man could they pound on each other.  kyle is one of three boys - they tell some awful stories about beating up on each other.  and while we are doing our best to foster a nurturing relationship between these two, I'm not oblivious to the fact that a good scuffle every now and then is inevitable...and even a little healthy.  so it should have come as no surprise that we were about to experience our first black eye...courtesy of the little brother.

just after the injury


a few days later
 
the conversation went like this:
[miles screaming]
me: henry, did you throw a toy at miles?
henry: no. I frowed a car!
so there you have it folks...he frowed a hot wheels car and miles got a mini-shiner.

let me leave you with this more frequent sight of the brothers. I love these two so much!