Christmas Moments

We had a wonderful Christmas!  And, a nice break from the daily grind of school and work....tomorrow we go back and I am {kind of} looking forward to getting back into our routine and getting my house back from the Christmas chaos.

Today I had time to upload my photos from Christmas...all 386 of them.  Ha! We captured some pretty fun moments through these photos and I just love looking back through all of them.

We had a fun Christmas Eve at the farm...although we were missing one of the C and C duo and were sad about that...we improvised and the boys {and Miss O} had a pretty special time doing their 'crafts', sharing a Christmas Eve lunch, and opening their gifts.

I love how Andrew is always trying to get Miss O to smile.  He is successful 100% of the time

We are very blessed to have Great Grandma Elaine at Christmas. Miss O loves relaxing on her lap.

We really missed Cameron and Aunt Kasey this year...the boys even took a photo and pretended that their missing cousin was in the picture!

We missed you, Cam!

I love our new(er) tradition of spending the evening of Christmas Eve at home...just the four of us.  As it has been for the past three years, Andrew has fallen asleep on our way home from Christmas at the farm...thus making a very impatient older brother.  

This year we had an extra special gift for our big guy and we let him open it up while Andrew was still snoozing.

Never in a million years did Parker think we would buy him an iPod.  But, he's been talking about it for about a year now.

And, with his newly found love of listening to music, we thought that this would be a wonderful surprise for our him.

I just love these pictures of him finding out that he got something he was totally not expecting to ever get!

Love these two techy guys!

Then Andrew woke up!

Andrew's favorite gift was one that his big bro picked out for him.  Parker saw that Super Man robot and just knew that Andrew would love it!

And...as most parents feel this time of year...you gotta be fair.  So, Andrew received his own iPad mini this year.  {Thanks to a nice sale at Target on Thanksgiving!}

Parker even took his first selfie with that iPod on Christmas Eve!

And....after a night of many threats to my kids that Santa would NOT be stopping at our house if they did NOT go to sleep, he arrived...leaving goodies for the boys to find in the morning. 

And, out of all of the gifts they received from Santa, I think I can safely say that they love their new slippers the best! Ha! 

Even mom {myself} got something special from Santa.  I just love this wall hanging that my hubby...um...er...Santa...picked out for me!  It fits our family so well.

Parker was very excited to try out his new Melt N Mold!

And...Andrew in his dinosaur slippers.

Christmas is special to me because of these two.  I just love their kind and giving hearts...and I love the excitement they have from giving and receiving gifts at Christmas time!

Later that day, we headed to De Soto to spend some time with more cousins and Grandma and Papa!

The kids always enjoy being the Elves and handing out gifts.  And, of course, they enjoy opening them as well!

No Christmas is complete without a magic show!

Or a game of Mustache Smash!

Andrew liked pretending that the packaging was a castle!

We had a wonderful Christmas day with family and I love it that every year seems to out-do the last! 

Did you know that celebrating Christmas in our family is a week-long party?!  Well, it is.  And, the weekend following Christmas we got to visit more family and celebrate this wonderful holiday!

Grandpa Mike always seems to surprise my kiddos in some way and this year they were overwhelmed with gifts and love from him!  Even Aunt Dani had a few tricks up her sleeve...making the boys unwrap 10 or so boxes before they could find her gift! 

Miss Olivia was there also!  Look at those smiles!  And, yep, Andrew is always in pajamas! Ha!

Our Christmas was merry and bright and full of magical moments.  I can't believe it's over and that we're 5 days in to 2015!  

2014 is going to be hard to beat...and, I'll do a countdown of our favorite moments of 2014 soon, but until then, stay tuned...I think 2015 is going to rock our world!

Welcome December

Me: "Andrew, did you just hear the words in this song?  They said, I saw Momma kissing Santa Claus!  Gross!"

Andrew: "Wat (that)
is gwross, Mom."

Me: "Yep, it would be scratchy to kiss Santa, because he has such a big beard and a moustache."

Andrew: "Oh no, Mom.  Wanta's (Santa's) beard isn't watchy (scratchy), it's wery (very), wery (very) woft (soft)."

Me: "It is?!"

Andrew: "Wep (yep), Wanta's (Santa's) beard is woft (soft) because it is made out of cotton candy, Mom."

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Oh, how I love the month of December.

I love conversations like the one above.  I love the afterglow of wonderful memories made during Thanksgiving.  I love dusting off the Christmas decoration Rubbermaid totes in the basement and  I love it when Brandon drags our (way too big) 9 foot tree from the basement.  I love twinkling lights.  I love fake reindeer in the yard.  I love lit trees on the door step.

 I love making our gingerbread village.  I love watching Christmas movies.  I love cold winter nights, with the fireplace heating up the house.  I love making Christmas cookies.  I love the cheesy Christmas singing stuffed animals that my kids play over and over and over. 

I love the plastic candy canes that quickly become swords in our house.  I love our Elf on the Shelf, Sammy who brings Lego advent calendars every year.  I love ordering and addressing Christmas cards.  I love listening to Christmas music.  I love checking gifts off of my list...and I love wrapping and the excitement around each one.

As you all know, this is a pretty intense moment in our lives....a moment where decisions must be made, kids are keeping us busy, and life is almost too fast to keep up with, but somehow, during this month of December, all of that is pushed to the side. 

The busy and rushed moments that consume us are forgotten. 

 The magic of Christmas is upon us.

December, I welcome you with open arms.

this is four

Caught somewhere between adorable and handsome, I think this guy is probably the cutest four year old ever.  EVER.

It seems every day that someone comments on his hair.  Oh, those curls....Andrew loves those curls.

He is sweet, polite, kind, and smart.

He is a LOUD talker...just like his dad.

He has opinions.

His mind is precious and full of stories and make-believe and facts.

He loves his brother, Parter.

He loves school and friends and his family.

He loves baby Olivia and baby Reese....his Cooper and Cameron...and his Morgan and Avery.

He loves his grandparents, and those grandpas...well, they seem to have a special place in his heart.

He loves his aunts and uncles...even though he shies away from them when they try to give him loves.

He loves stories.

And toast.

And making lemonade.

And not wearing a shirt.

And chocolate donuts.

And strawberries.

And pizza.

And chocolate milk.

And 'dropping booty'. {don't ask}

And being silly and sword fights and jumping on the trampoline and wrestling and running {fast like Flash} and basketball and the Royals and playing soccer and giggling and jumping on furniture...pretty much jumping on anything.

He loves his dad...especially when he does one of the things mentioned above with him.

He loves his mom and says things like, "mom, I need you" and, "hold me, mom" and, "I wuv you, mom"...all of which make my heart melt.

He loves being outside.

He loves his Bella girl and he tells her how much every day.  Every morning as we leave the house he tells her, "Bewwa, you're in charge now.  You be a dood dirl."  Love.

He likes to watch anything with super heros.  He loves robots.  He loves reading.

My little-man is so full of life and energy that just looking at his thoughtful eyes, makes me smile.

This is four.

I love four.

Happy birthday to my spunky guy!  I can't wait to see what this year brings!

Playing Catch Up

What a fall we are having, my friends!

From preschool, to Cub Scouts, to football and soccer, an anniversary trip, a new job, a fun Halloween...and those amazing Royals, we haven't had much time to sit and reflect on what's been goin' on at the Riffel house.

Here's the condensed version.

Andrew is absolutely loving his preschool days!  He loves singing, playing outside, seeing his buddies, eating snack, taking snack, sharing time, and talking about the weather...and when you ask him what his favorite part of preschool is, he will tell you all about his three best buddies!  He is soaking it all up.  It makes this momma heart proud to see his sweet personality shining through at school.

I love these four friends!

At Trunk or Treat...one of the best photos I have this year of both my boys in their costumes!

 And, he is LOVING speech class.  We go every Tuesday and Thursday after school and I sit outside the cubicle and listen to Andrew and his speech friend work on their sssss sounds.  He can say Sssspider-man just perfect!  They play games, laugh, get stickers and have such a fun time with Miss Sssssara!

Something else Andrew loves...his baby cousin, Olivia!  Oh man, does Andrew love this girl.  He gets the biggest grin on his face whenever he sees her {he also gets this way around his cousin, Reese...something about being the oldest, makes this guy extra caring}!

Andrew and Olivia...she's thinking, "Who is this  kid with no shirt on?!" Lol!

Parker is an awesome first grader.  He is excelling in every part of first grade.  Just today he told me that he was awarded the honor of being Athlete of the Week in PE class {he said he was the first, first grader to get this achievement this year!}.   He loves math, reading, art, computers, science, recess, lunch, and seeing his friends every day.  He doesn't love homework all that much, but we're workin' on it. Ha!

Parker is also loving Cub Scouts.  He even loves the meetings.  He loves getting badges, had fun on their first camp out, likes the 'field trips', and it is something that he looks forward to every week.  He even loved walking in the Veteran's Day Parade this past weekend.

Getting ready to walk through downtown Ottawa.

Parker is also loving sports this year.  He went from a kid who never wanted to go to practice, to being a guy that loves to play, watch, and learn about every sport out there.  He's even started quite a baseball card collection and he was so so so excited to get a George Brett baseball card for his birthday {thanks Grandpa Mike} and we were super excited to watch the Royals play in their post season games and the World Series!

We wrapped up another successful season of soccer...

And played Flag Football for the first time!

Brandon and Parker got to go to a Royals post-season game and had the time of their lives!

This is such a special time in Parker's life - a time when his personality and his interests are really taking shape and I am so thankful that he is 'in to' so many different things.

And....Brandon and I...wow, we've had quite a time these past couple of months.  From Brandon's new job to celebrating 10 years of marriage, we are certainly feeling very blessed!

Half Moon Bay, CA

To all of you out there who have wished us well {thank you!} and asked us what the future holds...we are still 100% unsure at this point! Ha!  It's been so hard for my super duper planning personality to just go with the flow and see what happens, but only time will tell what the future holds for the Riffel family and I can't wait to see how our story turns out!

And, because I probably won't have time to post anything between now and the upcoming holiday, I want to wish you all the very best this Thanksgiving.  Take time to be thankful -- There are so many reasons to be.