Christmas 2011

(I'm so behind on so many posts that I've started but they're waiting for the pictures (and at the moment I have so much photo editing to do that the thought of photos makes me feel physically ill) and so they're neglected.  But they're all coming.)

This was a really odd Christmas for me.  I think mostly because we did the celebrating the season part (crafts etc) in November, before we went to Tonga, and then we were away during the real Christmas season, and in Tonga there wasn't any Christmas reminders, so then we came back and like the next week it was Christmas.

Anyway.  It was a really nice Christmas weekend. Like I said, we did a bunch of Christmas' crafts, and Malachi was finally old enough to actually participate in them and enjoy them.  I love google searches, I got so many good ideas for easy stuff to do with them. We made reindeer out of hand and foot prints, did finger print christmas trees, made lolly wreaths, and made some cornflour clay christmas tree decorations that we painted. I got so involved that I actually forgot to take pictures most of the time.

On Christmas Eve Eve we did our Traditional Brunton Family Donuts.  It's one of the only Christmas traditions I've carried on from my family, and I love it.  Having to dedicate an entire day to making, cooking and delivering hundreds of donuts to other people, makes you forget about yourself. I love it.

Christmas Eve Malachi got to go and sing at the Immigration Services Annual Christmas Party with kids preschool.  They were so cute, they sang and did the sign language for the national anthem - it made me smile so bad!!  But we were in a rush to get there and I forgot my camera which makes me sad.  That night we had a traditional dinner, Roast Ham and Chicken, roast vegies, a pavaloa, the works. It was my first time cooking a ham, and my fussiest brother declared it was the best ham he's ever eaten.  I wish I'd taken a picture of it.  It was awesome.

Christmas day we let the boys have their stockings (which I made and I'm really proud of), and we had a really yummy pancake breakfast.  Then it was off to church. We waited until after Church to open the presents.

We then spent the rest of the day at my sisters with the rest of the Brunton Bunch and had a good old kiwi BBQ.  The kids did a little nativity play which was way too cute.

Mary and Joseph.

The Inn keeper.

Shepherdess'

Wise men.

Shepherdess sitting on Baby Jesus.

But the whole weekend was made so much more special due to fact that us 5 older siblings chipped in and bought a ticket for our youngest brother to fly up from Wellington to be with us for Christmas.  So it meant we got to take a sibling picture, which we haven't had since.....1998???  This proved to be harder then trying to take a picture of the grandkids.  This was mostly due to sibling # 5 who was testing out some different facial expressions. (I'm tempted to just print one of these and send it to all our family, that'll teach him!)

Such an awesome weekend.  Full of family and food, the way it should be. It really was a Merry, Merry Christmas.

Cousins

I can't express in words how happy it makes me that all of my sons' best friends are their cousins.  That they get to see them almost everyday, play with them, share birthdays and holidays with them.  I love that they're so close, that we can have movie nights and sleep overs.  It makes me sad that our little happy-families set up won't last much longer, but for now, I just love it.

(Note - 60 pictures were taken in order to get this one....they're not all smiling, but getting them to all look in the same direction? By golly that was a mission!!!!)

Oxo

Just because

Some random pictures of the boys.
Just because a picture can paint a thousand words.
So here's about a million.


Guess who he was copying?




The Daddy mobile. 


The best part about putting up the Christmas tree was of course playing with the box.


My kids are the weirdest sleepers.


Cheeky. He has so many more teeth then Malachi had, its insane.


You lick that plate babe.


Vili is obsessed with Malachi. He just will not leave that poor boy alone.


Meditating perhaps?


Harassment...


Vili started putting himself in time out when he does something he shouldn't. It's so cute, he just walks himself over there and sits down and after about 30 seconds stands up and comes to me and says sorry.


Little book worm.


Boys in the bath.


Malachi is really into "I can do that Mummy" - he wants to make all his own food now.


And he of course shares it with his brother, sweet kid.


Vili had this runny nose for I swear 2 months straight.  We were going through 3 boxes of tissues a week.



These two are just the best buds.  My Dad asked me last week if they're always so happy together, if they ever fight.  But they really are such good brothers to each other.  I can't wait for there to be a 3rd little musketer for them to play with.

Sunday "Do-Box" - Memory/Go Fish

This one came from this website, that has a ton of stuff, way too much to ever look through.  I think I printed 4 copies of the cards so we could use them for Go fish.  I worried that Malachi would struggle coz he couldn't read the names, but much to my surprise, he figured out who they were after a few times of me telling him (I shouldn't underestimate little sponge brains).







The more I add to the box, the more grateful I am for it.  Sunday is beginning to be such a fun day for us, without "fun" meaning bike riding or tennis.  Malachi loves all these games and activities, and even asks for them during the week (which I don't give to him, it builds the suspense up for Sundays).   We have church at 1pm, so we have the whole morning to fill.  And once we've gone through all the stuff in the box, it's pretty much time for church and the Sabbath is saved!!

I love our Sunday Do-Box.