All I really want for Christmas is a nap!

I finally got one on Sunday. 3 hours of uninterrupted sleep. Ear plugs to drowned out the noise. My favorite yellow blanket. Brand new pillows in fresh cases... It was just the cure for my Christmas Hangover.

Looking back at my over scheduled month, I have to admit I'm glad it's over. There were to many parties {I was in charge of 5 of them in 2 weeks time}. Too many crafts {did I really have to crochet a hat for every kid I know???}. Too much food. Not enough time for games and snuggles from my family. Not enough time for me. I offer a public apology to Mr. Lloyd for my mood swings this month. I'm usually much more pleasant to be around.
Although it was great and always worth it, I am glad to be done with it all. Decorations have been put away, new toys are in the process of finding homes, and the basement gym is calling my name. I finally have back what I lost all through the month of December. FREE TIME!

For the first time in 9 years, my sister Heather and her family came for Christmas. Because of this, I felt compelled to sleep at my mom's house on Christmas Eve. It was CRAZY. 3 families + 11 kids+sugar+excitement= great memories.

I gave the kids a Nativity Script and instructed them to find costumes and put on a show. They looked hilarious. As always, we opened Christmas Eve pj's.
The kids were up at 7:30 Christmas morning. We opened presents from then til about 10:30. It takes that long when there are so many people and you open one at a time.
Henry's first Christmas. He looks sooo tired because he was awake ALLL night.

The girls got the first 8 episodes of Punky Brewster. Santa's awesome...
Lucy got what she wanted. Baby alive, strawberry shortcake, and some pony toys. She was wonderful all day.
Emma didn't really ask for anything. She said she had everything she wants. So Santa gave her this. She was thrilled! Lessons start next month. Iza has been asking for this for 2 years now. She was so happy to get it.
I hope you all had a great Christmas. I did. But mostly I hope you all get a post Christmas nap.

Merry Christmas

Happy New Year!

Ballet

Isabelle's dance studio put on Cindy Lou Who's version of "The Grinch" as their holiday ballet production this year.

She was wonderful.

She was beautiful.

She is mine!

I'm so proud.

Happy Birthday Lucy

Lucy oh Lucy... What am I going to do with you? Crazy and sweet and everything in between. Perpetually into mischief. needing to be fed every 5 minutes. getting out of bed every 2 minutes. changing your clothes 5 times a day. every toy we own needs to be on the floor for easy access. All the world has to know when you're not happy.
There is no stopping you. Time outs don't work {whatever you did to get there is always worth it}. A simple "I love you momma" will get you out of trouble. Scaling up the banister is not dangerous and simply an adventure. But I wouldn't have you any other way. I adore every single bit of you. I love hearing you sing "I've Been Workin' on the Railroad" at the top of your lungs. I love that you play with your toys with such intensity that they become real..I love that you stack mounds of pillows and blankets so you can play Wipe Out. I love that you jump off the couch with balloons thinking you will fly. I love that you are you. You are beautiful, smart, sassy, spunky, and so full of life. Our family is great with you in it. The world is better because you're here. I will miss 3.

Disneyland

Disneyland is always a good idea! Even when you're broke. I'll blame the lack of $$$ on "the economy". But where there's a will there's a way. We started this Disney savings jar 2 years ago. It paid for the majority of our trip and it was worth every penny sacrificed. The kids pitched in their pennies and Mr. Lloyd picked up a side gig to add to the jar. The girls also agreed that this vacation would be most of their Christmas too. So there you have it. Our will & our Way.

Mr. Lloyd & I have been to Disneyland 5 times in the last 10 years. We have seen the magic Kingdom in every season. I have to say that Christmas is by far the best! The decorations are beautiful, there are no lines, and the magic even makes it snow at night while you watch fire works in the sky. Walt sure knows how to put on a show. Emma & Isabelle loved Minnie Mouse the most. We played on Pirate Island for about an hour. It was great because there weren't very many people there. The kids pretty much had free reign over the place. Mr. thought it would be a good idea for a wise guy teen to bring a sleeping bag and hide in the trees and stay the night. He didn't think any one would catch them. LOVED Green Army Guy.
You may notice a lack of Lucy in the pictures. She wasn't in a social mood & really didn't want to be bothered by meeting Disney characters. She did a lot of this......and made this face a lot. The only way I could get her to meet anyone was to put her in official charge of the autograph book and marker. I can officially check taking the kids to see Santa off the to do list. The newest attraction that we hadn't yet been to was Pixie Hollow. Super cute. Night time at Disney is my absolute favorite...
Isabelle loved every ride. After each one she would yell "Let's do that one again!" She wasn't afraid of the big rides. She even gave The Tower of Terror a go. I was even too chicken for that.

Henry was amazing! He was such a good baby. He didn't cry at all. He was just as happy as I could have wished for. We have taken all of our babies to Disneyland. We thought we had a pretty good system for getting hot water for bottles, changing diapers, naps, and such. Well as it turns out, about 15 minutes before we left the park for good, we discovered the baby care center. How did we miss this? It would have made things so much easier. Emma was a trooper. She was still getting over the flu on our first day. She seemed so tried by noon but kept on going til night. By our 2nd day is was her old self again. Grandma & Grandpa were with us the last 2 days of the vacation. Our original plan was to have my brother Jared and his kids along too but that part didn't work out. It was great having them spend the time with us.Best Picture of the vacation. Doesn't fatherhood look so good on Mr. Lloyd? "He's so handsome. Just like his reward picture."(Can you name that Disney movie?)The wicked queen was hilarious. She glared at everyone and was a total witch. She said to us, "I'm done with you. Be gone now!". Grandpa Bob was sad she didn't sign the autograph book. Notice Bob in the back right of the picture. He's beaming because he chased the wicked queen down & got her to give him her autograph. Some might even go as far to accuse him of stalking her...

I think that we'll keep our giant jar of Disneyland savings going. I like the idea of 2013. Who's with me? The more the merrier! We'll have good memories of this trip. It was time well spent.