Christmas Fun!

What a wonderful Christmas we had!  It’s my absolute favorite time of year, and I’m always a little sad when it’s over.  Luckily, we get to celebrate another Christmas with Devon’s family this weekend – can’t wait!

On Christmas Eve, we celebrated like we always do – going to church, followed by a yummy meal and gift exchange with my parents and sisters.  We also stop by at a party hosted by family friends and stay up way too late, and have to rush home to get in bed before Santa comes!

My little reindeer!

After everyone was tucked in bed, Santa came!

My parents used to torture us on Christmas morning by making us wait on the stairs while they turned on Christmas music, set up the video camera, etc., all the while shrieking about how many presents were under the tree.  Yep, as much as I hated that, I’m doing the exact same thing to our kids!

Seamus’ only request from Santa this year was a set of Star Wars Legos.  The kid has never even seen Star Wars, so I’m not sure where he got this idea from…but he was thrilled when he saw that Santa came through!

The number one item on Grace’s wish list was a Barbie pool…she was so excited!

Santa brought Liam a stocking full of Weebles…as you can see, he was ecstatic.

 

Annual Christmas morning pajama picture!

Favorites of the day…Seamus received an Eagles jersey ad football helmet…his favorite team!

Grace got a big-girl princess bike – complete with a baby seat on the back so she can take her dolls for a ride!  She loved it!

We had a rockin’ Christmas, hope you all did too!

You Better Watch Out…

You better not cry!

You better not pout, I’m telling you why…

Santa Claus is coming TONIGHT!!

Hope you’ve all been good and that the Big Guy brings everything you were wishing for!  Have a safe, happy and wonderful holiday!

Much love and blessings to all of our family and friends…

Merry Christmas and

Happy New Year!

Love, the Camenga Family

 

Three

Liam, you are three months old now!

You are verbalizing so much more…lots of squeals, sighing, oohs and and ahhhs!  You have the biggest, happiest grin, especially when your brother and sister play with you!

You LOVE your bath.  When we bring you into the bathroom and start the water running, you get excited because you know it’s tubby time!  You would be content to hang out in there all evening.

Still a good sleeper!  You go down at 9:30 pm and Mommy wakes you to feed you at 5:30 am before leaving for work.  You are doing wonderful at your babysitter’s house and she spoils you by carrying you around most of the day!

Soooo very close to rolling over!  Becoming a baldy! Starting to grab at toys and reach out for our faces.

Love you so much, our littlest man!

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

Does anyone remember this book from childhood? I LOVED this book.  So hilarious and sweet.  Well, I had the pleasure of being at our own version of the best pageant ever this past weekend!

Our school puts on a Christmas show complete with a live nativity every Christmas.  This show is so popular that we actually auction off front row seats every spring at our annual auction!  We hit the jackpot this year though, with prime seating:

Awesome!  I’m considering having another baby in order to secure this location next year!  (Kidding, totally kidding…I think.)

So Liam was asked to be Baby Jesus for both the 1st-6th grade show and the Pre-K, Kdg and 6th grade show.  The 6th grade performs twice, with two different casts for the living nativity.  Devon is the 6th grade teacher, so it was exciting to have Liam be a part of the show.  I was so super excited, but also nervous…what if he flipped his lid while up in Mary’s arms???  But I didn’t have to worry, our littlest man rocked his swaddling clothes like a pro.  Here’s some pictures of both performances:

The nativity is acted out along to a song entitled “Mama Mary.” Makes me cry EVERY STINKIN YEAR.  When I was in 6th grade at Sacred Heart, I actually got picked to be Mary!  Truly a huge thrill, I kid you not.

At the end of Mama Mary, an extra special visitor arrives:

While the kids all sing “Silent Night,” Santa walks up the aisle to present a gift to the Baby Jesus.  This year, my dad (Poppy) got to be Santa!  Talk about a tearjerker, I tell you. Santa leaves his hat for Baby Jesus and then the whole school breaks out into “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.”

I know what you’re thinking.  And yes, it IS the cutest thing you’ve ever seen.  Ever.

We also got to see Seamus and Grace perform their songs with their classes!

Seamus had a solo, “Strike the harp and join the chorus!”  He did great!

 

He decided to rock out with some dance moves during “Jingle Bells!”

Grace did a wonderful job in her very first Christmas show!  She learned all of the words to “Christmas in Killarney” and smiled and sang so beautifully.

 

Such a special show!  So glad that all three of our little loves could be a part of it. 

A Trip to Cooperstown

We had been wanting to take a day trip with the kids, with this being one of our only free weekends for a while.  We did a little searching around and decided at the very last minute to head to Cooperstown for the day to visit the National Baseball Hall of Fame.  Luckily, it’s not too far away, so our lack of planning didn’t matter too much!

We told Seamus that we would be visiting a baseball museum, and he just couldn’t decide where his loyalties lay that day…so he figured he would wear both his Yankees fleece hat and Red Sox ball cap.  Seamus is quite honestly the ONLY person I know who truly loves both the Yankees and Red Sox equally!  A travesty, I know. 

 

We grabbed a bite to eat on Main Street in Cooperstown.  The town is really cute, and of course everything is baseball themed.

After lunch we walked a few blocks to the Hall of Fame.  They were having their holiday celebration, and as a bonus, admission was free if you brought in a food bank donation.  There were also holiday concerts by a handbell choir and a capella singing group.

 

 

Seamus and Babe Ruth!  He had to make sure to take his Red Sox cap off while he got his picture taken with The Babe.

 

I took his picture next to a little sign describing the “Birth of a Rivalry.”  I tried to explain how most Yankee fans were not also Red Sox fans…but all he had to say was, “But I love them both, Mom!”

After touring the baseball museum, we headed over to The Farmers’ Museum for their annual holiday event, Candlelight Evening.  The museum itself is like a little town, with a collection of old-time houses and buildings, like a schoolhouse, doctor’s office, and printing press.  As far as the eye could see, there were candles.

They were in every window of every house, and paper-bag lights lined each little path.  My pictures didn’t come out too well in the dark, but it truly was a beautiful sight.

We got to take a horse-drawn carriage ride, have hot cocoa and cider, and listen to carolers and bands playing holiday music.  There was also a carousel, a living nativity, and visits with St. Nicholas.  I could have stayed all evening, but after an hour we were frozen to the bone!  I hope to go back to experience this event again.

Liam had the right idea…stay cozy and take a nap!

We had a great time on our little adventure!