We had a Christmas treat for breakfast to get us all in the mood for Santa. Ryland and Reed were so excited to see Santa on their plates.
I found the Santa pancake idea on Pintrest, and John Chris and I had fun putting them together.
Later that afternoon when Reed and John Chris napped, Ryland and I worked on a little baking. We have the cutest gingerbread cookie cutters that assemble to create a three dimensional reindeer, sleds, snowmen, and trees. Since the dough had to be chilled for a few hours, we were really excited to get started. After a few failed attempts to cut out the shapes, we decided to go another route.
Reindeer poop! It was so obvious to me at this moment that God knew what he was doing when he blessed me with boys. Ryland and I laughed hysterically and couldn't wait to try them.
We all got dressed in our "handsome" clothes and headed to church. Unfortunately, church was packed when we arrived, and the sanctuary was already at max capacity. We decided to come back for the next service, so we had about an hour to burn. Just enough time to swing by the grocery store for Vanilla Bean ice cream and deliver a few gifts.
The later Christmas Eve service was completely full as well, but we were there in time to find seats. The music was beautiful and the lighting of the candles to Silent Night was absolutely breathtaking. It is my favorite moment at church every year.
We headed home to get the last little things together for Santa. Ryland and Reed spread the reindeer food all over the side yard to make sure the reindeer were full for their long night.
One last attempt to capture a cute picture of the boys in their Santa pajamas and rain boots
We headed out to take another look at the beautiful Christmas lights. Reed requested to see Santa, so we drove to the over the top house in our neighborhood. They have a huge Santa sitting in a chair with about a million lights all over their house and yard.
Ryland was out.
We couldn't go to bed without leaving Santa some delicious cookies and a Coke. Lizzie and Pops had a Christmas Eve present for us to open, and it was a cute glass plate just perfect for Santa's treat. Ryland also wanted to leave Santa the pictures he and Reed had colored earlier.
Christmas Eve was somewhat calm and relaxing this year. We slept in, worked on the bathroom a little, and finished up some last minute Christmas projects. We attended service at church and enjoyed the wonderful Christmas music. Ryland's favorite part was holding his own candle, and Reed enjoyed flirting with the mother and daughter behind us. As you can tell from the cheesy smile and facial expression above, they were in a very silly mood when we came home.
We made chocolate chip cookies for Santa and sprinkled reindeer food in the backyard. Right before bed, we said our good-byes to our elf, Tom. This was a little sad, but we will see him next year. Time for bed!
We gave Ryland one toy early on Christmas Eve. It was the classic Mr. Potato Head. (Talk about a toy that has been around forever.) He sat down in the kitchen floor and rearranged body parts very intently.
Not quite ready to give in to nap time, but he is very close.
It is snowing! It is really snowing! 
We had about 2 inches on the back patio at this point. The ground was still a little warm, so the brick hasn't frozen yet. The roads are still drivable, but it doesn't look like it is letting up.
Grandpa Dave gave Ryland an alphabet train. It plays lots of songs and has tons of letter blocks. Ryland's favorite part is the chute on the engine.
We were so lucky to have a few days with my Dad before he had to head back home. We had our Christmas gift exchange, and Ryland continued to be fascinated by the wrapping paper.
Me, Ryland, and Grandpa Dave
Grandpa Dave had some fun at the toy store, and he hooked Ryland up with big and noisy toys. Funny thing is, he told us he wanted the big, loud toys. Very funny! 
The first spin in the Radio Flyer red wagon. 
Cooper had to join in the wagon fun. We can't wait to have some warm weather to take this wagon out for a real spin.