The Best Day...in Instamatic

Today was an A+ day. Really, Wednesday and Thursday were, too....Ben and I had the entire day to ourselves on Wednesday and Thanksgiving was wonderful at his mom's with his family. Today was filled with little moments that were what family is all about, and I caught many of them with my favorite app! Ben and I woke up before the boys and got to spend about an hour just talking and enjoying the quiet before the boys woke up. They joined us in bed. Ben made breakfast. We hung out in our pajamas most of the day. Got Jude up from his nap and went out to Kenwood to see our favorite Santa (Sam thinks he's THE Santa). Just basically had a day where we weren't on a schedule and could do whatever we wanted. We have very few of these, so we really relish them when we do.

Showing off his belly. He's very proud of his lately.

Well rested - so nice

Sam forcing kisses

Jude's response

No need to get out of bed...

...until Sam decided he was ready for breakfast

More belly

Happy baby

The snowman sings - and Jude dances

Practicing his drawing. He's quite the perfectionist. My mom says he reminds her of someone....

Caught this moment at the mall while Ben was looking for something

Another family shot this year. Sam had so much courage until right before the big moment! He finally peeled himself off of Ben in time to blurt out some of the things he wanted for Christmas to Santa. Santa was so kind and patient; Sam had been rehearsing what he was going to say to Santa all afternoon, and Santa listened to Sam while he said a few items that he was able to remember. He was so nervous. He gave Santa a handshake and a high five and left feeling proud. During dinner, he kept bringing up things that he forgot to tell Santa - "I forgot to tell Santa I'm 3 and a half," "I forgot to tell Santa I want a bounce car," and "I forgot to tell Santa that I've been a good boy." We reassured him that Santa already knew he was 3 1/2 and that Dizzy (our elf on a shelf) will be reporting to Santa when he's a good boy. Of course, Jude wasn't scared of Santa at all - he sat right on his lap, looked up at him, and gave him a big smile!

Sam had been so good - walked the entire time and was very patient when we shopped for some things. So we rewarded him with a shoulder ride and a visit to the Lego store. On our way home, I asked him what his favorite thing was about our trip to the mall. He said, "Actually, I had two favorite things, and it was telling Santa what I want for Christmas and going to the Lego store."

Now the boys are sleeping in their rooms and Ben and I are going to catch up on some DVRd shows on the couch by the Christmas tree. It doesn't get much better than this!