Hild Family Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas Eve at the farm tonight.  Jim, Janis, Jay, Julie, Adam, Don, Barb, and the three of us were there.  We got there around 1:30 and spent the whole day together.  We built Gingerbread Houses, opened presents, and started some new traditions around a beautifully set dinner table with a delicious Christmas meal. 

It all started when Beckett met Don... Don made his duck voices and Beckett was fascinated! He listened to his stories and funny voices all night, and they became good buds.

Here Beckett is with Barb, who he kept walking to and from!  Janis brought this ottoman up from the basement for Beckett to cruise around, and it was the perfect height.

The coffee table had a beautiful runner and some lovely decorations that had to be put away...The little guy wanted to put everything in his mouth!

At one point, he got a little tired from all of his adventures, so he took a little rest here...

Snuggling with Dad!

Grandpa and Beckett played with the train.  Beckett wanted to eat the conductor...

Shonn was hard at work on his gingerbread house, which turned out really cute.

Don and I were a "team" - he was like the general contractor and I was his laborer. I went to help Beckett take a nap and when I got back, our miniature house was perfect!

Adam was a supervisor.

Jay was a spectator.

After the houses came the presents!  Beckett got so many wonderful things. Don and Barb got him the cutest outfit. Grandma and Grandpa got him all kinds of treasures, including some educational toys, like stacking bowls and balls. They also got a really cool ship and matching picture frame made of driftwood to go in his room.  They got a new toybox for him, a cart and wagon, lots of books, a Christmas bib, a keepsake ornament, and more! Even Uncle Jay and Uncle Adam picked out some presents for him!  Something I want to start when Beckett gets a little older is the tradition of giving away as many toys as he gets... I can't wait to teach him how fortunate he is and to help him learn the virtue of generosity. 

Beckett isn't the only one who is blessed! Shonn and I were also showered with gifts, including (my favorite!) a TJ MAXX gift card! Yay!  We also got a new crock to go with our collection, and some mixing bowls.  Jay got me a stocking hat from Cabela's that Shonn thought was cute, and Adam picked out two very thoughtful books, some chocolates, and a lovely woodwick candle.  I'm sure I'm forgetting things - we were overwhelmed with the presents! 

The present of the evening was a gorgegous set of china dishes Don and Barb got for Janis.  She said she'd always wanted a set, so they purchased an antique Noritake set for her.  She was so touched and we used them for our family feast!  Isn't it a lovely table?

Finally it was time to eat.  The smells from the kitchen were so tasty, and the food was, too! Grandpa Hild carved the turkey while everyone else formed an assembly line to set the table and get the food ready to go.

We sat down to eat turkey, ham, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, salad, rolls, and Grandpa Hild said the prayer.  Everything was delicious!

Even Beckett loved the mashed potatoes!

After we were done eating, we learned about the tradition of the Yule Log and Janis passed around a cake she made that corresponded with the tradition. (I can't remember the name - it was French and very fancy!)  We each took turns sharing a gift God blessed us with this year (or two) and lighting a candle.  Once we all took turns, we sang "Silent Night" and blew out the candles. It was really nice!

Before we knew it, it was time to go.  Beckett (in his Christmas pjs) started his sleepy song and cuddled up on Don.  (He snuggled with Julie, too, but I don't have a picture.)  Shonn loaded up the car while we cleared the table. Janis had to-go plates full of goodies for everyone.  I was sad to leave!  It was such a wonderful evening, full of love, blessings, and family.

Here are some cute pictures of Beckett and his dad from tonight:

On the Nice List

We had a special visitor this morning!  Beckett had just woken up from his nap when we heard some sleigh bells jingling.  Before we knew it, Santa was next to our fireplace!  Beckett must have been a VERY good boy this year, because Santa stuck around long enough to give him a big hug and a candy cane.

Beckett was in love with Santa's beard, glasses, and the shiny bells on his suit.

This is a friendship that will last a long, long time.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Hadleigh's 2nd Birthday!

Because of our Christmas Cookie Exchange, we couldn't go to Hadleigh's second birthday party. I was really sad about the conflict because Allison and Chris are some of our best friends, and Beckett loves Hadleigh! But, luckily, they hosted small group on the Monday night following the party, so we got to see some of the decorations! We also got to hang out with our other great friends, Heath, Heather, and Braylon, who is pretty much the big brother of the group. :)

The party decorations and food were amazing. Allison always goes all-out and has the most creative ideas. Chris helps her make her ideas reality, and this party was no exception. The pictures don't do it justice. It was an M&M and Holiday theme, with red and green accessories.  You can kind of see some of the ideas in the pics, but she also had red and green cake pops and M & M sugar cookies for favors.  So cute!

We had a great time catching up Monday night, and I CANNOT believe Hadleigh is 2! What a cutie pie. (Please note that the second picture in the top row may be one of the only pics you'll ever see of Hadleigh without a bow!)

Making Candy

On Saturday, December 10th, Mom and I went over to Grandma's house to make our family's candy recipes. We made white and chocolate fudge, pecan chew, date balls, peanut clusters, and dipped pretzels. That wasn't even close to everything that was on our list, but what we accomplished took ALL. DAY. It was SO MUCH fun and the candy turned out delish. There were a couple mishaps, including doubling a double batch of fudge, which ended up to be a very, very full pot, as I'm sure you can imagine. That resulted in Grandma carrying a boiling pot across the kitchen to the sink. (She and Mom are inspecting what could be salvaged in the upper right corner of the collage...) Secondly, Natalie and I were entrusted with Grandma's favorite - the date balls. Well, they ended up ruined. And then modified. We added too much salt and then put the rice krispies in before the butter mixture was cool enough, and Grandma's face was priceless when she tried to roll it into balls. She looked at us like we were nuts! We ended up adding marshmallow fluff until it was sticky enough to form into some type of sphere. We called them Natalie's Modified Salty Date Balls. (They were also very large, Grandma pointed out. More like a baseball than a golf ball. Haha!) My favorite is Pecan Chew, and it turned out perfectly....mainly because Mom did that one all by herself. :)
We had such a great day, laughing, talking, being girly (except Beckett - he got guy time with Uncle Scott -including the Great Uncle Scott Naptime Hold, bottom left - and Dad), and eating WAY too much candy.

I love to think about Grandma making the same recipes when she was a little girl. It's a wonderful tradition I want to continue forever.

PS: Gramps stopped by for a little guy time with Beckett. He loves ceiling fans:

Grandma Hild

I love my Grandma!

This picture is from the Hild Family Christmas. I don't have many pictures of Beckett and Janis, and this one turned out great (minus someone's hands, which were easily cropped.) They love playing together on Grandma Days!

Hild Christmas

Here are some pics from Shonn's family's Christmas. We went to his cousin Angie's house, which is this amazing (pretty much) mansion in Mt. Pulaski. It's a block big. Literally. She has it decorated beautifully, and her Christmas decorations just added that much more.  Everyone was there, and the kids got to open presents.  Beckett was definitely spoiled! He got a Build a Bear Monkey from Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa Hild; Angie, Tyler, and Dustin got him a book, a pull-along frog, and more toys; Mike and Amy gave him some bath toys; Brian, Susan, Aryn and Ryan gave him the Fischer Price puppy that teaches hands, feet and colors; Beth, Kate Cora, and Henry gave him some Sandra Boyton books that were their favorites; and Tim and LouAnn gave him a racecar track! It was Beckett's first experience with unwrapping, and he did great. His expressions were priceless...  Take a look.

"You WANT me to rip it?!"

"Oh, mom. You're so embarrassing!"

It was a wonderful night to catch up with everyone.  I wish we could have stayed longer, but my Grandma's Christmas was the exact same time.  (Naturally!) I remember when Grandma changed her Christmas from Christmas day to the Saturday before so it wouldn't interfere with everyone's family Christmas celebrations. Now, a generation later, it's time to move everything back another week! :)

Kate and Cora took extra special care of their second cousin, Beckett.  They were great with him!

 Beckett loves his Grandma and recognizes her right away.

 Oh, Uncle Jay.  Beckett is very curious about that hair.

 Beckett practiced walking from Great-Grandma Hild to Grandpa!

 He loves his monkey. I think his name is going to be Abu, from Aladdin. (It's a word Beckett can actually say!)

The Piano Man

I'm so, so happy that Beckett ended up getting the little red piano.  He loves it!   He bangs on the keys and "sings" along with his "music".  When that gets old, he moves to playing percussion by banging on the top.  And when that gets old, he does his own "harmonica" by blowing raspberries on the edge of the top.  A true one-man band.

I'll post video to accompany, but for now, I think the look on his face tells the story.