...and Emory and I finally got some time to make some Christmas goodies! Our schedule seemed to be jam packed right up until Christmas Eve morning, when, even then, I left a few loose ends untied so that I could enjoy baking with Baby Girl. I use the term baking quite loosely, as the few things we made were mostly just mixing ingredients and no real cooking.
We first made Reindeer Chow (we call it Puppy Chow the rest of the year!)to leave out for Rudolph that night.
We counted out 5 cups of cereal and poured them into the bags.
While I was heating one bowl of chocolate, Emory was sneaking bites out of the other.
We poured in the chocolate chip and peanut butter mixture, shook the bags, then poured in the powdered sugar and shook again. Em was perfectly happy eating the ingredients and was a little leery of tasting the final product. I convinced her to try it after I took a bite, and the moment of realization that she liked it was precious.
We poured a little into a bowl to set out for the reindeer.
Of course, some tiny little fingers kept taste-testing throughout the morning.
We decided to make Hazelnut Chocolate Turnovers to leave for Santa since he gets his fair share of cookies from others. While I was making them (these did require real baking) Emory was cutting out some "cookies". 
Last, we made a very temporary gingerbread house. I knew she would lose interest after a little while, so I didn't bother making the gingerbread from scratch or even buying a kit. I just cut some graham crackers into the wall and roof pieces then we "glued" them together with icing. I iced the roof and let her decorate it using the leftover Halloween candy. She loved it! And I killed two birds with one stone-entertained her and cleaned out the pantry!
While I was heating one bowl of chocolate, Emory was sneaking bites out of the other.
We poured in the chocolate chip and peanut butter mixture, shook the bags, then poured in the powdered sugar and shook again. Em was perfectly happy eating the ingredients and was a little leery of tasting the final product. I convinced her to try it after I took a bite, and the moment of realization that she liked it was precious.
We poured a little into a bowl to set out for the reindeer.Of course, some tiny little fingers kept taste-testing throughout the morning.
We decided to make Hazelnut Chocolate Turnovers to leave for Santa since he gets his fair share of cookies from others. While I was making them (these did require real baking) Emory was cutting out some "cookies". I had an extra package of pie crust in the refrigerator, so we rolled that out and I let her go to town with the cookie cutters. It was great because it kept her busy and then I just threw it away. All she really wanted to do was make shapes anyways!
I found the cutest child-sized, pink rolling pin and cookie mat at Williams Sonoma and got it for her to use. She loved having her own tools!
Last, we made a very temporary gingerbread house. I knew she would lose interest after a little while, so I didn't bother making the gingerbread from scratch or even buying a kit. I just cut some graham crackers into the wall and roof pieces then we "glued" them together with icing. I iced the roof and let her decorate it using the leftover Halloween candy. She loved it! And I killed two birds with one stone-entertained her and cleaned out the pantry!It did, however, fall apart about 4 seconds after she was finished. Oops!
After lunch and naps, we dressed and headed to mass. Both kids were surprisingly very well behaved considering they were already waaaaaay off of their normal schedules. We headed to an early dinner with family friends before having my family over to our house for drinks and dessert (which turned out to just be Reindeer Chow, since I made so much.). Everyone changed into their Christmas Eve jammies and got to open their ornament, as is tradition. The kids also have the tradition of opening their gifts from their Godmothers on Christmas Eve.
Emory got some fun things from Aunt Kat. Dress-up shoes and a crown, a playdoh set, an ornament and a stocking full of goodies.
Check out the pose!
After lunch and naps, we dressed and headed to mass. Both kids were surprisingly very well behaved considering they were already waaaaaay off of their normal schedules. We headed to an early dinner with family friends before having my family over to our house for drinks and dessert (which turned out to just be Reindeer Chow, since I made so much.). Everyone changed into their Christmas Eve jammies and got to open their ornament, as is tradition. The kids also have the tradition of opening their gifts from their Godmothers on Christmas Eve.
Emory got some fun things from Aunt Kat. Dress-up shoes and a crown, a playdoh set, an ornament and a stocking full of goodies.
Check out the pose!
The shoes have been a definite hit since the moment she opened them!
Next, Watson got to open his gifts from Aunt Boo. He got lots of fun things, too-some Thomas the Tank cars, bottles, baby spoons...
None of which he was very excited about at first.
But he finally gave us a little smile toward the end... 
We had to take the obligatory picture of everyone in their matching pj's just before they all left. 
Just before Emory went to bed, she set out the treats for Santa and his reindeer. I asked what she wanted to write to Santa and I write it exactly as she dictated!
I tried to insert a "Thank you for" before "all the toys" so that Santa wouldn't be totally confused. Also the "triangle" is the turnover we left for Santa, and, even though she knew we left something else for the reindeer, she wrote "carrots". Although he's not first priority, she made sure to mention her baby brother at the end, in hopes that Santa wouldn't forget him!
Next, Watson got to open his gifts from Aunt Boo. He got lots of fun things, too-some Thomas the Tank cars, bottles, baby spoons...
None of which he was very excited about at first.
But he finally gave us a little smile toward the end... 
We had to take the obligatory picture of everyone in their matching pj's just before they all left. 
Just before Emory went to bed, she set out the treats for Santa and his reindeer. I asked what she wanted to write to Santa and I write it exactly as she dictated!
I tried to insert a "Thank you for" before "all the toys" so that Santa wouldn't be totally confused. Also the "triangle" is the turnover we left for Santa, and, even though she knew we left something else for the reindeer, she wrote "carrots". Although he's not first priority, she made sure to mention her baby brother at the end, in hopes that Santa wouldn't forget him!We hurried to get the kids in the bed and to get to bed ourselves, as we couldn't wait to see what Santa would bring!
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