Santa and Gingerbread Houses

We went to see Santa today and Riley DID NOT CRY!!! Shocking! I was so proud of her. They both did great, although I knew Lincoln would. Riley, that’s a different story. She even cracked a smile…once. Many of you may recall last year’s Santa disaster.

When asked what she wants for Christmas this year she sweetly replies “Milk”. Ahhh…to be young again. If all we got her was milk, we’d have a lot more $$ in our bank account. Although, she probably would be happy with a big sippy of milk in her stocking. I’m so excited for this Christmas and for Riley to open all her gifts that we got her (which, is probably way too many). But, we love spoiling the kids as much as possible :). Although we love spoiling them, we also want to teach them the true meaning of Christmas…Christ’s birth. Riley sings “Happy Birthday Day, Baby Jesus” all day long. I hope and pray that we don’t let the festivities and presents get in the way of teaching our children about the real meaning of the celebration.

We’ve also continued the tradition that my mom started when we were little, making homemade gingerbread houses. Ty and I have done it since we’ve been married and have also done it since Riley was born. This year was Lincoln’s first time, but he slept through most of it. Riley had a blast making the gingerbread houses, although I’m pretty sure that she enjoyed eating the candy more than anything. We use graham crackers and homemade frosting (a recipe given to me by my mom, who was given the same recipe from her great-grandmother) We also had licorice, m and m’s, candy corn, etc. The only time she normally gets candy is when she goes potty on her potty seat, so tonight was a treat!!

Here I am, making the homemade frosting.