Alas, a Tale of Christmas...

I have written merry little lines of Christmas dozens of times in my head over this past week, but we haven't stopped celebrating for a moment to really officially document our happy holiday. And that makes me secretly smiley and proud... the fact that we lived in the moment this season with our little trio of babies. The fact that we went from one activity to the next and let the laundry piles grow and the dust build on our wooden surfaces just a little bit. The fact that we skipped several naps and went swimming instead and went late to bed because we were enjoying time with cousins and fondue and night time stroller rides to be amazed with "pitty yights" strung on trees. I am ecstatic that I had a late date with RyGar and all his siblings while Grandma and Grandpa G tended to the flock of baby boys.

I feel as if we filled our Christmas cups one dat at a time with nothing grand or fancy but time together with our little family and our big families.

And so in no particular order, here are the top 11 moments of the Holiday Season 2011...

11. Three babies sleeping in fuzzy PJs all through the nights. Yep, I said it... THREE. He's got it down, folks... Ace a' Spades is a champion eater and sleeper and we LOVE him! There is now no end to what I can accomplish with my sleep tank on Full.

10. "Bwu Suckas" and "Bwu Caws" also known as wiggle cars, for the big little boys from Santa. I have to note that we chanted all morning long, "Anta... Ho Ho Ho" in our glee for our new toys. It was freakin' adorable if I do say so myself.

So many presents from generous grandparents and aunts and uncles...

the boys were spastically excited, and, um... tickled pink. :)

9. Our first ever Christmas pageant with "Babe-a-Ace" starring as the Christ child, Kael as a wise man and Dax as a shepard. It was adorable and sweet and brought meaning to the madness.

8. Sleepovers at Grandma Gail and Grandpa "Hee-Koo's" house. (That's Grandpa Hooky for those of you not in the know.) Kaelster had his own king bed and thought he was big stuff. And our visit was complete with Grandma's Christmas cookies and bon bons. Yum-o.

7. Playing with cousins. There are SIX boys under the age of 2 on the Gardner side. Three of them our ours and three of them are handsome little cousins. It was anything but boring and quiet and they kept us running and laughing. You can imagine Christmas morning and the chaos that ensued... and the church foyer on Christmas was full of overly-sugared, handsomely clad little dudes that were doing their best to color and snack on fishy crackers.

6. A new car! Ace grinned from ear to ear when Santa brought mommy a new Armada for Christmas. Perhaps his wingspan won't be double his height after all now that his brothers can love him from a safe distance. Oh Santa, Baby - you are one good dude.

5. A new niece. Obviously girls are hard to come by around here but we welcomed baby Haven, and all of her pink-ness by handing over a gift to my sister and her little family and calling her new little bundle, what else, "Babe-a-Ace". She is adorable.

4. Sunny skies and fifty degree winter weather. The New Year's Baby dropped off snow shovels for the boys but who knows if we'll ever use them this mild winter. I'm not complaining.... besides I'm sure that means winter will stick around until early May.

3. Game Night. It only happens once a year and we bust out our best. It was competitive, funny and shameful all at once. But I'm pretty sure Ry and I won. :)

2. Talks.... one off conversations with people who mean the world to us about anything and nothing and everything. Never underestimate the power of adult conversation - especially to a mama of three babes.

1. A new year with just one resolution.... to live it up. Our three little men won't stay little for long and though we put on the miles racing from place to place and lived out of diaper bags and strollers, and experienced a couple of melt downs... it was worth it. Our most precious gifts - our babies - made this holiday our best yet.

Cheers to 2012... Hope you kissed someone you loved!