CHRISTMAS!!

Christmas number three has come and gone at the Goddard residence. Once again, the holiday just got better. This year's Christmas was marked by PRESENT OVERLOAD -- it took us all day to unwrap all the fun! We got an early start though.

Gabe (R) and Elias (l) opening their traditional Christmas Eve presents

Ta-Da! We love our new PJ's Aunt Diana and Uncle Bill!

Gabe is combing Elias' hair with the comb their great-great-grandmother bought on her honeymoon.

We've done a lot of Christmas reading over the past six weeks.
One favorite was definitely _'Twas_The_Night_Before_Christmas_. However, even this classic came in second to the boys' ultimate Christmas Story, _The_Grinch_Who_Stole_Christmas_ by Dr. Seuss. Every time we tried to talk about Santa coming and bringing presents, we were interrupted with adamant cries of "NO! That's the GRINCH"

So, we all got in on the fun and started preparing for the Grinch to come visit us. Since the boys have reached the age of ultimate destruction, our tree this year was pretty sparsely decorated this year...

....until Christmas Morning.

We woke up not only to TONS of presents, but also to a lit tree -- clearly stuffed up the chimney, then updated and brought back by the Grinch. AND...there were other signs he may have paid a visit...

Max!?!?! What are YOU doing here???

And the Toys -- Oh the Toys. It was TOYS, TOYS, TOYS, TOYS!

Gabe "fixes" the tree with his new tools

Daddy and Gabe work at the Tool Bench.

I sleepin'! zzzzzzz!
Elias snuggles in his new sleeping bag.

Do you remember that Fischer Price Doctor Kit you got for Christmas many, many years ago? Well, it hasn't changed much...

...and it is still AWESOME!
Elias is now accepting Blue Cross

Even Ruby got in on the fun!

I Love The Smell of Poultry In The Morning!

Many of the favorite toys were of the musical variety. Harmonicas, horns, and kazoos were fun, but all paled in comparison to...

...GUITARS!!!!
Elias (l) and Gabriel (r) get their strum on!

Happy Holidays to everyone!!! We hope you got all the love, peace, joy, and goodies you wanted under your tree this year.

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas!

We are getting into the Holiday Spirit out here in sunny California! The Goddard Elves have definitely been busy.

YUM! Christmas decorations sure taste good!
(Gabe on Left; E on Right)

Of course, decorating with toddlers is different than decorating with adults or with babies. The boys can be both helpful and...well...let's say adventurous! Here's a great example. Elias is putting up the tree with Daddy. He is helpfully choosing the right branches for each section of tree and then unfolding them to make them look bushy.

Wow, I'm a great assistant! I should really get paid for this!

Hey...what's back there? I think I need to check this out...

HELP HELP!!! We're being eaten aaaallliiivvvvveeeee!!!

Needless to say the tree remained undecorated for a while... squirming toddler bodies are decoration enough!

We were also surprised to wake up to a terrific site last week.
Yup! That's 8 inches of snow out our window!!!! Horray! Now let's go outside!

Of course, first we need to put about 200 layers of clothes on the kids...

YEAH! SNOW!

And while we're at it, let's have a photo-shoot:

Gabe shows his softer side

Elias gives Gene Simmons some Competition
(and yes, that IS a Yuengling hat my child is proudly wearing!)

And finally, we venture out into the alien landscape!

Thigh deep in the good life!

We made good use of the snow while we could...

...before coming in and enjoying the view from the fire.

Happy Holidays Ya'll!