Christmas Festivities!

This Month was full of Christmas Festivities! We just love Christmas here in the Granados Home.  And I think what is most exciting for me is coming up with new Christmas traditions.  Neither Isaac nor I grew up with very many Christmas traditions, so we are making our own!  A new one this year was that Santa sent an Elf on the Shelf to help our kids behave extra good all month!  His name is Thomas and our kids LOVE him! 

On one of the first days he ate one of our Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies!  And left a trail of evidence.

And even got chocolate on his face ;)

He wasn't too mischievous, most of the time he just sat in different places.  Like on top of the Christmas Tree!

We also went to the Christmas Story time Puppet show!  It is also a favorite of ours every year!

Isabel especially liked it!

Another fun thing we got to do was that the Kindergarten classes at Benjamin's school put on a "performance" of the Grinch who stole Christmas!  It was really cute! 

Benjamin was a Who and I think he looks awesome!

Smiling for Mom!

"Hi Mom!"

Saying his part

With two friends!

Afterward I got to volunteer at his class Christmas Party!

And of course in Escuelita we put on our Annual Nativity at our Annual Escuelita Christmas Party.  This year Benjamin got to be Joseph!

And Samantha was Mary

Abby was an Angle, but this year she really wanted a party to say, so I had her memorize "Fear not, I bring tidings of great Joy."  She said it perfectly!

The Shepards

The Wise Men Bringing their gifts

Xochitl helped us make some great ornaments!

They were hand prints made to look like Snowmen!

We also went to our Annual Ward Christmas Party!  The kids got to sit on Santa's lap!

Benjamin

Abby

And Isabel.  I love this age!

Even when she got back in Daddy's arms she was still not happy about being close to Santa.

We had a laugh seeing our Bishop sit on Santa's lap!

Then the week before Christmas I made these fun Neighbor gifts

On Christmas Eve Benjamin and Abby made cookies for Santa!

Lots of Sprinkles!

This year for THE FIRST TIME EVER, we were home for Christmas morning!  And we loved it!  Now that our kids are getting older Isaac and I want to be at our own home making our own traditions.  And I love the idea of waking up at our house and running down to our Christmas tree on Christmas morning.  And something that we were not able to do in previous years, because of all the chaos of being at someone else house, was talk to the kids about the Savior and the true meaning of Christmas.  And this year we got to do that and I loved it.

Before our elf Thomas flew back to the North Pole he put this up to make sure the kids did not go downstairs before mom and dad were up. ;)

Running downstairs

The picture came out fuzzy, but it was quite a site... we were super blessed this year!

Checking out what they got in their stockings

Isabel too!

Quite a stash!

Santa brought Abby her Merida doll and Angus and the movie!

Santa brought Benjamin his Wii !!  What a lucky boy!

And they got lots of other stuff from Mom and Dad, liker Spriderman/girl costumes for dress up, new blankets, their own Book of Mormons and a few other things!  I think I got a little carried away this year!

Later that Christmas day all of Isaac's family came over for Christmas dinner and then Danny (Elder Garity) called  from his mission it was a great Christmas!  And it was so hectic that I forgot to take pictures.  Oh well.

The day after Christmas we spent more time with our cousins that were in town for Christmas by riding frontrunner to see the lights on Temple Square.

Benjamin just loves his older cousins!

Tito, Nena, Pati, Carl

Abby, Emma, Jacob, Agelita

Enjoying the lights

The next day after that we all went sledding!  We didn't last long because it was soooo cold that day.  But we still had fun!