THE FRICKES: Christmas Begins (Updated)

The boys always enjoy ringing bells. Especially Grant! Lane got bored after about a half hour- started to pull his Santa hat down over his face- that's when I knew he was finished. Lol

loved when people would hand him the money to put in the bucket

Grant has the sweetest little heart. He wrote this the other night and read it aloud for our family. He was so proud of himself!

Our boys each have their own artificial tree they get to decorate on their own. They love doing this and I love it too-it's a nice way to display all of their hand made ornaments.

of course they wanted colored lights with a colored star topper-

Grant enjoyed an Illini game with his Dad and Uncle Jacob and Aunt Jessica

Lane had an ear infection- he was miserable. Prompt care also diagnosed him with early on set pneumonia. However, his primary care physician said he did not have pneumonia. Good grief.

Grant helped cheer his brother up- brothers cuddling has got to be one of the most precious sights ever

poor kid

Although he was just coming off of being sick- Lane attended his Thanksgiving feast and preformed his songs with the rest of his Pre-K class. So cute to watch.

they love going with me to the car dealership for oil changes because they get free soda. They never get soda -so it's a real treat

Loves Sports Illustrated -and looks so old reading it in this picture

we went to see The Good Dinosaur. I cried, Grant laughed at me. Lane loved it! It instantly became one of his favorite, I do believe.

It was cooooold but definitely fun! The boys really had a difficult time deciding on which tree we should chop down. Usually it's simple and unanimous -we all had different ideas of what our tree should look like. Ended up with a good one though.

Our house is just sooooo cozy this time of year. I don't want it to end- every year the season seems to come and go so quickly.

Grant has a bad habit of licking his lips- which leaves his lips chapped and red- I told him to put lotion on them because they looked really bad and he this is what he came out of the bathroom looking like.

Nothing's more exciting than heading out to the Christmas tree farm.

Our house Elf- Noodle came back which means the boys are up at 5:30 every morning trying to find him

Noodle brought the boys Jacks- Grant was obsessed with mastering it

Lane took this picture- not bad photography actually

Lane took this picture on my phone too

We went to the mall to see Santa. The line was ridiculous! And hour later we finally got to chat with the big guy. It was sooo worth it. He was the best Santa EVER! Took time to talk and interact with the boys-he had such a grandfather feel to him.

Jason Jr. had to have his eyes closed but other than that- I like it.

Grant was tired of waiting -this is him checking his imaginary watch. lol

Giving their lists to Santa

look at the look Lane has on his face. He was sure checking him out.

Before the school Christmas program

Brothers before the school program

he looks so much older this year- with his long hair and toothless grin.

Lane was so excited, very talkative, and seemingly pumped up prior to the school program. That's why I was honestly a bit surprised he cried and failed to perform. He told me later, "that scared me. those other kids were so loud and it scared me."

He practiced his songs at home and kept talking about his program -poor kid just got so scared and sad looking up there that I just couldn't leave him up there to be terrified and a distraction. He sat on my lap and watched Grant the entire program. He had such a sad expression on his face while watching the other kids sing. And later, after the program several people told Grant "good job singing" and Lane leaned over and whispered in my ear, "I'm sad" and asked him why and he whispered, "cause nobody is telling me I did a good job singing" -I had to reminded him that he didn't sing and that's why no one is telling him "good job." Funny and sad all wrapped up. Ugh, I hate it for him that he is soooo sensitive and timid. I know he wants to do it (and I know he can do it) but he just still has so much anxiety. He even still has days in school that he cries for his mama! It's December- was seriously hoping by now he'd be more comfortable and confident. He often tells me that he is scared at school because their are kids in his class who are mean. He tells me daily about so and so telling him mean things. It breaks my heart but I know it's part of growing up and he must go through it. Just wish my little guy could be more confident and be himself in public. He's such a happy funny boy at home. Prayers are all I have in my mom ammunition- cause I have tried everything else. Bribing, rewarding, ignoring have all failed. Time will sort it out but I am anxious and wanting it to get better for him sooner than later.

so quiet and still in his classroom with his classmates - so sweet

I tried several times to get him to smile at me for a picture but this is the only expression I got.

since I had Lane on my lap most of the program I didn't get very many good pics of Grant performing but got a few

the beginning of the program: pre-crying (very bottom of the picture in case you're having a difficult time spotting him)

found relief when I saw Lane sitting next to Levi- cousin love should be comforting right? wrong

got a half smile from him here

cute as a bug though

love the kid on the end and his enthusiasm- polar opposite of Lane's expression

another half smile

Waving to family

Grant always does a nice job- proud of him. He was nervous about the program . Not because he would be singing in front of a group but because he thought he'd be the only kid in the grade school wearing a sweater. lol

Grant's list for Santa this year is ridiculous. I am surprised Santa took it as well as he did- thought for certain he'd have a mild heart attack when he saw how pricey the items on his list were. I mean really, Grant's a great kid but I am not sure there is a kid on the planet who has been good enough this year to get all he has requested -xbox1, ipod, playstation, voice controlled helicopter!!!! WHAT!?

Grant had full eye contact going on. He was soft spoken and sweet. Love this picture.

Lane was struggling to make his hat that was given to him so Santa gave him some help. Seriously, that best Santa ever! God bless this man for keeping the spirit and magic alive for so many kids.