Merry Christmas!

We celebrated Christmas 16 times with about 12 different families. OK, that's not entirely true, but man, did we get good use out of those "holiday" sweaters!

Grandma Mary's gift to Jack was almost as tall as he was.

Griffin and Grandma Patty watched the present-opening chaos.

After getting snowed in Des Moines, we spent a cozy Christmas day with Grandma Mary and Barry.

We finally made the trip to the tundra where Sally greeted our carload of elves. Check out all that snow!

A Visit with Santa

Griffin braves the "dreaded lap" and discovers it's not so scary after all.

Jack is more comfortable at a safe distance. Given the look of this Santa's crazy shoe polish eye brows, I don't blame him!

Jack realizes that if he's going to get a hockey table, he'd better man-up and tell Santa what's on his list.

Jack decided that a Merry Christmas high-five couldn't hurt to seal the deai.

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

They say that anticipation is half the fun of the Christmas season, and this year, we were determined to prove them right. Here's a quick peek at some of the Christmassy things we did to celebrate in December.

We kicked off the holiday season on Thanksgiving weekend with a 3D viewing of "The Christmas Carol." Looking back, it wasn't the best choice for a 3-year-old, but he quickly forgot the ghosts and focused on what treats he could eat.

Jack wrote a letter to Santa about what he wanted for Christmas.

In early December, we boarded the Polar Express to the North Pole (by way of Boone, Iowa). Luckily, we got a warm train car, because it was 2 degrees that night.

Once we arrived at the North Pole, Santa boarded the train to pass out sleigh bells to all the boys and girls on the nice list. Luckily, it was too early in the month for either of the Boesen boys to be considered for the naughty list, but oh were there moments!

Jack took a break from his cookie once the Big Guy stepped on to our train. I'm not sure if that's a look of childlike wonder or extreme terror.

Christmas in March

OK, this is a little late, but still worth watching. Uncle Rick claimed the title of "Best Christmas Gift" in 2008 when Jack opened a hockey net and two sticks. He demanded it be put together immediately and then gave us all a show. Pay attention to his graceful skating as he glides on the "ice" after scoring a goal. Since it's snowing out today (yup, snow in late March), we might as well celebrate a little Christmas.

Video credit goes to Aunt Jenny, whose giggle can be heard along with Great-Grandma V saying "is that what they do?" We need to get the Otises access to the NHL channel.

Jack Jams with the Jingle Bell Puppy

Remind me to thank Aunt Jenny for the Jingle Bell puppy later. Aside from the rather loud singing, it is particularly funny to watch Jack light up after pressing the puppy's paw. And they make pretty good dance partners. Here, Jack is dancing -- yes that is dancing -- with his new best buddy. He wakes up each day and does a jig with Jingle Bell puppy. Right after turning on the Christmas tree lights and just before his cup of "milk in a Hawkeye cup."