Merry Christmas! After much anticipation and preparation, the big day was finally here! Danny and I persuaded Aunt Katie to wait until 6:00 am to open presents. Sure enough, Sophie started crying at 5:45 am! So we started the day off early...
The girls were so excited to see what Santa brought them! Earlier in the month, Claire and Sophie wrote letters to Santa, and each asked for a Dora doll and a play kitchen. This was a fun year, since the girls have finally started to grasp the concept of Santa and presents. I have to say, they weren't disappointed! Johnny was a little confused at first, this being his first Christmas and all, but he soon got into the fun.
The girls were still a little sleepy, so it took some coaxing to get them to actually touch the presents that Santa left for them. After they surveyed the loot, we had them start with opening their stockings. Once they started actually unwrapping some things, they woke up pretty quick.
And then came all those presents under the tree! I couldn't believe how many gifts the kids got to open. Christmas as a parent is the funnest!
Some of Claire's favorite presents were her Dora doll (of course), her Tinkerbell Activity Mat (from Mom and Dad), her Teddy Bear Pillow Pet with sleeping bag (from Sophie), her blocks (from Grandma and Papa), and her fairy costume (from Santa).
Sophie loved her Dora Doll as well, and was very excited about the Minnie Mouse doll that Mom and Dad got her. She didn't quite understand what the "Elefun" game was that Grandma and Papa gave her, but once they showed her how to play, she was all over it! She also loved her MagnaDoodle (or as the girls call them, pillow pets...it's a long story), as well as her Pink Hippo Pillow Pet with sleeping bag that Claire gave her. And let's not forget her fairy costume from Santa.
And our sweet Johnny just soaked it all in! He had quite a bit of fun with his toys. He really like chewing on the packaging to his football binkie lanyard, as well as the stocking it was found in. I think Daddy was more excited about Johnny's Santa gift. But I'm sure Johnny will quickly grow into his F-22, complete with air-to-air missiles! :) He got some fun toys from his sisters and from Mom and Dad, and Grandma and Papa gave him a big canvas picture of Lavell Edwards Stadium during a night game. I assure you, there was no indoctrination going on this year... :) On a side note, doesn't he just look adorable in that Santa hat?
Mom and Dad didn't do too bad, either. From Grandma and Papa, we got an AWESOME Panini Grill! We'll definitely be using that. We also got a copy of Gerald Lund's new book, "Divine Signatures". I'm really looking forward to reading that one. Danny got me a few gifts too, which was really sweet. He gave me a workout mat, resistance bands, 2 workout shirts, and a treadmill! I'm excited to start "Live The Life" with all my new fun fitness stuff. He also gave me my own spiral copy of the Hymn Book, with my name engraved on it, as well as a complete Children's Song Book. I truly have a sweet husband. And Danny is still enjoying his birthday/Christmas present...the iPad.
After all the presents had been opened, there was only one thing left to do...PLAY!
But it turns out that kids get tuckered out pretty easily when they're up before the sun, Christmas Day or not.
Johnny crashed first, but the girls weren't far behind. Danny got their new movie, "Beauty and the Beast", playing on Papa's awesome TV, spread out their new sleeping bags, and soon enough they were all resting.
Once I had checked on everyone, I went back upstairs to get cleaned up from the present opening fiasco. I couldn't believe all the presents! Considering this was only the first half of the day...we still had Grandma Candy's to go to!
After we all got cleaned up, we headed to Grandma Candy's for a yummy Christmas dinner/lunch and some more presents! We had presents from Grandma Candy to open, as well as presents from Jeff, Jami, and their kids.
Claire got a sock puppy from the Downs, which she was very excited about! Grandma Candy got her a Dora bouncing ball, as well as a whole box of beloved Princess Band-aids, just for Claire's sticking pleasure! Awesome idea, Grandma Candy!
Sophie loved her sock monkey from the Downs (seriously, the girls have slept with their new stuffed friends every night since), as well as her Sponge Bob bouncing ball, and her box of Dora bandaids. I, however, have not loved unstinking bandaids from every surface! :)
Grandma Candy got Johnny a studly new outfit, that even came with a hat! Unfortunately, the hat is a little small. Even though the outfit was 6-9 months. It's hard to compensate for such a large little boy.
The girls had one more gift...a Tinkerbell Tea Set, complete with Tinkerbell and Silvermist action figures! Yesssss!
But the highlight of Christmas at Grandma Candy's was giving her the gift we all worked so hard on. I think of all the gifts I was a part of giving this year, I was most excited for my Mom's. My siblings and I made a book entitled "The Influence of a Righteous Mother", and included sections written by each of us. We told her how much she has done that has influenced our lives, and we included hundreds of pictures of us, from the time we were babies to the present. It was quite the undertaking! I formatted the 136-page tome, so I had an especially vested interest in her reaction. I wasn't disappointed...
While Grandma Candy was composing herself, we let the kids play for a bit before we got ready to go see "Tangled".
We all loved the movie! We had kind of a funny thing happen, though. We were running a little bit late getting everyone to the theater, and so were feeling a bit rushed. No one noticed whether or not the employee that took our tickets told us which theater our movie was in or not, we just looked at our ticket stubs and walked into theater 6. All of us parents were ready to complain to the management about the racy and adult previews being shown before a family movie! Until we realized we were actually in a theater playing "The Tourist"-a PG-13 movie! We gathered up all the kids, and scurried out of the theater. I'm sure all those people were wondering what we were doing bringing a bunch of kids and toddlers to that movie! :) Anyway, after watching the movie we actually went to see, we headed home to the over-indulgent Christmas Buffet, and played games until bedtime.
Danny and I agree, this was one of our best Christmases yet. And really, one of the best holiday seasons either of us can remember. We loved teaching the girls about the true meaning of the season, and I think we were pretty successful. Claire and Sophie talked much more about Joseph, Mary, and the Baby Jesus than about Santa Claus. We enjoyed teaching them the love of giving, and we loved giving to our children, parents, and siblings. We are so grateful for the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. We are eternally grateful for every blessing in our life that has been made possible by Him. Merry Christmas!!
No comments:
Post a Comment