Christmas 2011

Our Christmas was definetely different from any Christmas in the past. We DID not travel...yay!! Yes, I know this is why we moved here, but it really hit us this Christmas. We were not rushed and actually got to sit and enjoy family as opposed to hugging and run on to the next event :)

Christmas Eve Service at Church was beautiful and both girls joined us for service. They did great and loved singing the carols. I got a little nervous during the candelight singing of silent night. Ella was waving her candle (with one hand I might add) like it was nothing. I was so nervous! We came home from church to my amazing mother in law cooking us dinner (ham and all of the fixing). Talk about being spoiled! The Willetts joined us for dinner and then even put the kids to bed for us. Fabulous!

We tracked Santa via Google.

Gotta love technology.

Go Santa, Go!

Carrots and sugar for the reindeer.

Our neighbor, Ellie, told the girls to put sugar on a plate and if Rudolf was really there, the sugar would be red from his nose. Luckily, ours' was red in the morning and the carrots were gone. Hungry Reindeer.

The girls wrote a note to Santa and even painted him rocks. Yes, interesting...no cookies but he got rocks.  Santa wrote back and said that the reindeer were getting hungry when he hit the US so he was glad there was plenty of carrots for them.

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On Christmas morning, Ella was at my bedside at 4 am saying she was hungry. I quickly sent her back to her room. The kids all got up around 7/7:30 and were beyond excited. Jason did one more check downstairs to make sure Santa wasn't there (Laney insisted...I don't think she liked the idea of Santa being in our house...she just wanted the presents he left), we were off!


The kids all had different techniques in opening presents: Ella opened the presents and then checked out each one, Laney just ripped into everything and after giving a scream of excitement she moved on and Matthew would rip open the paper and then stop when he got to the box. He would say, "Yay. I did it" and would go to the next present before even opening the box......he did just want the paper :)

Santa put this chocolate smelling calculator in Ella's stocking.

Ella saw a calculator "very similar to this one" at her schools' book fair but didn't

have enough money for it at the time. Luckily Santa's elves are very good at making gifts :)

Of course there had to be band aids in his stocking

Ella discovering Santa's note.

He loved his painted rocks and said he would use them at the North Pole.

See, Rudolph was here....the sugar is red!

Laney loves Rapunzel so was so excited to get a large Repunzel doll from Santa

Under a large blue blanket was a tool bench for Matthew.

He was working all morning!

         

Um, do you think I am happy about getting the Twilight movie collection?

After we finished the morning rush, we got to sit back and play with some of our new toys.

Laney sat down to play with the girls Kindle Fire. 

I know a Fire seems insane for our young girls but after a great deal (thanks Nana Dean's work) we realized that it is better in the long run vs. something we need to buy games for. We love the IPad but I think Jason would prefer to have his IPad back instead of sharing it with the girls :)

Ella played with her moon dough

After the break, Jason's parents joined us (around 9ish).

Matthew's first gift was a pair of cars PJs so before I knew it, he was stripped down and was into his new pajamas.

So cute, right?

Look at this face?

Ella has been asking for a messenger bag that you can draw on ever since Carly got one last year.

She sat down right away and started coloring.

The kids each made a stepping stone for both sets of Grandparents. They turned out really well and although we have tried a variety of stepping stones before and they always broke, these seemed perfect.

Pappy loved his new stones.

Our family gift was the XBox Connect. We have the Wii, which we do love, but got sick of replacing batteries and dealing with remotes. Those we know that have the Connect, love it, and when we scored a great Black Friday deal on it, we couldn't wait to play it. So, why wait for Christmas, right? We broken into it about 2 weeks before Christmas (at night when the kids were in bed) and it is fantastic. It recognizes each of us without having to log in, no remotes and it reads your movements so quickly.  The kids have just loved it and their favorite is the skiing.

Then we were off to my parents.

Ella has been asking for an American Girl doll for years. My mom and I have waited and waited to get the girls dolls and my mom thought this was the year. Boy was she right. Ella opened her's and was instantly in love. She got a few outfits and earrings for her doll.

Laney's doll was one of the limited edition dolls that comes out....Lainey :)

Yes, my mom had to get it when she saw that doll come out.

Matthew got a playmat with our village's streets on it.

My friend, Liz, saw this (pinterest I think??) and forwarded it my way.

You send the maker your zip and then she prints it out on a mat. Matthew is sitting on our house and his right foot is almost touching the elementary school.  It is so fun and when he pulls it out, he immediately asks "where's Cooper's house?" I need to just put a piece of tape on it so he knows!

Matthew sporting his new Thomas jacket

Gotta love a Train Maisy book

As we were upstairs getting ready for my Grandma and Aunt and Uncle to come to my parents' house, Matthew and Jason were downstairs having boy time...infront of the TV.

Dinner time!

I wish I would have gotten a picture of the girls opening the gifts from my Grandma. The one thing Ella said she was really hoping for that she didn't get was a Doodle Bear. I am not sure if you have seen these but you color on them and then you can wash them to start all over again. I love a craft that goes on and on because we go through crafts quickly! My Grandma searched high and low for these and found one for each of the girls. They have just loved them and we have already washed them...such a great idea!

Ella's doll has joined us everywhere

The headless Santa?

My parents have had this Santa for years but when he came down from the attic, his head broke. I did a craniotomy (with a glue gun) and got his head back together. But on Christmas, the wind blew him over and his head broke again. But no worries, his body still danced when you walked by.

We had a very blessed Christmas and enjoyed all the fun family time. 

Kids definitely make Christmas an extra special time and we sure do love our three kiddos!