Merry Christmas

Christmas was a great day! It started early, about 7am, but that's how it's suppose to be. I would say it was a success!

Santa brought Sydnee a new Power Wheel Jeep. The trampoline in the background was Santa's gift to the whole family. Santa Rocks!

Shaye got her wish, and Santa brought her an American Girl doll that looked like her. I think she has named it Valerie!

Paige got a fun toy, and Jaxson got a few random things. This year he started out asking Santa for a "big tub of ice cream!" He had said "Santa can put it in the freezer and leave a note out telling me where to find it!" But right at the end, he changed his mind and said he wanted brownies and toys. So he got a box of brownies, lincoln logs, and a new case for his bb gun.

Paige LOVED this toy. The side of the toy is a mirror and she thought that was so cool! She loved checking herself out and even gave herself a kiss!

My mom has made a soft, fleece blanket for each of the kids so she had to make one more to keep the tradition going. This is the one she made for Paige. Paige is loving it. She cuddles up to bed with it every night.

For Christmas dad wanted an ipad. It was our group gift. We had fun playing with it that evening and showing him what else it could do beside Google Earth! :)

The Thank You's!

Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve, we had our celebration with Sam's side of the family. We had a wonderful Christmas lunch - ham, potatoes, rolls, and such - and opened presents early. The kids could hardly wait to start tearing into them. They know they get to open presents on Christmas Eve, and they are always so excited to start a day early! They got movies, games, clothes, and lots of toys. We spent the rest of the day visiting and playing with the exciting new stuff!

It didn't take Paige long to see how things worked. She had a good time tearing open her presents and pulling on the toys to get them out of the packing for play time!

She was so tired! She didn't get her morning nap, but she was happy and cute as ever! Thank goodness for this good little baby.

Playing some Jenga. This is a perfect game for Jaxson. He gets to build, and crash things down!

Sydnee showing her battle wound... she got an ant bite when she went out to play!

Sam's dad had to head into work in the late afternoon, and the festivities were coming to an end. After visiting with his grandpa and Aunt for a bit, we headed home to squeeze in a few Christmas Eve traditions before the kids needed to head to bed. This is the first Christmas in the 10 years Sam and I have been married that we were at our own house. We knew it would have to be that way this year - no more toting gifts for 4 kids here and there - but since we are now in Texas, we didn't have to miss the holiday with our families. My parents and Nicole came up later Christmas Eve night to spend the night and be here for Christmas. It was nice to have them come, and we're glad they stayed!

I love having some holiday traditions. We have a few that have worked well for us. We open 1 present on Christmas Eve from under the tree. (of course I have to do some persuading on this one so they are sure to get their Christmas pajamas! )

And we have a cookie decorating contest. I guess Jaxson was tired of not winning, because this year he said he would be the judge.

And we read and "do" the nativity story. We don't dress up and act it out like so many families do, but my mom has a soft kids' nativity set and the kids move the pieces as the story is read. Dad usually reads it, but this year Sam took over the job. Shaye has done most of it in the past, with some assistance from Jaxson, but Sydnee joined in this year and we had shepherds coming during the wise men's turn and other performance liberties! Either way, its always a nice reminder why we truly celebrate!

Here Comes Santa Clause

Sydnee loved visiting Santa this year. We went several times and she would always run straight for him. Unfortunately, on the day that I brought my camera this was the Santa that was there. Not your typical description of Jolly ol' Saint Nick, but she loved it all the same.

Shaye was just humoring me, and of course making sure she got the message across of what she wanted. This will be the last year that she believes in Santa, I'm quite sure. She was pretty skeptical already and of course all the kids at school are talking. It makes me sad. I remember when my cousin Ryan told me all of "them" weren't real. All the magic was gone and I was so disappointed.

They had a great North Pole Village set up at Bass Pro Shop with lots of cute activities like cookie decorating, coloring pictures, Christmas camping, and what's Bass Pro Shop without a little target practice. But the wilderness had snow just for Christmas!