Christmas was fantastic this year. We went to the 4:00 service at St. Julian's on Christmas Eve. The kids both opted not to be in the pageant, but we enjoyed watching the other children. It was the perfect service for our squirmy kiddos. There were plenty of other wiggly, not-quite-silent children there, so ours were perfectly comfortable and I spent very little time worrying about their activity level. Isaac even held a lit candle through an entire song and didn't catch anything on fire! :-)
We had chili from the slow cooker that night, so it was a nice relaxing meal time. We watched Elf to unwind before bed.
Kids went to bed at semi-reasonable hours and then Todd and I finished our Santa prepping. I think we did pretty well - we were in bed by 11:30, which was better than I expected. Isaac may still have been singing in his room at that point...
He ended up sleeping late because he'd been too excited to fall asleep the night before. Laine awoke at 8:30 and Isaac woke about 10 minutes later. That worked out just FINE for Mom and Dad!
Isaac was the first to unwrap a gift, of course:
Laine got a helmet because she keeps trying to ride Isaac's bike and she generally moves too quickly for our comfort.
Isaac got some new Lincoln Logs to supplement the set he got from Aunt Kristin and Uncle Dave last year. We have spent the majority of 12/26 building with the two sets combined.
Laine had to take a brief respite to carry on with all of the unwrapping.
The kids got Todd a coffee mug for work. It has pictures of the 2 of them on it. Isaac helped him open it.
Jackson got an enormous chew bone, but was moving too fast for me to get a good shot of him with it.
One of the favorite gifts of the day was the tent from Todd's sister, Shannon, and her family. Isaac even slept in it in his room last night. This thing is going to get a LOT of use.
It was fun to watch Laine carefully pull tiny pieces of wrapping off of boxes while Isaac yanked them open as fast as possible. It's hard to know how much is difference in dexterity versus temperament.
I have learned that I apparently have an addiction to BBC programming. Some of my favorite gifts were a Tardis mug from my sister, Doctor Who and Sherlock shirts, and a Harry Potter/Doctor Who necklace. Todd also got me the full set of Harry Potter Blu-Ray discs. (He also got me tickets to see Wicked in Austin next March, but that's not related to the BBC. I got him the box-set of West Wing on DVD - also not from the BBC.)
The kids were excited about gifts from Aunt Kristin and Uncle Dave.
"It's mine and I love it!"
Laine and I checked out Bell, who is Jingle's new best friend. Isaac never calls her Bell - she's just "Jingle's best friend."
Isaac got a new soccer goal and ball set, which I think he'll enjoy.
Laine got "Rody" who is a bouncing horse. This thing is hilarious!
The dress-up box from Grandma and Grandpa was a success. Laine tried on virtually every hat at least once. Todd and I also had fun with the different hats.
Nana got Laine a little purse to carry around. She also received a picnic basket. She loves to carry things around in the crook of her elbow. This is how I expect her to look for a few weeks now:
The phone was also tremendously exciting. I guess it's in the genes...
Nana also got Isaac this nifty drill set. He has had a BLAST putting all of the screws/bolts into the tray and taking them out again. He usually uses the drill, but also experimented with the wrench. He doesn't have much patience for the screwdriver.
Elke, Christian, and Milena came over for supper, as has become our annual tradition. I made my first Christmas goose and will definitely do it again. Meanwhile, Christian entertained all of the kids...
Today, Rody continues to be well-used. I laugh every time Laine gets on this thing. She doesn't have any interest in holding on so that she doesn't fall off...
Not to be outdone:
