It seems kind of lame to be posting about Christmas in January but I wanted to hit a few highlights because we had an amazing Christmas this year! We really enjoyed having the Stewart side of the family (and Jonah's Kindergarten teacher, Miss Patten) over on Christmas Eve. We had a yummy dinner and played games until late. Christmas day was filled with family as well. Our celebrating continued for another week or so as Derek, Char and Easton came up from Oregon to celebrate after Christmas. We love to party, Party, PARTY!!!!!!
About a week before Christmas all of the kids got to go to Grammy and Grandpa's for the 1st annual Polar Express party! It all started with a special delivery a few weeks before Christmas. Each child got their own "golden" polar express ticket and instructions on what to bring. The night was filled with hot hot chocolate, the first gift of Christmas, bell ringing, train building, popcorn and of course watching The Polar Express! The kids absolutely loved sleeping over with their cousins-without Mom and Dad! I hope this will be a tradition for years to come!
Santa was good to us this year! With FIVE kids now, we really had to limit our gifts this year. Our favorite part was when the kids bought and exchanged gifts from the dollar store. They were so thoughtful and grateful. It was so sweet to see them hugging each other and ohhing and ahhing over their gifts. I think it is so important for them to know what it feels like to GIVE. Emma's favorite gift was her chocolate fountain and Easy bake oven.
Jonah's favorite was his MP3 player and his "real" binoculars so he could see "far away". He was so excited to see all of the presents Christmas morning, I couldn't help wonder what he thought of all the craziness! For some reason, I was the most worried about his Christmas. With all of the anticipation and commercials, I thought he might be disappointed. However, he was so sweet and happy.
Hudson's favorite was his "real" camera and MP3 player. He was cracking us up because he carried all of his stuff around in a plastic sack for a few days. He didn't want it mixed up with everyone else's. Then, after his sack ripped he moved them over to a box. A few days ago, I went to put a blanket away in the big chest in the family room. To my surprise there at the bottom was Hudson's "Christmas box". When I asked him about it, he told me he just wanted to keep his stuff "safe".
Gracie, well I think her favorite was the cheddar Pringles, but she has also enjoyed her dress up shoes. She ate the whole can of Pringles on Christmas Day, and we let her because hey-it was Christmas!
Sammy decided to sleep in...and we decided to let him. Just as we were finishing our gift opening, he woke up and the kids loved helping him open his presents. He loved his new peek a block toy and all the boxes and wrapping paper!
I am excited about the new Scrapbook program I got and Boyd, well, I think he was most excited about the family gift from Santa, a Wii game system! And Uncle Chuck and Scott must have been in touch with Santa because they sent guitar hero, it has been so fun!
We really enjoyed having the Stewart side of the family (and Jonah's Kindergarten teacher, Miss Patten) over on Christmas Eve. We had a yummy dinner and played games until late. Christmas day was filled with family as well. Our celebrating continued for another week or so as Derek, Char and Easton came up from Oregon to celebrate after Christmas. We love to party, Party, PARTY!!!!!!
I didn't pull out my camera at the luncheon we had afterwards at the church and now I'm pretty sad about it. The kids were so darling. All of the cousins decided to put on a play of mostly Christmas songs on the stage in the cultural hall. They gave performances to anyone who would listen. I think Aunt Angela took a few pictures so maybe I can get them for the scrapbook. It was seriously so cute!
