A very merry Christmas!

>> January 23, 2014

Christmas morning started bright and early, as do most mornings at our house.  Somehow we convinced the kids to cuddle in bed with us for a while though, giving us time to wake up and mentally prepare for the craziness that was about to unfold.
My parents planned to come over to watch them open presents and eat breakfast so while we waited for them the kids got to open stockings.
 Checking out what Santa left.  Carter was pretty bummed that Santa didn't eat every single bite of the cookies he left for him.  I tried explaining that Santa was probably pretty full from so many other cookies but he still thought he should have finished the plate.


 Lucy got some piggy paint (nail polish) in her stocking so we had to put it on right away.  It's so funny how she'll just sit still and not only let me paint her toes, but then wait for them to dry.  If we were to ever ask Carter to sit still that long he might die.
 The Vance family has had a long tradition of getting scratch tickets in their stockings.  Matt has kept the tradition going in our family too.  The kids won a combined $17 this year. Matt and I?  $0.
 My favorite family picture.  So classic.  So perfect.  So real.
 Love them!
 He was so cute in those striped candy cane pi's.
 New books are always a big hit!
 Trying out her new mixer, just like mamas!
 2 very happy, content kids playing with their new toys.
 Carter's big gift from us was his very own tablet. Oh, how his generation is different than ours. He has limits on when he can use it, but it's fun to see him explore different apps for books, games and puzzles.

 A pirate loving boy.
 After breakfast we got dressed and drove up to the beach house to spend the rest of the day with Matt's family.
Round 2!
 I love all of these smiles!
 The grown-up kids.
 And the present opening began, yet again! Carter got a new Batcave from Grandma and Grandpa Vance which he loves.  He's now very much into little figurines (which are EVERYWHERE in our house now) and creating little worlds for them.  His imagination and creativity is just exploding lately.  I love to watch him play.
 After a while we decided the kids loved opening presents so much we would just let them open all of them.  For every person.  Lucy was in heaven.

 Kathy will probably kill me for posting this but I could't resist.  Every year Matt's dad (Tom) buys Kathy a big gift.  Usually it's a set of pots and pans or some new techy gadget.  This year, not only did she get an IPhone for her birthday (2 weeks before Christmas) but then got an IPad for Christmas!  Of course, she thought it was ridiculous!
 And was disgusted.  Haha!
 Then, after a minute, she realized it was very thoughtful and was ready to join the rest of the world by learning how to use it! And, I must say, she has done a very good job of emailing, texting and learning how to navigate each app!
 I got a new pair of boots but Lucy thought they looked better on her.
 During the massive present opening I somehow lost a gift card that was tucked away in one of my boxes.  So we took out ALL of the wrapping paper from the garbage bags to look for it.  It was the perfect opportunity for Lucy to jump right in.  And, lucky for me, Matt found my gift card!  Whew.
 We spent the rest of the day putting together toys, eating, relaxing, more eating and just enjoying the day.



One of the best Christmas' yet!  Merry Christmas 2013!

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Christmas Eve 2013.

It feels like Christmas was months ago but since it was only a few weeks ago I don't feel so bad finally blogging about it now. December is always (and will forever be) a crazy month at our house.  Besides the usual Christmas festivities we have 2 birthdays to celebrate and I am determined to make each celebration extra special.  I think Christmas Eve might be one of my favorite days though.  All the anticipation is built, presents are wrapped, food is made and the party can begin! 
We had my family come up on Christmas Eve to celebrate.  It started with a wonderful service at our church, designed specifically for young children.  I feel so blessed to have found a new church we love and can be involved in.  It has made such a difference transitioning to a new city and the service was one of my favorite memories from this year.  It was short, involved lots of kids, simple songs and scripture and a few falling decorations just to keep it entertaining.  But, it was perfect and really set the mood for the night.
 Once we got home and dinner was in the oven I put a few presents under the tree, just to tease the kids a bit.  They were just a little excited.
 Both kids had a lot of fun with my parents.


 And we loved having Matthew and Joy at the house too!
 After dinner we had the kids change into their Christmas pi's and then they got to open presents from Uncle Matt and Aunt Joy.


Joy had overheard Carter talking about his new love for Rescuebots during Lucy's birthday party.  They definitely won Aunt and Uncle of the Year for buying not one, but 4 new Rescuebots for Carter.  By far, his favorite Christmas present!  Santa didn't really need to visit our house after that. 

 Lucy just loves her new backpack!
 And another selfie…just for good measure.
 We somehow convinced the kids to get ready for bed, had Carter write his letter to Santa and put out the milk and cookies.  Christmas Eve was over and we were ready for the next day.
 Carter told me what to write this year.  His very first letter to Santa.
 And the treats!  Carter wasn't sure if Santa would like nonfat milk or almond milk so we left both.  He was pretty happy to see Santa's note in the morning that he enjoyed the almond milk.  :)

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