Christmas

This is the first year away from extended family, but I have to say keeping the holidays small and simple this year worked well for us. After dealing with all that is involved with moving and spending the last few weeks working hard to settle in and get the house how we want it, especially all the big projects we did the week before Christmas because Sam had the time off...well, staying home with my 3 favorite people was just what I needed.

Christmas Eve:
The day was spent out shopping - for furniture, not with the crazies at the mall. We bought our first "real" dining table and chairs (we couldn't pick them up until a few days later but they're here and we've really been enjoying them). Then we came home and frosted cookies for Santa.

Our Christmas Eve tradition is to give the kids new pajamas that they get to open and wear that night.

And this year we stayed home in the new pjs and watched a movie until it was time to set out the eggnog and cookies for Santa.

And make sure the elves were ready to go too.

Thoughtful Kaitlyn even left a little sign for Santa

Christmas morning:
Tyler had a bit of a stuffy nose that woke him up at 4:30 AM and Kaitlyn heard us moving around and woke up too. I convinced the kids to climb in our bed and managed another hour and a half of cuddles and dozing before Kaitlyn couldn't wait any longer to see if Santa had arrived.

Obviously he did.

We all got pretty spoiled for Christmas. Kaitlyn was so happy to get the DS (handheld video game system for those of you not in the know) she had asked for. Santa also surprised her with an art easel and we got her a Fur Real Friend cat.Tyler got all kinds of fun loot like a bunch of hot wheels tracks (which got set up in the sun room and played with off and on all day), a new bike, and the big (36" in long) truck and trailor with a backhoe (that my parents and Wyatt chipped in on).

We also gave them both robes that neither one wanted to take off all day long.
My top gift of the day was a new lens for the camera. Most of our other gifts were too big to fit under the tree and we had already been enjoying them. Like Sam's new TV, and his new miter saw which he used to build out all the closets the week before Christmas (which I think he is also counting as my gift :) ). And the dining table I already mentioned.

Kaitlyn gave Tyler a plush Mater (the tow truck from Cars). Ty gave him a big hug right away.

At the end of it all, the kids sat in the midst of all the discarded wrapping paper. Tyler had just finished opening his final gift and we all got a laugh when he said, "ok that's enough."

We then ate our traditional gingerbread waffles. And spent the rest of the day playing with toys and cuddling on the couch watching movies. Ty did get outside to try out the new bike and he did great riding it. It's a 16-inch-er and a bit too tall for him to climb on by himself but boy does he cruise once he's on it.

Sam calls this his GQ pose :)

Anyway. A very merry Christmas at home it was. Hope everyone else had a good one too!