Christmas!

Five stockings this year!

We had such a great Christmas! Addison and Bryn loved everything about it (except the waiting). They were excited all month long and loved helping decorate the tree and the house and seeing Christmas lights everywhere. They did a lot of pretending in the days before Christmas.

Pretending to be Rudolph

A wise man

Santa Claus himself

I love dressing the kids up all Christmasy on the last Sunday before the 25th.

Random cuteness. Addison loves this baby.

I turned one year older and wiser too on the 24th and felt the love in a big way from family and friends. (Can you say homemade jambalaya delivered in a snowstorm?)

Nate is ashamed of this cake. But let me tell you, I think it is beautiful and it was stinkin' good. Not one speck went to waste. Just to my hips instead.

Christmas Eve evening was spent just the five of us in the kitchen cooking and baking a special dinner. It was a big highlight for me and Nate. The kids really enjoyed helping with the dinner, and man was it good!

My friend Kim made me this nativity for my birthday!!! I am so spoiled! She colored the pictures and mod podged them on wood blocks that her dad cut for her. I've wanted a nativity that my kids could play with pretty much since I've had kids. 

After dinner we frosted cookies for Santa, and the kids got in footie pajamas and we read the Christmas story from the scriptures and let the kids add pieces of the nativity until the whole story was told. Then off to bed to wait for Santa!
I thought for sure the kids would be up at the crack of dawn, but it actually wasn't too bad. Sevens, even. Addison came and informed us that the Christmas tree was gone. They weren't allowed downstairs without us, but he said he could tell from the top of the stairs. Bryn was pretty upset. Nate went to investigate.

Waiting to see if Santa came!

And he came!

Surprise! Santa had moved the tree into the nice warm, comfy family room!

Christmas morning was so great, other than Nate forcing us to eat breakfast before opening presents. Seriously?! Forget the kids, the anticipation almost killed me. It is wonderful to stay at home and take all the time we want opening presents. It's fun to open the presents one at a time, and let the kids stop and play if they want to. Here are a few highlights:

Addison made Bryn a coloring book with pictures of birds in it. She was so thrilled.

And Addison caught the "giving" vision. He was so excited when it was time to give Bryn her present!

Helping Leah get in on the action.

Nate's mom found this dollhouse, made of unfinished wood, and got it for Nate and I to paint for Bryn. It was a rather large project, but with a lot of late nights, we got 'er done, and Bryn loves it.

I painted these little peg dolls to go with it. It's our family. It was fun to personalize it. I put Bryn in her very favorite shirt, her "three big kitty cats." She rejoices every laundry day because of that shirt.

I crocheted Addison and Bryn "purple and black cat," of bedtime story fame. It was a lot of work and made me grumpy a time or two in the weeks prior to Christmas, but I can't believe how much they love them.

My sissies have been after me to post a picture of the cats, so here's a better one from today.

Santa brought a new scooter

And a chicken, complete with wooden eggs and nest, to our bird-obsessed Bryn.

Nate's new phone

  The only footage of my big present is a video of me in all my morning glory getting emotional, so I'll spare you, and just tell you that Santa brought me a plane ticket to go to Georgia and see my family in January! Leah and I are leaving next week!!!

It was a great Christmas! And Nate and I are glad to have a year to recover before we get to do it all again!