Christmas day!

Santa came!  And I'll let the pictures do most of the talking:

We got Lucy some Frozen undies which I thought would excite her but she apparently thought underwear was a silly Christmas gift...

Here are the kids with their gifts from Great Grandpa and Granny - Lucy with her amulet plus the Sofia costume she got from Santa, and Max with his Simba toy, which he loves.

Lucy and I did a little bit of shopping at Target a couple of days before Christmas.  She wanted to get Daddy and Max gifts, and she ended up picking a gift for me, too.  She got Daddy a Ninja Turtle plate and a Sofia the First plate for me.  She wanted to get a car for Max and we found a cute one that he could roll or shake like a rattle.
When we got home, we started wrapping the gifts but once we'd wrapped Dad's and Max's, her eyes got wide, she hurriedly hid my gift behind her back, and she asked me to get Dad to help her wrap it - you know, so it would be a surprise to me when I opened it!


Lucy helping Max open her gift to him
(Max got her a Frozen fork and spoon set)





Max liked his new Mickey car! 
And big sister couldn't resist giving it a try - but then she got herself stuck in it!



Super excited about an Elsa Pez dispenser

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We had a nice morning of opening gifts and playing with new toys...then there was time for naps (Mom got one, too!  Best gift ever!) before getting ready for our next Christmas party - at Grandma and Troy's house!


My cuties...plus Lucy's new doll, Katie



We had a great day visiting with Grandma and Troy, Great Grandma, Tracey and Sarah, Bill and Melanie, Aunt Peggy and Uncle Jim, and Aunt Amy.
Lucy loved the Barbie and Barbie horse she got, especially...and again, she was so cute with Max, helping him open his gifts and excitedly exclaiming what he got, "Look at this, buddy!" 

Merry Christmas!

Christmas 2014 continues - Christmas Eve

We started Christmas Eve in our traditional way - with breakfast at Bob Evans!  Dave and I started this tradition years ago as a nice, quiet, relaxing, calm-before-the-storm.  Two kids later and there is never really any "calm" but it's been fun continuing this ritual with our growing family.  Lucy ordered pancakes and sausage and got a kick out of having her own little syrup dispenser.  Maxy boy scarfed down the cereal with fruit and puffs I packed for him.

We went to church at St. Anthony before party time at my Uncle Steve and Aunt Debbie's house. 
I got Max's sweater from Old Navy and GranJan picked up his fancy bow-tie shirt and pants at Macy's.  We stumbled upon Lucy's outfit on clearance at Gymboree just a couple of days earlier...how cute are these two?!?

(Lucy had not been on her best behaviour throughout the day and refused to take a nap (instead, she screamed and carried on like a person possessed) but she sure cleaned up nicely).



Dinner partners at their own table, once again

Lucy and Max were in the gift exchange.  Alex had Max's name and he loved the wallet and giraffe ball-sorting toy he received!  He thought the wrapping paper Alex chose was especially delicious.  Lucy got a Cabbage Patch doll with a lollipop from Aunt Debbie...happy kids!


Team work!

The wallet was mighty tasty, too!

After dinner and the gift exchange, it was time to head over to Granny & Great Grandpa's house.  Lucy got a Sophia the First talking amulet and the game Hungry, Hungry Hippos!  Max got a Simba ball sorter - fun stuff!

Luke lent a hand

Lucy got her godfather a special gift and he got one for her - she gave him a calender filled with lots and lots Lucy pictures...every month with be Lucy month in Uncle Jason's new house!

Uncle Jason got her a special Frozen big wheel!  After initially appearing super happy and excited, Lucy got quiet and shy and backed away from the bike.  Very strange.  I might have forgotten how happy she'd seemed at first if I hadn't managed to snap these photos. 
There were several people that had gathered around to watch her open the gift so maybe she suddenly didn't like being the center of attention - or maybe that no-nap thing was catching up to her...she's been a bit moody lately a little tough to figure out.  But she loves her bike and she loves her Uncle Jason, even if she had trouble showing it at gift-giving time!

And this little dude?
Well he loves just about everything!

Once home, it was time to snuggle into their Christmas pajamas and get a good night's sleep in preparation for the big day ahead of them!  Lucy set out her one cookie for Santa and it was even her idea to add a glass of milk.

Christmas begins - Grandma & Grandpa's house!

For us, the festivities began the Saturday before Christmas at Grandma & Grandpa's house.


Getting pretty excited!



The little girls had their own table set up in a separate room...
I think they thought they were hot stuff!

This guy sat with me at the big kids' table...
and he took every opportunity he could to try to grab things off of the big kids' table...



These two were having their own picnic, separate from the real food


Maxyboy got to open some gifts - look how serious he looks about it!  He loved pulling the paper but he also loved just looking around the room - lots of people and noise and plenty for his nosy butt to see!

Oops, we're missing one member of our family in this cute little pic...
Lucy was upstairs playing with her new Barbies she got from Chelsea and Uncle Craig - those were a big hit!  She actually got two of Barbie's surfin' sisters - Skipper with a surf board and Chelsea with a boogie board.  She cracked Aunt Amy up with her pronunciation of "Stipper."

"Deal me in!"



It was so nice to spend time with Grandma / Granny at Christmas this year!



Lucygirl is very into Barbies suddenly so she was beyond excited about that gift.





Maxy with his godmother...and a Rudolph rattle hanging out of his mouth...



Lucy and her godmother...reading the dictionary, I believe...

Popsicle time!

Adorable!
And though I can't help but continue to call her "Baby P," I guess she's not a baby anymore...

The next day, playing with their gifts from Grandma and Grandpa.  Max's toy is meant to grow with him - something to play with as he sits but it's also a walking toy and I'm sure he'll be cruising around with this lion long before I'm ready for that!

Lucy got a big Frozen art set and she couldn't wait to get to painting!  (Luckily she also got some new finger paint so we don't have to deal with that liquid-y mess again!)

 

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Lucy and I made our Christmas cookies a few days later:



"Santa's gonna love these!"

Last year she was pretty nervous about the prospect of Santa being inside of her house so we didn't even bring up the idea of leaving him cookies...this year, she selected the perfect one for him (she only wanted to leave him one - probably so she could save the rest for herself).