Christmas Recap

Hopefully everyone had as good a Christmas as we did. We were able to celebrate with family and friends on both Christmas eve and Christmas day and we all had a lot of fun. Here's some pics to show it.

I was greeted on Christmas Eve morning by a sobbing Benjamin because his "mural" had just been detected by daddy. He had taken a pencil (thank goodness only pencil!) and drawn all over the basement walls, doors, and toilet seat while Kelly was in the shower and Bella and I were still asleep. So, our first Christmas activity was to scrub off all the drawings. Things got better after that, though. He later told me, "We only draw on paper, not toilets." Glad that seemingly obvious nugget of knowledge had finally sunk in. Or well, let's hope it has. Only time will tell.


After that we played around until our family and friends came over to eat, read Luke 2, open presents from each other (Santa's presents only came the next morning), and finally set up our much anticipated tree and lights.



I am so glad I didn't put them up any earlier, because 3 ornaments were broken within the first 24 hours. But it sure was fun to set it all up together and admire it. (Until I took it down at 8am on the 26th and heaved a big sigh of relief that I could stop saying, "That's an ornament, not a toy, put it back!") That night Benjamin got a changeable racetrack with battery powered cars and Bella got a doll and stroller. They both got a new bedtime story book and a giant floor puzzle. Their excitement knew no bounds. They were entertained the rest of the night. (And finally left the tree alone for a few hours.)





The next morning Santa did not disappoint. In addition to the usual stocking fare, he brought Benjamin a rocket! All month long whenever anyone asked Benjamin what he wanted for Christmas, he said the exact same thing, namely, "I want a rocket. Not a plastic one, but a real one, that I can get in and fly to the moon!" Every single time. So, naturally, we realized we'd better get this kid a rocket! So Kelly bought $30 worth of insulation board, wood, duct tape, etc. and made him a 6ft tall rocket that fits 3 people inside. It's really quite impressive. It's got windows, control panels, steering wheel, a door that open and shuts, and inside are various pictures made to look like windows showing constellations, planets, etc. so in addition to being able to look out into the room, you can look out into space. Benjamin loved it.



The cutest thing was that he was also nearly equally excited about the banana and oranges that Santa left in his stocking! I love kids at this age. Bella wasn't quite sure what to make of this present deluge (book, Mr Potato Head, etc.), so she sat contentedly aside as Benjamin emptied her stocking and handed her items one by one.



Oh, and of course, you can't forget the new Christmas pajamas!


It was a great couple days. In addition to all the fun at home, we also went to a Christmas party at a friend's home (to which I forgot to bring my camera), ice skating (also forgot the camera), and bowling (remembered the camera!!)



This was really a fabulous Christmas. Now we just wait patiently for some snow so we can use the sled that Santa brought. :) It rained all day on Christmas and washed away everything we had. Something to look forward to!