After all of our activities leading up to Christmas, it was finally here! Molly was pretty excited, although I'm not sure she knew exactly what she was supposed to be excited about. I'm not sure how much she remembered about last Christmas and the whole Santa thing...but she quickly remembered!
We headed to Plain City for our Christmas Eve party. We got there just in time to meet a special visitor...Santa! Molly had just woken up from a long nap...she takes a little while to warm up after a nap so she wasn't too excited to see him. But she enjoyed the gift he gave her!
Stockton wasn't scared of him; he just wanted to eat Santa's beard!
It's not Christmas Eve without the nativity. We used to do this when I was little and it's fun to watch our kids doing it now. Molly was Mary this year and she took her role very seriously. She wore the costume the rest of the night and told everyone to call her "Mary."
Stockton was Jesus. He laid in that basket and didn't try to squirm away or roll off, just took in his surroundings.
Mom brought back our favorite Christmas Eve game...if you roll doubles, you put on gloves and try to unwrap a present.
Then we exchanged presents. Molly got this Snow White mirror from Abby...you push a button and it lights up and says things like, "You are the fairest of them all." Lucky us, we got to listen to it the whole way home...all 90 minutes of our ride home.
Here is an attempt at a family picture. Wish Stockton was looking at the camera.
We made it home that night around 10:30, set out cookies and milk for Santa, and read "The Night Before Christmas" before putting Molly in bed. It was a late night!
Molly woke up at around 8:00 the next morning. Of course we had to wait for Daddy to go downstairs, plug in all the lights, set up the camera, and make sure Santa came. We anxiously waited at the top of the stairs.
The only thing Molly asked for all season was a Jasmine Barbie. She never changed her mind or wavered...it was what she wanted. Santa looked everywhere for weeks with no luck...7 days before Christmas a co-worker of Santa's happened to find one, bought it, and passed it on to him. Apparently Jasmine Barbie's were the hot commodity among little girls this year. Who would have thought?
Santa also thought that Molly would enjoy her very own computer. It has been a huge hit...it comes out of the closet everyday, multiple times. I've been very impressed with the games that Molly has been able to figure out on her own.
Stockton really didn't need a thing...but since the biggest wall in his room was still bare, Justin decided to get creative and make something to fill the space. His room is full of some of Justin's sports paraphanelia that he's collected over the years...old baseballs, a jersey, things of that nature. I'm pretty sure it's Justin's favorite room in the whole house. Anyway, he found a panorama of a baseball field and made a frame to go around it. It turned out awesome. That was what Stockton got from Santa. His stocking was filled with shoes and a little pounding bench.
We didn't have much time to play that morning so we saved our gifts to each other for later and headed to Sandy for brunch with Justin's family. And more presents, of course. Molly got these cute dress-up dolls, a sledding tube, and some princess movies.
Stockton got this jumper.
Justin and I got a deep freezer, wahoo!
Here is the second attempt at a family picture.
After spending a few hours there we came home and had more presents to open. Molly got a book full of fairy tales from Dad, princess nightgowns from Mom, and a doctor kit from Stockton. It took her a while to open her presents because she had to try each one out before moving on to the next one.
Stockton was happy just chewing on the wrapping paper...but he got a few things. Justin also made a baseball holder for his room (I have a very talented husband, he can basically make anything I ask him to), a firetruck from Molly, and a drum from Mom.
Our house looked like this after we opened all our presents-does this happen to everyone, or just us?
After a game of Candy Land (a family gift) and some more pictures under the tree, it was off to bed. Phew! 
It was a very merry Christmas for us, but it wasn't quite over. We still had another day of celebrating.
It was a little strange not seeing my family on Christmas Day. But my parents were kind enough to make the drive down the day after Christmas so we could celebrate with them then. They also brought two little girls, Abby and Chloe, to play with Molly. Molly doesn't get many visitors her age so she was super excited!
Molly's first Cabbage Patch Doll, Ashley Emily. She came with a very cute baby bed and highchair.
Stockton got a wooden train and this basketball toy.
My parents gave us a video camera.
After playing with toys and cousins for a few hours, they were on their way home and our Christmas had come to an end. I think we were all ready! Mom and Dad were tired, Molly had had her share of meltdowns, and Stockton was as mellow as ever. Molly was sound asleep by 7:45 that night and Stockton not much later. It was very nice; Justin and I finally had a chance to play "Ticket to Ride" that we got for our anniversary a couple weeks earlier.
Some things we learned this year:
1. Christmas is much more fun with kids.
2. Our families are awesome.
3. Three days of that much excitement can lead to many tears for a sometimes-sensitive three-year-old.
4. As much as we love the Christmas season and all the excitement, it's nice when life gets back to "normal."
5. Our life is overflowing with blessings.
6. So I don't forget our one "mis-hap"...if you're feeling congested and clogged up, it's okay to take a Sudafed. Just don't take two 12-hour Sudafed's at the same time. Within 5 minutes, you will be terribly sick and wonder if you're going to die. More importantly, don't do this on Christmas Eve, just as you are leaving work. (Yes, my husband did this. He debated about going to the party at all. If it was any other night he would had stayed home, but luckily after a nap in the car on the way, he was feeling much better and was able to enjoy himself. By the end of the night, I think he was back to normal!)
We headed to Plain City for our Christmas Eve party. We got there just in time to meet a special visitor...Santa! Molly had just woken up from a long nap...she takes a little while to warm up after a nap so she wasn't too excited to see him. But she enjoyed the gift he gave her!
Stockton wasn't scared of him; he just wanted to eat Santa's beard!
It's not Christmas Eve without the nativity. We used to do this when I was little and it's fun to watch our kids doing it now. Molly was Mary this year and she took her role very seriously. She wore the costume the rest of the night and told everyone to call her "Mary."
Stockton was Jesus. He laid in that basket and didn't try to squirm away or roll off, just took in his surroundings.
Mom brought back our favorite Christmas Eve game...if you roll doubles, you put on gloves and try to unwrap a present.
Then we exchanged presents. Molly got this Snow White mirror from Abby...you push a button and it lights up and says things like, "You are the fairest of them all." Lucky us, we got to listen to it the whole way home...all 90 minutes of our ride home.
Here is an attempt at a family picture. Wish Stockton was looking at the camera.
We made it home that night around 10:30, set out cookies and milk for Santa, and read "The Night Before Christmas" before putting Molly in bed. It was a late night!Molly woke up at around 8:00 the next morning. Of course we had to wait for Daddy to go downstairs, plug in all the lights, set up the camera, and make sure Santa came. We anxiously waited at the top of the stairs.
The only thing Molly asked for all season was a Jasmine Barbie. She never changed her mind or wavered...it was what she wanted. Santa looked everywhere for weeks with no luck...7 days before Christmas a co-worker of Santa's happened to find one, bought it, and passed it on to him. Apparently Jasmine Barbie's were the hot commodity among little girls this year. Who would have thought?
Santa also thought that Molly would enjoy her very own computer. It has been a huge hit...it comes out of the closet everyday, multiple times. I've been very impressed with the games that Molly has been able to figure out on her own.
Stockton really didn't need a thing...but since the biggest wall in his room was still bare, Justin decided to get creative and make something to fill the space. His room is full of some of Justin's sports paraphanelia that he's collected over the years...old baseballs, a jersey, things of that nature. I'm pretty sure it's Justin's favorite room in the whole house. Anyway, he found a panorama of a baseball field and made a frame to go around it. It turned out awesome. That was what Stockton got from Santa. His stocking was filled with shoes and a little pounding bench.
We didn't have much time to play that morning so we saved our gifts to each other for later and headed to Sandy for brunch with Justin's family. And more presents, of course. Molly got these cute dress-up dolls, a sledding tube, and some princess movies.
Stockton got this jumper.
Justin and I got a deep freezer, wahoo!Here is the second attempt at a family picture.
After spending a few hours there we came home and had more presents to open. Molly got a book full of fairy tales from Dad, princess nightgowns from Mom, and a doctor kit from Stockton. It took her a while to open her presents because she had to try each one out before moving on to the next one.
Stockton was happy just chewing on the wrapping paper...but he got a few things. Justin also made a baseball holder for his room (I have a very talented husband, he can basically make anything I ask him to), a firetruck from Molly, and a drum from Mom.
Our house looked like this after we opened all our presents-does this happen to everyone, or just us?
After a game of Candy Land (a family gift) and some more pictures under the tree, it was off to bed. Phew! 
It was a very merry Christmas for us, but it wasn't quite over. We still had another day of celebrating.It was a little strange not seeing my family on Christmas Day. But my parents were kind enough to make the drive down the day after Christmas so we could celebrate with them then. They also brought two little girls, Abby and Chloe, to play with Molly. Molly doesn't get many visitors her age so she was super excited!
Molly's first Cabbage Patch Doll, Ashley Emily. She came with a very cute baby bed and highchair.
Stockton got a wooden train and this basketball toy.
My parents gave us a video camera.After playing with toys and cousins for a few hours, they were on their way home and our Christmas had come to an end. I think we were all ready! Mom and Dad were tired, Molly had had her share of meltdowns, and Stockton was as mellow as ever. Molly was sound asleep by 7:45 that night and Stockton not much later. It was very nice; Justin and I finally had a chance to play "Ticket to Ride" that we got for our anniversary a couple weeks earlier.
Some things we learned this year:
1. Christmas is much more fun with kids.
2. Our families are awesome.
3. Three days of that much excitement can lead to many tears for a sometimes-sensitive three-year-old.
4. As much as we love the Christmas season and all the excitement, it's nice when life gets back to "normal."
5. Our life is overflowing with blessings.
6. So I don't forget our one "mis-hap"...if you're feeling congested and clogged up, it's okay to take a Sudafed. Just don't take two 12-hour Sudafed's at the same time. Within 5 minutes, you will be terribly sick and wonder if you're going to die. More importantly, don't do this on Christmas Eve, just as you are leaving work. (Yes, my husband did this. He debated about going to the party at all. If it was any other night he would had stayed home, but luckily after a nap in the car on the way, he was feeling much better and was able to enjoy himself. By the end of the night, I think he was back to normal!)
1 comment:
Wow! What a busy, but fun three days. I love the picture of Molly wit her princess mirror - now that is happiness. lol. But why do things always have to make noise/talk/music?! I bet that was a long drive home ;)
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