Merry Christmas 2009!

Merry Christmas to All! What a wonderful morning it is. My kids slept in just long enough to not make me feel dizzy from lack of sleep. Always good to start out on the right foot, you know. We all crept up my Mom and Dad's stairs and as soon as we rounded the corner- we saw that Santa had come! The kids were so excited. Michael and Claire knew just what to do. They ran over to their stockings and tore them open. They loved everything Santa brought them! They got Nintendo DS games, Littlest Pet Shop toys, candy, baby food (Santa used to bring me baby apricots when I was a kid because I loved them so my kids ask Santa for them, too), blue double sided light sabers, and so much more. Michael and Claire were so happy. They just hunkered down in their little corner and investigated all of their new treasures!

Matthew, on the other hand, was still learning the art of Christmas morning. I think he was so shocked when he first saw Nonna's front room because there were so many toys everywhere. His stocking was overflowing with fun gifts and I think he was seriously shocked and couldn't move. We gently nudged him toward his stocking and he slowly pulled things out in amazement. It was darling. He was truly happy and mentioned that Santa got him the things he wrote in his letter. Don't you love when things click? He was so happy to have his cousin Kyle with him on Christmas morning. The two of them got matching pajamas from Nonna and also both got cool robot sleeping bag backpacks. The two of them wore them all morning until they complained of a little back pain. No kidding! Matthew was just adorable and you could see the belief and magic just illuminating throughout him. Can't wait to see him next year now that he knows how the drill goes!

Claire is my cookie girl. While all the kids helped with the cookies, carrots, and milk- she is always the one who investigates the next morning. She makes sure that all the reindeer ate their carrots, that Santa didn't leave any cookies and checks to see if there is any trace of milk left in the cup. It is so predictable now that Claire will use her detective skill to make sure Santa was indeed there the night before. She was pleased with Santa and his reindeer's consumption so they passed the test! I am sure she will teach Emily the ropes as she gets bigger. As for this Christmas, Emily was so happy to get some new snacks, bibs, spoons, and baby food from Santa. We had happy kids all around- which is a good thing to have on Christmas morning.

After the storm of stocking opening had settled, all the adults got their coffee and settled down in the living room and got ready to open gifts. I told my Mom that I would be in charge of making Christmas morning breakfast and I baked this yummy egg casserole (a recipe from my Mom that I will soon steal), heated some cinnamon rolls, cut some fresh pineapple and strawberries, sliced the stollen, and had hot chocolate for the kiddos (and Damien- since he's not a fan of coffee). We love a nice leisurely Christmas morning. One of us will 'play Santa' and hand out the gifts one at a time. We like to watch people open their gifts and be mindful of the time each of us spent to get our loved ones something that they would love. It does take a little more time but it is a lot better than seeing paper flying everywhere and not knowing who gave who what. We had a great Christmas. One of the best in years. It was wonderful to have sweet little Emily with us and she had a great First Christmas. Merry Christmas Everyone!!!