Christmas!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

It was so hard for me to actually have to wake my children up Christmas morning.  But we had church at 9 and I wanted to see them play with their toys before I had to shower and get myself and all three kids ready for church.  So I woke them up at 6:45 a.m.

I came downstairs first so I could video-record the kids reactions to what Santa brought.  Spencer was very excited to find that Santa brought him a Spy watch with night vision, some spy sun glasses that let him see behind him, some little angry bird toys and some cars from Cars 2 (I think he owns just about every car that appears in the first Cars movie).  The first thing Tessa saw and ran to were her pink flowers.  Yes, Santa remembered her request at Hogle Zoo Lights and managed to bring her some real, live pink roses.  She was very happy.  Eventually she also noticed Santa brought her a toddler Rapunzel doll and a matching Rapunzel dress up for herself.  Clara was not excited.  She had been woken up at 6:45 and didn't understand what all the squealing and running around was for.  It took her a few minutes before she also became excited for the candy in her stocking, an Elmo doll, and her very own My First Dollhouse with dolls and furniture the perfect size for her little hands.

We let the kids play with their toys from Santa while we got ready for church.  We just had Sacrament Meeting in our Ward so we were home again around 10.  Then we had Brodie's parents over for breakfast.  Brodie grew up with the tradition of always eating Finnan Haddie (smoked haddock--or as I refer to it "stinky fish").  For the first few years after we were married his family still got together Christmas morning for waffles and stinky fish dipped in melted butter.  The last few years  we've just had his parents over here.  They brought the fish and we added eggs, sausage, and pancakes to the feast.  Then we let the kids open their presents under the tree.  Of course they were very excited for their biggest gifts.  So big in fact that we didn't even bother wrapping them.  And our kind next door neighbor let Brodie use his garage while he was out of town so Brodie was able to build them during the day Saturday rather than after the kids had gone to bed.

Yes, Tessa got her very own vanity with a tri-fold mirror.  Isn't that what every 4 year old needs?  Maybe not, but she sure LOVES it!  Since Christmas Tessa has spent a couple hours each day painting her nails, putting on lip gloss, and doing her hair at her vanity.  Luckily Santa put some Disney princess nail polish and lip gloss in her stocking.  They look colored in the containers but when applied they are pretty much clear with a few glittery parts.  So I let Tessa do it all herself and don't care about any mess.  It washes off anyhow.  And Clara also LOVES this.  She will sit still for the longest time while letting Tessa "make her pretty" with nail polish, lip gloss, dress-up jewelry and brushing her hair.  It is so cute to watch these two.  And as I'm typing this up my little neice is also up there with Tessa getting pretty.

 

And Spencer got his very own desk for his room.  On Christmas he thought it was just to play with his toys but he now understands he can do his homework, draw, write, and read without being disturbed.  Spencer really likes to have his own space at times.  He still uses it to play toys and has quite a few of them stashed on and in his desk.  We even found a few formerly lost items as we were re-arranging Spencer's room.

   

And because the bigger kids got a big piece of furniture and re-arranged bedrooms to fit them in, we decided to move Clara out of her crib and into the toddler bed for Christmas as well.  She LOVES being big enough to climb in and out of her bed on her own.  The first couple naps and night times were so smooth, but now she plays for 20-30 minutes before falling asleep for her nap and cries at night if I don't stay with her.  But she loves playing on her bed and kneeling down beside it with her arms folded on her bed for night time prayers.  And we convinced Tessa to move her baby nursery into Clara's room so we could fit her vanity in her room.

 

Yeah, this was the Best Christmas ever!