Christmas Eve seems like so long ago! We started the day much like we do every year and celebrated Christmas with Josh parents. We were having such a good time that I managed not to sake a single picture of anything significant. No gift opening, no food eating, no family fun, nothing. Just pretend like you saw cute pictures of my kids and their cousin Bella in adorable black Uggs with stockings the size of a small car! We were exhausted when we left, but per tradition, we met my parents and KCory for candlelight communion at our church.
When we arrived home we were greeted by three VERY cute, pajama-clad boys who wanted our help spreading reindeer food and getting excited about Santa’s arrival. We sprinkled glittery oats all over both yards and ran around squealing for a bit before bedtime. How could I resist snapping a Christmas Eve picture of these cuties? New Christmas Eve tradition? I think so!
I’m glad that on a whim I decided to snap a few pajama pictures in front of the tree before bed because we managed NO family photos on Christmas morning. Chalk it up to too many presents and too much excitement about our impending departure. How is it I managed to snap this precious picture with their daddy on the first try.
But it takes three tries to get us looking in the right direction?
After everyone was sufficiently calmed down, we whipped up a plate of Gran’s famous shortbread cookies and a mug of milk for Santa. We were starting to get excited at this point!
Daddy helped with the letter to Santa, while I tidied up everything before bed.
In case you are struggling to read, it says, “Dear Santa, For Christmas I want a case for my iPod and a dream lites pillow pet. Sophie wants an umbrella and cinderella stuff. Can you bring Beemer a treat? Oh, by the way is it okay for Scout to date? Love Ella & Sophie. Merry Christmas & Ho Ho Ho!” She has been worried that Scout was too young to date since he was caught making eyes at Barbie!
Before we knew it, Santa had make his stop and left quite a bit of loot for the girls to enjoy. We put our tree up in the dining room this year to give us more room to enjoy the morning and I LOVED it. It was visible from pretty much anywhere in the house and it just fits better there. The red PBK chairs were actually a gift from several Christmases ago, but we always leave them out so that Santa knows where to make his delivery and so the girls have somewhere comfy to sit and open presents. I didn’t want you to be confused about why they appear in the same spot every year!
Both girls got Melissa & Doug Trunki suitcases and saddle bags, which came in handy for Disney World, but would be just as awesome for overnight visits to their grandparents house! They also got melamine trays for eating breakfast, art supplies for the 9 hour car trip later that week and new umbrellas. Sophie’s big “toy” present was a replica of Cinderella’s Castle that came with miniature princesses and princes to play with. It lights up and plays music and she adores it!
Josh & I weren’t up too late this year and we drifted off to sleep with visions of Cinderella’s castle and breakfast with Mickey on our minds. We could not wait to spring our little surprise on them the very next day!
