For Christmas we stayed home. My mom and step dad always go to Colorado for Christmas. Both sets of my grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and even my Dad live there. So it's definitely fun to be there for the holidays, but with two small children it is much easier to stay home. We had a Christmas get together with my mom the week before Christmas and exchanged gifts with our draw name person, we ordered pizza, watched some Christmas shows, and ate Christmas goodies. It was a good time and we had some good laughs. The Starits' family drew my little brother Jeffrey. We gave him a Perry the Platypus t-shirt and an i-tunes gift card. He loved the shirt. He happened to draw our family too. He gave Noah a tin of popcorn decorated with the movie Car's. Noah was soo excited. It also came with a little puzzle that turned into a little track for a wind up Lightning McQueen car. He could not stop playing with it the rest of the night. He wouldn't even stop long enough to open other presents! Which is pretty much how his Christmas was. He loved every Cars related toy he got and just wanted to play with them and not finish the rest of his presents. Tom and I received movie tickets and we are excited to use them.
This is what Makenna looked like that night:
I take the kid's to our town's Library Storytime at least once a week. Before Christmas they planned to have Santa come, crafts, and cookies. It was fun. Noah would not sit on his lap with Makenna...but then warmed up enough to go on his own. He was still pretty weary of him the whole time. Have to love the nice Buckeye Library's Santa! ha ha
We hosted Christmas Eve dinner at our house for Tom's family. It was a fun time! We ate lunch, exchanged many awesome gifts, and ate some more Christmas goodies. It was a very nice visit.
We usually open a gift Christmas Eve, but Noah was having so much fun with his gifts from Tommy's family we decided it wasn't necessary! I would like to set up opening a traditional gift on Christmas Eve, but have not decided quite yet what I want that to be. Noah and I set out cookies and milk for Santa and then went to bed. I was hoping Noah would be more excited for Santa this year that he was a bit older, but I don't think he still really grasped the concept. lol Hopefully next year. In fact on Christmas morning when he woke up to see all the new presents under the tree and the cookies and milk gone....he was completely unbelieving. He is two years old and was not fooled. We are in trouble. This is how his Christmas morning conversation went down with Daddy.
Daddy: "Noah! Look, look under the tree, Santa brought you presents!"
Noah: "Nooo, that was mommy."
Daddy: "No, no it wasn't it was Santa!"
Noah: "Noo, it was mommy, daddy.
Daddy: "No it was Santa. Look he drank the milk you left and ate the cookies!"
Noah: "No, mommy ate them."
LOL! He was SOUND asleep when Santa put the presents under the tree, so I am not sure what to think about it. He is too young to not believe! We really reiterated all day that certain gifts were from Santa and I think he finally started to believe us. I am telling you, this kid is way to smart for his age!
Christmas was on a Sunday so we attended church for a wonderful one hour program of the choir putting on a beautiful Christmas program with beautiful music. It was very nice...even the part where I had to take Noah out in the hall because he was being loud and not listening to his mommy. ha ha You have to love two year olds!
Here is the only picture I could snag of Noah that morning. He was just too excited with his new toys!
It was a wonderful Christmas. Money was extra tight this Christmas so Tommy and I opted to not get each other gifts and just the kids. However, we received awesome gifts from his parents and grandparents, and my Dad! Then, my mom surprised us with many awesome gifts to put under the tree and even ones from Santa so that Tom and I could have a "Christmas morning" as well. Which is why you should never tell your mom you are struggling around Christmas! They can't help, but step in and make it better, even when you are grown up and married! :) It was a wonderful surprise and helped make our Christmas more special.
Also, my mom's mom, "Grandma Morgan" has always given us a handmade Christmas gift every year from when we were a new born baby and still today. Never a store bought gift from her, just one homemade gift, and I have always loved it. She never went out and spent tons of money, but instead gave a gift made with her hands and crafted with love. I have received things from homemade play-dough, quillows, pot holder car emergency kits, embroidered pillow cases, Christmas ornaments, flannel board stories, and the list goes on. I am 26 years old and have received a special homemade gift every year. And this is no simple feat. My grandma has 25 grandkids, 2 great grandkids, 12 kids including spouses, and then 2 grandkid in laws, and she makes EVERY one a homemade gift. What a special lady. Even now that she has lupus, recovering from breast cancer, and getting older she still does this. I would take her homemade gifts over tons of expensive gifts anytime. This year she made me a binder full of "Grandma's Favorite Recipes" I LOVED it!!! I will cherish that and her many other gifts forever and I am happy to have them to always remember her by. Needless to say we had an amazing Christmas 2011.
Family Christmas Picture
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