Christmas 2010

This year we spent Christmas at home by ourselves. It was the first time in our married life that we haven't been with my parents either in California or at our house for Christmas morning. I have to admit, I teared up a bit thinking about it and seeing all the packed cars full of families traveling to their Christmas destinations. We made the most of it and had a great time with just our small family. We started off the festivities by making sugar cookies for Santa. The kids had a great time using the cookie cutters and rolling them out and later frosting them. I made my families tradition of cheesy potato soup and bread sticks for dinner and was proud that it almost tasted as good as my moms! After dinner, we let the kids open their Christmas Eve presents...their jammies! Taylor was so excited to see a new nightgown and Boston thought it was awesome that he and Maddox had the same ones!After they were all dressed, I had to have a little photo shoot of them all decked out. Taking pictures with kids is hard enough, but taking pictures with 3 kids with one being a baby can be almost impossible. But we got some cute ones and I especially love the one of Maddox totally cheesing it while the other 2 have blank stares!
Christmas Eve came to a close and of course, Taylor was the last to fall asleep and the first one awake! Poor Boston woke up running a fever and was a little less than thrilled his sister was waking him up, but after the medicine kicked in, he was as good as new! Taylor was so excited that Santa granted her wish and brought her a guitar. I'm not sure where the idea for a guitar came from but she wanted one desperately. She also got a little karaoke machine, new puzzles, some books, and a new art kit. She spent all of Christmas in her room with the door closed, singing to her new Kidz Bop CD at the top of her lungs! She tells us she wants to be a rock star when she grows up....or an artist!
Boston also got his wish from Santa, a new bike, although I failed to take a single picture of him with it. He also got a toy motorcycle, monster truck, semi-truck with a trailer full of monster trucks, and a robot claw, which he loves. The kids combined present was a train table that they all seem to enjoy although Boston likes destroying it more than the calm play his sister prefers.
Maddox slept through the first half of present opening and when he finally woke up, his brother was more than happy to help him open his gifts. He was happy with his new elephant toy and squeaky blocks, but probably would have been happy with just the paper to crinkle!
We spent the afternoon playing with toys, putting together puzzles, and taking a nice long nap! For dinner, we had a yummy honey baked ham, scalloped potatoes and green beans. It was a wonderful day with no outside distractions and time to just enjoy each other's company. I'm grateful for the spirit this holiday brings and for the chance to reflect on our Savior's birth and truly enjoy the true meaning of Christmas.