Christmas 2012

Christmas this year was incredibly fun.  Even though a 24-hour stomach bug had been working its way through the family (Vivienne, myself and then Jason - never Miles or Evelyn, luckily), we really enjoyed the time together and having Jason at home for 10 straight days.  SAS shuts down from Christmas Eve until after New Year's, so we always enjoy this "free" vacation time with him.

On Christmas Eve, Vivienne and I baked some chocolate chip cookies for Santa.  We try to eat relatively healthy around here, but we really didn't want to disappoint the Big Guy, ya know?  Vivienne gladly licked the batter off of the mixer attachment.

Cookie Dough Face

After the kids went to sleep, Jason and I put out the cookies and milk for Santa and pulled out all the toys to arrange under the tree.  Almost everything we had was a Craigslist buy, so we really didn't spend much money on Christmas.  I found something like 17 old metal Tonka trucks for a really good price, so Miles will receive 2-3 of these for every birthday/Christmas until he is about 5 (the remaining ones are currently parked in my parents' attic).  Vivienne's big gift from us was a 3-story pink dollhouse.  Of course, at this point, both kids play with all the toys.

The kids woke up around their usual time - 7 am.  They were delighted to see all the toys from Mommy and Daddy and Santa.  Luckily, this year we still don't have to really even say much about what is from us and what is from Santa.  We haven't talked up Santa a whole lot around here, so the kids don't really think about him much yet.   Miles and Viv thought it was fun Santa had eaten the chocolate chip cookies and milk that we had left out for him.

Nothing says "Christmas" like eating chocolate chip cookies for breakfast.

As the kids played with some of their new toys, I baked a french toast casserole.  It was heavenly.  Miles and I ate it up.  Vivienne was wary of it (she is not the most adventurous eater), and Jason was starting to come down with the stomach bug so he didn't have much appetite.

Evelyn enjoyed the day in her usual, adorable, sweet chubby-cheeked manner.  This was one a few Christmas outfits that she had, but I think it was the only picture that I got of her all day.

The coloring kits from Aunt Mary and Uncle Brian were a huge hit.  Our kids love to color and use stickers, so these entertained them for a while.

We nearly forgot the stockings in all the excitement.

Even though Jason was under the weather for a bit of the morning, it was just a wonderful day together.  My parents were in Florida celebrating with Brian, Mary and Elizabeth, so it was just the four of us.  After all the presents, we played outside with the cozy coupes and tricycles in the sunshine.

After naps, we took a walk to see some Christmas lights.  The kids enjoyed riding on Daddy's shoulders, and we practiced counting as we walked along and swung them up in the air as Evelyn rode along in the Ergo carrier.  It was a wonderful way to cap off my favorite holiday.  This has been such an incredible year and we have so very much to be thankful for.