Christmas morning magic

This was the first year Matt and I as parents could really play up Santa Claus, and I have to say it really puts a lot of magic in Christmas when your kiddo can't hardly go to sleep because he is so excited. We put out cookies for Santa and carrots for the reindeer, and Tyler reminded us all night long, "Santa does not come while you are awake". Sage advice that he found tough to follow when it was actually time to hit the sack. Christmas morning was kind of crazy. I tried to keep with my family's tradition of sorting out the presents and then opening them one at a time in age order. It wasn't until we had gone back and forth two or three times between Tyler and Corrinne that Matt brought it to my attention that we were not really sticking to the plan since neither of US had opened a single present yet. I guess I was just too excited seeing my kids have fun. Once Matt and I attempted to jump in to the present unwrapping, the kids lost interest in what we were doing and the unwrapping quickly became a little chaotic. Can't expect two kids under four to really be patient enough to take turns that many times, right? My favorite present for Corrinne was this little rocking chair, which she quickly learned how to turn around backwards in, rock it really hard, and fall flat on her back. She only did that once. She also enjoyed her little cabbage patch from great Grandma Campbell. She gave it "loves" (hugs). Tyler loved all of his presents. Mean parents that we are, Matt and I did not bring out Tyler's Santa present until he had unwrapped everything else. He had asked at least two shopping mall Santas for a rescue helicopter. Once he had all of presents opened, we asked him if he had gotten everything he wanted for Christmas. He tried to say yes, and then said, "Well, I asked Santa for a rescue helicopter. He must not have heard me." After a response like that it would have just been cruel to tease him any longer. The reaction we got when we brought out that one last present hidden behind the tree with Tyler's name on it was priceless.

The other fun thing we did was tie a string to the tree that led both Tyler and Corrinne downstairs to a toy playhouse from their Grandma Nelson. Both Ty and Corrinne were very excited about this new addition to their playroom. All in all, there were lots of smiles from both parents and kids this Christmas. We feel very blessed.

Family is Fun

May I just say, I have the best in-laws a girl could ask for, especially when it comes to how great they are with my kiddos. Matt's parents came in to town for one day on their way up to visit the Omaha extension of our family. They packed more fun in to that one day with my kids than I am able to do in a week. Tyler was in attention heaven. Grandma and Grandpa listened to all of his jokes, watched all of his tricks, read him books, played with cars...what more could a little boy ask for? Ty, Matt, and the grandparents took a little trip to Independence to see the visitor's center, while sick little Rinne and I stayed home. Now those are good grandparents. Wish we lived closer and could see them more often.

Christmas Firsts

It's amazing to me how fast the month of December is going. This one is full of firsts for this family. We decided to buy a REAL tree this year...They are cheaper than the fake ones, but after having it up for a couple of days I can't wait to buy a fake one at the after Christmas sales for next year. The day we brought it home was very exciting. Tyler wanted to have colorful lights on the tree. He practiced wrapping the lights around Daddy first.

We pulled out all the ornaments which Tyler loved putting on the tree, while Corrinne took them off again. Once we got them all on Corrinne pulled the whole tree on top of herself leaving her a little stunned and all the ornaments on the floor. Yeah!

This was Daddy trying to secure the tree a little better, with a little help from the kids.

Corrinne was also quite fascinated with the little nativity set. She loved setting them up in little rows.

Another first was Tyler's first school Christmas program. (He's in the middle). Oh, he looks all sweet and innocent there, doesn't he? That was the beginning of the program. Too bad I don't have any pictures of the end of the program where my son and the cute little kid next to him were having a friendly little shoving match. That was a tense moment for me as a parent, wondering what exactly do you do when your kid is sharing shoves with another kid in the center of the stage in a chapel during the Christmas program? The other picture I don't have was the lovely little stare down Tyler gave the little boy after they were done with the pushing. The singing was adorable, though.

Finally, Corrinne and Ty got to play outside in the snow today. This was Corrinne's first time getting to play in the snow. It took 10 minutes to get her dressed in all that pink fluff, but the picture of her was worth it. She looked like a little pink marshmallow. Tyler loved the snow, and probably would have played in it all day if he didn't have to stop to eat. Kids are fun.