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.