Christmas

Sara and Aaron were the first ones awake on Christmas morning, at a not so early time of 8:00.  Nate did not want to wake up, and Savannah didn't want to get out of her warm blanket.  We went in to wake up Owen, and he wasn't too fond of getting woken up.

But a mention of Santa and presents perked him right up.

The kids posed for our tradition picture on the stairs.

Then hurried down to see what treasures were waiting for them.

Aaron got Beyblades and a Razor coaster trike.

Nate also got a coaster trike and some Star Wars figurines.

Josh got a Ripstick.

Sara got an American Girl doll.

Owen got a boy doll and a vacuum and broom.

Savannah got an alarm clock/speaker dock for her ipod, a Disney dance game for Kinect, and a blow dryer for her bathroom. I didn't get any pictures of her with her presents, but I did get these gorgeous close-ups with my new camera.

I got a Shark steam mop and Scott got a new TV for upstairs (on the new shelf). And we all got lots of candy.

And on top of what Santa brought, the kids also got presents from us.

And then they all ran outside to try out their new toys.

Later in the afternoon we headed over to Grandma Jo's for Christmas dinner, playing with cousins, and more presents. The kids are overly excited that Grandma decided to repeat her present from last year--a family season pass to Roaring Springs. I have a feeling I'll be spending quite a few peaceful Saturdays with this new little baby while Dad splashes it up with the kids at the water park.

It was a great Christmas.  Every year we get at least one of the kids to declare, "Best Christmas Ever!", so we must be doing something right.  

Aaron's Tooth

Scott and I woke up Christmas morning to Sara and Aaron yelling down the stairs at 8:00.  It took me a minute to wake up enough to register what they were saying.  Aaron had lost a tooth in the night.  He woke up to find his wiggly tooth no longer in his mouth.  He couldn't find the tooth, and was very worried that he may have swallowed it in his sleep.  I went upstairs to see.  As we were sitting around trying to get everyone else to wake up, Aaron was feeling around in his bed and found the tooth.  He was so relieved that he hadn't swallowed it. Have I mentioned the funny pattern he's losing his teeth in? First it was a bottom side tooth, then a top tooth, now another bottom side tooth. All of my other kids lost their bottom middle teeth first, and those aren't even loose on Aaron. His next one to go is going to be his other top tooth. Crazy kid.

Christmas Eve

This year we hosted Scott's family's Christmas Eve dinner.  Marc, Kenna, and Avery were in Utah this Christmas.  But with our 8, Jamie's 7, and Mike and Jo, we still had a houseful. The cousins loved getting to spend time together.

After filling up on all sorts of goodies, everyone went home to get ready for Santa. Here at our house, we have the tradition of all the kids sleeping together in the bonus room. Scott drags all the mattresses off the kids' beds and piles them on the floor in the bonus room--it's quite a sight. Owen was the only one who didn't sleep in there (he's still in his crib).

The kids were pretty excited for Santa to come, so they had a hard time winding down.  We watched a few Christmas cartoons with the kids before they all finally fell asleep around 11:30.

 

Mr. Independant

Owen is a really stubborn little thing.  He insists on doing everything the big kids do.  Here he is feeding himself (which he has insisted on doing for quite some time now).  He goes to the fridge and yells till you come get him what he wants (usually yogurt or cereal). Then he has to get his own spoon and finds the chair he wants. As soon as he starts to make a mess, he yells for a wet wipe, because he hates being messy. It's a good thing he's so cute.

Ready for Church

I love the Sunday before Christmas.  Our ward always does a special all music Sacrament Meeting, and it's just a nice reminder of what we really are celebrating at Christmas.  This year I was in charge of lining up all the songs for our Sacrament Meeting, so it was a little stressful, but I think it turned out really nice.  Here are the kids dressed up ready to go to church on "Christmas Eve Eve" (as Savannah called it).

Nate as Joseph

This year for Nate's preschool Christmas program, he got to play Joseph.  He was such a cute little Joseph and delivered his line perfectly ("I will call him Jesus").  I can't believe how grown up he's getting.

14th Anniversary

Scott and I celebrated our 14th anniversary on December 19th.  It was a school night, so we kept our date short, but it was a great one.  Scott scheduled a couple's massage at a day spa here in Eagle.  Then, we went to dinner at a quiet little restaurant here in town.  While we were at dinner, he gave me my present.  I always try to put him on a really strict budget for our anniversary, because it's so close to Christmas.  And he always totally ignores me and gets me a really great present.  This year was no different.  He got me a new camera--a really, really nice camera.  I love it, and I don't even care that he spent a lot of money on it, because it's totally worth it.