Christmas Day

What a blast, but it went way too fast. Eli woke up around 6, but Lehr got him back to sleep until about 8AM. We went down and turned the tree on and then let the kids come down to see what Santa had left. Their three gifts were in a corner (unwrapped with only bows) next to the fireplace: each got a kid's umbrella, a book and a board game. Maddux was ecstatic about the umbrella, of course. Actually both kids really enjoyed that; they'd been asking for one for quite some time. Eli went to see if Santa had eaten the marshmallow, and he saw the Coke and the note. When we went to start the fire, he saw the glitter..... Eli was totally into the awesomeness of Santa this year and I love it. (Speaking of which, I asked him this morning if he remembered me in his room last night: negative.)

We opened a few gifts and Jesus stocking notes and then had a delish breakfast of Dutch Babies. A few more gifts and then I ushered the kids upstairs to get dressed. Matching reindeer shirts (by choice) and they were ready to come back down. I told them to wait for a minute because Daddy and I wanted to give them our gift now, but it wasn't wrapped. When Lehr gave the all clear, we came down and the kids saw their razor scooters. Eli was soooo excited. Maddux was, but she seemed confused. "I didn't ask for a scooter though" was one of her responses. However, as soon as we got outside and she rode it, she turned around, looked me in the eye and said, "Thank you, Mommy, for getting me a scooter." That is my awesome, grateful girl. I do love her heart!! Eli couldn't get the smile off of his face; he LOVED the scooter, of course. He kept riding over bits of carrot left over by the reindeer...the magic continues....

More gifts, more Jesus stocking. Eventually we opened our stockings, which held a few small gifts the elves had slipped into Santa's pockets. The best part for me was Eli's gifts to people. He got Lehr a drum key and he helped Daddy wrap some PJ's for me. He was so excited to give those gifts.

Dinner was homemade spaghetti sauce and meatballs, and we had a birthday cake for Jesus, which Maddux helped me make. The hits of the day were the scooter for Eli, TWO chests of dress-up clothes for Maddux, courtesy of both Grandmothers, and legos for Eli. Those kids are certainly surrounded by people who love them!