Christmas 2012

I woke up at 5am on Christmas morning and couldn't go back to sleep. I felt like I was a little kid, jumping out of my skin because it was Christmas. The kids couldn't get up soon enough!

Oliver and Jo both got up at about 6am. I ran into their room and told them, "Santa came!" Oliver's eyes lit up because we'd been discussing Santa Claus all week. He said, "Santa came and ate the cookies!"

We hurried downstairs. Oliver's eyes grew wide when he spotted the gifts under the tree. He started to walk to them but then stopped. He was more interested to see if Santa ate the cookies he'd set out for him the night before. He ran over to the fireplace and announced, "He ate them!" Oliver was so excited that Santa ate the cookies. Let me tell you, that's the best Christmas gift I've ever received. All I've ever wanted since getting pregnant for the first time was to experience Christmas as Santa. This is the first year I really got to do it!

Oliver wasn't very interested in the stockings at first.

Here he is, helping Jo with her gifts. Every time Oliver started to open play with one of his gifts, he'd change his mind and go back to Jo's. Oh, and isn't this a very attractive picture of me on Christmas morning? Ha! I was actually really into it, though, and definitely not as tired as I looked...

Joanna's favorite gifts were the jingle bells and the box of Kleenex. Here she is in action!

When all of the presents were opened and examined, Andrew made our Christmas breakfast tradition: donuts. We use a recipe from a childhood friend of mine (well, from her mom). All you do is heat oil (enough for frying) to about 350 degrees. Then, you pop open a package of Pillsbury (or generic, of course) biscuit dough. Poke a hole in the center to make it a donut, and then fry it.  After a couple minutes, you flip it over and fry it on the other side. We let them drain on paper towels and then dunk them in cinnamon and sugar. They are so good, but we limit ourselves to once a year ;-)

After breakfast,  Oliver figured out the stockings. He made sure we all opened ours.

As a Christmas treat, I lit some candles and let him blow them out. He really loves blowing out candles. I even sang, "Merry Christmas to you!" so he could blow them out like a birthday cake.

We took his new shovel for a spin!

It was the best Christmas morning I've ever had. I'm already looking forward to next year! After lunch and nap time, we went over to my in-laws'. It was warm and cozy, and Oliver got to brew coffee. For dinner, Paul and Colleen made some lasagnas and pasta. It was delicious.

Oliver got to open gifts, of course. He got a suitcase (with his name on it!) and his very own mixer from Grandma Colleen and Grandpa Paul.

The mixer actually doesn't work, so it's perfect for a kid obsessed with small appliances. It's staying at Grandma Colleen's house, and he's going to look forward to playing with it every time he goes over. 

Joanna got some stuffed animals and some stacking blocks. She was mostly interested in the Play-doh Oliver got from Uncle Scott. Actually, to be more specific, Oliver got a Play-doh ice cream maker. He calls it a blender and has a lot of fun cranking out "ice cream" with it and pretending to eat it.

Aunt Bonnie, Uncle George, and Cliff brought a Christmas cake. Every year, they bring the most beautiful cakes from some bakery up in Arvada. Last year, it was a yule log cake!

Family relaxing and opening gifts on Christmas. Uncle George, Aunt Bonnie, and Cliff gave Oliver his own headlamp, and Jo received some two-piece puzzles!

We had a very merry Christmas. I hope all of my family, friends, and readers got to enjoy their Christmas (or their favorite winter holiday). Happy Holidays to you all!