Thursday, December 25, 2008

Merry Christmas 

I didn't take too many pictures from Christmas morning. Whenever I try to, I end up frustrated trying to get the girls to look at the camera when their attentions are so obviously occupied elsewhere. I don't want to miss out on the joy of them opening presents by viewing the day through a camera lens, so I snapped a few photos at the beginning and then set the camera aside. It's more fun for us all that way.

Christmas eve pictures were plentiful, however. After a drive around a few neighborhoods to see the holiday lights and decorations, we took part in our annual family traditions of making reindeer food (which consists of Chex mix, marshmallows, baby carrots, and glitter -- the reindeer must love it, because they eat it every year), reading Rudolph and The Night Before Christmas, and leaving out cookies and milk for Santa (who got a big plate this year because we still have plenty of leftover treats from Sunday's party).


Under the glow of the Christmas tree
Originally uploaded by MCuthbert
Emily was pretty good about going to bed -- she'd skipped a nap and had been nodding off in the car while we looked at lights -- but Kendall wanted to stall. She took one last chance to lay down underneath the tree and gaze up at the lights before we drug her off to bed.

The morning was plenty of fun. Emily was more excited than anyone else, of course, but Kendall showed plenty of enthusiasm for opening presents this year.

It's hard to say which gifts generated the most attention from the girls -- they were into everything. However, I am proud that Kendall loves her Brobee doll from Yo Gabba Gabba so much -- she dances around whenever he sings his "Party in My Tummy" song. That toy was the first gift I bought this year, way back in early October. Both girls also spent a lot of time today playing with the Mr. Potato Head parts we got them from Disney World. They can dress up their potatoes like Tinkerbell, Mary Poppins, Donald Duck, or even Malificent.

In the evening we headed over to Misty's mom's house where we took part in the third and final round of gift opening. By the end of the day, we were all exhausted, but it was indeed a merry Christmas.