Christmas

I tell you what. Christmas morning is pretty darn magical with little ladies who are in awe of every. single. detail. We were up around 7, after saying "it's not morning yet!" 3 times. I have to admit, I was just as excited as the ladies. I just LOVE Christmas! At our house the girls aren't allowed to go downstairs to see if Santa has come, till Dad goes down and gives it a once over. Usually he says something along the lines of 'Santa dumped his whole sleigh here!" It makes the girls go crazy with anticipation...and it is something that I grew up with, though my dad would have to light the wood burning stove first and we were all pretty worked up by the time we could go downstairs.

Santa does leave them a little hint that he came by leaving a new pair of slippers for us on the top step with some candy inside.
(The ladies trying on their slippers.)

And then it's stocking time first. Santa goes a little stocking crazy at our house... it's his very favorite part of Christmas. They were stuffed to the brim with some fun things inside, and the girls were just thrilled with every single thing.

I love this picture of Sienna. That lady just smiles with her whole entire face. It's beautiful to me!
They even were thrilled with the things I didn't think they'd care too much for. Adyson saw this headband and scarf and freaked out. Apparently her friend as school has one and she's wanted one for sooo long. (Santa had NO idea...so I guess he really is magical.)
And one of the Elves snuck in a golf glove. Cute, cute, cute.

Then came the main event...time to dig in to the enormous pile of gifts! Adyson saw the big rectangle box and looked at me with huge starry eyes saying "I know this is gonna be my American Girl doll!" (She and Sienna have been begging for one for months, and were really hoping that Santa would deliver.)

And here is my favorite video ever taken. Adyson's face just kills me. Each time she opened a gift she had that same look on her face. It wasn't really a happy face, more sheer awe. She was amazed at everything, it was seriously special. Sienna was the same way, but right after opening each gift, she was ready to move on and see what else was coming! She wanted it all! :)





A few days before Christmas Sienna ran into the kitchen where Skeeter (our elf...remember?) was hiding and said very politely, "Skeeter, I would really like some Twinkle Toes for Christmas. Tell Santa please." And walked out of the room. Then she talked non stop about how Santa was going to bring her Twinkle Toes and she couldn't wait!

Now, my kids didn't get every single thing they asked Santa for....but it seemed like Sienna has pretty much just gone along with what Adyson has wanted all Christmas long, and all of the sudden she was dying for these shoes...so Santa caved and got them each a pair. And I'm sure he is so glad he did, because it made Sienna's morning. Till we realized they didn't fit. But that is a post for a different day. :)

And just when we thought we were all done opening, we realized Santa left a few more gifts by the fireplace. Beds for those treasured dolls, and salon chairs!We then headed back to my moms so she could give them more stuff, spoiled kids! My parents went all out for the kids this year, and it was like Santa came to their house too. They are pretty awesome grand parents. It was great to be there with all the cousins and utter chaos. After breakfast with the fam, we headed to Tree town to Celebrate with the Kidmans. Grandma Lorraine was so excited to give them her gift this year. She made them about a million darling outfits for the AG dolls. The girls were so excited to try them all on, and haven't stopped since Christmas. It was a lot of work for her, and they are sooo cute! We have the best dress dolls on the block!
And then they opened a whole set of pink golf clubs. They are the cutest things. Ever. The ladies were so excited, and T and I can't wait to sign them up for lessons this summer. h
We hung out there for a few hours while the ladies played with their dolls, we did the traditional puzzle, and the Hartfiels came over to visit. It was a great day, but I was honestly dead on my feet by the end of the day. T and I have never been so tired!This week we've let the toys stay in our family room, and the girls have spent every waking moment downstairs with their dolls and new toys. They let us sleep in the other day, and play for 2 hours without even making a peep upstairs, and when I've asked them to clean up their mess, they simply say "ok." and do it. It's been amazing how much we've enjoyed this break and I wish I could keep them this well behaved and grateful all year long!

I will leave you with my favorite picture yet. Sienna came upstairs the other day with a card, and a crayon and asked me how to spell the following. Then she folded it up, tucked it in the envelope, and told me to mail it to Santa. What a sweetie she is!I hope you all had a great Christmas as well! Happy New Year to all!