The big day was finally here! We'd threatened the kids the night before that Santa would pass over your house if you woke up too early, since it might still be night time. Liam woke up around 5:50am, which is sleeping in pretty late for that early bird! As soon as Jake heard him, he was up too and they waited impatiently to head downstairs (mama needed coffee and a camera set up, of course)
We were finally able to unleash the beasts...off to the stockings!!
Then it was into the living room to see if Santa left any goodies there...they were in luck!! Liam's only request to Santa this year was a "mickey mouse toy"....not very specific, but Santa was able to secure an awesome Mickey Mouse Clubhouse that he seems very happy with :) Jake wanted a Switch and Go Dinosaur and Legos....wishes granted!!
while he didn't ask for them, Jake needed a new pair of skis. My thrifty ways have rubbed off on Brian and he found a pair on super duper sale at the end of last season to stow away until Christmas this year. Now Jake is set with ski supplies for awhile, and Liam will inherit his old set.
I took the kids to the dollar store a few days before Christmas and let them pick out gifts for everyone we were going to see that day. I gave no real direction, and I have to say, they did a pretty good job with the selections. Daddy got a lint brush, Aunt Amy got some decorative rocks, GG got some hand soap, PopPop got a paint roller, Pappy got a car washing sponge, Nana got a cookie tin, Liam got Jake a coloring book, and Jake got Liam a painting set. Jake really wanted to pick something out for me, so I told him to look for something while we were shopping, then when we were done with everyone else, we could go back to that part of the store, I would turn my back and then give him money to buy it. When we got up to the register and he put it up on the counter, everyone around us started laughing so I figured it would be good :) This is what I opened up on Christmas day:
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| 2 ply. This kid doesn't mess around when it comes to quality. |
Yep, that's a 4 pack of toilet paper. He told Brian that he bought me "stuff to clean with" and Brian had to let him down gently that it was toilet paper. Jake was ok with that, as I would still be able to use it. Love that kid....sweet AND practical!!
Another highlight of the day for me was giving Brian his surprise gift. We went to a steelers game in November and said that was our gift to each other this year, so we weren't exchanging much except for stockings. BUT, then I found out that a Ron Burgundy Scotchy-Scotch-Scotch was coming out. For those of you who know my husband, you're probably aware of the fact that Anchorman is his favorite movie. He uses quotes from the movie in everyday life whenever it's applicable. He owns an Anchorman tshirt that says "I'm kind of a big deal". So I knew this Scotch HAD to be his present. I went on a secret mission...long story short, after a lot of research, I discovered it was only being sold in select states, one of which NJ. Nana and PopPop live very close to Jersey and were kind enough to fetch some for me!! (later I needed more and an awesome friend secured a bottle from NY for me...these are the things that make Christmas magical!)
GG and Pappy joined us later in the morning...a huge thank you to GG, Pappy, Nana, PopPop, Aunt Amy and Uncle Ben for all of the generous gifts, playing with the boys, and helping out with everything Christmas Day. It would not be the same at all for us if we didn't have you guys there with us each year!
I interrupt the pictures of my adorable kids to show off some pictures of the cute dogs that were celebrating Christmas as well. They were super happy to be in these festive outfits!!!
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| Scooby says he didn't sign up for this when he agreed to spend Christmas at our house. |
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| "This whole Santa-Paws joke is getting really old" |
Ok, back to cute pictures of the human children!
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| I have no idea why he looks so concerned here; he loved Christmas, I swear he did. |
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Christmas Sangria....YUM. |
Sometime in the afternoon, I forced myself to change out of my pajamas and Brian rocked his ugly Christmas sweater. we're so festive I can hardly stand it!!
I didn't get a great shot of the table this year, but I can assure you can the food was delicious (if I do say so myself!) so that's really all that matters. That, and even more importantly, the fact that we were surrounded by our family to enjoy that delicious food.
We hope that everyone had a very merry Christmas!!!
