Christmas Day

Anabella was the first one up Christmas morning, even though it's safe to say she was definitely the one with the least sleep (Mommy was a close second as she wasn't about to let her sweet, sick little girl sleep alone on Christmas Eve).  With her cough, I'm not sure how she slept at all. But, bless her heart, she woke up happy as usual.

Since I'd already told the family we wouldn't be at Granny's until noon at the earliest, we took our time opening gifts and then had a nice breakfast of baked french toast (which I'd prepared the night before) and bacon (also prepared the day before).

While the kids opened their gifts first, Chip and I even managed enough time to open our own gifts this year....on Christmas morning, at that.  In years past, we've waited until we've returned home Christmas evening (or one year even days later as we traveled to the Credles Christmas day).

Turns out, our leisurely morning made for a pretty rushed rest of day, so it wasn't all win win, but it was a nice way to start the day, nonetheless.

They were both excited about their stockings.

Anabella, the sweet girl that she is, was concerned about helping Solomon find his stocking.  After finding it, she wanted to be sure he got his busy bone before she started in on her own presents.  Meanwhile, Daniel, too, was concerned about something else first- not the dogs- but his milk!  What kid requests milk before opening presents on Christmas morning? Only Dan Credle. :) 

Anabella opening the one gift she requested- A Stuffie

While I thought the Stuffie was a little cheesy myself, and kept hoping she'd forget about wanting it, Anabella saw it on a commercial (marketers on Disney Jr. & Sprout know their audience) and really wanted it.  Last year, she did the same thing with the Dream Lite, and I have to say, she sleeps with her Dream Lite every night.  And, like the Dream Lite, I am pleased with the quality of this item, despite my initial skepticism. It's a good size pillow, very soft, and sure enough, has plenty of space to "stuff" stuff! And, like the Dream Lite, so far, she loves it. Even took it for show and share on her first day back to school. Sure enough, it's one of her favorite gifts.  

Dan opening his transformer "robot," the one gift he requested.
Remember the robot he asked for from Santa? For a boy who loves to take things apart and put them back together, this is perfect for him.  The funny thing about this (there's always something funny when it comes to preschoolers, right?)- a few days later, we went to Wendy's and Anabella got a toy robot in her kid's meal. Dan seems to like this "free" toy robot about as much as he does the one he got for Christmas. It really is a cool robot. Has arms and legs that come off just like the Transformer one.  I. Am. A. Robot.  I. Am. A. Robot. I. Am. A. Robot.

I shop for Christmas year round, so besides the Stuffie and Tranformer robot that the kids requested, the majority of their Santa gifts were purchased well before Christmas.  
Fortunately, their interests haven't changed much, and they were happy with all their little surprises. 

This Doc McStuffins doctor kit was a huge hit (for our little resident Doc Belle).  What she really liked: the case is PINK! 

Dan was super excited about his new Iron Man dress up set. 

Dan and Daddy love to build with Lincoln Logs. Now they have a bigger set.

Anabella couldn't wait to try on her new dress-up, too.   

She'd been waiting for days to give us the gift she made at school.
Hurray it's Christmas morning! Can you open it now, Mommy, please? 

Dan was so excited for us to see what was inside the present he prepared at school, he got so caught up that he almost opened it himself. 

My favorite presents!

Before we knew it, as we were preparing breakfast, they'd "stuffed" the Stuffies and were off for an adventure....

After breakfast:

Hanging the homemade cinnamon ornaments they made Daddy.

I made this year's calendar on the computer for the first time.  While it cost more (I could buy those cheap ones for a buck at Michaels), it looks much nicer. And, it was so much easier than glueing on all those pictures (8 calendars times 12 months times some months with 2 pictures- can you believe it took me 3 years to go digital?) If I make a calendar next year (every year I  do a calendar I say it's my last), on the computer is the way to go.  

Anabella was all about helping Daddy open his gifts and enjoyed pointing out what they were doing in all the pictures on the calendar. 

She enjoyed helping Mommy open her gifts as well. Chip got me a new Bluetooth, which I need since I lost my old one. Those little things are so small- I must have lost it a hundred times before I really lost it lost it.  Seriously. I have gum wrappers in the bottom of my purse bigger than those things.  I also got a new Jodi Picoult book. And, my most favorite gift of all....see below:

We hired a photographer and did a family photo shoot in November.
Here's what I put together in a frame for Chip to take to school.

Great minds think alike.
Inside this box is something similar for me....only on a larger scale.
I took a picture of this box for two reasons.
One- I love that Chip wrapped it (with help from the kids).
Two- I especially love this piece of notebook paper (strategically placed to hide a hole which occurred after wrapping).   

This says, "to Mommy"

Dan Credle took a break from his playing to help Mommy open her gift.
Love that bed head!

TaDa!
Love it! 

If I manage to finish the Christmas posts before Anabella and Daniel's 4th birthday in February, I hope to post the pictures from the family photo shoot back in November.

In the picture above, do you see the slinky Dan is holding? That was his second favorite gift from the morning (second to the Transformer robot which was replaced by something else once we got to Granny's and then something else once we got to Maw & Dee's- kids have lots of favorites on Christmas, don't they?)

Back to the slinky.  Oh, what was Santa thinking not putting slinkys in both Daniel and Anabella's stockings? What, oh what, was he thinking? 

This Slinky (a stocking stuffer from Target's dollar bin) caused so much fuss Christmas morning, you'd have thought it was made of chocolate, trimmed in gold.  The poor thing didn't even make it past Christmas day as it got tangled and we had to throw it out; but boy, oh boy, was it ever "hot" that morning.  

Note for next year:  same items in stocking. SAME. STUFF. IN. STOCKING.  SAME.  (except maybe different colors). What was that Santa thinking?

Whew.

Following the Slinky debacle, we managed to dress and hit the road for our first stop:  to Granny's house we go.

Awww, man, was he ever excited to get this Bat Cave, which he had shown Granny in both a sales catalogue and then again at Target.  Granny gave the kids toy books early in the season and had them go through and circle what they wanted. This is what he circled and what he picked when we were browsing the toy aisles in Target a few weeks later.     

He really does like this.  Unlike the Slinky, which is crying its way down the trash compacter, good riddance Slinky, Dan has played with this Bat Cave every day since he's gotten it. 

Granny also got him a Batmobile to go with it- he loves that, too.
Mom got him an Imaginext ship that goes along with this, too- another something he picked that day at Target. Dan Credle knows what he likes, I tell ya! 

I was very excited about Anabella's gift as Granny and I had found it in Lancaster this summer.  Nothing like shopping for Christmas in the summer. The holiday season comes so quickly, I don't know how anybody with kids manages to shop and decorate and enjoy the season if they don't shop early. It was Granny's idea to get this. She was pretty insistent on it, in fact. I suggested we wait until our December trip, but she was worried it'd be gone. Good thing she did get it because we didn't end up taking our annual December shopping trip to Lancaster this year.  

Since I knew she was getting this bed, I made sure she brought along her favorite doll, Allie, who happened to be sporting the new outfit she got for Christmas. 

After covering Allie, she decided to put her Stuffie on the bottom bunk.

Granny liked the ornaments we made her. 

She liked her calendar, too.

While our time at Granny's was too short, and we missed seeing much of the family because we got there so late, that's what happens when you enjoy a leisurely morning on Christmas Day.

No Slinky incidents to report, though, so while our visit was too short, and Dan was distraught to have to stop playing with his Batcave (he settled on stuffing Batman and Robin into "Chomp" the turtle, his Stuffie, and was happy to hold them on his lap), we were on to our next stop:  to Maw & Dee's we go!

Allie could hardly wait to give her nephew and niece their presents.

Do I look excited about their sleeping bags, or what?
Actually, it was Daniel crawling into his that I was laughing about, I think.

In addition to the sleeping bags (Daniel's was Spiderman and Anabella's was Disney princess- pink, of course), Daniel got a cool talking Spiderman mask, which he loves. Anabella got this cool Dora microphone, which she loves.  She stands on the recliner (her stage) and sings away. "Dora, Dora, Dora, the Explorer!" 

Hayden playing with his new tablet.

He liked the Ninja turtle skateboard we got him. 

We got Ryan an UnderArmour hoodie (he's gotten to the age where he's really into name brand clothes) and we got the boys a joint gift- a basketball set that hangs over the door and keeps score electronically.

Mom and Dad got the boys electronic scooters, in addition to some small gifts they had registered for at Toys R Us- Hayden was tickled to open these Kit Kats that he had on his registry. 

Allie took pictures of Daniel and Anabellla opening their gifts from  Maw and Dee, but she still hasn't sent them to me (ahem, Allie, if you are reading, I need pictures, please), so I'll post what I have- here they are opening their "big" gifts- new bikes! 

Spiderman, Dan's favorite!
He also got a new Spiderman helmet, as he's just about outgrown his old one.

He really liked these Batman night goggles. 

The princess got a pink princess bike with a matching princess helmet.

She also got a princess doll who has hair to comb and style. On the trip to Target we took with Maw and Granny in Early November, Daniel had an easier time finding things he liked than Anabella did. The one thing Anabella did pick was a pink (imagine that) salon chair that looked just like a real salon chair and came with some styling tools. Of course, she had to have a doll to go with it. Turns out, it fits nicely into her bike basket, too. Now don't go riding to Kansas now, Dorothy! 

She also told Maw she wanted some "nail stuff." 

Love Anabella's expression here, almost like she's thinking: can you believe Aunt Allie is letting me do this ON Christmas?!

Oh, Aunt Allie, don't your nails look beautiful. 

Allie and I gave Mom and Dad a certificate to the Homestead for an overnight stay.  Allie's idea. It was a good one- they liked it. :) 

That's all the pictures I have from this portion of our day, as Allie & Eric were taking pictures too, so I was hoping to use some of theirs. But, if I waited any longer to post Christmas, it'd be next year. Oh, it is next year.

Stay tuned for the rest of the December posts coming soon!