Christmas Day--and more

We had a very Merry--and messy--Christmas this year. Knowing the inquisitive nature of our two-year-old, we waited until all the children had gone to bed on Christmas Eve before putting any gifts under the tree. It was a good thing.

Once the unwrapping began, Gunnar really went for it. It was all we could do to keep him from opening every package. I don't think he thought all the presents were his; I think he just had fun tearing off the wrapping paper. So, whereas I enjoy opening the gifts one-by-one and taking a moment to admire them before moving onto the next, we seemed to just open in quick succession as we snatched a gift from Gunnar's hands and gave it to the true recipient, or as we held him back and urged someone to quickly unwrap so Gunnar could have the next one.

I think I'm making it sound worse than it actually was. Truly, we had a fun time and enjoyed the bounty. We really are blessed to be able to provide such a nice Christmas for our kids and to have such generous family members on top of that.

Here's Gunnar grinning with the Christmas mess behind and around him:

Santa Claus brought the family a wannabe air hockey game. I say "wannabe" because there's no air involved. The whole thing goes on the floor and uses elastic bands for bouncing the puck around. It's loads of fun.

The one thing that Adah and Maggie both consistently asked for this Christmas was an American Girl doll. Those babies cost $100, so I found more affordable substitutes at Target (love that store) that were just as happily received by the girls. Here they are (in new slippers and Maggie in a new Tinkerbell nightgown) with their dolls, Eva and Mary:

We received lots of books this Christmas and a couple of movies that we enjoyed reading and watching in between playing with all the new toys. Damon and I also got some much-needed naptime after staying up way too late wrapping presents on Christmas Eve.

Our Christmas was extended a bit by a package arriving after the official day. If you thought Christmas morning sounded hectic, you should have seen this. The package came in the house just a few moments before some guests--old college friend & spouse--came for a quick visit. The kids couldn't wait and they tore into the presents while we tried in vain to referee. In the melee, Gunnar removed several of the labels and we weren't even sure which gifts were for whom. Nevertheless, we've enjoyed all the fun puzzles and science experiments from Grandma and Grandpa.

Maggie loves her new fairy dress-up:

This remote control flying saucer is the family favorite--even though it's gotten tangled in the girls' hair at least twice. Grandpa always sends great gadgets!