The Day Santa Came

So Christmas 2007 has come and gone... I am so sad that it is over but that is because it was fantastic! We were able to do lots of fun things as a family and my mom and dad were able to come and be with us - one of the benefits of being an only child. It was so great to have them with us and be able to just relax at home.

On Christmas morning the girls both slept until almost 8:00 a.m. I, on the other hand woke up about every hour on the hour because I was so excited! We spent the rest of the morning opening presents, eating, playing, and eating some more. It was nice and leisurely and we all had a great time. Brooke and Katelyn both really got into it. Here are a few of my favorite moments:

• Katelyn asked Santa for a pointer (like the one her Kindergarten teacher has - it is a green stick with a pointing hand on the end). She was really worried that the Elves wouldn't be able to make one of those at the North Pole and since she's never seen one in a store around here she was quite nervous. Santa had wrapped the pointer and it was tucked underneath and behind a few other presents so she didn't see it right at first. It was so cute to watch her try not to look disappointed - then she saw it and was beaming the rest of the day. Some of her friends asked for i-pods... I'm glad she is easy to please.

• Brooke was thrilled that we were finally letting her tear something. She loved ripping open the paper, but when she was opening her first present (the one from Santa), she stopped after tearing a big hole in the front of the paper. She could see that underneath the paper there was a cool looking toy with lots of buttons. At that point, she stopped opening the present and just kept hunching down so she could peek underneath the paper flap to see the toy. It was adorable! She seemed to be amazed that not only was she tearing something without being told "No," but also, there was a prize inside.

• The girls both loved their gifts and played happily all morning. I loved it though when I went in to check on them later that day while I was cooking and found them both happily playing but with each other's presents. Despite the four and a half year age gap, they really do enjoy the same things. The are both particularly fond of the easel that Santa brought Katelyn to play school with (using her pointer of course). Katelyn says that Brooke is her student, but I think Brooke would beg to differ.

• Brooke loves to point and say "What's that?" On Christmas day, her version of it was "Ooohhh Dat? Ooohhh Dat? Ooohhh Dat? She was especially interested in finding out more about all of the Christmas decorations. Due to the countless hours I spent putting them out, I was happy to walk around with her and tell her exactly what each thing was. It's nice to have a captive audience sometimes.

• Katelyn got her stuffed animals a present - it was a Build-A-Bear i-Pod that plays two 10 second songs over and over. After unwrapping it for them, she decided that it would help her work out so she spent a good portion of the afternoon running between the family room and the living room to the beat. She would stop and pose on the banister between songs though and have us say "Hey, there goes the girl in the Hello Kitty outfit with a Build-A-Bear i-pod." Every once in a while though she would change it up and have us say, "Boy, it seems like everyone around her has a Build-A-Bear i-pod." If we didn't say it right, she would correct us so that we could "do it right." I wonder who's gene that is? She had us all laughing for a good portion of the day. Here's a photo of the pose and that girl in the Hello Kitty outfit with the Build-A-Bear i-pod.
• With the help of my mom in the kitchen we had fondue for dinner on Christmas Eve and a delicious Prime Rib dinner on Christmas day. Even though she wasn't feeling well we had a great time and she helped me so much - I couldn't have done it without her. The food was amazing, the presents were fantastic, but being together as a family as we celebrated the birth of our Savior was priceless.