The Christmas Shenanigans - Christmas Day Edition

Christmas morning came & with church meetings starting at 10:30, Mom & Dad started getting ready early before the kids woke up (I say this to explain why I'm sporting a done-'do with pajamas in the pictures).

Dad readied the troops with a diaper change & potty break while Mom manned the camera downstairs:



The video jumps at the end to after we've finished with the tree presents - I wanted my parents to see Caleb's reaction to their sand table, since we couldn't wrap it. I think it was still a success. : )

Shots of the morning:

Santa's toy for Elise was a big hit:

Water bottles for me & a squinty camera face from Elise:

A watch for Josh (and the cruise) - it can dive, has settings for races, & looks great on this Tough Mudder:

Watching Elise open a present is boring when you can be driving TRAINS!

Sunglasses for commuting & the cruise - double duty present:

For my runner - a knee brace for his patella tendon:

An Excavator!  Caleb loves this (and Elise likes the jingle ball rubble that came with it). Thanks G&G Hedges!

Pretty baby:

An activity ball for Elise, it plays music & rolls itself - such fun! (and it has an on-off switch, whew!):

Elise raked in the cute clothes & some fun accessories too - I just LOVE this hat.

A Mom-made gift for Dad:

It's a back rub shirt! Put it on & have your kids drive cars all through Hedge-ville complete with an HEB, fire station, park, hospital & more!

Christmas cereal!  When I was a kid, our parents would take us to the store & let us pick out a box of whatever cereal we wanted for Christmas morning. We felt like we were getting a treat & mom didn't have to stress about cooking.  The tradition continues & Caleb chose chocolate Captain Crunch (what a shocker for this chocoholic):

The path of destruction:

After that it was time for church. We dressed the kids up & raced to be on time.  The Christmas Program was super sweet though both the kids were a little nuts for the whole thing.  While the Primary children sang their song, I talked to Caleb about being a Primary kid next week & how he'd get to learn wonderful songs like that.

Caleb seemed mystified & walked out of our pew to the aisle (I assumed to get a good look at the kids). When the song ended, & it was dead silent in the chapel, Caleb pointed up to the stand and *yelled* "Are you OK?!"  It seemed like every face on our side of the chapel turned to stare & giggle at Caleb.  I tried to motion for Caleb to come back to me, but he was really concerned, "Well, are they ok?" More snickers from the crowd.  It was funny & didn't seem to upset anyone, but I wonder what about that had Caleb so concerned?

Back home & back to more fun!  When Josh set up the table Christmas Eve, I threw in some buried treasure for Caleb to find - some red stones, beads, & shells.  Finding them with his tools & diggers has been great fun.

When the little hands turned to popsicles It was time to set up another present - the Thomas fort from G&G Hedges:

It may be huge, but it folds down small & is a hoot for all of us:

(Elise sporting a new Christmas outfit)

Everyone's in the Thomas fort together!

But what about mom?  There I go:

Wow, what a recap!  Christmas was wonderful. Thank you to everyone who sent presents, who called, or webcammed. We had a wonderful time & made lots of great memories. Caleb's already counting down to next year.