Christmas Day

Right on top of the list with loving the way my kids hair smells after a bath, belly laughs and watching them sleep is the excitement of Christmas morning. Jackson and Aubrin were both up early to make sure Santa remembered to stop at our house. Of course their eyes got big and they filled with giggles as soon as they saw their stockings and the tree filled with gifts.
This is the first year that the kids do not have matching jammies. I felt like I had a full plate this year, so I had to let something go...sad to say it was searching for matching jammies. It irritated me so much, that I'm sure it will not happen again! Sounds silly, but it's one tradition that I love.
We started with stockings. They were very patient with each other as they took turns. Aubrin could have been done with Christmas morning as soon as she pulled her lip gloss out. Christmas could have been that easy! Aubrin was very excited to get her tea cart and remote control dog. Everything she opened she said, "Oh my goodness." Jackson was more than thrilled to one his baseball glove and pirate ship. It was great to watch them dive right in and start playing. This year Jackson had the chance to shop at the Holiday Shop at school. He was so proud to buy all of us gifts and put them under the tree. He was so excited to pass them out and watch us open them. As we opened them he told us the reason why he picked it out for us. Todd got a flashlight that was also a pen, just in case the power went out and he needed to write something down. I got a pen that said "Mom" so that if one of my students borrowed my pen, they would know it was my special pen that Jackson got me and he got Aubrin a necklace because she loves to wear jewelry. I love the thought he put into it.
For the rest of the morning the kids played and enjoyed all of their new things. We also had to head downstairs and play a game of Super Mario. Jackson got his first game for the Wii. He was so excited to play and that it's his very own.
Later in the afternoon we went to Uncle Chris and Aunt Marlys' house. It was nice to have everyone together, although I think we all cariied a heavy heart with us. Not having my grandma there was hard. Since I can rememer we have always taken a family picture on Christmas day and grandma is always in teh center. Both of the kids had talked about her not being there earlier in the day. It made me happy that they had thought about her.

They kids had a great time playing air hockey and foosball. It's always a treat for Aubrin to go and see Peyton. Peyton takes her downstairs and opens the special closet. Inside is 15 American Girl dolls and all of their accessories. It's a little piece of heave for Aubrin.
We opened gifts and had a wonderful dinner. Jackson loved his new Lego sets and Aubrin got a baby carrier and a new charm for her charm bracelet. She was excited to go home and add her new treasure to her bracelet. The kids played a bit more and the adults had a chance to chat. As the evening was coming to an end we packed up the car and headed home. The kids were in the back of the car talking about what they were going to play with when they got home. Once we got home we played a bit and then headed off to bed. We still had one more day of Christmas the next morning.