Christmas Morning

The night before Christmas Allen put together B's new piano while I prepped the breakfast casserole for the next morning. After we had set everything out we talked about how special Christmas is with a child. It really is like experiencing it all over again, through her eyes. I take time to slow down and really be in the moment with her. When she opens her presents at a painstakingly slow pace, I sit and wait, patiently. When she decides that she wants to play with the $3 electric toothbrush more than she wants to finish opening presents, we play with the toothbrush. No need to rush. No need to change anything about the way she is having Christmas.

I never imagined it would be so fun to play Santa, but I was every bit as giddy as I was when I was a little kid who couldn't sleep at night in anticipation of Santa's Christmas morning loot. I vividly remember laying in bed at night and closing my eyes so tight, willing myself to fall asleep against all of the excitement, all of the magic of Christmas. And still, this Christmas Eve after the presents were set out I found myself lying in bed imagining her reaction to the newly "delivered" presents in our living room.

 She was obviously a good girl this year and she got her very own piano, a rocking horse, books, a pillow (she's obsessed with pillows and pretending to be asleep), a Melissa and Doug train, alphabet puzzles, ice cream set, numbers puzzle and magnetic animal set, clothes, a pop-tent and a few games.

 She started with her stocking and I thought we would be stuck here forever. She quickly became enamored with an electric toothbrush and wanted nothing else. Her stocking was filled with practical things I needed to buy anyway.

 Do you see that crazy bed head? This picture makes me laugh because I can clearly see where it came from.

 The piano or "p-nana" as she calls it, was a huge hit!

 If you wonder why she's yawning it might be due to the fact that she decided to wake up at 5:15!! It was crazy because she woke up so happy, like she knew this day was special. The look on her face when she came into the living room was priceless and I am so glad we captured it with the video camera.

 The Melissa and Doug ice cream set quickly became her favorite.

We've tried a few different ways to handle Christmas morning for the two of us, from only filling stockings to only buying one gift to not buying at all. This year we decided we would buy for each other again and not put any rules on it. I had the best time buying for Allen and it's been so hard to keep his gifts a secret. He ended up with a calendar of B to put on his desk, a wedding band (because he lost his) and a tool box for his shop along with a few other small things and clothes. 

 I just thought I did good on his gifts until we started opening. It's no secret that he is stellar at gift buying and surprising me and this year was no different. He bought me a pair of Tori Burch Revas, Uggs, a stand mixer, gift cards to my favorite stores and mani/pedi's. He did the sweetest thing with the mani/pedi gift certificate. He actually bought two so that I could take someone with me and have a little girl time. Major, major points with that move.

Oh, and the tent! She took her ice cream set inside and played for the longest time!

We had a wonderful Christmas, our little family is blessed and we have so much to be thankful for. We headed to church around 9:30 for a Christmas morning service. I love that Christmas fell on a Sunday, what better way to celebrate His birthday than in His house?