"Is it Christmas today?"

The countdown to Christmas began on Thanksgiving day when Chris hung the lights on the house.  We told the kids that Christmas comes after Thanksgiving, so on Friday morning they asked, "Is it Christmas today?"  After a few days of them wondering it it was Christmas yet, we made paper chains, one for each of them, so they could take a link off each day and watch the chain get shorter as Christmas got closer.  It was a fun and useful activity, so I have to remember to do it next year too! 

Christmas was so fun, and both girls seemed to understand the concepts of Santa and giving gifts to our loved ones.  On Christmas morning, the sisters opened their gifts from each other before they got to the Santa presents.  Piper really enjoyed unwrapping gifts, regardless of who they were intended for!  And after they ate chocolate from their stockings, I couldn't even get them to eat a real breakfast.

Mid-December, Addisyn and Piper picked out a nice round, full tree and Daddy walked slow enough for them to help push it through the parking lot to the truck.  These two little elves eagerly decorated the bottom half of the tree. It took Piper a bit more focus and initial help, but she eventually was able to hang ornaments on the tree by herself, and she was proud of her ability.

The girls also helped decorate a few sugar cookies that Stacy, Marcy, and I baked.  I frosted, and they sprinkled with every bottle and color I'd let them get their hands on, making me glad we put cookie sheets underneath to collect all the extra sprinkles.

Visiting Santa was a success, and even though they were "a little scared" beforehand, they each sat on Santa's lap and told him what she wanted for Christmas.  Addisyn handed him a nice long itemized list, and Piper told him she wanted "presents."  Perhaps Jacob heard the girls talk about it, because he didn't cry either when he went to visit.  I don't know ... perhaps I'm a little saddened that there will be no more screaming on Santa's lap pictures.

After two days of Christmas festivities, our house was a mess, and we didn't even host!  The girls wanted each new thing opened and out right away.  The favorite gifts seemed to be new jammies, the dollhouse, the cardboard playhouse, and Addisyn's fly swatter ("Just what I always wanted!"). 


We loved all the time with our families and hope you had a blessed holiday as well!