Christmas at home

This year was really the first year we did a lot of the 'Christmas' type things.  Even though we've had a family for 4 years now, this was the first time that the kids were going to be excited about it.  Dude loved putting up the tree and decorating other parts of the house and he LOVES seeing people's Christmas lights outside.  This was the first year that we went Christmas shopping for the kids because there actually had interests in things.  :)  It was nice because we could have Christmas how we wanted it, and how we wanted it is low-key.

Since we had been doing Christmas things at my parents all weekend, it was nice to be in our own place with our own choice of loudness.  I know that with that amount of people even if they're all whispering its still going to get noisy.  After the kids woke up we had a lazy breakfast (actually, Dude requested M and M pancakes) and then got ready to open presents!  The hardest person to shop for was Lucy.  She's at that stage right now where she likes everything that Big Brother likes... so we felt like we were just buying all the presents for him!  We got them a lot of books and one or two toys and they loved it.  He was more into opening presents than she was, but they both had fun.  :)

Big brother helping her see what it is... we got her a sit and spin

Opening it up!

She was having a lot of fun on the bottom of it even without the middle part to help her spin!

Dude was helping to spin her as well

After we got it all assembled she wanted to sit on it like this and go around very slowly... silly girl!

Ultimately I would like to start a tradition where we do different culture's/countries Christmas every year or so.  This way it gives the kids a perspective that there is 1.) A bigger world around us 2.) that there is a culture side to holidays 3.) educational and fun!  :)  I'm thinking that it's going to be a few years yet until Tristan is at least a 5 or so, but who knows... Really, it's because I probably won't get organized enough to do it until then, but weirder things have happened.  haha.

The beginning of the excitement...

Yeah, we didn't really wrap them in fancy paper, but they didn't seem to mind

Dinosaur Train... Nature Trackers!  This is a book he knew we had bought him for months now and he was excited to finally have it

We got him a duo book that he always gets from the library.  We highly recommend it... it's called Zero and One by Kathryn Otoshi.  For being a kids book it has a great message in it.

Here's my quick add for Better World Books.  You get books for way cheaper and every time you buy a book they donate one :)

Children's classic... Richard Scarry's 'Cars and Trucks and Things that Go!'  He calls it the Goldbug book... 

His toy.  The underwater version of the dinosaur train

After it got put together.  Train track and all!

Some dinosaur train toys came with 3D glasses...

Looking good baby girl!

Its always fun giving your kiddos gifts and seeing the appreciation in their eyes as they open it.  We are fully under the impression that you don't have to wait until a holiday or special occasion to give them things, which is why they probably didn't get a ton at one time.  Also, then they get overwhelmed with new things and it gets lost in the shuffle.  :)  But, the few things we did get them I knew they would really like and they did.  :)  Merry Christmas all!

Hahaha our presents to my parents... ReinBeer!  ;)  Thanks Pinterest.

Momma's shiny present... the husband knows what i like.  Thank you!

JVG