Rob and I slept downstairs on the couch, as usual, but especially - this time - to intercept the children on Christmas Morning.
When they woke up around 0800, we got right into the presents.
(My camera is being funky, hence the dark pictures in the middle of broad daylight. Sorry. I have to fiddle around with it when I get a chance.) The first present went to Jack, from Grandpa Al & Grandma Denise (Rob's dad and stepmom). As I said previously, everyone else watched as he opened, discovered, enjoyed. You can see the girls sitting here with rapt attention, and it was no different throughout the morning. I loved it! And Jack loved the trucks contained within!
Sophie was the next happy recipient, of a Little People bingo game from Aunt Stacey. It looks like fun!
Chloë was given a Barbie doll, and change of clothes, from Aunt Stacey. She squealed with delight, but then, she always squeals with delight! It's always funny, though. She must have changed Barbie's clothes 100 times that day!
Al & Denise gave Rob a pair of Dearfoam slippers. Quite cozy and cushy, they are! He likes them.
They gave me a beautiful pair of gray, fleece-lined Isotoner gloves. I lurve them. They are so nice. But I must admit I am torn about them, as there is leather on the palms. Crisis of conscience! Still... they're sooo nice... Aghh!
Tinkerbell settled in under the Christmas tree as 'round and 'round we went, opening presents one after the other.
I really made out! Rob gave me a Ped Egg (which I don't love yet), a book I wanted (which is kind of a disappointment after all, but that's okay, I wanted it!), and another annual tradition: a box of Ferrero Rochers. I may have eaten the entire box before the day was up. From Rob's dad and Denise, I received the gloves, a nice body lotion/mist/soap combo, and a digital photo keychain that has gone MIA...! Rob's mom sent me a hair towel which is awesome, ornaments for our tree, and lots of handmade items for the charity (not for a Christmas present, of course, but I'm trying to mentally go through the boxes she sent and pick out what was for me!) It was very nice. I'm a lucky girl!
A few more gifty highlights for the kids:
Al & Denise gave Chloë this guitar, and she was beside herself. As were we. It was kind of amazing, because that's exactly what she asked for from Santa, after I finished all my shopping. It was like a little bit of a Christmas miracle, as cheesy as that sounds, and I had tears in my eyes. She was so happy. Now Rob wants to get her guitar lessons. I don't know about all that, she does enough right now!
(Click pictures for larger view)
I just love this one, because of the lips on that girl as she screams out "Dora!!!" without having any clue what was contained in the boxes. Lots of funny things were yelled out by that kid as she opened her gifts. I should have kept a list as we opened presents. If I had a nickel for every amusing thing she blurted out, I'd be a rich, rich girl.
Chloë was beyond ecstatic about her new camera, and I was overjoyed at her reaction! It's like a smaller, more basic version of mine, which is great because that means I already know how to work it for her. I wish I could afford a micro-SD card for it right now, because the internal memory only holds SIX pictures! Fortunately, it can fit right on the dock for my camera, so we keep switching them out to upload her pictures. Once she gets a bunch of decent ones, I'll put together a photo show for y'all.
Now there's a happy kid on Christmas!
I Santa gave everyone, including Rob, a Webkinz Cares Li'l Kinz. Chloë received a puppy; Sophia, a kitty; Jack, a tiger; and Rob, an elephant. I wish I could show you Jack holding his tiger, but he tossed it right away from himself and shouted, "No! I don't want that!" So we had to go into a little thing about showing gratitude even when you don't get what you want, etc. Never a bad time for a lesson like that, I guess!
Jack, who rarely deigns to pose for the camera, was given the Wall-e DVD. I originally meant it as a present for all of them, but he had so little to open from us that I thought he better get it. Good thing, because he loves it and has watched it at least four times since then!
I gave each of the girls a tutu, which was probably unnecessary, but I have three bags full and need to do something with them!! They wore them around a little, so at least there was that...
Definitely the big winner - for all three of them! - was Sophia's Fisher Price SmartCycle, and the four extra cartridges I got for it. They have been playing it, taking turns fairly decently, incessantly ever since. It was totally worth it, and I heartily recommend it. If nothing else, it's teaching them how to pedal a bike the correct way! She'll definitely get some more cartridges for her birthday in April.
Oh, wait, there's the boy! Grinning from ear to ear about the K'nex Truck from Grandpa Al, that Daddy "helped" put together. He loves it! Mama doesn't love all those small parts, ay ay ay...
By the time we were done, I needed nap. So I did that, for about... oh, four hours! The kids played and played while I slept, and I heard them but didn't really wake up. They were given lots of wonderful presents. I just can't say enough about how happy this Christmas made me. It was just perfect.
I didn't really plan a Christmas dinner, because we usually just do appetizers and finger foods, but... I kind of neglected to buy any! All I had for "special" was caviar and some crackers. We've both had it before, on our various cruises, but this... ew. It was not the kind we like, apparently! Very salty. The girls both had it, and I think Chloë even had seconds but decided she didn't care for it, either. Jack wouldn't even enter the room it was in, hehe. So I thought about going to the neighbors and seeing if they wanted it, but Rob vetoed that idea. He thought we should just feed it to the dog, but hello? For $10 a can and there's a ton left, I'd rather give it to some humans. So we'll let Stim try it when they get back into town, and go from there!
I'll be back later with Part III!
Fin.
Caviar? I don't think I've ever had it. I like the little fish eggs on the outside of my sushi rolls, but I don't think that counts. ;-)
Posted by: Nadine | 28 December 2008 at 10:01