Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Christmas

I'm not sure what to say about Christmas day other than we kept it super simple this year and it was absolutely perfect. We did all of our extended family celebrations before Christmas so we weren't feeling rushed Christmas day and could just go at our own pace and enjoy. The kids would each open a present and then play with it for 15-20 minutes, sometimes more, and then we would remind them there were more presents waiting under the tree. Mason got his Annie and Clarabel from Santa and there was even some extra room in Santa's sleigh so he brought him How to Train your Dragon, too. Brynn got her Elmo Live and was excited until we turned him on and he started talking. She wasn't so sure about that and cautiously enjoyed him from a safe distance of about 3 feet for most of the morning. Just like with people she eventually warmed up to him and they became best friends. In my effort to put more emphasis on giving than receiving I encouraged Mason to think really hard about the perfect gift to get Brynn. He decided she would really like a baby doll. We went to the store and he chose one that came with a lot of little accessories including a potty. On Christmas morning when Brynn opened her doll Mason said, "Do you guys want to play baby.... I'll be the potty!!!" It was my favorite quote from Christmas morning. Brynn loves to use the potty as her own little chair ( see above picture). She is very good at taking care of her dolly, too. Brynn gave Mason a big R.D. dragon that swallows little Gronckles that he has wanted SOOOO bad. It was probably his favorite present and I'm so glad it came from Brynn because he tells me every time he plays with it, "that was so nice of Brynn to get me my R.D., she must have known it was just what I wanted."
The other highlight presents included Creaky Cranky, Bumblebee, hungry hungry hippos, and legos from Dad. I can't believe I don't have any pictures of Scott and Mason playing with legos because they spend a lot of time building things together, I'm not sure who enjoys it more. Brynn's favorite things were her spinning toothbrush and chapstick in her stocking.

Our goal was to make it an exciting and wonderful day for our kids without going overboard and I think we succeeded. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

4 comments:

Whitney said...

Sounds like a great Christmas! What cute kids you have!!

Megan said...

what a fun fun christmas! the boys are at age such a great age now and it's been hilarious to see how the girls follow them and get so excited and into something because of their big bros. happy new year!

The Kynastons said...

I think Macie and I need to pay your guys a visit so she can see Brynn's Elmo. I think she would think she'd died and gone to heaven! And are those Elmo slippers Brynn is wearing, too? Too cute!

Unknown said...

That's funny that Brynn had to warm up to the Elmo doll! My parents have a mechanical Winni the Poo doll that wiggles his nose and says, " Oooo honey." It absolutely freaks Finn out!! We've brought it out on various occasions to see if things would change. Nope.

I like your style of going about Christmas. Their piles are the perfect size. Definitely not overdone. Good job! I also like your idea of having Mason's favorite present come from Brynn.