The Christmas that made me feel like a kid again

This Christmas was the Christmas that I imagined when I thought about having children. The past few Christmas seasons we have had to do all the hyping up and create the excitement about Christmas. This year, Aubrey was plenty hyped and created the excitement for us. For weeks, every commercial that came on the tv made her Christmas wish list grow longer. She loved participating in the early Christmas  season traditions like decorating, sending/receiving Christmas cards, and picking out presents for others. It was also neat that she was learning the meaning behind Christmas and asked a lot of questions about Jesus and the Christmas story. She also anticipated things, like going to Raleigh to visit Todd's family and waking up Christmas morning. Her excitement and anticipation rubbed off on me and made me more excited for Christmas than I have been since I was kid. 

The celebrating started over the weekend when Todd took the kids to Raleigh. I wasn't able to go because we didn't want to spend the extra money to kennel the dogs so I stayed here with them. It was a nice break for me and allowed the kids to spend some good quality time with their daddy. I hated being away from them, especially since it was my first time away from Mason, but it was a well enjoyed break. Aubrey played on the farm and had a dandy time being spoiled rotten by Todd's family. Mason created a lot of extra work for Todd and kept him on his toes while he was there. Mason gave a spectacular screaming show when they tried to put him on Santa's lap and Aubrey reverted back to her unhappiness with him as well, but they both seemed to be happy with the presents Santa gave them. 

Monday night we started a few new traditions for our house like leaving cookies for Santa and writing a note thanking him for visiting. Aubrey really didn't want to go to bed, but a warning that Santa couldn't visit until she was asleep helped encourage her to go to bed. The next morning, Mason made sure Todd and I were awake at 7:15. However, Aubrey was still asleep at 7:30 so I had to go in an wake her up. There was no way I was letting her sleep in when there were good presents to be opened. We brought the kids downstairs and Aubrey was excited to see Santa ate the cookies and wrote a note back to her. She then walked in the playroom and her reaction to seeing her presents was classic. She was so excited and walked back and forth to her toys and Mason's toys trying to figure out what she wanted to play with. Mason wasn't quite as excited as Aubrey, but he still seemed to enjoy the boxes and wrapping paper he could tear into. The best part of the morning was after we opened what appeared to be all the presents, Todd brought out Aubrey's bike. I was nervous about what her reaction would be because she had told me a few weeks before Christmas she didn't want a bike. I had already bought the bike and knew it would be a gift from Todd and me. Luckily, my fears were eased as soon as Aubrey saw the bike. It was instant love because it is covered in princesses and even has a seat for a doll to ride in the back. She was so excited which thrilled Todd and me to no end.

The rest of the day was a flurry of food and more presents. We did our annual breakfast at Todd's parents house, followed by gifts, relaxing, more presents with my family, and dinner with both families. At the end of the night, Todd and I were exhausted but thankful for a great Christmas.