It came and did it's thing!

The first wake-up came at 11:18, last night, Christmas Eve when Dallin was wondering if Santa had come already. Thankfully- considering it took Dallin another 2+ hours to fall back asleep- he already had come, even though I wasn't about to share that privileged information with anyone under the age of 32. Dallin hopped in bed with us, and somewhere in the night, his anxious brother joined the mobs and we all half-slept, 4 deep in our bed, until the babies officially woke us up at 7:15 am.....
Christmas morning, baby! The pinnacle of every child's year.  We joined the throngs of {disconnected} excited human beings as we slowly made our way down to the stairs to find magic breathing down our throats. The twinkling of the Christmas tree lights lit the stage for toys and presents galore in a room that was next to empty when they went to sleep the night before. The sis was nearly hyperventilating as she was throwing elbows to clear her path to her own baby's accessories....finally she- the baby doll that is- had a place of her own to eat, sleep, and stroll. Kaia was officially a mama. I empathize with her excitement.

Deeter, Deeter, Deeter. He's a progressive one, you know. Take, for example, the fact that he is wearing the clothing he insisted on wearing Christmas Eve, even when the rest of his family was dressed up, and then he demanded to sleep in said clothing, and continued wearing them on Christmas day. Deeter has taken the saying, You get what you get and you don't get upset, and thrown that right out the window. He marches more to the beat of I get what I want when I want it and I'll cuss you out if you try to tell me differently. So, it was no surprise that at first glance....he rejected all his presents. Like....all of them. Wouldn't touch them. Instead, he latched onto a stuffed Santa decoration that has been sitting on the hearth for weeks and declared that the only present he ever wanted in the whole world. Which dissipated any guilt I may have been feeling about the fact that Deeter drew the short stick in the present department. But, alas, who cares...he didn't want any of them anyway! Little by little, he released his anxiety and fell in love with his Razor and coloring books.

 Sometimes mamas get a little saving grace and I think I got one when I grabbed this sweatshirt as I was standing at the cash register...Porter loved it! Hallelujah! He's ready to go!

Dallin B was a good sport considering he had about 6 different jerseys on his Christmas list and he received....one. I didn't hear a single complaint. Him and Porter also got big boy bikes which means....Yosh and I are going to have to step up our parenting game and finally teach our 6 and 7 year olds to ride bikes. Go ahead and have a laugh on our behalf. We're city folk, what can I say.

But also mark my words, by the end of 2013, our little family will be riding the boardwalk together, with the breeze blowing in our hair, feeling carefree and young.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe I just stated a goal.

So while the kids could barely sleep in anticipation of what wold be under the Christmas tree....

I could hardly sleep due to my excitement to put together Christmas brunch!

Dorky? I know, but there's something about these things....the delicious recipes, the challenge to have everything hot and on the counter at the same time, the beauty of the spread.....it all excites me and as much as any gift I could get!

And I must say, it didn't disappoint. We had enough food to support our 7 hours of grazing and lazy conversation. Derek and Chelsi and the Desai's passed the day with us- and let me tell you, it would have been lonely without them!- and it couldn't have been a more perfect Christmas.

And because I would love nothing more to remember every day and minute of this little lady's life, here's another picture. I'll sum up feelings for her by simply saying..... She's perfect. I love this sweetheart more than I should.

Merry Christmas, y'all!

Hope your day held a little more joy than the average day!

xoxo,

gizay