Christmas Day

Merry Christmas!

Ryan covered the girls eyes and led them downstairs to wait with the boys until everyone was ready to see what Santa brought.

We let the kids enjoy their Santa gifts for a little bit and then had breakfast before we opened presents.  Cameron couldn't get enough of her big Fuf chair but I think no one's happiness could compare to Austins.  He told Santa a few weeks ago what he wanted for Christmas and when we asked him what it was he said, "Don't worry about it mom, Santa's got it covered."  There were a few moments of panic and some "last minute phone calls to Santa" but yep, Santa got it covered.  Austin was on cloud 9 all day!

 I love that we were able to have a "foggy Christmas Eve" and a "white Christmas".

I started a tradition last year of giving the kids code names on their presents.  I didn't appreciate them guessing what they got for Christmas or shaking packages that may not have been wrapped as well as I thought.  Their names this year were Mistletoe, Candy Cane, Jingle Bells, Frosty, and Rudolph.  Yes, there are five names.  I gave Ryan one just to throw the kids off.  It worked like a charm.  Especially when we had to wrap this "last minute change" for Jingle Bells.  Austin was so excited that morning to find out the biggest present was for him.

Eden got a great new table from Santa this year.

And we found a kid old enough to help put all these toys together!

We also have a tradition where the kids draw each other's names for a Christmas gift.  This year Austin had Cameron and he was very particular about what he got her.  He couldn't wait for her to open it and show her all the great things inside.  Cameron was more than thrilled.  She couldn't believe that Austin actually knew exactly what she wanted.  I love that these kids all know each other so well because they play together and love being around each other.

Eden wasn't really paying attention while Austin opened his gift from her but then all of the sudden he walked up and threw his arms around her.  She also picked out the perfect gift for him.  For the rest of the day he kept walking around saying, "this is the best Christmas ever!  Santa got me just what I wanted, mom and dad got me just what I wanted and Eden got me just what I wanted!"  He kept telling us how much he loved us and how happy he was.  It was awesome and so nice to see how grateful he was for what he received.  It was also a huge relief for me.

This is what Austin got in the big box from Mom and Dad.  It's a Construction House.  Our two little "handy men" put it together after lunch.

It has a roof too and all sorts of accessories that can be screwed on.  It was perfect for Austin!  Eden said she loved everything she got.  Cameron said her favorite thing was her big fluffy chair.  And Dallin said his favorite thing was Cameron's big fluffy chair but that he was happy with his gifts too.

It's always such a relief when the presents are opened and everyone is happy.  We spent the day assembling things, watching movies, and eating lots of yummy treats.  I felt so relaxed that I was surprised when we sat down to dinner and I started having strong contractions that were 3 minutes apart.  I quickly reassembled my hospital bag and told Ryan if they didn't stop in an hour we would leave.  After exactly an hour they were 5 minutes apart, then 7.  Again, I was frustrated but also relieved.  I didn't want to have this baby on Christmas and fortunately she decided to wait a little longer.