Preparations:
December passed us by really, really quickly. I didn't get any cards done, barely got any shopping done, barely did ANYTHING. I was lucky just to get my tree up, and I almost didn't get my porcelain houses up at all. I just did not have time or energy, and I can't even figure out what it was...other than life in general--work, errands, school...and running after a very active almost-toddler. Finally during that last week before Christmas, things started to sort of come together, and it began (as it always should) with some friends coming over for some fun:
Gingerbread house-making time! One of my closest friends here (my kids' Auntie 'B') and her daughter joined us for an afternoon of frosting and candy-filled fun. She and I had both purchased some decorations, I had baked the gingerbread using my special cookie cutter, and then we all sat down at a very full table to start making our imaginations soar. The time just flew.
My house, again with the twizzler brick, nilla wafer shingles, and this year I added a gingerbread scraps fence and a candy corn path. I did an m&m chimney this year, but found my frosting to be just a tad too runny to make it stay up well this time around. But hey, the front looks great! ;)
The Munch's creation. Can you tell she was really excited about the gingerbread men marshmallows? Basically, I ran a bunch of beads of the frosting on her roof, and then she went to TOWN with the marshmallows...but only on one side; her artistic vision demanded that the other side be left entirely blank. :)
Auntie B's daughter's. She also really liked the gingerbread marshmallows--notice how they're all going up the path to the one standing in the doorway? He even looks like he's waving to them. Friends are coming to the gingerbread house! :D This house also had a lovely wafer roof, and there were a lot of pretty wreath decorations for the windows.
Auntie B's house. She loved my fence idea and tried to copy it, and then she made a Santa and Mrs. Claus out of gingerbread people I'd also baked. And Santa's sleigh. She made an intricate pathway to the house too, and was the last one done working...mainly because that darn frosting should have been stiffer, and she needed to hold things for a while as it dried--in particular those candy canes at the entrance to the path.
The girls dressed up in their Christmas Best for the Sunday before Christmas and posed afterward for some pictures in my old rocking chair:
The Mini all by herself, with such a sweet smile for me.
I'd really wanted the Munch to wear a hat again as she has in years past, but this year, she flatly refused...So we had a hat-less sister picture. And they are still, of course, adorable. :)
Christmas Eve:
We again held our Christmas Eve Breakfast, and had a very full and busy house for a few hours as friends came and went. I forgot to take any pictures of it this year...but that was probably because we were all having such fun that picture-taking was just too much of an interruption. ;) The one 'adventure' of the morning was when the play area around the tree got so INCREDIBLY messy with all the kids playing there that we couldn't even walk safely. It seemed that the kids only wanted to take toys out, and then take more toys out, and then more. There were piles upon piles by the time I found it. We do have a lot of toys, but usually they only get taken out one or two at a time, so it's quite manageable...This was clearly not, so I stepped in and made the kids all do some work. On Christmas Eve. Shame on me. ;) I also confiscated a few of the smaller choke-risk toys. Then one of our friends sat down and read a story to any of the kids who cared to listen (and there were quite a few), a few simple rules were laid out, and the rest of the morning went very pleasantly indeed.
That afternoon, while the Mini slept, we opened gifts from our friends and family. The Munch's highlight was a HUGE pile of old Dr. Seuss books from a friend in Seattle. There were so many books that they arrived in 2 separate boxes. She has since spent countless hours reading, looking at, or listening to these books, and keeps them in her room, separate from the rest of our collection. She has also made more than a few references to them in regular conversation since (one recent example would be when she compared green jello to Oobleck). :)
That evening, we pulled out the gifts we had gotten for the girls and ourselves. The tree looked so lovely.
Christmas Morning:
As always, the stockings came first. First the Munch, then the Mini, then Daddy and I. We again did our stocking scavenger hunts, and the first clue I gave Daddy convinced him enough that he had to go outside that he started to put on his coat...and then discovered the small box of candy I'd hidden in the sleeve. It worked out just as I'd hoped when I put it there! :)
The Mini was so full of faces that morning! She was fully delighted with her new teddy bear (she is showing a rather big love for those things), her new shopping cart, and the new-to-her (it had been hiding in the basement since the Munch had outgrown it) big giraffe-and-ball toy.
The Munch was delighted to find that 3 of her bigger presents held train sets. She immediately set to building her first track in the entry way.
It took a while to convince the Mini that there was actually MORE for her than those first 3 things--but when she saw there was wrapping paper to be torn, she was all over that, and handled it like a little pro.
On Saturday morning, the 26th, we headed out to Daddy's sister's place in the burbs, and the Mini finally met Bella. This is a little dog who, in former years, would jump on you without the slightest bit of warning, steal away small toys or bits of food in a flash, and run like the wind any time she happened to get outside without a leash. So I was naturally a bit worried about how she and the Mini would get along. Well. This is how. :)
When it came time for gift-giving, the Munch was given the task of doling out the gifts to everyone. I had my camera ready for Grandma's reaction when this gift was handed to her--it's a collection of 10 pictures of us taken over the last year or so, plus baby pictures of both of the girls. It made a for very, very happy Grandma.
The Munch got a whole bunch of bling. And she showcased it rather nicely. :)
The Mini got a lot of stuffed critters and some clothes. She was more interested in rolling around on the floor though... ;)
After the gifts, we all sat down to a Christmas dinner feast. The Munch sat with her Grandparents.
Auntie S sat on the end near the kitchen. Her boyfriend, Daddy, and I sat on the other side, and the Mini sat on the end near me. It took a little orchestration to figure out this arrangement and to get all the food on the table...
...And Daddy was getting quite hungry by the end of it. When he saw that all was indeed prepared, he formally insisted that Auntie S and I SIT. So we sat and we ate. :)
By the time we finished dinner, it was late, and the girls needed to get some sleep. So we did a couple of group pictures as a last hurrah before heading for home. First up was one for the Grandparents and Grandkids--and it is hard to take a picture when 3 of the 4 people in it (Grandpa and his Grandaughters) don't look at the camera very consistently, so I count this one a win. :)
Our turn came next. Then we packed up and headed out...it had been a busy couple of days, and more than a couple of us were quite ready for sleep. Yay for festivities that keep us busy, and yay for the rest that comes after them! We all slept quite soundly that night. :)
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