Christmas Day

Christmas Day was better than I could have imagined. It was amazing. I am so happy. I love my family. Sam was so supportive of my lunacy and Alex and Edison were adorable. I loved every minute of it.

I woke up early to make cinnamon rolls. Alex wakes up around 7:30 every day so I wanted to have breakfast ready right when he woke up. He decided to sleep in on Christmas. We finally went into his room and woke him up at 8:15am.

We carried him into the kitchen without letting him see the balloons in the living room. He was perplexed by the pillow and blanket barrier we set up in the walkway that he could see from his high chair.

He was so interested in the fish. It was awesome.  Edison was just confused by the whole situation. Fish are totally against our rental agreement. I bought seven fish on Christmas Eve. Today, six days later, all the fish have died. So sad. Tonight, Alex asked to feed the fish. I had to tell him that the fish were all gone.

Edison actually took bites out of the orange. He also got his first jar of baby food. We have just been feeding him pieces of whatever we were eating but I wanted to see what he thought of baby food.

Santa brought Edison some little puff cereal things. He hates them. Alex also hates them. Sad day. I was able to find some Mini Eggs for Sam. I am pretty proud of myself for that one.

Remember this Cozy Coupe we found for free by our neighbor's garbage can? A few days before Christmas, Alex's car mysteriously went missing... I was able to give it a complete makeover in one nap time. I took the pieces apart. Cleaned it. Wrapped grocery bags around wheels and steering wheel, and started the painting. My wedding ring has become such a part of my hand, I held the door of the car in my hand and spray painted. I had paint on my hands for a week and I had to get my wedding rings cleaned. Luckily jewelers do this for free. They look so fancy and sparkly now!

I was really hoping that Alex would still like his car. He loved it! He ran straight past all of the balloons and into his car. He spent the rest of the day playing in the car. Every time he would unwrap a gift, he would go back to his car to play with it while sitting in there.

They were also big fans of the balloons and they have brought days of fun.

A few weeks ago, someone left a bag full of gifts on our doorstep. They were all wrapped and labeled for the boys. The nice Secret Santa gave the boys so many awesome toys! A few months ago I took away a lot of Alex's toys and hid them in a closet. He just had too many and wasn't cleaning up after himself. I wrapped those toys for Christmas and gave them back to him. He seemed a little suspicious of some of them, but he was excited and has been playing with them all week.

 Edison decided he needed to eat his new monkey.

We got Alex some sunglasses. Every time we drive somewhere, he complains about it being so bright outside. He is actually complaining about his right eye hurting a lot. I think I need to take him to the doctor.

SAMta got me a picnic basket. I am so excited to use it!

Alex has not left his Mater and McQueen toys once. He takes them to the gym, to bed, and to church. He loves them. Every time Alex would unwrap a present, he would be holding one or more toys he had already unwrapped in one hand and use the other hand to unwrap the new gift. Once he saw what was in it, he would bring the "old" toys over to me and say, "All done" and then go back to Sam and get his new toys. It was hilarious.

I made these fabric roads out of some old jeans my thunder thighs wore out. I just cut the jeans into strips, painted dotted lines down the center using yellow fabric paint, and then put small pieces of velcro on the bottom so the roads will stick to the carpet better. Alex loved driving his cars on the roads and I like how little room they take up and how easy they are to put away. Win-win!

I got Sam a bidet for Christmas. It was a huge surprise. He didn't ask for it, I just thought he might like it. He does.

I have long suspected that I am my parents' favorite. I could probably write a book about this topic. My parents do so much for me. We wouldn't have been able to get through graduate school without their loans. We had planned to pay them back starting in January. This gift is unbelievable. We owed them a lot of money. A lot. Like, half Sam's age times a thousand.

Our church was at 11am on Christmas (usually it is at 9am) and only lasted an hour. Christmas on a Sunday was the best idea ever. I really enjoyed going to church and spending an hour focusing on our Savior. After we got home from church, I made the family take another picture. The kids were not really feeling it.

That night, we went to the Thomson's for dinner. I made ham, garlic-herb scalloped potatoes, and pumpkin pie. Jami provided rolls, salad, and drinks. It was so fun to visit and play with them for a few hours. Alex is obsessed with Addi. Sam and Jason have started playing racquetball all the time. And I think Jami is pretty cool. So we all get along.

Addi also got a goldfish for Christmas. Jami helped Alex to feed it.

I have felt so blessed throughout this whole Christmas season. I cannot believe how much good I have in my life. Our home teacher asked us this month about our blessings and I can't stop thinking about it. Every blessing I have is because of my Savior, Jesus Christ. I am so grateful that I was able to spend Christmas with Sam, Alex, and Edison and reflect on my love and our Savior's love for them and all of us. It was a beautiful day. Merry Christmas!