Christmas Morning 2013 (REVISED!)

Editor's note: I realized that I didn't include any pictures from the "big" camera in the initial post, so there are many more pics now...

Spencer was excited to see what Santa brought on Christmas morning (the video eventually comes into focus...).

We checked out the stockings next and then not too long after, Paw-Paw arrived. Besides the awesome Mining Town LEGO set and Tonka truck that Santa brought, Spencer opened another big LEGO set from Paw-Paw, a cool remote control motorcycle from Daddy, books from Mommy (The Wizard of Oz and an awesome animal book), plus games, a wallet (major big hit!) and other assorted from stuff from Mommy and Daddy. He also had the Loves' gifts to open, which included a melody harp that we're all enjoying, plus some really fun games from Taylor, Audrey and Hyelom. Aunt Renee sent Pop the Pig and a big Transformer toy, and Aunt Dianne and Uncle Scott sent a cool construction-type-set. I'm sure there's other stuff I'm forgetting, but he made out pretty well! This little guy is blessed with such generous friends and family.

I loved watching Spencer give his gifts to Daddy - a box of firestarters, an Angry Birds notebook and a leather-bound notebook. It's such a joy when you take him shopping and he sees something like that Angry Birds notebook and just knows Daddy will love it, which of course he did! For the record, Spencer picked out some great pajamas for me!

Bonus pictures: Dave with his cool Bowdoin t-shirt from the Loves, Paw-Paw with the box of hot chili worms Spencer found for him, and the aftermath!

Sidebar: Can I just say how much I love Spencer's pajamas? I've been eyeing them for a couple of years but they were kind of pricey so I had never bought them. This year I decided to just go for it because I don't know how much longer he'll wear stuff like that - and they're roomy enough that he'll probably get another year of wear out of them. Cute little elf!

After our traditional pigs in the blanket breakfast, we spent the rest of the day being lazy, doing LEGOs and playing games. We had a nice, late lunch at home with Paw-Paw and I think we all went to bed early. It was a fun Christmas Day!

Ella's Christmas Party

Earlier this month, Ella invited us over for a sweet little Christmas party. We decorated gingerbread houses...

 And you'll never guess who showed up...

He read The Night Before Christmas to the kids...

Spencer approached the man in red with his usual caution of course...

I thought that if I sat on Santa's lap, Spencer might want to, but he didn't, and that's just fine. Santa still gave him a neat book about gingerbread pirates.

It was a fun party! Steffani, Chad and Ella are such awesome (and generous!) party hosts. You can hop over to Steffani's blog for more pictures.

Christmas Eve

Our Christmas plans changed a little at the last minute this year. Paw-Paw was going to come back with us to Austin from Aunt Bobbie's house, but he wasn't feeling up to it. So for the first time ever, we had nothing going on Christmas Eve. We had a relaxing day, visited with some friends, then came home to bake cookies and get ready for Santa's visit.

Like last year, Spencer dictated a letter to Santa. This one said:

"Dear Santa, What do you want for Christmas?
Do you know what we have for Christmas?
Cookies and milk and water for you, Santa, and carrots for the reindeer." 

Then he signed his name and we got everything set for Santa and his crew.

Before he went to sleep, Spencer made us promise not to stay up too late so that Santa wouldn't skip our house. After a couple of last-minute preparations, I took a few minutes to admire our pretty tree and count my blessings before we settled our brains for a long winter's nap.

Peek into Christmas Morning

I still need to download and sort through our Christmas pictures, so until then, here are two videos from Christmas morning. The only things Spencer asked Santa to bring were some Magic Treehouse books and Clarabel the train. Santa must've thought Spencer had been a really good boy this year, because he threw in another neat gift called Magna-Tiles. Spencer thought it was odd that Santa didn't wrap his gifts. (Warning: I don't have the ability to edit videos, so the first one of these is loooong and only for diehard fans.)

School Christmas Party

Tuesday night was Spencer's Christmas Party at Roz-Mina. First everyone listened intently as a former student (or someone's big brother?) played his violin.

Then the students and teachers sang some songs for us that they rehearsed all month. The video below is dark but will give you the flavor. Spencer was such a precise bell jingler.

 

And then, guess who showed up? Santa! Though after careful inspection, Spencer determined that he was not the real Santa, but just one of his helpers. I think he was right about that. But he did have a toy in his sack just for Spence.

After that we ate dinner outside. The kids had so much fun running around outside in the dark. It was a sweet and simple little celebration.