The one with the first two Christmas celebrations

Well, we are in official Christmas hangover. We had the first half of Grady's first Christmas and I wish I could have spent more time soaking it all in. The holidays started for us on Christmas Eve with opening presents with just the four of us. Grady opened the first present...and like his sister, we gave him a set of knitted fruit and veggies. His set is a little different than hers was... more compact and it came from Russia. I made sure to get ones that were completely different than her set.

Eleanor's presents came next... we got her her own little chair and her own little kitchen! Matt had put it together a couple days before, only took 2.5 hours. Her seeing the big wrapped present made me smile - she was so excited!

Later that afternoon, Grandma and Grandpa came for Christmas Eve. We enjoyed appetizers and they helped us get ready for Santa.

ALR: See, we set out cookies for Santa. Do you want to try them to make sure they are good?
ALR gives EER 1/2 a cookie.
EER eats cookie and pinches fingers together: More! More!
ALR: No, you just had a sample to see if they are good enough for Santa - Do you think they are good enough for Santa?
EER: nah uh.

The next day Eric and his girlfriend, Amanda, came over and we all opened presents. The kids definitely are loved and made out well... I don't know what excited me more... the birkenstocks that I received or the broom set that Eleanor received - there's nothing worse than arguing with a toddler about why she can't use your broom. She also got her own dyson, a highchair/swing/carrier combo for her baby, a Disney Merida doll, puzzle, books, and clothes. Grady came out well too with a few toys, clothes, books, and a bank.

We capped off some of the last activities with food. Matt smoked 2 turkeys, I made stuffing and potatoes, Amanda supplied the veggies and bread, Michele had fruit salad for the meal and 2 pies for dessert. It was all so good! We even let Grady have some solid food, but I bet his oatmeal wasn't as good!

At the end of the day, after everyone left, we headed up to the hospital to see Grandma Dar. She was a bit disoriented but so enjoyed seeing the kids. It was hard to see her like that but glad that Eleanor's hug and kiss along with Grady's gummy smiles brought a smile to her face.

MJR going through his stocking stuffers: Mom, where did you get some of these things, I've never heard of them or seen them?
Randy: Matt, it's "Must have Monday".. you wouldn't believe all the crap we get during MustHave Monday.
Michele smiles!
ALR: I think it's fun, where is this Must have Monday at?

The next couple days were harder, we didn't have daycare so Matt and I took turns with both kids.
I had the first, Matt had the second.

After a hectic morning, which started at 5:00am, Matt comes home from work at 4:45pm.
MJR: How was the afternoon?
ALR thinks back to the afternoon, EER went down at 1:00, GRR went down at 2:00, ALR went down at 2:30. ALR woke up at 3:45, GRR woke up at 4:00, EER woke up at 4:30.
ALR: It wasn't bad.