Christmas Has Magic Again

I've always loved Christmas, but after about middle school, it started to lose its magic.

I had no idea how much having two little kids (and one who has no idea what is going on) brings the magic back and this was as sparkly and fun as those dream-like Christmases from my childhood.

I have to say, this was one of the best Christmases I've ever had. Not because of what presents I got or gave, how many cookies I made, or what food we ate. It was so amazing to experience the joy and love these girls received and gave.

When we put Jana down for bed on Christmas Eve, we talked about how Santa (just imagine Jana's version of this word: it's whispered "Satt-a" accompanied by this sweet grin of expectation) will visit and bring toys for her and Kara.

So, we were all prepped for a very fun morning. Luckily Jeremy had assembled all toys needing assembling, so other than taking care of some "other" duties, we were able to go to bed before Santa arrived!

Kara woke up around 8:00 on Christmas morning. She and I came downstairs while Jana and Jeremy slept in. She happily played in her swing while I busily prepared the dough for the bread I was making. Jeremy joined us around 9:00 and Jana started making noise just before 10. I was lucky enough to get Jana out of bed while Jeremy readied the video camera. You see, we didn't have ANY presents under the tree before she went to bed, so we knew it was going to be a surprise when we came downstairs. However, I was the one in for a surprise when I entered her room. As I walked to the window as Jana was happily chatting away, I noticed something before I opened the shades. My giggles brought Jeremy running upstairs, as he discovered the source of my amusement. Somehow Jana had sneaked her sunglasses into bed with her and she was sitting in her crib, in the dark, with her sunglasses on - upside down (to add to the humor).

She was certainly surprised when she came downstairs and I'm so glad we have her moments of pure joy on video.


She reached for the first present she could find (totally missing the huge trike in the middle of the room) and opened a couple of card games. She was totally uninterested in opening anything else - she LOVED the cards. (If only I knew that was enough for her for Christmas) :-)

By the time Gama and Gapa arrived, we had breakfast almost ready and had opened a few more gifts.

While we waited for breakfast to finish cooking, we opened some more of her gifts. She discovered her trike and insisted on riding it from the living room to the family room and back again.

Dadda did get Mama to cry, though. I don't know how well you can see it in the picture, but on one side of the frame there is the girls' Santa picture. Then on the other you will see that Daddy had the girls put their hand prints in. Ahh! What a treasure!

Her own chair is quite a hit (thank you Gapa and Gama) and she was even nice enough to share it with Kara.

They got some very neat wall hangings made with love from Auntie M and the book from (soon to be uncle) S was so sweet!

However, Jana's favorite part of the gift (sadly enough) was the huge Dora bag.

Jana was too cool in her shades as she opened the wonderful books from Auntie S and Uncle P.

Jana loves a decorative Jack-in-the-box that Gama has and was overjoyed to get her very own Pooh in the box!

While we were playing around, we took a look outside and... it was SNOWING! It didn't stick, but seemed to add to the magic of the day.

We settled down for breakfast and a break from opening presents. Jana enjoyed the bread and exclaimed "more please, bread" more than a few times. Here is my made-from-scratch candy cane shaped cherry coffee cake.

After a tasty breakfast, Kara napped and Jana discovered a few more wonderful gifts like her Dora plate, bowl, and cup set (thanks Gramps), Mr. Potato head, some cars, clothes, some games, and her "Peeee po" Doodle Pro (Little People). She especially loved Kara's high chair toys and music toys.


Phew! We were all ready for a nap. Jana went down with a few of her new treasures to keep her company. Gama and Gapa headed off for their own present opening and napping at home.

Grandma and Grandpa soon arrived, after their early morning present-opening and breakfast with cousin Tyler and cousin Justin (and Auntie L and Uncle R, of course). Their arrival brought a whole new influx of packages under the tree.

Kara enjoyed the presentation of her much-anticipated Bouncy horse. It was perfect timing because she was able to enjoy it after she woke up and before big sis awoke.
We opened a few Mama and Dada presents before Chaos (Jana) started up again, who also greatly enjoys Kara's horse.

With a fresh audience and a new person to push her around, Jana's laps on her tricycle began once again with Grampa's help.


Kara got some great new noise-making toys! She loves them, of course... as does Jana. We keep having to remind Jana that they are Kara's.

We had a wonderful time opening presents for the rest of the afternoon, but ran out of time, energy, and room as dinner time approached.

We had a wonderful ham dinner with both sets of grandparents.


Our busy Jana was determined to get us moving again, so back to the tree we went. It was about then that we actually got around to opening our stockings.

Kara went to bed soon after dinner, but Jana was struggling to wind down. After a little dancing with Daddy, she got her bath with all of her new and wonderful bath toys, but was not pleased about going down.

She was up bright and early this morning (around 6:00 am) and went to the Target after-Christmas sale with me - which was entertaining to say the least. She enjoyed making people laugh as she called out all the Dora and Pooh characters at the top of her lungs as we passed them. Although, for many, the highlight was her dancing in the isles, yelling "Dance, mama, dance."

Both girls got some great cuddle/playtime with both grandparents and were doted on by many!

Thank you everyone for such a wonderful and memorable Christmas Day!