Christmas!

So Christmas is such a magical day. We had a wonderful day with the girls waking up excited to go downstairs and see what Santa had left for them. 

Stockings all laid on the couch with care. :)

Claire with her stocking and Santa gifts. She really wanted the fur real pet who rides a remote controlled skateboard. She named her "Scootaloo" which seems appropriate. She also got a tutu wearing puppy purse. 

Santa got Maddie a Thomas the train with tracks. He goes by himself on or off the track. She also got a puppy purse and stocking of course. 

Playing with Scootaloo.

Diggin' into the chocolate.

Amelia's first Christmas! It was nice having a little more active baby for a first Christmas rather than a sleepy newborn. :)

"I will hug this baby!"

Then to follow with tradition, we enjoyed some delicious coffee cake Chris made the day before. (When I lived at home, this coffee cake was made by my neighbors and brought over on Christmas eve. They still deliver it to my parents.) I remember as a kid being so excited and filled with anticipation, that I didn't have much of an appetite. It was like torture that we had to spend time eating breakfast with all of those presents just waiting to be opened! As an adult, I enjoy my yummy coffee cake. :)

We enjoyed opening presents after we got the kids dressed. Christmas is always magical and fun, but providing a Christmas for your children and seeing their eyes filled with wonder and excitement is the best! Here are some special moments:

Claire with her Ariel toddler princess doll.

Maddie got a matching Cinderella doll. 

These cars are awesome!

These are just a couple of the cute poses Claire was doing with her cool tool box. She was hilarious. Now she can work along side daddy. 

Maddie enjoying her stocking gifts. EVERY hair clip in her hair at once, lotion on her hands, chocolate in her mouth...I guess she liked it. 

Amelia was happy it was Christmas day too. :)

Chris's home made gift I made him. (I have to fix it a bit.) It's all the places we've lived together - NY, PA, CA, TX, Korea, and Maryland.

There was a better picture of me opening a present, but my face here made me laugh, so I thought I'd share it. Wondering what's inside? A super cool rice cooker. Yea!

Because big boys need toys too. :)

 After opening presents, we worked on dinner. We relaxed, enjoyed a yummy dinner, and had a fun evening together as a family.

Horsey rides Christmas night.

While we were making dinner, Maddie ran in and told us what sounded like "baby eat chocolate!" We thought we should definitely investigate. Sure enough, Maddie, in her generosity, shared her chocolate with the baby. Not a bad choice for her very first taste of real food. Her face here cracks me up. "What was that, and where can I get more?!"

Originally, we were planning on heading up to my family's home in NY the next day to see my parents, two sisters and their families. Sadly, they called that night and told us the stomach bug had started there. Not wanting any part of that, we headed to Chris's parents first to see them. More on our visits with family next time!