Christmas

Christmas was wonderful this year. This was the first year Maddy was interested in Santa. Much to our amazement, she even sat on his lap without incident and was so excited when he gave her a candy cane. After that she consistently reminded us that "Santa brings presents" on Christmas. On Christmas eve, we left cookies and milk for Santa and carrots for the reindeer, all of which miraculously disappeared by morning with the exception of a few crumbs for good measure. "Santa" (aka Greg) was up until 2 AM putting together the most complicated kitchen set ever made, so it would be on display when Maddy made her way into the family room in the morning. We started a Christmas morning tradition of bringing our stockings, which had been filled by Santa and placed next to our bedroom doors, into Mommy and Daddy's room to open on our bed. I remember Darren and I doing this for many years with our Mom and it was a fun way to start the morning. After that we got our coffees and bagels and headed into the family room to see what Santa brought. Maddy was so excited to see all of the gifts. She had fun opening them all but was equally excited to help hand out gifts to others as well. After the gifts were opened, Maddy kept herself entertained with all of her new toys and we got started prepping for the day. The Mullen, Duponts, and Grammy Skanes came over later - we had a wonderful roast sirloin dinner and then proceeded to "round two" of the gifts. By the time everything had been opened, it was getting close to Maddy's bed time, although she stayed up about an hour and a half later than normal since it was a special occasion. It was a great day and we loved having the family together to celebrate. Here are some pictures from the day -