OK so I figure I will just make one huge text post about all of our 8 Christmases this year and then post picture posts for them.
Christmas was absolutely wonderful. I have always loved Christmas, its cliche I know but it truly is my favorite time of year. It just seems to get better and better every year.
We started out on Saturday evening at my dad and step moms house. My step mom made Christmas dinner and when we got there she was in the kitchen crying because she didn't think her dumplings were going to turn out. I felt so bad for her cause I know how perfect she wanted everything to be (shes a perfectionist like that). My sister and I tried to reassure her that it didn't matter even if we ate pizza it would still be Christmas! She sent my dad after chicken and the funny thing was that her dumplings turned out GREAT after all and no one wanted any chicken cause we were all to busy eating the dumplings. We all got to open our presents and then we just spent rest of the evening with each other. My step mom started this tradition a few years ago to have our Christmas on the Saturday before Christmas every year. I love it because we can actually enjoy our family and not be rushed from one place to the next. Thank you Dad (granddad) and Mom#2 (Nana) for a wonderful Christmas.
Then on Sunday evening we headed to Bartlesville for Christmas with my dads family. It was great fun. Santa clause made a special trip just to visit all the great grand kids. Aiden had no part of sitting on Santa's lap, but Brady sure did. He was really checking this guy out. I think he liked the feel of his Santa suit more than anything. Of course Aiden thought it was more fun to open Brady's presents than his own but I guess boys will be boys huh?
Christmas Eve morning we headed out to Glenpool to spend the day with Todd's family. We had a very big and yummy breakfast. After that we let the kids tear into their gifts. Aiden got this Lightning McQueen punching bag and I didn't think we were ever going to get him away from it. He also got a three wheeler from his Memaw and Papa equipped with a helmet, knee and elbow pads. You know Aiden and his hats, he had to wear the helmet! He got lots of fun noisy toys to bring home! After we all opened and visited and laughed Todd and I decided it was time for a nap. We tried but it didn't last long. After a while we all sat around the kitchen table snacking and talking trying not to over do it on the snacks cause we had to go again in a matter of hours!
At 4:30 we headed over to Todd's great Aunt Joyce's house and had more snacks and hot tea and Aiden got to open his ball pit. (can you imagine Aiden's eyes when he saw all those balls?)
At 5:30 we went to Todd's Granny and Grandpas house for dinner and the kids opening their gifts. Aiden had a wonderful time with all his cousins. Him and Todd's cousins little kids sat on the kitchen floor enjoying themselves some good Christmas cookies with lots of icing! We were starting to get tired but we couldn't stop yet we had another stop to make.
At about 7:00 off we went to my Aunts house in Bartlesville. I love Christmas at my Aunts. We always have so much fun and I have so many fond memories of Christmases past. This year we added a new fun game to our traditions. We played dirty Santa. We all had a lot of fun and sorry Greg, I made you get the sausage log! I think what I love most about this Christmas is that we always play games. This year we played Tabu and my team won! After our game we decided we should probably get Aiden home. So we left there and got home around 11:30.
I wanted to make sure that everything was ready to go for in the morning and I realized we didn't have a tape for our camcorder. So I ran to Walgreens and couldn't find what I thought I needed. I got home and was frantic, Todd decided he would go and he found that Walgreens did have what we needed and he finally got home close to 2:00 in the morning! Thank goodness Aiden slept until about 8:30 so we did manage to get a little sleep. We opened our stockings and then our gifts. We all got a lot of nice things and we had a wonderful morning with each other. Aiden finally got the hang of things on opening presents and was tearing into his gifts! It was a lot of fun to watch his eyes light up when he opened a gift. He loved his sit and spin zebra and of course his OU basketball we got him. He went down for a nap early so Todd and I had a late Christmas breakfast and then later we all took a nap. Aiden played for a long time with us and his new toys. He was having a great time. Then we were out the door for Christmas with my mom.
We started this tradition last year I believe, we decided that by Christmas night everyone had their fill of turkey and dressing and all the traditional sides, so we wanted to do something a little different. This year it was Mexican! YUMMY! I made tacos, my mom made enchiladas, my aunt made tamales, and my sister brought her famous salad which everyone loves! We had so much food but it was so good! Aiden and Brady got lots more toys and clothes. My sister and Brad bought Aiden the TMX Elmo. I was so excited about this gift and it made me so sad when Aiden opened it and he was scared of it. I think he will just need some time to see that there is nothing scary about this fun loving little creature! Mimi bought Aiden and Brady a drum set and a keyboard which we were thankful stayed at Mimi's house! Aiden loves to play the drums and he even understands the concept of playing the drums! It is really cute to watch him play them! We all had a wonderful time.
Christmas was great! Although we did get a little tired I absolutely love Christmas. There is nothing like it!
I adore this one. It actually reminds me of my father. There is a few pictures of him as a little boy that I remember and he looks so much like this. My dad had blonde hair and had that sweet face as a child. This picture captures his childlike innocence!
He is just the sweetest little boy!
