Nikos woke us up yesterday morning at just after 6am, climbing into our bed and insisting that we go and see if Santa had come. I told him that I knew for a fact that he had come, since I had heard the reindeer and their jingle bells on our roof. Nikos instantly shared that he, too, had heard the reindeer. And Rudolph was there, too! It was so cute!
Anyway, we managed to keep him in bed with us for another ten minutes or so before he simply HAD to get up. I quickly got myself ready, and left him in the room with Gus so I could go and turn on the Christmas tree, grab my camera, preheat the oven for breakfast, etc. Then I woke up Miss Maya, who would have gladly slept longer if only her brother wasn't chomping at the bit! Nikos RAN down the hall to the living room, instantly descending upon the train set that Santa had left for him. He kept saying, "This is what I wanted! Santa brought me a train set!!" It was SO sweet! Maya, being a little groggy still, had to be carried to the living room. But as soon as she saw her baby carriage, she was in love. She and Nikos both had to examine each other's gifts, and they could have played with them all day!
Then the present-opening madness began. Of course, I got the kids a lot of useful things (like clothing and shoes), mixed in with some fun things. Some of the highlights included a firefighter dress-up kit, lots of shoes for Maya (she loves them... go figure!), some cool new puzzles, and, well, everything else! When it was all said and done, it looked like a toy store had exploded in our living room. But they were happy as can be!
Even Charlie got into the Christmas spirit, sticking close by as we opened gifts (and he got one too, of course!)
When the present-opening extravaganza was done, we sat down to a yummy breakfast of homemade maple-cinnamon rolls (heaven!!), caramelized bacon, and fresh fruit. The kiddos had chocolate milk (a rare treat) and Gus and I had mimosas. I repeat: heaven!
Once we had finished eating and had gotten things somewhat picked up, we got dressed and headed up to my parents' house for the rest of the day. In addition to my parents, we were joined by my grandma, my brother, his wife, and their son, Colton (who is now three months old!!). We opened presents again, receiving many more wonderful and generous gifts. Seriously, we were all spoiled rotten! And after that, we hung out, snacked on yummy crackers and dips all afternoon, and (by some miracle) enjoyed a period where ALL THREE kids were asleep at the same time! We used this time to test out my brother's new multi-player game on the Wii, and I literally laughed so hard at one point that tears were streaming down my face. I can't even explain why, because it would sound stupid. But Gus and I were both DYING laughing. Oh my gosh. I guess you had to be there!
Later on, we had an awesome dinner prepared by my mom, which included her world-famous scalloped potatoes. Well, they may not be famous, but they should be, because they are THAT good! And once we were done, we bathed the kiddos, loaded up the car, and headed back home. All in all, it was an excellent Christmas,and the kids really enjoyed getting to see their great-grandma, aunt, uncle, and COUSIN! Nikos kept announcing that Colton was his favorite cousin, which cracked me up. And both kids just wanted to hold him and snuggle with him all day long, like he was some sort of living doll!
Anyway, it was fun, but I am wiped out! And our backyard is just loaded with empty boxes and wrapping paper that we need to recycle but don't have room in the can for. And to think, Nikos asked if Santa was coming again today! Sorry, kiddo, but I'm pretty sure you have enough.
Hope everyone had a good one!
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