Chris and Kristen + 2: Merry Christmas!!

For I think what might be the last year Hannah and Owen slept until 7:30/8am on Christmas morning. Owen woke up first and I don't think he realized that it was Christmas morning. He wanted to go into the living room but his goal was to check the advent calendar to see if we had finally received baby Jesus and then to play with his new toys from Aunt Debra & Uncle Donald and from Nana and Grandad. He had a hard time understanding why we wouldn't let him go down the hall until Hannah was awake and Mommy and Daddy were ready (as we wanted to capture the moment on video). I finally had to tell him that I thought Santa might have come and then he seemed to understand. Both Hannah and Owen were so excited by their stack of presents from Santa, but they were equally excited about finally getting baby Jesus in our advent calendar. They had been waiting all month and often commented about how hard it was to wait for baby Jesus to "arrive".

Hannah runs down the hall to see if Santa came!

They were so excited to see their Santa presents wrapped just for them. Santa's elf had left a note on Christmas Eve that Hannah's presents would be wrapped in purple and Owen's in blue.

Before diving into present opening Owen check the advent calendar...Baby Jesus finally arrives!

We spent a lot of time in December reading books about the real story of Christmas and playing with our nativity set. Hannah and Owen can name all the pieces and tell you that the wise men brought gold, frankincense, and myrrh. They knew that they day the got baby Jesus that it would be his birthday. They also often pretended to be Mary and Joseph and would have conversations back and forth when they woke up or at night about Bethlehem, Mary and Joseph and the donkey, baby Jesus, or the wise men and shepherds. One morning, Hannah said that her and Owen had been talking and she was going to Bethlehem to help Mary take care of baby Jesus...so cute! There were two books we read a lot this season: Santa's Favorite Story (Santa tells the real story of Christmas) and A Not So Silent Night (a story about all the sounds of Christmas when Mary and Joseph went to Bethlehem and Baby Jesus was born) which Hannah and Owen claimed as their favorites.

Hannah and Owen actually opened one present at a time and took time to watch each other, but for ease of picture posting I've put each of them in their own section.

What did Owen get from Santa? Trucks, trucks, and trucks!

An almost life size (just kidding but it feels like it in our small house) cement mixer by Bruder. We added beans for concrete and the barrel barely stops spinning!

Just look at that smile!

A very real and life like paver!

A flat bed tractor trailer that hauls a very real and life like bulldozer!

We finally think to check stockings after presents are opened.

Mickey movies, a magazine subscription, music, and more!

What did Santa bring for Hannah? A bitty baby and lots of outfits!

Daddy opens Hannah's new bitty baby which she decided to name Holly (in the spirit of Christmas).

Holly gets an outfit change right away!

In her stocking Hannah had a new bathtub wash mitt, Minnie DVD and Minnie CD, plus a book, some cars, and necklace!

From Mommy and Daddy:

Hannah gets some accessories for her new baby...a medical kit and a doll care kit. She also got a new tutu outfit and some books.

Owen gets a Playmobil fire station with a garage bay as well as long sleeve Mickey pjs (because they are still his favorite) and some books.

A couple of days before Christmas I decided that I really wanted Hannah and Owen to pick out a gift for each other. I knew it wouldn't be easy, but wanted to start a tradition of them thinking about the other. The first attempt didn't go so well. Chris took Owen to pick out a take a part car for Hannah since she really likes the one Owen got for his birthday, but the event turned into Owen picking it out for himself. We didn't give up, but put that one away and took them both Target. I shopped with Owen and Chris shopped with Hannah and they did much better. In fact, it was probably my favorite Christmas moment. They each couldn't just choose one thing but ended up with 2-3 items they thought the other would really like!

Hannah picked out a set of rescue vehicles (a little bigger than matchbox size) and a tractor trailer that carries pipes. Owen keeps them out and plays with them everyday!

Owen picked out a Mickey and Daisy puzzle and book for Hannah plus a pink and purple hot wheels car. Here he asks her, "Do you like it Hannah?"! which made the whole experience worthwhile and meaningful.

Christmas Brunch for Nana's Birthday:

We always treat Nana to brunch on Christmas morning for her birthday. As usual we had Grandma Hanna and EE as our guests too. This is always a fun time spent together celebrating two special occasions.

Owen loves to be a helper and is excited about Nana opening her birthday present.

Owen wants to help Nana blow out her candles too.

Grandad gets a little playtime with Owen and checks out his new tools from Santa. Looks like the trash truck needs a little repair.

Nana helps wash out the inside of the cement mixer with Owen.

Naps were in store even though it was Christmas day. A late night on Christmas Eve and the events of the morning made us a very tired boy and girl. Thankfully they both took naps to rest up before heading to Grandma and Papa's house for Christmas.

Christmas at Grandma and Papa's House:

At Grandma and Papa's house we had some time to hang out before eating a delicious meal. Grandma had a baked potato bar and mema made a yummy pot pie. It was perfect and we loved it!

Uncle Troy's playfulness gets us this grin!

I love this picture and the two that follow! It just says Christmas as the three cousins stare in awe at Grandma's Christmas decorations. They love the carousel and enjoy the manger scene in the snow globe.

Hannah recognized the manger scene in this snow globe and points out Mary, Joseph, and Baby Jesus.

Aunt Vic and Wesley pose for a picture!

All these wrapped presents definitely had the kids excited. They did wait patiently through dinner and clean up to open their gifts. It was a whirlwind with 3 young children opening gifts at the same time! But oh was it fun!

Wesley looks on to see what Owen unwrapped.

More trucks! Grandma and Papa know just what to get.

Grandma looks on with a smile. She'd been shopping and picking things up for quite some time and was as excited as Hannah and Owen for Christmas to come.

Hannah unwraps...rain boots!

Papa doubles as the trash man!

Wesley's favorite thing about opening presents was putting all the paper in the trash bag!

Owen looks to see what Hannah unwrapped.

Mema watches in amazement as our family blessed with 3 young children celebrates Christmas...a 3 ring circus might have been mentioned as a description.