Merry, Merry, Merry Christmas...Whew, That Was a LOT of Merry!

We had a wonderful, whirlwind weekend of Christmas festivities as always. It is a chaotic few days, to be sure, but I wouldn't change a thing...but I may tweak a few things next year!

Christmas Eve I was anxious to get to my parents house to bake and decorate cookies with Nana and Aunt Mal-Mal. We had a great time as predicted...but a 9+ hour day at Nanas on Christmas Eve may be a bit much. It was a looooong day and the boys were really well behaved but were just exhausted by the end of the evening so we may go over to Nana's a bit later next year...noon sounds good :)

The rest of the gang arrived late afternoon and we had a wonderful time eating, drinking, and watching the kids run around like maniacs.

We got the kids changed into their matching PJs (a surprise for Nana) and they all settled onto the couch to listen to Bampaw read The Night Before Christmas. The kids were much more attentive this year than last (minus Joey who sat at the far end of the couch looking out the window at the falling snow the entire time) but I think Dad still read as fast as he could!

And finally the time for presents arrived. The kids all took turns opening, oldest to youngest, as we all watched and ooed and aahed. Abby's dad, Kurt, joined us for Christmas Eve this year and it was so cute to watch Joey take each gift opened and run over to Kurt to show him what he got. "See Kurt?" Love my Joe-Bug, he always wants to make sure everyone is included in the fun!

Brookie Marie was a big fan of the Mickey Mouse couch we got her. She allowed Joey to join her for a little relaxation but FREAKED OUT when Uncle Craig dared to lay Landon on it for a second. Sibling rivalry, perhaps?

We made it home in time to put cookies out for Santa (and Joey insisted on carrots for Rudolph), chocolate milk for Santa, and Sunny D for Rudolph (Joe again). The boys then went to bed relatively easily and Dean and I were not too terribly far behind them.

Christmas Day

I really think Ben broke a record for most times up during the night Christmas Eve. He must have gotten up 4-5 times between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. Dean finally climbed into bed with him and when Joey started calling for me around 6 I went ahead and got him up and let him go wake up Benny and Daddy. The boys were thrilled to hear Santa's sleigh bells and Ben swore he could see Rudolph's red nose light up in the sky outside our bedroom window. Joey couldn't wait to see if Rudolph had eaten his carrots and was so excited to see that he had!

Gift opening was fast and furious as always but we had so much fun watching the boys. Benny got a ton of Legos and Joey was excited to receive all his gifts, especially his new baby doll (whom he named Baby Benny...Ben was not amused), but really just couldn't wait to play with his play doh kitchen that he got from Sissy the night before and watch How To Train Your Dragon (also from Sissy...well done!)

The morning went quickly as we headed to Oma's house around 10:45 a.m. There was a lot of present opening and food eating there as well. The boys loved wrestling with their cousins.

We headed home around 2 p.m. Joey napped while Benny and Dean worked on his Legos and I put the turkey in the oven and did some cooking. Nana, Bampaw, and Aunt Mal-Mal came over around 5 p.m. and had fun watching the boys show off their loot and we enjoyed a nice Christmas Dinner.

I love seeing so many of our loved ones and sharing in the boy's excitement. Christmas is such a magical time and it is always a little sad to see it end...but this year I have to say that I am a little ready to get back into our normal routine. I am a schedule-loving girl and between the sickness and holidays this past month, I am losing my mind and am ready to return to normalcy...or at least as normal as we can get