Christmas!

With two five-year-olds and a three-year-old, Christmas is very magical and fun.  The kids love Santa, don't expect a lot, and are happy with what they do get.  They are slightly excited about presents they choose for others, but it's still pretty much about them.  Hopefully, they will maintain their happy attitudes about Christmas and increase their capacity for empathy and the giving spirit in the coming years.  Regardless, this year was pretty darn fun.  We made Christmas calendars/behavior charts for the first time.  Anna somehow managed to make it the whole month without a single frowny face.   And, we continued some other traditions like baking for Santa, listening to lots of Christmas music, and looking for our Elf on the Shelf.  The only thing missing was Thomas.

Christmas Eve was exciting.  Despite all our counting down, they seemed surprised to learn we were actually just one night away from Christmas morning!  I let them open up their Christmas pajamas (another tradition), we kept an eye on the NORAD tracker, and watched Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.  It was a fun night.  It was easy to get them into bed, since they knew Santa wouldn't visit if they were still awake.

Unfortunately, bed time for them meant work time for me.  I had bought them a Power Wheels Dune Buggy.  Assembly required.  That is much more Thomas' forte than mine (I need to do a blog on all the things I have had to put together myself in the past 2 months).  Most reviews said assembly would take about an hour.  It took me around 3.  By the time I had everything ready for the morning, it was close to 1, which is way past my bed time.

The kids got up at their regular time (around 7:30), which was nice.  Thomas was going to try and Skype with us, but the Liberty Center didn't open until 9.  The kids opened their stockings and then got the rare treat of daytime t.v. (in this case, Dora the Explorer Christmas Special) while we waited.  They also had cinnamon rolls, which is Jennifer's tradition.  Finally, it was 9 and the computer rang.  

Thomas got to see them open about 1 present each before the connection was lost.  Too many people on the computers.  That was disappointing.  The kids opened another present and then decided to take a break to play.  The whole morning was filled with presents and play breaks.  It was relaxing and fun.  Jack had "lots of work" to do after opening up some new legos.  

Around 2, the girls decided they wanted to try out their scooters.  About the same time, we noticed a note from Santa under the tree.  In short, it said that there was another present that was too big to fit under the tree. They went on a hunt and found the Dune Buggy in the garage.  

Let me just say that Jack is a terrible driver.  Anna could only stand to be a passenger for about 3 minutes before she was screaming, "let me out of this thing."  However, she was only slightly better.  Kara was surprisingly good, probably because she actually listened to directions instead of insisting she, "knows how to drive."  Fortunately, there is a safety screw that keeps it at 2.5 mph.  It will be awhile before they have the option of the speedy 5 mph.  

Then, it was back inside to call relatives to thank them.  It was a fun day.  Jack kept calling it "Christmas Eve," so I was worried about his expectations this morning.  Fortunately, he was happy to get up and play with all his toys.  

Some of the aftermath. 

Kara's favorite present was her dreamlight.  She means "all of them."  Anna said she liked her polly pocket stuff.  Jack also said all of them, when I asked him for a favorite he said he needed a few minutes to think about it.  He finally chose a giant robot toy as his favorite.  Kara is also excited about a Toys-R-Us gift card their grandmother sent for whatever Santa may have missed.