Merry (belated) Christmas!

Our Christmas(es) was wonderful. We spent a bit of time with each of our families and got to spend Christmas Day just the four of us, so it was perfect.
On the 22nd we drove down to Rochester to have Christmas with my dad's side of the family. Paul and Tracy made some delicious food and were so happy to host their first Christmas in their new house :)

On the 23rd we celebrated Christmas with my parents, my brother, and Mandy. Since Ben just had his birthday a few weeks ago, he remembered how to open presents, but Colin still helped him out. He got a Little People airport.

 And Colin got a remote control Gator.

On Christmas Eve, we went to Kevin's parents' house. Ben got a fun xylophone.

 Colin got a(nother) farm. He likes it because it has a pulley for the hay loft and lots of little pieces.

 

Then on Christmas morning, Colin woke up and asked for a banana and Daddy's iPad just like any other morning. I asked him if he thought Santa came. He walked into the living room and it dawned on him that it was Christmas. He looked at the cookie plate and said, "Santa made a mess!"

Then I reminded him about his stocking and he dumped it out. This kid is happy when he gets new socks. Easy to please.

 Then he stared at the Chutes and Ladders game that Santa brought him for awhile.

Benny woke up soon after Colin and found the sled Santa brought him and pulled it around the house for a long time.

I managed to snap a pretty good shot of the boys in front of the tree. Ben, of course, in his sled. The tree decorated by a three year old. There are no ornaments until halfway up the tree, and they're all unbreakable to avoid disaster by a certain 1 year old. Perfect.

 The boys played with the shovels Santa brought them.

Then they dug into the presents we got them. We decided to go with: Something he wants (train cars), something he needs (alarm clock that shows him when its okay to wake up), something to wear (Jake and the Neverland Pirates tshirt), something to read (subscription to Zootles by Zoobooks).

Ben opened his presents in his sled, of course. We didn't really follow the rhyme this year for him. Something he wants ( - ), something he needs (Puddle Jumper), Something to wear (diapers), Something to read ( - ). He's too little to care this year.

The rest of the day we hung out, played outside, and went through the toys in the basement to get rid of broken ones and store the toys they don't play with anymore. They are far too spoiled, and we need to clean out what they aren't playing with. We also Skyped with Kevin's grandparents who are down in Texas for the winter.

This Christmas was fun because it was the first year Colin knew who Santa was, along with knowing about baby Jesus. It was so great to see his reactions and see the holiday from his perspective. This being Ben's second Christmas, but first one that he stayed awake for, it was fun to see his excitement as well.

We are so blessed to have family that gave us such a nice Christmas. Thanks for everything, families!