Christmas Eve was very nice! We were invited to Kim's house. It was a nice afternoon of just hanging out with Garyn's family & Rya playing with her cousins. After lunch & some play time outside, it was present time! Hayden passed out in his high chair right after eating though. Rya was so precious! We asked her if she wanted to open presents & she kept saying 'Opey, opey!' She would sit down & wait patiently for someone to hand her a gift.
Hayden finally woke up & was very interested in everything being opened & all the excitment! He was so cute, kept grabbing things & laughing! Both Rya & Hayden got alot of great stuff from Grandma & Grandpa Holmes! Hayden needed clothes & he got a few great outfits. Rya loved her new baby dolls & giant coloring book. Rya had such a blast opening all her gifts! Time to open the biggest gift! Rya tore right into it with the help of Daddy. It was the Disney Princess quad. When she saw it, she jumped back & yelled "Bikey!!" It was so funny & precious! Hayden was very interested in his big gift. He got an amazing Baby Einstein saucer. Grandpa Greg put it together right away & Hayden loved it!
As soon as we got home, Rya wanted all her new toys opened so we set to work on that. Cleaning the house that evening was a chore! We let Rya open 1 gift before bed (another family tradition). Her gift that night was a new pair of PJ's we've been wanting to get her ever since she was born. They're adorable Alpinestars Ashley Fiolek PJ's. They looked so cute on Rya! As soon as Rya & Hayden were asleep, we set to work finishing wrapping gifts & putting everything under the tree. It looked great! Our babies are so spoiled!
We did our tradition of watching a Christmas movie with 3-way popcorn. We always watch 'White Christmas' which we own but it is in storage in WA. I went to Blockbuster to rent it, but they didn't have it so we got 'Nativity Story' instead. We didn't even make it through the entire movie. It's really tiring playing Santa. :)
We were so beyond excited for Christmas morning this year. Since Rya's 2 years old this year, she now knows what a present is & can open them herself & gets excited when she sees the gift. We didn't put any gifts under the tree before Christmas Eve night because we knew Rya wouldn't leave them alone & we didn't want her to open anything early. Garyn & I actually woke up before the kids. We waited about 45min but they were still sleeping! I went in & woke up Rya. She came out & as soon as she saw all the gifts, she got the biggest smile on her face! I remember my Dad once telling me that one of the best things about being a parent, is seeing your child's expression when they come out Christmas morning & see that Santa came. He was so right!
I wanted to change Rya's diaper & put her PJ pants back on then have her go through her stocking 1st & then open gifts. She had a different plan. She came out & right away opened the biggest gift! It was the Tinkerbell table & chair set from Mommy & Daddy. She had such a great time opening her gifts! By the time she was done, Hayden woke up. We helped him open his. While he couldn't open his gifts on his own, he was very interested in what he got! Our favorite gift for him this morning was the Lil Zoomers Spinning Sounds Speedway from my Dad.
Christmas afternoon was then filled with opening all their new toys again & cleaning up the house. Rya got 2 teasets for Christmas, 1 from Garyn's mom & stepdad & 1 from my Dad. So we got her table & chairs set up with the teasets so she could have a little tea party. I was busy with Hayden when I heard Garyn & Rya in her play room & I peak in & Garyn's having a tea party with Rya. It was so adorable! I've been waiting to see that ever since we found out we were having a baby girl back in June 2008!
Around 8pm we left to go do our newest family Christmas tradition. We started it last year & it's defintely going to stick! We go bowling on Christmas night! It's alot of fun! Rya was so good & had such a great time watching everyone & helping Mommy & Daddy for a few frames. Hayden was a perfect angel! He just chilled in his carseat the entire time, watching the lights & laughing at Mommy & Daddy.
We has such a wonderful Christmas! I still can't believe how great it was! I'm so beyond happy that Hayden's 1st Christmas went so well & even happier that Rya had such a spectacular Christmas. This holiday was very hard for us last year so it was extra important that we make it up this year. Hopefully Christmas 2009 will be the last tough Christmas we ever have to go through! We got to spend some time with Garyn's family. Rya always loves seeing them & playing with her cousins. She even says 'Mason' now! Hayden was showered with love. They got some awesome gifts - lots of new toys & clothes! While Garyn & I didn't get much for each other alot this year (it was all about Rya & Hayden) we did get a few small gifts for each other & adore them! We were very happy that we were finally able to afford gifts for everyone else as well! While we both dislike the 70 degree weather on Christmas & I really miss having a cold & rainy Christmas, nothing could have ruined Christmas this year! I really wish my family could have come down for the holiday for a few reasons 1) Hayden's 1st Christmas & 2) I haven't spent a Christmas with my family since 2007. There's always next year! We are so very thankful for such a wonderful Christmas & hope this is the start to things going right for us!
