Life... as we know it: Merry Christmas

Merry Merry Christmas!

Suri, this is definitely the most wonderful time of the year and experiencing the magic of Christmas through your eyes has made it even more fun. Ever since I was a little girl, I have always loved Christmas and now that you are here with me, I love it all even more. You are so full of wonder and excitement that each and every part of this holiday season is so much more fun as I now have the opportunity to experience it through your eyes.

I finally have a moment to relax and get caught up on your blog now that you are laying down for a nap as you are quite exhausted after all the excitement we have had over the past few days as we prepared for Christmas. Christmas seemed to come and go before we were ready to say goodbye but while it was here we had so much fun! You are definitely one loved little girl and received more presents than we know what to do with. This has been a fun month indeed, I had a lot of fun preparing for the events that lead us to Christmas, such as the Birthday Party you had for Jesus with your Sunday school class, gathering gifts for our adopted family at work and at church, getting gifts for friends and families and all the other fun things that make Christmas magical... At two years old, you never cease to amaze me. You have grown so much over this past month, it has been a delight to watch you grasp the concept of giving and receiving. You love to wish people a Merry Christmas followed by telling complete strangers that you are 2 years old and that Santa is going to bring you a shopping cart! You are definitely my social butterfly and have always strike up some interesting people with the people behind us in line at the check out counter :)

This year, we went to 1.5 Christmas church services... on Sunday you sat nicely with me in our church Christmas service so I figured we could give it another go on Christmas Eve and attend church with Grandpa and the rest of the family at their church which is much more structured than our church. You lasted about 20 minutes before you decided you wanted no part of being quiet and still. You and I spent the remainder of the hour in the car listening to Christmas music and discussing the fact that you needed to be good the restaurant when we went to dinner after church was over. Thankfully that part was a success and the Mexican food was delicious. It was just what I needed to refuel for the rest of the evening.

After church, we went out to Grandpa's house to open family gifts. You were pretty much the center of attention and you received lots of fun gifts. Every one had a nice time together and enjoyed all of their gifts. Later that night, Aunt Ashley and Uncle Don came to spend the night with us at our house as they were so excited to see what Santa was going to bring for you. You loved having them here and we are so happy they were able to stay. Before you went to bed, we said our Good Byes to Doodle, your Elf. You talked to him and blew him kisses goodbye. I must admit, it tugged at my heart strings to watch you say your sad goodbyes to him. We had a lot of fun with him this past month. You woke up each and every morning so excited to find where Doodle would be hiding. You always spotted him before I did and the look on your face was priceless day after day. You love that little guy and talked to him all the time. Between the Elf book, movie and Doodle himself, this house was definitely ready for Christmas to arrive!

On Christmas morning, Santa brought you your SHOPPING CART with Bananas and you were so excited!!! He also brought you lots of other toys too. Im certain his sleigh must have been pretty heavy as there was so much fun stuff by our Christmas tree on Christmas morning, you were pretty overwhelmed looking at it all! He brought you the bouncing Tigger you see on TV and you love it! The biggest, prettiest dolly house I have ever seen (it must have taken Santa's elves a good 3 hours to build for sure!!), he brought you dollies and ponies, Dora stuff and puzzles. More goodies than you know what to do with! It was so much fun watching you open all of your gifts from Santa.
In the middle of all the excitement we had a but of a disruption... we heard the gate to the backyard slam but since we were so caught up in you opening your gifts, we didn't get up to check out the noise. About an hour later, we realized the dogs were gone. Luckily, Tecoah was standing near the front of the house but unfortunately Sager was nowhere to be found. The gate to the backyard was closed... how in the world did the dogs get out??? Someone must have opened the gate??? We heard it slam and there is no way the dogs opened and closed it themselves. The hunt for Sager began. I drove around and around the neighborhood looking for her. It was quiet and cold outside as everyone was inside having Christmas with their families. Sager was no where to be seen. I had almost given up the search when I decided to give it one last try. As I was walking out to my car, I saw a truck drive by and Sager was in the back. I flagged down the driver who said to me that they found her running down Shea Boulevard trembling. Sager was so frightened but she was HOME!!! Safe and Sound!!! I was so happy to see that hound dog (who wasn't wearing her collar... bad Mommy). Having her returned home was my best gift of Christmas!!

After all of that commotion we went out to Grandpas house as he called to tell us Santa must have gotten confused and thought Suri was staying there too as he left some more presents for her under Grandpa's tree!! Suri was so excited to see our new bike trailer highchair and ironing board. Such fun gifts! Thanks Santa!!!! It was so fun to watch you and Jackson play with your new toys from Santa together. To hear your conversations and watch you two interact is hilarious. You two are quite the pair indeed.
Later Christmas Day we went out to see Aunt Ashley and Uncle Don's new house in Litchfield park. It sure is nice and BIG! The neighborhood is beautiful and there is a little playground within walking distance that will be fun to play on when we come visit... we cant wait to see the final product when it is done in March!

I am so thankful I didn't have to work today as you and I both needed some time to relax at home. You are napping, I got some cleaning done and this morning we had a visit from the Dworks and you were able to show Bryson your new toys and hold baby Julianna. It has been a wonderful holiday and I am definitely sad to see it end. I am not looking forward to taking all of our holiday decorations down as I think the house looks so warm and cozy with it all up. I may leave it another week or two but as the saying goes... "all good things must come to an end".... but, this year. I am definitely not in a hurry :)

Here are some pictures of the fun we have had over Christmas...