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Pinball wizard and a furry eagle

Christmas was lovely this year. There is no better way to describe it! Having a four year old and a six year old is prime time when it comes to Christmas celebrating and Santa visits. I had so many favorite moments this year. We started our celebrations on Christmas Eve with the traditional German sugar cookie making event. We put the cookies on plates and delivered them to our neighbors, something Rowan was so excited to do. He loves presents, no matter what kind and no matter to whom they belong. After cookies, Chris and I worked on the traditional German Christmas Eve dinner (bratwurst, knackwurst, potato salad, deviled eggs, red cabbage, and a heavy side of cholesterol) while the boys quietly watched "Mickey's Christmas Carol." They joined us in the dining room for a candlelight dinner. Davin was feeling the emotion of the evening and kept wanting to hold my hand, something I happily complied with. After dinner, we cleared the table and then told the Christmas story and sang Christmas carols while lighting our German pyramid. By that time we were all holding hands, singing "Silent Night" together.







We shared the first gift of Christmas with the boys: silly Christmas monster pajamas and bear-paw slippers. The boys loved their new jammies! Davin decided his slippers were actually eagle talons and not bear paws, so we called him a "furry eagle" and the name stuck. After a pajama picture in front of the tree, the boys headed off to bed. Rowan is still working on the Santa narrative, so he didn't have as much anticipation about what was going to happen that night and what he had to look forward to the next morning. Davin, on the other hand, is very aware of who Santa is and how he arrives at our house. He was so excited to put out cookies for Santa and he had a hard time getting the visions of sugar plums in his head to quiet down so that he could go to sleep. Eventually it happened, though, and both boys didn't come to our room until 7:30 the next morning. Davin climbed into bed, asking if Santa ate our cookies and telling me with delicious delight that he had heard Santa and his sleigh the night before him. I'm absolutely convinced that he did. With cameras in hand, we headed down the stairs to find the cookie plate empty and the undersides of the Christmas tree very full.












It didn't take long for Rowan to find his favorite treat in his stocking: Haribo gummies in letter shapes. When we encouraged him to slow down, he responded by shoving a large handful into his mouth. The boys were spoiled with many gifts from Santa, Mom and Dad, grandparents, and each other. Davin asked for a school bus and was delighted with a bus that has blinking lights, a movable stop sign, and kids to put on the bus. Rowan's favorite gift was a hand held pinball game, something we won at a neighborhood white elephant party. Apparently we don't need to "buy" anything for Rowan next year, we can just pass along our white elephant gifts instead. :) I told Chris that I was being practical this year and he received clothes and a new coat from me, though he later found a Kindle Fire hidden under the tree from Santa (because he was a good boy this year). Chris gave me a Kindle as well, so we are living up to our nerdy nature.












We attended church later that afternoon and enjoyed an amazing dinner with friends in the evening. Although we missed seeing our extended family this year (at least in person, thank heavens for web cam!), we had a wonderful Christmas together, one that I won't forget.

Comments

Maile said…
Asher heard Santa too!! I love that you have such strong traditions for Christmas Eve. We're still working on developing those. I'm a nerd, too, and I'm seriously thinking about using the Christmas money from my in-laws to get a Kindle.
December 27, 2011 at 6:19 PM
Shellee said…
WE got our kids playmobil toys yoo. I think they are the only toys worth spending money on. looks like you had a fun day.
December 28, 2011 at 7:10 PM
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