Sophie has been in "Christmas mode" for the majority of the month of December and she is at the age now where the customs and traditions of the holiday are beginning to make sense to her. This was the first year we were able to use Santa to our advantage. Sophie now understands the notion that Santa will only bring her presents if she is a good girl, so every time Sophie did something good (or bad), we "called" Santa to let him know about her behavior....this worked like a charm! Cooper is still a little young to make sense of all of this Christmas "stuff", but he did enjoy singing along to Christmas songs, eating Christmas cookies, and pulling ornaments off of the tree. Hopefully we will be able to use Santa to encourage good behavior in Cooper next year, too!
Although Christmas was a bit hectic this year, the kids had an amazing time and we were blessed to be able to spend the holidays with our family and friends. A few days before Christmas, we had Papa John and his buddies stop by our house to sing some traditional Polish Christmas carols.
Christmas Eve was spent going to mass, which is always an interesting experience. Sophie does a great job of sitting, but trying to keep Cooper entertained and seated for 45 minutes isn't an easy task. After mass, we stopped by my cousin's house to see some of our family before heading to my Aunt Judy's for our traditional Polish Christmas Eve. We did not get many pictures that night since we spent most of our time running around the house trying to keep Cooper from breaking all of the glass and porcelain Christmas decorations. However, we had a wonderful evening visiting with family and eating a delicious meal.
This is the scene the kids woke up to on Christmas morning...Santa had left the kids presents under the tree, he had filled their stockings, and he and his reindeer had eaten their entire plate of goodies.
After the intial excitement of Santa's delivery, we began opening presents and spent all of Christmas morning in our pj's.
After the kids opened all of their gifts, the adults were able to exchange and open theirs. My "big gift" from Steve this year was a Canon Rebel XSi...it is so sweet! I tested out my new camera immediately by taking a few more pictures of the kids playing with their new toys. If you thought I was picture-crazy before...just wait!
After the kids woke up from their naps, we headed over to my dad's house (yes, my dad hosted Christmas this year!!!) for dinner along with Papa Del, Grandma Dee, Grandma C, Grammie Ruth, Aunt Biz (my dad's sister) and Uncle Roger. You will see below that Cooper thoroughly enjoyed his meal!
After a busy Christmas, Steve and I were anxious to get home and put the kids to bed so we could relax a bit. And what better way to unwind than to curl up on the couch with a bowl of popcorn and watch a holiday classic...Christmas Vacation!
We hope that you had a magical and blessed Christmas filled with happiness, health, family and friends! Best wishes for a wonderful 2009!
*Don't forget to view the short video clips below of the kids singing their favorite Christmas songs!
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