Christmas... ish

This could be titled "Really long post about Christmas and the days both before and after this wonderful season." But that seemed a little wordy.

First of all, I truly hope you all had absolutely wonderful holidays.

Growing up, Christmas was always absolutely magical; it was more than just presents. It was anticipation, and lights, and love and warmth... I could go on and on.

This year, with the kids at such amazing ages, I felt a lot of pressure to make Christmas really, really MAGICAL... like my parents always did. After at least one mini break down, I was reminded that it is the simple things that make it magical to children.

So... we got down to the serious business of decorating cookies!

Um, wow Zac... that is quite a lot of sprinkles. But, you know what... go to town big boy!

Beautiful Lilly. Simply beautiful. Oh, and the cookie is nice too.

(And, yes, that is her Dora Halloween mask next to her. She still wears it. A lot. Creeeeepy!)

I don't have any pictures, but we also walked through Winterhaven, a neighborhood here that goes ALL OUT for Christmas lights. I wanted to take the kids, but wasn't sure when, so when my godfather told me that they always have a party where they meet at his house and walk there (he lives very close... duh), then go back for dinner and treats, I was IN. The kids did great during the walk. They were so well behaved and excited about the lights. It was a FUN evening!

We had a very busy Christmas Eve. In addition to decorating gingerbread cookies for Santa, we made Peanut Butter Balls (Lilly's favorite and, coincidentally, Santa loves them too). We also made a crock pot of chili, a homemade spinach lasagna, corn bread, banana bread, and salad (with fresh Pomegranate seeds... making the kitchen look like a crime scene!)

We also took a break to wrap some presents. Oh, and to play with wrapping paper.

We had decorated the tree earlier in the week, but we had to add some finishing touches.
We also had to leave out Reindeer Food. You know, so the Reindeer have a snack while waiting for Santa.

CUP your hand Zac! Just like feeding the ducks!

Yep, flip flops on Christmas Eve. Love AZ!

We had Christmas Eve dinner with my parents, Aunt Sherry, Cousins Miguel, Sofia, and Megan. Good food, good drink, great company!
We ALMOST forgot to leave the milk and cookies for Santa! Thank goodness we remembered. He ate almost everything, and even left a note!
He also filled Lilly and Zac's stockings!

Christmas morning was amazing. Lilly woke up around 7:30, allowing me to sleep in. I had actually woken up around 7 but stayed in the bedroom because I wanted her to discover the tree on her own. At 7:30 I heard her door open, heard a couple of steps, and then... the most wonderful sound...

The best way I can describe it is Hushed Excitement. She was whispering, but excitedly talking about how "SANTA CAME." The sound of her sucking in her breath in excitement brings tears to my eyes. For her, magic had happened.

She ran into the bedroom to explain that Santa had come and brought "lots and lots of presents!"

We pretty much immediately ran in to Zac's room and told him the great news. Then, we had to examine the tree.

After the four of us opened gifts, we headed to my parent's house. Turns out, Santa had been there too! Then off to my grandparent's where, you guessed it, Santa had been! My goodness!

I apparently did not get any good pictures of the rest of the day, as I was too wrapped up in the good times. We stayed in PJs all day!

We got home around 2, and had the rest of the afternoon to rest and play with all of our new toys. Santa sure was good to us!

A couple of days later, when I woke Zac up from his nap, I saw this:

FLUFFY hair Zac!

So we decided it was haircut time. Jeremy met us at the salon, where Lilly got her FIRST HAIRCUT! That's right... Zac has had 3 or 4, but Lilly had never had a haircut. She never wanted one, but this time she agreed (I never wanted to fight her on it... I knew she'd come around).

What a big girl!

Zac's turn! This was a first for him too... the first time he sat all by himself (not on my lap!) for a haircut!

Zac looks worried because, well, he was worried. But, he's a pro.

So... whew! It has been a busy couple of days. Now, mommy is trying to clean up Christmas while the kids are busy fighting over toys. Sigh. These are not the moments I remember from my childhood, but I'm sure they happened too. I pray that Lilly and Zac remember only the magic of Christmas.

A couple of side notes:

Again, I wish a very merry Christmas to everyone, especially the Yagers in California who we didn't get to spend Christmas with. We were thinking about you, and the kids thank you for the wonderful gifts. Merry Christmas. We love you.

Also, there has been some sadness this season as well. Our thoughts and prayers are with those who are hurting and dealing with the loss of a loved one during this time, or any, time of year.