Merry, Merry Christmas!

*Be Prepared For Ridiculous Amounts of Pictures*
 
The Baylys had a pretty spectacular Christmas this year. Lots of good, quality family time, lots of good, quality food, and lots of good, quality laughter. On the 23rd we went to the Rogers, where the kids enacted the annual Nativity play.

Check out Maisie's star costume, it's freakin' awesome. Uncle Kevy also put his beard to good use.

It's crazy how real it looks, and how much it ages him. The next day was Christmas Eve, and we hung out with the Baylys,eating a tasty brunch. I never get pictures, because we mostly just sit around and chat. The kids all played hardcore with their cousins, and this was the result on our drive home.

Maisie was the only kid left standing. What's funny about this is, other than Finn, none of these kids even nap anymore. That night we had a special early visit from Santa, we read/listened to the Polar Express while eating popcorn and eggnog, and then the kids were off to bed. We had given them a 6:00 a.m. wake-up time, but 5:55 was about all the girls could manage. We let Finn keep sleeping in order to ensure that he wouldn't be beastly later on. Teag and I got all the tree lights plugged in, and then had the kids be cozy for a minute while we got everything ready to open presents.

We let them tear into their stockings first.

Rory totally digs pistachios, so Santa really knew what he was doing. The other girls got some peanuts in their shells, something I remember getting in my stocking when I was kid. They also got some other sweet presents, with an apparent "Frozen" theme.

Princess Elsa doll

Olaf Earrings

Then we took turns opening the rest of the presents. Maisie got a Lego set that she was VERY excited about, President Business's Lair, from the Lego Movie. She also got some books, more jewelry, Maleficent the movie, and some other things.

Danyn, who won't hold still when she's excited, making picture taking in low-light very difficult, got a Dolphin Cruiser Lego set, a new jewelry box, notebooks, a movie, and some more stuff.

Rory got a princess tent, a microphone, a kitty that can walk and meow, a princess coloring book, and some Lego's as well.

Teag and I got some cool presents too. Teag got a bunch of aviation biographies, something he really seems to enjoy, and some gun-related stuff.

I got some books myself (never can have too many!), and some jewelry, as well as a few movies, and a super nice pair of snow gloves.

We had just about finished unwrapping everything when Finn woke up. It was perfect timing. The girls all watched him excitedly open up his loot.

He got an airplane, a tool set, a Bubble Puppy, a fire engine tent, some Lego's (of course!), and a hard hat. He spent most the morning walking around with his "struction" stuff on.

As soon as all presents were opened, the kids immediately went into build mode.

Rory and Finn also made great use of their tents, and had quite a lot of fun bringing other people in and out of them.

Teag and I were incredibly tired, and made use of a little down time for a quick nap amid the debris.

After that, it was breakfast and shower time, and then off to the Rogers for more presents and our Christmas lunch. The three girls all got hand-crocheted jackets/shawls from Grandma Rogers, and Finny got a Fisher-Price car wash that he absolutely loved. Teag and I got some "date nights" from my parents (GC's to restaurants and movies), and this amazing picture puzzle from Nate and Elle.

Nate created the whole idea for it, and executed it brilliantly! It's based on those number puzzles you see all the time as kids, and all the pieces move around wherever you want them to go. Seriously cool. After presents we ate food, and then I worked at getting Finn down for a nap. Despite sleeping in somewhat, the overall excitement had taken its toll, and he was wrecked. He didn't sleep long, however, and when he woke up, he was very lethargic and cuddly, something Grandpa got to take full advantage of.

Later that night, Jan stopped by to bring Finn his present, a handmade bomber jacket, complete with cool patches.

Finn loved it and wore it all night, not wanting to take it off even when we put his pajamas on.

We had to fight to get him out of it for bed. He wears it everywhere we go now, and gets quite a few compliments.

So that was our Christmas. It may not have been anything fancy, or elaborate, but it felt like a great success. The kids seemed to especially enjoy their presents this year, which always feels good as a parent, and we encouraged the kids pick out presents for their siblings that were something they would really like. I was blown away by the thoughtfulness and generosity I saw from them as they worked out their little budgets to coordinate with their desires for each other. It felt like such a great day, and a great season.

Merry Christmas to all!