Sunday, December 27, 2009

Christmas Day

We got up early Christmas morning. I was so excited for the kids to get up that I couldn't sleep after six o'clock. They actually slept until almost seven, so I had to (im)patiently wait!Henry was the first one up and he came and sat with me on the couch to snuggle a few minutes, but the other two weren't far behind him. Jonah got up next (with Bridget right on his heels) and found his twinkie tree* right away. He couldn't have been more thrilled. :)
The kids got right to opening presents. We have them open one at a time, youngest to oldest. They really enjoy seeing what the other kids get! Henry's favorite gift was a pocket knife. He has been wanting one for quite some time, and we decided that he is responsible enough to have it now (with very strict guidelines on it's use). Bridget wanted to immediately try on everything she opened...here she has a new pink camoflauge hat and coin purse that were in her stocking.
Bridget's favorite gift was whichever one she was opening at the time. She just LOVED opening presents and kept saying "wow!" to every new thing she saw. She did get a brand new doll stroller and doll and they have gotten quite a bit of use already. :)
After a fun morning of opening a crazy amount of gifts, we took a break and ate homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast. By mid-morning the kids were pretty wiped out, so we gave them showers and put on their nice clothes for the afternoon.
Henry was really tired by this point and was upset that I wouldn't let him wear his new camo pants (which he had already worn for two days straight!), so he wasn't in the mood for a picture. But I just couldn't bring myself to take it without him, so this was the result...
Kinda sad, huh? I know. But he felt much better after a long nap. Jonah was very accomodating for pictures; I just couldn't get him to put his gun down and stop posing!
Bridget was also more than willing to have her picture taken. She just LOVED her new Christmas dress (so thankful to the dry-cleaning company and restoration company for finding it and cleaning it and overnight shipping it to us in time for Christmas!) and of course, said she looked like a princess. She's not really a fan of dresses these days, but every now and again she'll succumb and she always says that.
After naps and lunch, everyone came over. Sam's brothers and sister and all the cousins. It was a houseful! I think I heard the people count was 27. We all made appetizers and finger foods and served those for dinner...it was a fun and casual way to feed a group of that size.
We held two white elephant gift exchanges, one for the young kids and one for the adults and older kids. Some of the little ones are too young to understand trading and stealing of presents, so we just hand-picked gifts for them. Bridget got an adorable little puppy that is JUST like her beloved Rufus, only pink and white instead of green and white. She wasn't quite sure what to make of it at first (I think she thought it was supposed to replace Rufus and she was certainly not interested in that!) but she has enjoyed carrying it around the last two days.
Henry really had a great time once the cousins arrived. He just LOVES his cousins! After a few 'steals,' Henry left the gift exchange with the coveted Ikea tool set. It was the most popular gift among the boys!
The funniest gift of the day came from my sister in law, Kelly. The background for this gift is that we each have a sweet, mild mannered two year old in our respective family. These best friend cousins are strangely transformed into wild, screaming hooligans when they get together and they always seem to find some sort of trouble together that either one alone would never get into by themselves. They often find their way to showers or sinks to see how much water they can fill up before someone finds them. I'm not exaggerating when I say they are TROUBLE together!
Around Halloween this year I suggested to Kelly that we dress them up as Thing 1 and Thing 2 (from The Cat in the Hat, of course!). Kelly had already planned out Halloween costumes, so I just let it go and forgot about it. Kelly, however, took the idea and for Christmas made matching shirts for the two of them.
Aren't they adorable? We had them both wear the shirts to church today, since they are in the same class.
Hope your Christmas was full of family and love and the joy of celebrating the birth of our saviour, Jesus Christ! :)

7 comments:

Just Mom said...

I laughed out loud at the "Thing 1 and Thing 2" shirts. What a great idea.

Glad to see that overall, your Christmas was joyful. :-)

By the way, I woke up at 6 a.m. on Christmas morning too and yes I was the first one up.

Heidi Jo Comes said...

merry christmas lisa! what a glorious family time. i love the shirts...i think we have a couple that could stand to be labeled properly:0)

Anonymous said...

A twinkie tree? Only the Sam Hasz family!!! Too cute!

Love the recap and all the fun photos! Glad you guys had a great day!

Michelle said...

Sounds like a perfect Christmas!
I love the Thing 1 and Thing 2 shirts.
You guys are so blessed that everyone lives so close- how fun for all those cousins!

Andrea said...

I love the Twinkie tree! How fun.

My kids had to wake us up, but we did stay up till like 3 am

Glad you guys had an awesome Christmas!

michelle said...

I lol at the twinkie tree...I must admit I've never seen one before.

LOVE THing 1 and Thing 2.

What a great Christmas you had!

Shanygne said...

what great memories you make!
katie has no problem wearing dresses these days - infact she INSISTS upon it! she will throw quite the fit if I don't put on on her... so sometimes I pt her in pants and she will then find a skirt to put over it... she calls herself princess leia...