Merry Christmas Eve! 2011

"T'was the night before Christmas and all through the house . . . "

Christmas Eve Day 2011

Our  Christmas Eve has been so much fun.  It started early this morning when the kids discovered under the tree a BIG box from Mima and Pop-pop filled with all sorts of fun toys to keep them busy during the day, and help make the wait until Christmas morning a little more bearable.  Here's a look at what they found:

There was even something in the box for Ella - her first pink sippy cup and her first Disney Princess items ever - a bowl and plate in the shape of a crown.  We are sure it won't be her last Disney Princess stuff!

We spent much of the morning playing Monopoly.  We've discovered it's one of our favorite things to do as a family.  Grayson plays quite well, and Tony and I enjoy utilizing our negotiating skills against each other. 

Ella watched and played with her toys . . .

Max played for a little while on Mommy's team, but really he just wanted to keep playing with all the fun toys from Mima and Pop-pop's box.  And these snazzy batman socks were a hit!

So were the sunglasses . . .

And the guns!

Late in the afternoon we headed to church for a beautiful Christmas Eve service.  Are you wondering who took this photo?  Why Max's Cookie Monster stuffed animal of course!

Cardboard Castle

Nana sent the kids a huge cardboard Castle and told me to go ahead and give it to them whenever I needed.  Well today was the day.  It rained and poured all afternoon, and we spent three solid hours on our porch listening to the rain and coloring the Castle.  Our neighbor Grace helped out.

Max did not want to stop coloring to pose for a picture!

Ella watched them the entire time from the comfort of her beloved exersaucer.  It was very entertaining.

They love their Castle so much, they wanted to eat dinner in it.  So we had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and baby carrots.  Hey, it's Christmas break and they're kids - if it works for them it works for me.  Max begged me to put his bed in the Castle so that he could sleep there.  I really thought we were headed for a tantrum, until he realized how dark it was when we turned off all the lights.  He then finally agreed to go to bed in his room.

Christmas cookies

My two little bakers.

Make that three.

For the next week my floors will feel sandy, no matter how many times I sweep.

But it was fun, and the boys enjoyed every minute.

And they sure are yummy!