Christmas 2014 Pt 2

After breakfast & cleaning up from Santa, we headed to visit my family for Christmas. We spend Christmas Day with my extended family & had our family Christmas the next day.

Uncle A helped Cooper with his BB Gun for a while.

The rest of the family finally joined & the kids wasted no time pulling out all of the toys to play with.

Cooper loves seeing and spending time with his cousins. They all get this crazy adrenaline kick and go non-stop.

We tried getting a group photo, but Caitlin was having no part. Shocker.

The kids were finally able to open their gifts & tore right into them. Caitlin wanted nothing to do with anyone other than Aunt Sassy, so she spent the evening in the kitchen.

Needless to say, Cooper was excited about his Darth Vader towel & Dragon Riders of Berk DVD.

The next day we rounded out Christmas by celebrating with my family.

Caitlin kept trying to put tape on her face. I have no idea why.

Nana found the Bumblebee that "flips into action" Cooper had been begging for.

Caitlin has her own play kitchen for Nana's house now.

Needless to say, both kids were excited to start playing.

Santa Came! Christmas Day 2014

Cooper came bouncing into our room around 7:30 Christmas morning to let us know Santa came to visit. He informed us that Santa forgot his Space Walker (side note below) but brought him the Milleium Falcon lego set!!!!! And his sister got a baby doll.

We joined him in the living room & discussed how we were pretty sure Santa didn't forget anything. Santa realized that the Lego sets were pretty expensive & that Cooper had enough money on a gift card to buy the Space Walker himself.

Once that was cleared up, Cooper was pretty excited for the new Lego sets. Santa brought the Millennium Falcon, Darth Vader's Tie Fighter & a pillow pal for the car seat. Cooper has been asking to wear a big kid seat belt, and I guess Santa approved. 

Caitlin finally woke up & joined Cooper to check out her new baby. 

She kept getting mad at the straps on the stroller & couldn't figure out how to take the baby out. I finally caught on & helped - only to realize she wanted the baby out so she could get in! 

We dug through stockings & played with some new toys. Santa brought Cooper quite a few new Superhero Lego men & he was dying to open something right away. 

We finished the morning with cinnamon rolls before packing up & heading to Pops & Nana's house for Christmas. Cooper was thrilled to leave so that he could play with his new Kindle Fire in the car. 

**Side Note: What the heck is up with kids coming up with a new toy three days before Christmas? By that time, Santa had spent all of his allotted money! For some reason, Cooper saw this Imaginext Space Walker online and decided that was what he wanted. I mean, really??? Next year, Santa will be visiting Target on the 23rd. Or maybe even the 24th.**

***I had to add - I did not misspell Milleium Falcon. That's spelling how Cooper says it.***

Christmas Eve 2014

This year, Jason and I both stayed home Christmas Eve. My goal was to spend quite a bit of time in the kitchen. We ran to the grocery store that morning & headed back so that I could mix up cinnamon rolls. Two years ago, our first Christmas in the new house, I decided to make homemade cinnamon rolls. Ever since then, Cooper has asked for "cimmanon rolls."

I used Alton Brown's overnight recipe - the dough has a great flavor and they take just the right amount of time the next morning. Cooper helped me mix the dough - which I think he loves almost as much as eating them. Once that was done, I mixed up pizza dough for dinner. My mixer got a good workout that day!

Cooper & Caitlin played together fairly well. There were a few times where he wanted a break, only to come running through the house begging her to play with him. Sadly, as overrun as we are these days by toys, they spent the most time playing with a cardboard box.

Our church offers quite a few service times Christmas Eve. Since 5:30 is when Caitlin starts to get Hangry, we decided to try the 4pm service. I was very surprised to find the church full when it finally started. Caitlin was her usual self - independent. Jason and I spent most of the time holding her in the back. In hindsight, we should have sent her to the nursery! But we survived, and Cooper was able to hold his own candle - his favorite part!

Before we all changed out of our Christmas Eve clothes, I managed to grab a few photos.

Caitlin was not in the mood to be still or held. This also summed up her attitude about the rest of the week. Unless, of course, she was doing only what she wanted to do.

After dinner, we finally exchanged gifts. Cooper had been begging all day to open something, anything. He was thrilled when it was his turn...after a few more photos, of course.

Cooper tried helping Caitlin a few times, but she would not have it. She was more interested in asking us to "open" her stuff and take it "out" of the box.

By the way, we've had a lot of fun playing this game!

We gave both kids a few costumes (thank you Halloween sales) to play in. Cooper still enjoys dressing up as a superhero & all of his costumes are now too small. He was also pretty excited for Caitlin to have her own.

Cooper's big gift from us was his own Kindle Fire. He was pretty excited to have his "own family Kindle Fire." Even though I told him he'd have to share with his sister at times.

Both kids were finally able to wind down & get ready for bed. We put out cookies & milk for Santa & sprinkled our reindeer food on the lawn for Rudolph and his friends. Jason & I finished the night watching Christmas Vacation, something I remember doing many times growing up. I also managed to walk through the house & see that Santa had came by for his visit.